Gareth Bale suffers another chastening night for Real Madrid

Real Madrid's world-record signing is in desperate need of some luck - and four other lessons from the 2-1 Clasico defeat against Barcelona

                            

This was a huge night for The World's Most Expensive Footballer. And what we learned in the Nou Camp was that, no matter how inflated your transfer fee, there are times when everything just goes horribly wrong. There was little amiss with Bale's work-rate, endeavour or attitude: he showed for the ball, took defenders on and kept trying to make things happen, particularly in the first half.

But the golden touch which marked Bale in big games last season appears to have deserted him, replaced by a streak of cruel fortune. Never was that more evident than towards the end of the first half, when Bale slid in to turn home a cross from the left that Cristiano Ronaldo had flicked on towards him. The ball nestled in the corner of the net and Bale was off in celebration...only for an offside flag to smother his joy.

What at first seemed a questionable decision - Bale was not offside when Ronaldo nodded on - was actually vindicated when the Portuguese was shown to be marginally ahead of play when the ball was played in.

From then on, Bale suffered a hugely frustrating night: he missed a wonderful chance moments later, squeezing a shot past the post from 10 yards out after Barca failed to clear, and in the second half was almost completely squeezed out of the action, with his teammates apparently unable - or unwilling - to bring him into the game: he touched the ball just 14 times after the interval.

The questions over his suitability for the biggest club in world football are unlikely to disperse after a bad night.

                     

Before tonight, there was a suspicion brewing that Luis Suarez - for all his obvious gifts - had lost his knack of rising to the big occasion.

The former Liverpool striker was not enduring a popularity slump in Catalonia, despite his relative lack of goals: indeed, if anything, Suarez's appetite for hard work and selflessness made him even more appreciated by fans accustomed to watching Messi and Neymar's more self-interested endeavours.

Still, every great striker needs goals in great games, and Suarez duly delivered tonight. His crisp right-footed finish past Iker Casillas midway through the second half not only gave Barca a precious advantage, but was a pointed reminder that this most effective of Premier League goalscorers has not lost his edge.

                

By the standards of CR7, March had been a barren month for the Ballon d'Or winner. And while one goal in three matches might be a perfectly respectable strike-rate for most mortals, for Ronaldo it simply won't do.

But nothing jolts the Portuguese back to form quite like a trip to the Nou Camp: he had scored nine goals in his previous 11 visits to the stadium and tonight provided a 10th in 12. A slick move involving Luka Modric and a lovely backheel from Karim Benzema set him up in the area and he only needed one touch to send the ball skimming into the corner.

It was far from a vintage performance from Ronaldo - the days when he would single-handedly take a big game in a chokehold and bend it to its will are becoming rarer - but it was confirmation that there are few players more clinical when the moment arrives. It was also an emphatic way to underline his credentials as Real's undisputed totem, in the wake of suggestions he could be considering his future in Spain.

                    

There was a time when the Clasico became almost unwatchable thanks to its predilection for diving, rowing, referee harrassment and generally unpleasant behaviour. Strangely, after Jose Mourinho left the Bernabeu, the match had rediscovered some of its old swagger...until tonight's instalment, at least.

There were two dreadful examples of playacting which rubbed some of the sheen off this blue-chip occasion: Ronaldo's dive over Gerard Pique's 'challenge' in the 37th minute, which was quite rightly rewarded with a booking from a very brave referee, Antonio Mateu Lahoz, and a horrible bit of gamesmanship from Javier Mascherano in the second half when he collapsed theatrically in an attempt to earn Ronaldo a second yellow card.

               

Leaving aside the rash of playmakers and wingers in the Clasico, it now seems clear that Karim Benzema is the undisputed king of La Liga's out-and-out strikers.

He may not deliver as many goals as his more feted peers, but there is no more effective forward in Spanish football: the Frenchman is not just a willing workhorse, ready to bend defences out of shape with his constant movement - he is also one of the shrewdest around. His backheeled pass to Ronaldo was a thing of technical and intellectual beauty, requiring anticipation, spatial awareness and sublime co-ordination.

He deserved a goal himself but was denied by a superb save from Claudio Bravo and, while he tired as the second half wore on, he still looked the man most likely to get Real back into the game.