Clasico sees the best of divine Luis Suarez, but not dysfunctional Barcelona and Real Madrid

This 2-1 Barcelona win was far from the best Clasico, but it did see the best of Suarez. A key goal in a game like this crowns his recent scoring run after a slowish start at Camp Nou, and is the fullest display possible that he is back to his most decisive form. This is the player of 2013-14 - the match-winner.

That the strike was at once so spectacular and specifically efficient was all the more apt. Suarez delicately pulled Dani Alves's ball out of the sky with a beautiful take-down, perfectly setting himself for a perfect striker's finish. His first touch was one of those that defies defenders, defies description and almost defies explanation.

The latter in itself may be apt because, if you were to attempt to explain why Barcelona actually beat Real Madrid on Sunday night, it basically boiled down to fewer of their expensive stars misfiring. One of them, instead, was bang on target. That was in stark contrast to the likes of Neymar, Gareth Bale and - other than, respectively, the first and last 20 minutes - Cristiano Ronaldo and even Leo Messi.

That the match only saw sparks of the best talent rather than raging fires is also fitting, because that is almost the case with the two teams right now. It was a game that displayed their flaws as much as their historically good ability, and we're not just talking about so many histrionics and gamesmanship.

While so many dives recalled the worst of the antics in the rancorous rivalry between Pep Guardiola and chief agitator Jose Mourinho, this was a long way from the deeper cohesion of the football at that time. Both have almost become arch examples of bloated super-clubs, collections of big stars rather than really integrated teams.

Take the pattern of this game, what affected the two teams, and how they responded.

Barca opened the scoring through the simplicity of a set-piece, in which the defending was atrociously bad, as Jeremy Mathieu so easily got ahead of Sergio Ramos to nod in Messi's typically excellent cross. The Catalans were in complete control then, only for Neymar to so badly miss and Luis Enrique's side to so badly lose their way.

It is remarkable that one such moment could so drastically change the pattern of a game, or that such a quality team could be so affected by it, but that was precisely what happened as all impetus suddenly flowed for Real. They responded with one of the best moves of the game, as Karim Benzema exquisitely set up Ronaldo, and threatened to run away with the next half-hour.

Then, Barca saved themselves in the most orthodox manner possible. Even if Suarez's touch was magnificent and so difficult to execute, it came through the easiest option on a pitch: the punt. A set-piece and a long ball. That's ultimately what won the greatest game in club football. That's what undid Real Madrid.

Thereafter, it was the turn of Carlo Ancelotti's side to look hapless, and they offered virtually nothing in the last 34 minutes. What was worse was that they also seemed to have so little energy to even try and do something, and that after a week off.

Are the European champions running out of steam in the domestic title race in the way they did last season? Has Ancelotti already run out of ideas?

Barca suddenly rediscovered their verve and finally looked like they had a midfield linking defence and attack again but it can't be forgotten that Gerard Pique was called on to heroically fill in a lot of holes, and that that was a common characteristic of the game: gaps within the teams.

Now, there is a bigger gap between them in the table. However, you still wouldn't quite bank on either of these teams, and their susceptibility means no lead is totally safe, as Real Madrid have themselves proven.

You can, however, bank on at least one of their stars doing something spectacular. That was the story of this game, as Suarez offered the perfect finish.