Real Madrid did all they could to beat Barcelona on Wednesday night but the Catalans once again triumphed. Cristiano Ronaldo gave the hosts a bright start but Puyol and Abidal had other ideas.
REAL MADRID AND BARCELONA'S TEAM LINEUP
Jose Mourinho stunned the public with a risky 4-3-3 lineup which had Altintop at right-back and Pepe in midfield. Interestingly, Mourinho responded to the fans’ desire of starting with the Benzema-Higuain duo. Carvalho made a surprise comeback in Real Madrid’s first XI.
Attacking-minded midfielders Kaka and Mesut Özil started El Clasico from the bench. Callejon received a call-up while Angel di Maria didn’t make the cut based on fitness worries. Pepe was supposed to lead Real Madrid’s planned approach from the midfield. Instead, the Portuguese defender eventually destroyed his team’s chances of winning as Barcelona carried the day yet again.
Barcelona also used a 4-3-3 formation. Lionel Messi had the support of Cesc Fabregas and Alexis Sanchez in attack while Xavi, Iniesta and Sergio Busquets completed Barca’s enviable midfield line.
Pep Guardiola kept his promise of playing Pinto ahead of first-choice goalkeeper Victor Valdes. This delicate move from Pep almost went unjustified when Cristiano Ronaldo found the net inside the first quarter of the match.
HOW EL CLASICO UNFOLDED
Right from kick-off, Cristiano Ronaldo got busy trying to get the ball at his feet. His correct sliding tackle on Dani Alves in the 4th minute was the sign of something bigger to happen. The criticized superstar fired Real Madrid in front in admirable fashion, fooling Gerard Pique in the process with a daring step-over before driving a left-footed shot from a tight angle through the legs of Pinto.
Immediately, new questions came up and above them, the following: how would Barcelona respond to Real Madrid’s 1-0 lead?
As usual, the referee had a busy time booking players; Pepe and Pique were the first to enter into the book. At the break, the scoreboard inscribed a 1-0 result in favor of the hosts. The second half was sure to produce more incidents.
It wasn’t Lionel Messi, it wasn’t Cesc Fabregas and it wasn’t Alexis Sanchez (who almost gave a quick reply to Ronaldo’s goal only to be denied by the post). Instead, it was veteran defender Carles Puyol who leveled the score for Barcelona through a header from a Xavi corner. This equalizer, which occurred a few moments after the referee’s whistle for the start of the second half, apparently hurt Los Blancos deeply.
Trying to restore Real Madrid’s lead, Karim Benzema executed a powerful header which hit the post at Barcelona’s relief. At the hour mark, El Clasico was still all square. Gonzalo Higuain and Lassana Diarra went off for Jose Callejon and Mesut Özil respectively. This substitution showed Jose Mourinho’s intent to multiply efforts on the offensive.
Busquets missed a big opportunity to put Barcelona in front and Sanchez’s move from an offside position got canceled by the referee before Eric Abidal transformed into El Clasico’s unlikely hero. The Frenchman finished off Lionel Messi’s tremendous work in the buildup. That was quite a way for Messi to shame Pepe. The latter was seen stamping on Lionel Messi’s hand intentionally a couple of minutes before Barcelona’s second goal.
Lucky enough to escape without a second book, Pepe went off for Granera 10 minutes from normal time. For Barcelona, Guardiola introduced Adriano in replacement of Alexis Sanchez. A few minutes later, midfield maestro Xavi Hernandez also made way for rising talent Thiago Alcantara and Fabregas left the pitch for Isaac Cuenca.
If coach Pep Guardiola thought that he had won the match, he was right. Carvalho controversially escaped seeing red for making a professional challenge on Lionel Messi. In injury time, frustration was written all over the home team’s players who never found their way back on home soil.
Real Madrid have a 2-1 deficit to overturn in the second leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals. The Camp Nou factor is a reason for Barcelona to believe that tickets for the semifinals are guaranteed. The second part of El Clasico will come up on Wednesday, January 18, 2011.
Jose Mourinho stunned the public with a risky 4-3-3 lineup which had Altintop at right-back and Pepe in midfield. Interestingly, Mourinho responded to the fans’ desire of starting with the Benzema-Higuain duo. Carvalho made a surprise comeback in Real Madrid’s first XI.
Attacking-minded midfielders Kaka and Mesut Özil started El Clasico from the bench. Callejon received a call-up while Angel di Maria didn’t make the cut based on fitness worries. Pepe was supposed to lead Real Madrid’s planned approach from the midfield. Instead, the Portuguese defender eventually destroyed his team’s chances of winning as Barcelona carried the day yet again.
Barcelona also used a 4-3-3 formation. Lionel Messi had the support of Cesc Fabregas and Alexis Sanchez in attack while Xavi, Iniesta and Sergio Busquets completed Barca’s enviable midfield line.
Pep Guardiola kept his promise of playing Pinto ahead of first-choice goalkeeper Victor Valdes. This delicate move from Pep almost went unjustified when Cristiano Ronaldo found the net inside the first quarter of the match.
HOW EL CLASICO UNFOLDED
Right from kick-off, Cristiano Ronaldo got busy trying to get the ball at his feet. His correct sliding tackle on Dani Alves in the 4th minute was the sign of something bigger to happen. The criticized superstar fired Real Madrid in front in admirable fashion, fooling Gerard Pique in the process with a daring step-over before driving a left-footed shot from a tight angle through the legs of Pinto.
Immediately, new questions came up and above them, the following: how would Barcelona respond to Real Madrid’s 1-0 lead?
As usual, the referee had a busy time booking players; Pepe and Pique were the first to enter into the book. At the break, the scoreboard inscribed a 1-0 result in favor of the hosts. The second half was sure to produce more incidents.
It wasn’t Lionel Messi, it wasn’t Cesc Fabregas and it wasn’t Alexis Sanchez (who almost gave a quick reply to Ronaldo’s goal only to be denied by the post). Instead, it was veteran defender Carles Puyol who leveled the score for Barcelona through a header from a Xavi corner. This equalizer, which occurred a few moments after the referee’s whistle for the start of the second half, apparently hurt Los Blancos deeply.
Trying to restore Real Madrid’s lead, Karim Benzema executed a powerful header which hit the post at Barcelona’s relief. At the hour mark, El Clasico was still all square. Gonzalo Higuain and Lassana Diarra went off for Jose Callejon and Mesut Özil respectively. This substitution showed Jose Mourinho’s intent to multiply efforts on the offensive.
Busquets missed a big opportunity to put Barcelona in front and Sanchez’s move from an offside position got canceled by the referee before Eric Abidal transformed into El Clasico’s unlikely hero. The Frenchman finished off Lionel Messi’s tremendous work in the buildup. That was quite a way for Messi to shame Pepe. The latter was seen stamping on Lionel Messi’s hand intentionally a couple of minutes before Barcelona’s second goal.
Lucky enough to escape without a second book, Pepe went off for Granera 10 minutes from normal time. For Barcelona, Guardiola introduced Adriano in replacement of Alexis Sanchez. A few minutes later, midfield maestro Xavi Hernandez also made way for rising talent Thiago Alcantara and Fabregas left the pitch for Isaac Cuenca.
If coach Pep Guardiola thought that he had won the match, he was right. Carvalho controversially escaped seeing red for making a professional challenge on Lionel Messi. In injury time, frustration was written all over the home team’s players who never found their way back on home soil.
Real Madrid have a 2-1 deficit to overturn in the second leg of the Copa del Rey quarterfinals. The Camp Nou factor is a reason for Barcelona to believe that tickets for the semifinals are guaranteed. The second part of El Clasico will come up on Wednesday, January 18, 2011.
