Real Madrid 0-2 Barcelona

Goals from Lionel Messi and Pedro Rodriguez in each halves of the game saw Barcelona snatch the pole position in La Liga from the grasps of Real Madrid. Real Madrid were not outclassed as the press portrays it but were beaten comprehensively and what is more worrying is the fact that Real went down without putting much of a fight. Its advantage Barcelona now as they lead Real both on points as well as head-to-head. With seven games to go only a major slip up from the Catalans coupled with seven victories for Real will see us no go trophy-less this season.

Real started the game making three changes to the team that started against Racing last week. Xabi Alonso, Sergio Ramos and Garay came in for Metzelder, Mahamadou Diarra and Esteban Granero. We started the game well as we won a corner in the very first minute after a good run from Marcelo playing in left midfield. Early in the game we refused to let Barça settle down but eventually that changed and they played with a high line of defense. Real took the ball away from Messi as soon as he got it ergo preventing him from beating players. But that too did not last long as in the twelfth minute as Messi’s run inside the box was stopped by Albiol is somewhat a rough challenge. The initial reaction was that it was a foul but the referee had a very good view of the tackle and replays insisted that Messi too didn’t have control of the ball.

Real Madrid were inconsistent when it came to holding possession at least in the first half. They held the ball in very small spells thus not having the time to materialize anything in attack. Both sides did not have too many chances in the first half an hour as there were fouls all around the pitch from both sides. And one of those led to the first goal. Messi was fouled by Sergio Ramos in the right wing. The resulting free kick was taken quickly by Messi who exchanged a pass with Pedro before playing a clever one two with Xavi with the latter putting Messi clean through on goal ahead of the Madrid defense. Albiol though got to him but was beaten and so was Casillas. Real Madrid 0 Barça 1.

I still had hope. It wasn’t the first time Real went down 1-0 at the Bernabéu this season in the league. It happened against Sevilla, Atlético and Sporting. We managed to comeback and win all those games. But that wasn’t to be the case here.

Throughout the first half Real were virtually playing with 10 men as Gonzalo Higuaín went AWOL and was no where to to be seen. His first action saw him control a long free kick from our own half after Pique miscued his header. But he lacked the composure to slot it past Valdes from an acute angle. A few minutes later he won the ball from a Barça corner. Real were on the break and Higuaín released Marcelo just near the half line. The Brazilian had a free run and just when he got close to their penalty area he screwed like a fuckin’ cunt losing the ball when he should’ve put CR9 through. And finally before the close of the half Cristiano did well to beat Puyol and cross the ball into their box but no one was there to tuck it in. This was the worst Higuaín has played for us since the Lyon game and it would be fair to say he was even worse than that game. We had 41% possession in the half and did not test Valdes throughout the half.

The second half wasn’t any better. Marcelo, our top assist man, had the first shot of the half but it was some I could’ve saved after Real finally crafted the kind of move we are used to see them create. Real deployed a high line of defense and Barcelona decided to sit on their lead for a while. But not for long.

With Guti set to enter the field, Xavi sent through Pedro after the youngster made a sneaky run behind Arbeloa and his shot from just outside/inside the box beat Casillas to end up in the back of the net. The players looked devastated. It was indeed a telling blow that came out of no where. Real Madrid 0 Barça 2.

Guti replaced Marcelo and his first contribution was a trademark dissecting pass that left Van der Vaart one-on-one with Valdes. His low shot was a cake for the keeper. It was the best chance of the match for us. And it somewhat summed up the kind of day we had on the pitch. We didn’t do what they did and that is take the chances gifted to us. It was then that we had a few more chances to score. Ronaldo used his pace to get into the same position from which he scored against Lyon but was denied by Valdes. His free kick and Guti’s shot too were saved by their keeper. All were very simple saves. We just couldn’t test him on the night. But it wasn’t so on the other end.

In the 72nd minute Lionel Messi did well to get into a position from which he would’ve scored against other keeper in the World but St.Iker isn’t any other keeper is he? That wasn’t all. Man of the Match Xavi Hernandez’s exquisite through ball sent Messi through our defense again and his shot was incredibly saved by Casillas. Any other keeper the score would’ve now been Real Madrid 0 Barcelona 4. Thankfully it wasn’t.

Raúl came on for Van der Vaart and Benzema made his much awaited return to the field to replace Higuaín. The Argentine went out to constant booing and whistles from our fans and I must say he deserved it for his performance last night. As Real still were looking for a goal the crowd started walking towards the exits.

But then the miracle happened. Or so we thought. Puyol scrambled the ball inside the six-yard box after Benzema’s attempt to head it in. The ball fell to El Siete and he smacked it into the net. The comeback was on was the initial reaction but the goal was disallowed. Replays suggested that Benzema had handled the ball even before Puyol controlled it. And that was the last action of the game.

Right now I am not really willing to discuss the consequences of the game or the game itself any further. We did not play to our full potential even though we are capable of so much more. We looked totally out of sorts and they didn’t. Did the pressure get to us? Possible. But we are dealing with professionals who have dealt with these situations before and thus it isn’t a reason at all. Anyways more on the game later.

Lineups:

Real Madrid: Casillas, Sergio Ramos, Albiol, Garay, Arbeloa, Van der Vaart (Raúl 68′), Gago, Xabi Alonso, Marcelo (Guti 57′), Higuaín (Benzema 79′), Cristiano Ronaldo;

Barcelona: Valdés, Puyol, Piqué, Milito (Marquez 79′), Maxwell (Iniesta 63′), Xavi, Busquets, Keita, Alves, Messi, Pedro;

Goals:

0-1, 33′: Messi;

0-2, 56′: Pedro;

Referee: Mr. Mejuto Gonzalez

Booked: Xabi Alonso, Messi, Albiol, Xavi, Alves, Maxwell, Sergio Ramos, Garay.

April 11, 2010 | Categories: Match Reports, Spanish Primera División | Tags: Estadio Santiago Bernabéu, FC Barcelona, Lionel Messi, Pedro Rodriguez | Leave A Comment »