The Camp Nou was an impressive site to see it with the Catalan flag, la senyera. I suppose it was a tactic to intimidate the opposition and who could fail to be impressed by this blatant display of everything that the Catalans stand for.
Jose Mourinho did say that his side would not come out defending and he kept his word as Real Madrid came out attacking. The first five minutes had Barca taking it easy and surveying the terrain. Real Madrid were beginning to push up field and Di Maria had a shot at goal but it was too far away to bother Valdés.
On 13 minutes, Real Madrid had a goal opportunity with Ronaldo and Benzema in the mix.The volley goes wide but it was a missed occasion we could say. on 17 minutes we saw a part of the Camp Nou asking for independence for Catalonia – I thought this was supposed to be a football match?
On 19 minutes, Real Madrid had another clear chance with a header from Sergio Ramos. The ball goes just wide of Valdés’ left post and it shows that Real have a clear height advantage over Barca. 21 minutes saw an effort from Iniesta go just wide.
Just three minutes later saw the first goal of the match. Ronaldo found the net via an assist by Benzema. That makes it 1 nil and Madrid want more. They nearly get number two with Karim Benzema hitting the post!
27 minutes saw Dani Alves injured and he had to go off for Montoya. It wasn’t long before Messi changed the scoreline to make it 1 apiece. Messi capitalizes on a mistake by Pepe and makes Real pay the high price.
Real have the edge at the moment but anything can happen in these clasico matches. 39 minutes and the ref gets his yellow card out for the hard tackle on Ramos. Xabi Alonso also picks up a yellow for a foul on Xavi just before the break.
After the break, it’s much of the same, end to end stuff from both sides. Ozil went down in the box and there were shouts for a penalty. Nothing comes from it and Real Madrid are pushing hard. Barcelona are hanging on. 51 minutes saw Iniesta fouled but he was looking for a penalty which also wasn’t given. I think it wasn’t a penalty on both counts.
It was Messi again on 61 minutes that broke the deadlock with an amazing set piece that destroyed Casillas. The little Argentine is unbelievable and found the net with a superb strike – 2-1 to Barca!
Higuain came on for Karim Benzema on 62 minutes and Alexis came on for Fabregás. Just 4 minutes after the second from Real Madrid arrives courtesy of Ronaldo. A lovely goal from the Portuguese star who was assisted by Ozil who had no problem shooting past an oncoming Valdés.
Ronaldo tried an overhead kick but fell awkwardly – visions of Puyol were flashing through my mind. He went down hurt but he seemed alright to carry on. It looked like the Messi and Cristiano show at the Camp Nou.
15 minutes to go and Barcelona started to pick up the pace a little – they needed to show the fans what Barca were all about. 78 minutes saw Pepe receive a yellow for a foul on Alexis. The crowd then started to call pepe “asesino” or assassin!
10 minutes to go and Mesut Ozil came off for Kaká who seems to be playing quite well at the moment. The time is ticking away and the stale-mate looks like it will run to the end of the match. Barcelona were beginning to stroke the ball around again. Messi is so fast he just leaves players for dead. It is so easy for the Madrid players to clip him – he’s that fast! For Madrid, Ronaldo seems a little slower, maybe the injury he sustained in his failed over head kick is telling now.
The final minutes saw some good end to end stuff – this is what the clasico matches are all about.For the last minutes on came Michael Essien for Di Maria. Arbeloa picked up a yellow for a crunching tackle on Messi. He needed to stop the Argentine at all costs.
A bit of a goal mouth scramble and ball came out to Montoya who struck it superbly to hit Casillas’ crossbar. If that had gone in it would have been awesome! 3 additional minutes were added and the pace has not dropped!
A minute to go and Messi went on one of his runs and shoots just wide of the post. This guy is so difficult to pick up. With that last burst from Messi and the ref dug into his pocket for the whistle to call time. I suppose it was a fair result and both teams picked up a deserved point each. A really great game of football with both sides pushing for a win.
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Valora en Bitacoras.com: It looked like the Cristiano Ronaldo and Leo Messi show tonight at the Camp Nou with both players in fine form scoring some quality goals. Real Madrid struck first which was followed up by a goal from Messi to make the first …..