Barcelona return to where they belong, the top of the table after a 2-0 victory over arch-rivals Real Madrid. iSporter Saurabh Datar reviews the action at the Santiago Bernabeu.
It was always going to be exciting. It always is. But especially after Lionel Messi’s stellar show in the Champions’ League, there was never really any doubt about the quality of football. Pep Guardiola left out the likes of Henry, Iniesta on the bench. Carles Puyol played right back.
Madrid started the better of the two. They were awarded a free kick after Gerard Pique handled the ball, but Cristiano Ronaldo was offside and it amounted to nothing. On the other side, Lionel Messi evaded Raul Albiol and as the defender tugged him, Messi went down and looked hopefully towards the official but no penalty was awarded. Cristiano Ronaldo also appealed for a penalty some time later, but again to no avail. The possession was dominated by the Catalans but the final ball was what was missing.
But the opener came soon enough, from whom else but Messi. Messi picked the ball in the middle of the field and passed it to Xavi. A neat one-two followed and Xavi delightfully chipped the ball into the box. Messi chested it down and neatly scored his 40th goal of the season (in all competitions). The rest of the half was pretty dull again, except for Higuain’s shot.
Second half saw Barca initially play a little lax. Marcelo tried a long shot at 51 minutes on the clock but keeper Valdes was up to it. But Xavi was at the helm of things again. With his defence-splitting pass reaching Pedro, the youngster scored past keeper Casillas to double the lead. That was when Real pushed harder for their comebacks. Ronaldo tried his luck through a freekick and open play, but Valdes thwarted him on both accounts. Valdes denied several other Galacticans. Guti and Raul came on for Madrid as Pellegrini tried desperately to salvage some points. Iniesta came on for Maxwell. The aggressive attacking by Madrid meant an open ground for Messi, and he should have made it three for the Catalans, but Casillas proved a deterrent.
Karim Benzema came on at the 80th minute but he could do little to stop Madrid from losing. Instead his contribution was a handball which ruled out Raul’s late strike. The night ended with the home team jeered and booed out of the stadium, and the blue warriors conquering the Bernabeu.
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