All Bar�a�s football

Match

Marcador del partit

Date: Saturday, 10 Mar
Competition: ???label.competicio0???
Stadium: Camp Nou, Barcelona

Resultat:

FC Barcelona: 3
Real Madrid: 3

Match report

Match Report
Pre-Match

Match Report

The goals

0-1, Van Nistelrooy (min 5)
1-1, Messi (min 11)
1-2, Van Nistelrooy (pen) (min. 13)
2-2, Messi (min 27)
2-3, Sergio Ramos (min 72)
3-3, Messi (min 90)

The Messi Classic (3-3)

Three goals by Leo Messi, the third in the 90th minute, handed a draw to a Barcelona team who had to play the entire second half with only 10 men. This due to the dismissal of Oleguer at the end of the first half.

For years to come this match will be remembered for Leo Messi’s performance. The young Argentinian scored the three Bar�a goals which gave his team a valuable point earned against a team who had an extra player for the whole of the second half. A point which puts the team on equal footing with Seville and keeps Real Madrid at a five point distance .

Apart from the Argentinian player, the whole Bar�a team worked hard to make up for having a man less for forty-five minutes. Special mention should go to the significant role Valdes played in the match and the decisive saves he made at key moments. Without doubt this Bar�a-Madrid was one of the most open and attacking matches in recent times.

First frenetic minutes

If a Bar�a-Madrid match comes with an extra bit of excitement, then the first few minutes of this encounter tonight at the Camp Nou multiplied these emotions. Both teams came out fighting and created an opening twenty minutes of frenetic, end to end play. In the 5th minute and from their first goal-scoring chance Van Nistelrooy put Madrid ahead (0-1). Bar�a came right back and had two consecutive chances. The first was a close range shot by Eto�o which was saved by Casillas but in the second the Madrid goalkeeper was given no chance as Messi slotted the ball home after being sent clean through on goal by Eto`o. The Argentinian had equalized and the Camp Nou let out a sigh of relief.

Penalti and 1-2

However, straight away at the other end the referee pointed to the penalty spot after Oleguer tripped Guti. Van Nistelrooy made it 1-2 and the Bar�a defender was shown a yellow card. This period of the match was without doubt the most exciting in the recent history of this grand classic. Bar�a didn’t stop attempting to score a second and Eto`o in the 18th minute and then M�rquez and Ronaldinho a minute later had efforts on goal.

Great Intensity

The match continued at a fast pace with Bar�a having the clearest chances to score while Real Madrid looked dangerous on the counter attack. In the 27th minute came the equaliser when Ronaldinho, with the ball at his feet, came in on the left, played a one-two with Eto`o inside the Madrid penalty area and shot a low drive straight at Casillas. The ball rebounded out into the crowded box and Messi was quickest to respond, blasting a first time shot high into the roof of the net (2-2).

Despite it being 2-2, the pace didn’t let up and Higuain, Eto`o and Iniesta all had good opportunites to score. But just before the break Barca received a blow which would affect the rest of the match when Oleguer saw his second yellow card for a foul on Gago and was sent from the field. Rijkaard’s men would have to see out the match with only 10 players

Battling Midfield

Bar�a were forced to make some changes to their outfit in the second half as Rijkaard replaced Eto`o with Sylvinho. The team played with three defenders while M�rquez covered the midfield. Play continued to be fast and furious as Real Madrid created the clearest chances to score.

Impressive Vald�s, can’t stop Madrid making it 2-3

Bar�a had to make up for the fact that they had a man less and Xavi, Deco and Iniesta worked tirelessly to cover the midfield. Real Madrid for their part kept counter attacking dangerously and Vald�s was forced to make three great saves from Van Nistelrooy in three minutes. The Catalan team needed to regroup again and Rijkaard decided to bring on Belletti for Deco so that they could again have four defenders at the back. However, just after the change a freekick by Guti was flicked on by Sergio Ramos and the ball flew past Vald�s into the Bar�a goal (2-3).

Pride until the end

Despite the huge blow the Madrid goal inflicted on the Bar�a team, the ten men of Rijkaard kept playing their game up until the final minute of the match. Right after the goal, Iniesta could have equalised but his shot just went wide of Casillas’s right hand post. Then five minutes later M�rquez made the Madrid goalkeeper tip over a shot from outside the area.

The changes made by Rijkaard had only one objective: draw the match level. So Gudjohnsen replaced M�rquez and brought a more attacking spirit to the Barcelona team. Ronaldinho could have equalised but for another Casillas save from short range.

Goal and Ectasy

The move that every Bar�a supporter was praying for finally arrived right in the 90th minute. Messi got away from Helguera, his first touch gave him the space to move past his marker and he shot powerfully across the Madrid goal and into the corner of the net. The 97,000 Bar�a fans in the Camp Nou, as well as the millions around the world watching at home, celebrated in ecstasy. It was a more than deserved equaliser

Penalty on Ronaldinho?

With the Madrid side really shaken by the Bar�a goal, the Catalans had a last chance when Ronaldinho ran into the area and fell to the floor after contact with Diarra. The referee waved the protests away and with this final piece of action, the match came to a close. Madrid still trail Barcelona by five points

Preview

A cl�sico with more than three points at stake

Tonight�s Bar�a v Madrid means much more than the three points. Both sides have just been knocked out of the Champions, and there is not only prestige at stake here, but also the need for a morale-boosting victory.

There are five points between the second and fourth placed teams. Bar�a and Madrid have just endured similarly disappointing weeks, and go head to head this evening at the Camp Nou (22:00, La Sexta). Both sides have gone out of Europe, and both on away goals, and that may well condition the way they approach one of the biggest matches of the season. But while Rijkaard’s side are just one point adrift of the top of the table, and also through to the Cup semi finals, Capello’s Madrid is left with only the league to play for, and things are not looking to bright for them at the moment. However, if either side collects three points tonight, that would prove a major boost to their championship chances.

Best home and away: The Camp Nou will be the venue for a game between the side with the best home record in the league, Bar�a (32 out of 36 possible points) and the one with the best record on the road, Real Madrid (25 out of 39). Bar�a’s home stats are nothing short of amazing, 30 goals for and just 5 against at the Camp Nou. But Madrid are proving far more effective away from the Santiago Bernabeu, and getting the most out their scoring, winning five away games by just the one goal.

Goalkeeping duel: Also on the field we will have two of the three goalkeepers with the best records of the season (the other is Abbondanzieri, of Getafe). Casillas and Vald�s, have conceded 21 and 22 goals respectively, and are proving solid guarantees between the sticks for their respective sides. Up front, Ronaldinho, Eto'o, Messi, Ra�l, Van Nistelrooy and co will be hoping to put a dent into those impressive stats.

Ronaldinho to play: The Brazilian will be one of the main items in the Bar�a artillery seeking to find a way through the Madrid back-line. There have been doubts about his presence in the squad, but he will be there for his eighth meeting with Madrid in four years, and will be seeking to score against them at the Camp Nou for what would be a third consecutive year.

Less risks: Frank Rijkaard is likely to field a less attack-minded side than he did at La Romareda and Anfield, where he gambled on a 3-4-3 that produced two away victories. Against Madrid, he will probably switch back to his usual system of four defenders, three midfielders and three forwards.

Missing for Madrid: There are plenty of uncertainties surrounding the Madrid line-up. Reyes, Beckham, Cannavaro and Roberto Carlos have all picked up injuries over the last week, and Capello will therefore be making a number of forced changes. He must also decide whether to stick with his idea of playing Diarra and Emerson alongside each other in a central pivotal role, which was the way he planned things against Munich on Wednesday.

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