FC Barcelona News
Barcelona Triumph in the Match That Had Everything
August 18th, 2011FC Barcelona lifted their fourth consecutive Supercup after beating Real Madrid 3-2 at the Camp Nou in a fiercely competitive game to win the tie 5-4. Along with some mesmerising skill there were the kind of ugly flashpoints that have now become customary for any Clásico.
Messi scored two exquisite goals, after a well-taken Iniesta opener. Real Madrid twice levelled the match, through Cristiano and Benzema. There was a mass brawl at the close, with Villa, Özil and Marcelo all earning red cards. It did little to dampen Barça’s celebrations, but will surely have ramifications in the coming days.
At kick-off there were three changes to the side that drew at the Bernabeu – Xavi, Piqué and Pedro all took their place. A largely unchanged Madrid team picked up where they left off at the weekend; pressuring Barcelona high up the pitch, but to less devastating effect this time around.
The first fifteen minutes were a tactical jostle, with neither side able to retain possession for an extended period.
In the end it was Messi who engineered the breakthrough. The livewire Argentine wriggled away from Khedira just inside the Madrid half, and threaded a sumptuous pass for Andrés Iniesta, who dinked the ball over the helpless Casillas.
Barça’s opener prompted an immediate response from Los Blancos; Cristiano got the decisive touch on a cross from the left angle of the box by Benzema. There was a hint of offside about the goal, but Barcelona’s protests were waved away by referee Fernández Borbalán.
Real Madrid followed up their goal with a brief spell in the ascendancy, but only after Pedro forced a spectacular stop from Casillas with a 20-yard curler. Then it was Valdés’ turn to take the limelight, first pushing a Cristiano piledriver onto the bar, before deflecting an Özil attempt past the post with a lighting quick reaction save.
The momentum was soon back with the home team; Messi raced away from Pepe and Ramos but was foiled by the feet of Casillas. Barça’s number 10 was not to be denied though, and grabbed the lead for his team when he scored with a delightful close range chip after latching onto an improvised Piqué backheel.
The second half was an altogether more fractious affair, with play punctuated by niggling fouls and moments of low-key violence. Marcelo appeared to aim a kick at Messi when he jumped to win a header, and the Argentine was later wiped out by a bone-shaking body check from Pepe.
For the most part, Barcelona were comfortable, but became a little sloppy at the back, with a scramble in the box culminating in a close range goal for Benzema. Guardiola replied by handing a late debut to Cesc, who began the move that led to Messi’s smart volleyed winner, and was later cut down by an outrageous Marcelo scissor tackle in front of the dugouts, sparking unpleasant scenes as both sets of players and coaching staff faced off.
Barcelona Sweat it Out in Madrid
August 15th, 2011FC Barcelona drew the first leg of the Super Cup 2-2 at the Bernabeu against Real Madrid on Sunday night. Barça spent long periods of the match on the back-foot, suffocated on a sultry night by relentless Real Madrid pressure. Los Blancos opened the scoring with a smart Özil finish, but Barcelona equalised and then took the lead via a fine Villa strike and an opportunistic finish by Lionel Messi.
Xabi Alonso levelled the score ten minutes after the break, side-footing home from the edge of the area. Although there were some rugged tackles from Real Madrid, the match was played in good spirit, and on Wednesday night Barcelona fans could get to see Cesc Fábregas make his first senior appearance for his boyhood club.
Two strong lineups took to the field in Madrid – Alexis Sánchez made his debut, starting on the right wing for Barcelona, while Xavi, Puyol and Piqué took their place on the Barça bench. Real fielded a more positive XI than in the Clásicos towards the end of last season – Cristiano Ronaldo, Di Maria, Benzema, Ozil and Alonso all started for Los Merengues.
The first 30 minutes were difficult for Guardiola’s men; Real Madrid were pressing hard, forcing mistakes from every one of Barcelona’s defenders. Macherano and Abidal looked particularly uncomfortable, and on the few occasions that they managed to get the ball to a midfielder, possession was surrendered in the face of packs of white shirts. Xavi was sorely missed.
Indeed, it came as no surprise when Real Madrid took the lead; Benzema made a powerful run in from the right, and threaded a delicate squared pass for Ozil, who dispatched a tidy finish to the right of Valdés.
Barcelona continued to struggle until Villa netted a spectacular equaliser, which came almost out of the blue. The Asturian forward found some rare space, pulled in from the left and smashed a swerving shot over Casillas into the very top right corner of the goal.
The second Barcelona goal came just before half time and was another smash and grab. Messi was first to react to a loose ball, shrugged off Pepe, and swept the ball home to hand the away side an unlikely lead going into the break.
The second half saw more pressure on the Barça goal, although Madrid’s pressing was now a little less concerted. Their equaliser came in the 54th minute, after Benzema teed up Alonso who placed a smart shot into the bottom right corner from just outside the area.
Valdés was the busier of the two ‘keepers as the game went on, but neither side would again find the net. Both teams had legitimate penalty shouts denied in the closing stages – Valdés appeared to reach out and trip Cristiano as he chased a ball away from goal, while Pedro was floored in the Madrid area by a clumsy Marcelo challenge.
And while the second half was underway, news of an agreement for Cesc Fábregas filtered through from London and Barcelona, finally bringing to an end a three-year transfer saga.
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