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Match

Marcador del partit

Date: Saturday, 02 May
Competition: ???label.competicio0???
Stadium: Santiago Bernabéu, Madrid

Resultat:

Real Madrid: 2
FC Barcelona: 6

Match report

Match Report
Pre-Match

Match Report

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Goals

1-0 Higuaín (min 13)
1-1 Henry (min 17)
1-2 Puyol (min 20)
1-3 Messi (min 35)
2-3 Ramos (min 55)
2-4 Henry (min 58)
2-5 Messi (min 73)
2-6 Piqué (min 82)

Now that’s what you call football! (2-6)

Jordi Clos

Barça have won at the Bernabéu with an amazing display of attacking and entertaining football. Henry (2), Puyol, Messi (2) and Piqué scored the goals in a historic victory that leaves the team just five points away from the championship title.

May 2, 2009 will go down as one of the most historic days in the proud history of FC Barcelona. A day to compare with that magnificent February 14, 1974 when that legendary side led by Johan Cruyff won 5-0 at the Bernabéu. 35 years later, Barça have once again brought Madrid to their knees with a recital of football at its very best.

Barça were simply majestic in the first half, delivering the same delightful football that has been causing so many thrills all season. Not even an early setback, with Juande Ramos’ side opening the scoring, was going to stop the Barça magic. Playing attacking football all the way, the league leaders bombarded Casillas’ goal, and on three occasions, thanks to Henry, Puyol and Messi, found the back of the net.

The second half offered more of the same. Ramos pulled one back for the home side, but Henry and Messi soon responded to take Barça’s tally up to a remarkable five. But even that wasn’t the end of it. Piqué finished off an incredible evening by making it 6-2. But it would not be any kind of exaggeration to claim that Barça could easily have won by a whole lot more. There simply are no words to describe what we witnessed tonight.

Madrid goal fails to worry

The Bernabéu was ready, but it was Barça, as one might expect, who made the first shot on goal, coming from Xavi. Then, with the game just 13 minutes old, the home fans were able to celebrate as Higuaín put Real ahead with a well taken header from a Ramos cross. But the Madrid faithful would not be celebrating for long. Barça hadn’t even started, and as they rolled into action, Henry broke down the left but Eto’o narrowly failed to get on the end of his dangerous cross. Moments later and the Frenchman was on the end of a pinpoint assist from Messi, and deftly placed the ball past Casillas to equalise just four minutes after Madrid had taken the lead.

Captain scores

The Barça onslaught on the Madrid goal was under way. In the 20th minute Xavi played a free kick from the edge of the area, and Puyol latched onto it with his head to put Barça into the lead – and celebrated by kissing the captain’s armband. But at this stage Madrid were still in it, and Valdés was exceptional as he saved twice from Robben and also prevented Alves from putting the ball in his own net.

Barça make it three

With the Madrid defence advancing its lines, there was ample room for Barça to manoeuvre, and Leo Messi in particular was causing danger every time he got the ball. From the 23rd to 26th minute, Casillas was called upon no fewer than three times, twice against Messi and once against Eto’o. But so much pressure was eventually going to produce more goals, and just that happened in the 35th minute. Xavi picked up on a loose ball in the danger zone and Messi stroked the ball past the Madrid keeper to make it 3-1. With Barça in clear command, Guardiola preferred to slow the pace for the rest of the half with long periods of continued possession, almost toying with a Madrid side that was left haplessly chasing after the ball.

History repeating

Into the second half, and two slaloming runs from Iniesta (min 47) and Messi (min 53) suggested that Barça were back in the hunt for more goals. Yet Madrid suddenly found themselves back in with a shout when Sergio Ramos nodded home a free kick in the 55th minute to narrow the gap to one. But like in the previous half, Henry responded immediately to a Madrid goal by scoring one of his own. The French striker took advantage of a magnificent pass from Xavi to dodge his way past Casillas, who was way off his line, and convert Barça’s fourth in the 58th minute. Then Messi almost added another with a deft touch inside the six-yard area.

Messi makes it five

With two goals in it, both teams went back to what they are best at: Madrid playing tough physical football, Barça relying on skill. Andrés Iniesta, one of the finest exponents of the latter, was probably quite right to call for a penalty when he was brought down by Lass in the 72nd minute. Unperturbed, Barça returned to the job, and another brilliant pass from Xavi found Messi inside the area, and the Argentinian made no mistake and made it five.

Madrid hit for six

But Barça still hadn’t finished humiliating Madrid. Piqué added a sixth in the 83rd minute to round off a staggering night of football at the Bernabéu. The result and everything we saw on the pitch made it resoundingly clear - Barça are by far the best team in the Spanish championship. Now, they just need five more points to make mathematically sure of a fully deserved title.

Preview

2-0 earlier this season

With things so tight, the head-to-head goal difference could prove crucial, so it is worth remembering that Barça won 2-0 against Madrid at the Camp Nou earlier this season. Eto’o opened the scoring, and Messi added a second in the final minutes.

League title at stake in the Bernabéu

Anna Segura

Real Madrid and FC Barcelona meet tonight (20.00, live on R@dio Barça), in one of the most eagerly awaited clásicos of recent years. There are much more than three points at stake here.

The day of reckoning has arrived. For months, Madrid have been chasing on Barça’s heels, and much has been said bout the fact that Barça still have to travel to the Santiago Bernabéu. With Barça already chasing glory in the Champions League semi finals, as well as being in the Cup Final, they also have the chance to as good as sentence the championship race with a win, while even a draw would leave them in a very strong position. But at this stage of the season, Madrid only have the League to concentrate on, and only a win tonight would leave them still in with a serious chance of claiming the title.

A new leaf

Although it was only last year, it seems like Barça’s last visit to the Santiago Bernabéu belonged to a different era. Barça were obliged to offer a guard of honour to Real Madrid, who had just won the title, and were played off the park, 4-1. But so much has changed since then, and now it is Barça that are flying high at the top of the league, and Madrid that have struggled to maintain the pace.

A different Madrid

But although Barça have changed a lot since last season’s meeting , Real Madrid are also a very different outfit to the one that appeared at the Camp Nou earlier this season. Juande Ramos’ side hasn’t lost a single game since that one in Barcelona, and despite plenty of questions being asked about the team, the results could not have been better , and they have narrowed the gap on the Catalans to four points.

Major absentees

Josep Guardiola will have to make do without Rafa Márquez, who was injured in the game with Chelsea. Juande Ramos’s main injury concern is covering for the absence of Guti, who hurt his ankle this week. But Madrid welcome back Robben after several weeks on the sidelines, although Ramos has said that he will not make a decision as to whether he should risk fielding the Dutchman or not until the very last minute.

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