The first El Clasico of the season ended in a draw as Real Madrid and Barcelona went home with a point apiece. The match despite being a draw lived up to the expectations of fans as two people on the field decided to take the match into their own hands.
The heavy weights share spoils as El Clasico ends in a thrilling draw
Barcelona went into the match with a back four comprising of Dani Alves, Mascherano, Adriano and Jordi Alba. The weakness of the defense was exploited in the 23rd minute when Christiano Ronaldo scored past Valdes after Benzema set him up. 5 minutes later Barcelona made a shocking substitution with young Martin Montoya replacing the experienced Dani Alves at right back. It was unlikely that Ales picked up an injury as it is believed that it was a tactical substitution and one that puzzled everyone.
In the 31st minute Lionel Messi scored for Barcelona to make it 1-1 after Pepe failed to make a clearance after he lost his footing. Minutes before that Madrid had hit that wood work through Karim Benzema after a brilliant counter attack set up by Sami Khedira. At half time the score remained 1-1.
The match looked to be in Barcelona’s hand in the second half as the continued to dominate possession. In the 31st minute Barcelona won a free kick through a Xabi Alonso foul. Alonso was booked earlier in the first half and was a bit lucky not to get a second card as Barcelona players appealed to the referee for a card. Messi stepped up to take the penalty and scored a brilliant curling one into the top corner. This is the second time this season that he has scored past the best goal keeper in the world. Madrid seemed to have lost their footing a bit. After a couple of minute Madrid won a corner and Ozil took it. Ronaldo attempted to do a bicycle kick when the ball was moving fast in a perpendicular direction and went to the ground landing on his shoulder. He hurt his shoulder but continued to play. In the 66th minute Ronaldo scored the equalizer after Ozil set him up to make the match 2-2. In the remaining minutes Barcelona hit the post once through Martin Montoya. Kaka made a cameo appearance in the match for Madrid.
In the end the score was Messi 2 – Ronaldo 2. Madrid coach Jose Mourinho had one thing to say after the pre match press conference. “I think both Messi and Ronaldo are exceptional players and they cannot be compared”. The fans might continue debating about who is the best.
Barcelona are now atop the table with 19 points and drew their first match this season. The lead the table with a superior goal difference over Atletico Madrid. Real Madrid are still 8 points behind the league toppers. With only 7 matches gone we can say it’s still too early to draw conclusions, but with La Liga you never know.
Tags: Barcelona, El Clasico, La Liga, Lionel Messi, Real Madrid, Ronaldo, Spanish La Liga
