El Classico - Barca vs Real Madrid

Engaging contest. End-to-End stuff but the better team of the nite took the spoils.

Barca seemed the hungrier of the 2 sides with Captain Puyol in outstanding form. Unbelievable commitment and determination - saved Barca several times this morning with his last-ditch tackles.

Alonso & Kaka' looks out-of-sorts in this Madrid side. There is virtually no shape in the mid-field and is a mis-mash of superstars.

Kaka' was clearly not enjoying his football.

Alonso's usually crisp style of passing was non-existant.

Sheer waste of talent.

sylus tung wrote:

Alonso's usually crisp style of passing was non-existant.

Sheer waste of talent.

Yeah XA has been transformed from Liverpool playmaker to RM midfield destroyer. Arbeloa look quite good though.

I would say that with Barca's passing talents, they do need a big man up front like Ibra to give a different dimension of attacks..

From what I saw in the match, it was pretty one sided in the first half where Barca played their way by their crisp passing, but couldn't really find much threat in front of the goal. But when Ibra was introduced in the second half, the Madrid defense couldn't really cope with the aerial threats that Barca employed..

maybe that's the reason why barcelona bought him.he's big,tall,skillful.maybe that's why madrid can't handle such world class player..

Excellent volley goal from the big guy. Only other person is Drogba who can score beauties like this at such ease.

real's defence dosent have the quality to back up their players going forward. that will prove to be their demise. If u take casilas out of the picture they are as good as gone i would say. I would say Messi outshined Ronaldo big time.

@qsp1985, could not have summed it up better. In a nutshell, all attack and no decent defense makes Perez a dull man.

Rome was not built in 1 day. getting all star players does not mean they would provide great performance. its all bout teamwork and understanding between each other. that's how barca player outplayed RM, they understand, pass around, overlap each other. thats the beauty of football. just love barca style of play similar case to arsenal. I think man of the match is Casilas. he helped RM keeping out the shoots of all games if u look closely.

maybe perez shouldn't continue his "Galacticos" project part 2...but at least this team is better than the previous "Galacticos".scored more goals.spend more money than last time.

qsp1985 wrote:

real's defence dosent have the quality to back up their players going forward. that will prove to be their demise. If u take casilas out of the picture they are as good as gone i would say. I would say Messi outshined Ronaldo big time.

madrid are missing the final piece of the Galacticos... JOHN TERRY...

It's a problem with the English players unfortunately.

JT might get more $$$ plying his trade in Spain (due to taxation reasons) but English players are generally technically not as gifted as their European counterparts (controversial statement here). As such, many of them fear crossing the English channel into unknown territory.

Pop Quiz - How many young and (possibly) talented English players since Beckham have actually moved on to play in other European leagues?

I can only think of three:

Darius Vassell in Turkey (Ankaragücü)
Jermaine Pennant in Spain (Zaragoza)
Matt Derbyshire in Greece (Olympiakos)

faizulazlan wrote:

madrid are missing the final piece of the Galacticos... JOHN TERRY...

Judging by recent el classico, it seems Barca is on +ve mood to be the champion again. I feel sorry for Real

To me, there is nothing special more about Barca.. cause they always win!!!

El Clasico of Nov. 30, 2010...

This is what Mike Yokhin has to say after Barca trashed Real 5-0 @ Nou Camp.


Iker Casillas – Amazingly photogenic with hands crossed on his chest, looking at his team-mates with admiration. There is no doubt Sara Carbonero told him to pose for the cameras that way, before going to cheer for Barcelona with her Atletico-crazy family.

Sergio Ramos – The first ever player to be sent off in stoppage time twice in the same week. Jerzy Dudek didn’t need to give him instructions this time. The brave right back knew himself what he had to do to make history.

Ricardo Carvalho – Absolutely brilliant in getting Lionel Messi booked. His elbow was up so immaculately that he didn’t get into trouble himself, but still made the Argentinian fall to the ground. One must say Carvalho’s height is perfect for such a dream move.

Pepe – By far the best Portuguese on show, even taking the bench into consideration. He was at fault for Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s winner last year, but learned his lesson, and the Swede was simply nowhere to be seen this time.

Marcelo – The only Real player to have an assist in the game, superbly setting up Xavi. He was also close to scoring himself, but Pedro outpaced him for the ball on the second goal.

Sami Khedira – Sported a fantastic multicolored shirt in the second half, with half of his back deep yellow. There is no doubt Adidas designers took notice, and he is up for a huge bonus from them.

Xabi Alonso – By far the best Number 14 on the field, completely outplaying former Liverpool team-mate Javier Mascherano. And we all know only too well what it means to wear such a magic number at Camp Nou!

Mesut Oezil – Came to learn from Xavi and Andres Iniesta, and was so studious and diligent that Mourinho was impressed and chose to let him have a better look from the bench in the second half, providing the German with his favourite notebook and a few pens.

Angel Di Maria – Such a nice lad! His former side Benfica got thrashed 5-0 in Portugal’s Clasico by Porto this month, and compassionate as he is, Di Maria felt he simply must do the same, so that his old friends don’t suffer alone.

Cristiano Ronaldo – Pushing Pep Guardiola was a stroke of genius. CR7’s actions completely changed the game’s momentum for a few minutes. With all the fists flying around, Barcelona couldn’t even manage a single pass for a while. He also expertly avoided the heavy tackle by the onrushing Victor Valdes.

Karim Benzema – Was so good that Mourinho allowed him to play the full 90 minutes for the first time in La Liga this season. He even managed to be caught on camera at least once in each half. There is no doubt the France squad sorely missed him in South Africa, since he showed the world how to go on strike when it matters most.

skill is temporary, but class is permanent.

xavi + iniesta again proved that they're the best in the world at the moment.
i believe it can be said they're the best midfield combination for this era actually.

i watched the game 90 mins although im working the next morning. every min i enjoyed watching soccer as Barca nvr failed to impress audience with their perfect passing and team play. i would say the best team of the century. i could not see any single flaw or weak players in the whole Barca squad. they played with their heart and soul and nvr played any dirty tricks or harsh tackles on opponents. xavi and iniesta- best midfielders combination...