Liveblog: Barcelona v Real Madrid - El Clasico!!!

By: Steve | December 23rd, 2007

Hala Madrid! Good news, Madridistas! Your humble liveblogger is on the case for this monumental clash between La Liga titans Barcelona and our beloved Real Madrid. In the UK, the match will be broadcast at 6pm GMT on Sky Sports 3 for the first half and then on Sky Sports 1 for the second half. Strange folk, these Sky TV people…

Check out Corey’s preview of El Clasico for his take on this battle between the top two teams of La Liga this season. Real goes into the match up by 4 points, and assure themselves no matter the result of staying atop the Liga table going into the Christmas break. By how much is what this match will determine.

I anticipate Ronaldinho to be on the bench today, and for Real to start with Guti and Baptista in the centre of midfield, but that’s just me… we’ll find out real soon what’s gonna happen! Stay tuned for the liveblog!

PREGAME: Ok, the Sky Sports commentators are saying that Deco and Ronaldinho are in the squad, and Gudjohnsen is out… hardly rocket science, but with an attack spearheaded by the trident of Eto’o, Henry and Ronaldinho, Barca have to be favoured at home. Let’s see if Real can take the fight to them as they did at the Camp Nou last season.
PREGAME: Guti is confirmed to be not in the starting lineup.
PREGAME: All-time stats between the two teams… 154 games played, 66 wins for Real, 30 draws, 58 wins for Barca…
PREGAME: Ok, Barca starts Valdes, Puyol, Marquez, Milito, Abidal, AXavi, Toure, Deco, Iniesta, Eto’o and Ronaldinho. Henry on the bench. Wow.
PREGAME: Casillas, Ramos, Cannavaro, Pepe, Heinze, Diarra, Baptista, Sneijder, Raul, Robinho, and Ruud for Real.
2min: First off, things are a bit chippy, though Diarra and Eto’o seem chummy…
4min: Real look decent on the ball at the start of the match, but Barca’s defense are doing well to anticipate passes, cutting off that last pass into the box…
5min: Baptista’s lost the ball twice in the Barcelona half trying to control airborne passes… c’mon man, get on that!
6min: First time Barca tries to spring Ronaldinho on the left of their midfield, against Sergio Ramos… and the errant pass goes straight out of bounds.
8min: OHHH! Ruud latches onto a pass, offside, but his shot across the goal barely misses the net. Close.
9min: And now Ronaldinho goes offside…
10min: Real aren’t getting much space to run onto their passes, or after collecting them. Barca seem to be playing a very Premiership-type of chasing defense, pressuring every pass and ballcarrier…
12min: Ooh, Milito is lucky not to get a yellow for a foul on Robinho… free kick for Madrid, about 35 yards out, i’d say…
12min: Oh! Pepe gets good contact on his header from Sneijder’s free kick, but Valdes does well diving to his left to stop the ball…
13min: Madrid are doing well to stop Barca’s attack at the edge of the box… Ramos does well to tackle the ball away from Eto’o…
14min: Barca pressuring well now, getting a corner kick… goes short and it’s cleared by Real.
18min: Real are losing possession when entering the Barca half by some poor cross-field passes… they should stick to easier passes, going through a central midfielder first instead of going to the other side in one go…
20min: And Real seem to be ok passing the ball around the midfield, but getting that one incisive pass for a chance on goal is lacking… this is where we miss Guti.
22min: I think Heinze is bordering on lucky, not to get booked for dissent, but he is a better choice than Marcelo in this match… his physicality and more defensive awareness will do better for Real than Marcelo’s attacking prowess…
24min: No real chances for either side as of yet, though I’d say that Real’s half chance from Ruud has been the best one thus far…
26min: Yaya Toure looks like the Barca version of Diarra… maybe not quite at the same level yet, but still definitely the midfield enforcer type.
27min: Real’s playing a small midfield, defending the back four quite high up, but the forwards just a bit past the halfway line…
27min: Oooh, Real breaks out, Cannavaro tackling well and bringing the ball to midfield, and then Puyol gets a yellow card for hacking down Robinho advancing up the left flank…
30min: Casillas saves Real’s bacon as he dives in to take the ball away from Eto’o… Real look really disorganized in their own box… Iniesta earns a corner, but Real clears…
33min: Pepe looks like he needs work on the ball… he’s doing well clearing the ball away from danger, and his heading is good, but his passing leaves a lot to be desired…
35min: Casillas! Iniesta breaks down the defense and crosses for Ronaldinho who blasts it point-blank that Casillas does well to parry away… the whistle goes for a foul before Barca can follow up.
37min: GOAL!!! Real counterattacks, with great touch passing between Baptista and Ruud, and Baptista finishes it, lashing it into the far top corner. What a goal! Barcelona 0-1 Real Madrid.
41min: Barca are still applying good pressure, but they have to be wary about giving up another counterattack and going down 2 goals before halftime…
43min: Barca leads possession 56% to 44%, as it seems…
43min: The commentators are taking Ronaldinho to task for diving in the box after a Cannavaro tackle…
44min: Casillas makes a great grab off a Barca corner in traffic, 2 attackers right next to him… Real counters, but Robinho’s shot is easily saved by Valdes.
45min: Casillas is playing out of his mind now… making great stops and coming out of his goal when he needs to…
45+2min: What?!? Sergio Ramos gets booked for a foul that hardly looked like it warranted a free kick, let alone a yellow card…
45+3min: And the first half is over… 1-0 for Real going into the break. Wow.
HALFTIME: A great result so far for Real, putting Barca’s 34-match home undefeated streak in jeopardy…
HALFTIME: I’m hard-pressed to find fault with the team right now, considering Barca’s attack has the ability to make anyone look foolish… Madrid have done reasonably well to clear Casillas’ box of imminent danger, and Casillas has been extra razor-sharp tonight.
HALFTIME: If anything, i’d say that Real need to sharpen up their passing when attacking in the Barcelona half… Valdes didn’t have much to worry about in the last 20 minutes of the first half, save that one sensational attack by Baptista and Ruud.
HALFTIME: Robinho and Sneijder, and a little less so with Baptista, need to do better maintaining possession and making crisper passes.
HALFTIME: But good work so far from Ruud, and workman-like running from Raul as always… I don’t foresee any halftime changes for Real, maybe a defensive one later if Real are still leading. It would be great to take 3 points from this match and go up 7 points on Barca into the Christmas break.
HALFTIME: I think Rijkaard can’t afford to lose to Real in the Camp Nou, so i’d expect Henry or Bojan Krkic soon after halftime, if not right at the start of the second half. We’ll see though… hopefully Real can keep up their defensive shape, it’s holding up decently.
47min: crap… Real counterattacks, and Ruud crosses in behind his target, allowing Puyol an easy clearance. Real’s passing in the attacking third really needs to get better.
49min: again, another counterattack stopped by a wayward pass… argh, so frustrating!
51min: Barca’s starting to look a bit tight defensively… Real’s getting loads of space to move into, probably because Barca’s looking so hard for the equalizer…
52min: Eto’o turns and shoots from 23 yards out and misses to Casillas’ right…
53min: Barca still dominating possession, but Real is maintaining good defensive shape, and their counterattacks are definitely keeping Barca on the back foot.
54min: Iniesta blasts one right at Casillas who saves easily…
55min: Gio and Bojan are warming up for Barca…
56min: Ahhh! Barca are losing their defensive shape during Real’s counterattacks… and Real lose 2 glorious opportunities as Valdes makes a hash out of coming out to play the attackers… Robinho does elaborate on a tackle though, and he’s probably lucky not to get booked for diving… but he did well to get Valdes out of position…
58min: Deco goes off for Giovani dos Santos…
59min: Ronaldinho and Robinho are just terrible for trying to draw penalties at the slightest of contact inside the penalty areas.
60min: Ooh, Ruud is just offside on another Real counter. Man, Barca is not looking themselves in the back…
62min: Wow, another Real counterattack with Baptista leading the charge… Ruud doesn’t seem like he could decide between a straight shot or a cross… but Real is doing really well keeping Barca honest at the back.
63min: You know what’s strangely been missing in this match, compared to other Real matches? Sergio Ramos bombing up the right wing. He’s been almost exclusively staying back behind the halfway line.
64min: And just when i say that, Real slows down their attack and gets 7 players ahead of the halfway line, including Ramos…
67min: Puyol, who hasn’t looked himself and is playing out of position at rightback tonight, goes down after being kicked in the shins by Raul… but really, Raul looks like he couldn’t avoid it, and Puyol stepped right in with both feet into his line…
67min: Thierry Henry is warming up now…
69min: Milito gets a yellow card for fouling Baptista… and now there’s some hijinks over the spot of the free kick. Sneijder to take it, i think, though Baptista is also there… Sneijder takes it and sends it over the crossbar…
72min: Real is doing better now to retain possession… they’re getting a load of throw-ins in the Barca half…
75min: Real passing the ball around much better now, but it’s smacks a bit of Arsenal… nice passing in the attacking half, dancing around the outsides, but not able to get some movement inside…
76min: Argh, Real had numbers but a couple heavy touches leads to turning the ball over. Rage!
77min: Puyol comes off for Zambrotta… wow, still no Henry.
78min: Gago looks like he’s coming on.
79min: Ooh, an unforced error, as they say in tennis, as Barca passes themselves out of bounds.
79min: Sneijder goes off for Gago.
81min: Real counterattacks after Iniesta goes looking for a penalty… but Real’s passing in the box is again horrid.
81min: Looks like Bojan will get the call for Barca as the last sub…
82min: Wow, Ronaldinho really looks like he’s lost something… he’s not able to dance through the Real defense at all.
82min: Bojan Krkic on for Xavi.
84min: Casillas can’t hang on to Bojan’s shot and Pepe puts it out for a corner…
84min: Toure spins and fires a ping-ponging corner, but can’t get it on target…
85min: Robben comes on for Robinho.
87min: Real playing decently on the attack… Robben’s first touch absolutely shakes Zambrotta out of his boots, but he lays it off to Baptista who whiffs on his left foot…
88min: Ramos checks Iniesta to the ground, for a free kick to Casillas’ right… and he’s getting subbed off for Miguel Torres.
89min: Ooh! Pepe somehow gets in the way of a shot and deflects it away from goal. For all his crappy passes, he’s playing amazing defensively.
90min: Ouch, 4 minutes of extra time…
90+2min: The commentators are countering Corey’s take on Raul and Ruud… maybe not spectacular play from the two forwards, but they’re doing loads of running and keeping Barca’s defense back…
90+2min: Pepe makes a GREAT tackle on Iniesta’s attempted cross…
90+3min: Oh, Valdes almost gets caught out of position, but he manages to keep the ball out from the short chip from Ruud…
90+3min: And there’s the whistle! Seems like a minute early, but Real pulls it out! A glorious 1-0 away win in the Camp Nou, going 7 points up in the Liga table! SWEET!
POSTGAME: A great win for Real Madrid, stopping Barca’s perfect home record this season, and putting loads of breathing space between them and the second place Catalans.
POSTGAME: Not the best match from Real’s forwards, but Baptista continues his renaissance this season, and Pepe puts on a tour-de-force performance, at least defensively…
POSTGAME: The result leaves Barcelona still in second on 34 points, but Real sit atop the table on 41 points. After this weekend’s matches, Espanyol are up to third on 33 points, Villarreal are fourth on 32 points and Atletico are fifth on 31 points. It drops off a bit into the mid-to-low 20’s, with Valencia and Sevilla in that middle group… or should I say middling?
POSTGAME: For someone who looked like he was on his way out, and wasn’t even sure if he’d be back here in the preseason, Baptista has become indispensable to the side. He might not have Guti’s passing (who does?), but his all-around skills are really shining through.
POSTGAME: Ok, let’s go to individual player ratings… Casillas was outstanding, perhaps even moreso than usual. Only mistake came late in the second half, when he couldn’t hang onto Bojan’s kick from outside the box, but Pepe headed it out of harm’s way.
POSTGAME: Sergio Ramos was really good tonight, though i think he picked up a knock sometime in the first half. He gutted it out, playing a strong defensive match, and not gambling too much on the attack. Cannavaro was good, though his box-out technique where he does the Charles Barkley to separate the ball from his mark is starting to get called a lot more, and commenter Isaiah picked up on that. Pepe played out of his mind, clearing loads of crosses and he was just in the right place in the right time for almost everything. He needs more work on his passing but what a show in this biggest of matches. Heinze, on the other hand, was caught out of position a few times in the first half, but advanced far less in the second half, probably after Schuster told him to stop doing that. Still, decent work on the left for the Argentine.
POSTGAME: Diarra was pretty solid in the middle of the midfield, playing Barca attackers just long enough to get his back four set. No complaints from me there. Sneijder was a bit disappointing… he didn’t play a really bad match or anything, but his technique on the ball is a bit lacking. He gives away the ball too much for my liking. Baptista was unbelievable, scoring the first and only goal on a fantastic counterattack, but he was also very dangerous throughout the rest of the match, with his presence in the forward half. Robinho was also pretty good, though not as prominent as he’s been of late. But he didn’t give away possession much and his runs up the left were menacing to Puyol.
POSTGAME: Raul and Ruud both played decently, in my opinion. Corey disagrees, but I think they played well enough to justify staying on. Ruud’s touch was a bit lacking all night, save his pass to Baptista on the latter’s goal, but he did well to get into scoring positions even if he couldn’t take advantage. That alone makes him better than Saviola who never seems to be in the right place. Captain Raul ran himself ragged, though he did seem rather anonymous… but he combined well with Ruud to keep Barca busy in the back and not allowing them to get comfortable when attacking.
POSTGAME: Gago was good, slowing down Real’s counterattacks to burn time off the clock, and his passing was decent. Robben didn’t do much in his short time on the pitch, though his first time into the Barca box resulted in a great move on Zambrotta to create loads of space, but he laid it off instead of shooting. That’s what his lack of confidence in playing time will do. Torres came on late for Ramos and acquitted himself well under those last few minutes of Barca’s pressure.
POSTGAME: Man of the match… tough for me to decide between Casillas and Baptista. Co-winners then, shall we?
POSTGAME: Not that I like to agree with Ramon Calderon, but it’s really tough to see how an addition would make it into Real’s starting XI… I think Baptista has definitely earned himself a starting spot from here on in, and he’ll probably be moved back when Diarra goes off to the African Nations Cup, bringing Guti back on, though I’m sure Gago will get some PT too.
POSTGAME: Getting Robben back into full match form would be great, I’m tired of seeing Sneijder lose the ball and sending free kicks anywhere but on target.
POSTGAME: If anything, they could improve the attack, so getting someone like David Villa would be great to spell Ruud or Raul when they’re off their A-game like tonight. Saviola is not a viable option, and Soldado is clearly not going to get any chances from Schuster.
POSTGAME: Anyways, a fantastic win for Los Merengues, one for the history books, and a great present for Madridistas around the world. That’s it for me, feel free to continue commenting!