La Liga Week 15: Two Late Strikes Give Barcelona 2-0 Win Over Real Madrid
December 16th 2008 18:55
When Iker Casillas stopped Samuel Eto'o's penalty kick at the 69th minute, you could tell that the defending champions were starting to believe that they could hold off La Liga's current leaders to a draw. Although Barcelona had most of the possession during the game, they couldn't get through an overly physical Madrid side who constantly brought down Lionel Messi to his knees, forcing the Blaugrana to explore other options. When Barcelona did penetrate into Madrid's box, their shots were blocked by either Cannavaro or Metzelder who made a pretty solid tandem in center defense.
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Although Madrid defended well, their offense was a different story. Their minimal amount of possession was wasted away by a midfield unable to make the transition from defense to attack and Drenthe's inexperience prevented them from taking advantage of fast breaks. There's no telling how the game would've turned out had Robben been there, or if Drenthe had capitalized on his breakaway at the 25th minute. It took a set-piece for Barcelona to open the scoring at the 82nd minute when Eto'o deflected Puyol's header past Casillas. Eight minutes later, Messi confirmed Barcelona's win by adding in his tenth of the season.
With that win, Barcelona are now eight points clear of their closest rival and twelve points clear of Real Madrid, leaving many to speculate that the race for the title may already be over. Looking at Madrid's play on Saturday, you have to wonder why they haven't been as intense as they were against Barca since the beginning of the season. For the classico, everyone put their shoulder to the wheel defensively, from the strikers all the way to Casillas, everyone covered everyone. Before that encounter, the defensive midfielder and defenders were usually left to fend off for themselves while the others simply watched the opposition walk into their box. The match against Barcelona was a nice change of pace. Let's hope they'll keep this level of intensity in the oncoming weeks.
Find more videos like this on MySoccerPlace.net - The Real Football Social Network
Find more videos like this on MySoccerPlace.net - The Real Football Social Network
Barcelona's line-up: Victor Valdes; Daniel Alves, Carles Puyol, Rafael Marquez, Eric Abidal; Xavi Hernandez (Seydou Keita, 90th), Yaya Toure, Eidur Gudjohnssen (Sergio Busquets, 62nd); Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto'o (Aleksandr Hleb, 87th), Thierry Henry.
Real Madrid's line-up: Iker Casillas; Michele Salgado, Fabio Cannavaro, Christoph Metzelder, Sergio Ramos; Wesley Sneijder (Miquel Palanca, 35th), Fernando Gago, Guti (Rafael Van der Vaart, 76th), Royston Drenthe; Gonzalo Higuain, Raul.
Eto'o's Penalty
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Although Madrid defended well, their offense was a different story. Their minimal amount of possession was wasted away by a midfield unable to make the transition from defense to attack and Drenthe's inexperience prevented them from taking advantage of fast breaks. There's no telling how the game would've turned out had Robben been there, or if Drenthe had capitalized on his breakaway at the 25th minute. It took a set-piece for Barcelona to open the scoring at the 82nd minute when Eto'o deflected Puyol's header past Casillas. Eight minutes later, Messi confirmed Barcelona's win by adding in his tenth of the season.
With that win, Barcelona are now eight points clear of their closest rival and twelve points clear of Real Madrid, leaving many to speculate that the race for the title may already be over. Looking at Madrid's play on Saturday, you have to wonder why they haven't been as intense as they were against Barca since the beginning of the season. For the classico, everyone put their shoulder to the wheel defensively, from the strikers all the way to Casillas, everyone covered everyone. Before that encounter, the defensive midfielder and defenders were usually left to fend off for themselves while the others simply watched the opposition walk into their box. The match against Barcelona was a nice change of pace. Let's hope they'll keep this level of intensity in the oncoming weeks.
Find more videos like this on MySoccerPlace.net - The Real Football Social Network
Find more videos like this on MySoccerPlace.net - The Real Football Social Network
Barcelona's line-up: Victor Valdes; Daniel Alves, Carles Puyol, Rafael Marquez, Eric Abidal; Xavi Hernandez (Seydou Keita, 90th), Yaya Toure, Eidur Gudjohnssen (Sergio Busquets, 62nd); Lionel Messi, Samuel Eto'o (Aleksandr Hleb, 87th), Thierry Henry.
Real Madrid's line-up: Iker Casillas; Michele Salgado, Fabio Cannavaro, Christoph Metzelder, Sergio Ramos; Wesley Sneijder (Miquel Palanca, 35th), Fernando Gago, Guti (Rafael Van der Vaart, 76th), Royston Drenthe; Gonzalo Higuain, Raul.
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