The big talk in La Liga last weekend was the first clasico of the season. After the humiliating 6-2 defeat from last season, Real Madrid had a great motive for revenge. However, despite playing well, the merengues couldn't solve Victor Valdes and most notably Carles Puyol who had a terrific game in defense, blocking several goal-bound shots with timely tackles. At the other end, Barcelona only needed one true opportunity to put the ball past Casillas. Indeed, five minutes after stepping onto the pitch, Zlatan Ibrahimovic gave the winning goal to the blaugrana with a scrumptious volley on Dani Alves' first successful cross of the game.
Hope was restored for the Galacticos when Sergio Busquet was sent off after his second yellow card but Barcelona continued to play as if nothing had changed. Pellegrini's decision to sacrifice a defender for another forward prompted Guardiola to enter Yaya Toure in the heart of the midfield but in the end, the change didn't seem to matter much as Lassana Diarra was also sent off for a second yellow card.
Although Madrid lost the game, the could leave the pitch with their head held high this time around. They played well enough to worry the Camp Nou faithful but simply couldn't capitalize on their opportunities. We'll see how it goes next time around. In the meantime, here are the full results of last weekend's games.
Just one game to in the Champions League group stage. While some teams were already qualified in Matchday 4, this week's games clarified the situation in some groups while one group is still wide open. Here are the full results.
- Group A -
With Bordeaux's victory over Juventus, Bayern Munich still have a chance for second place as they defeated Maccabi Haifa 1-0. Juventus only need a draw in the final game (against Bayern) to ensure their qualification.
Since Manchester United are already through to the next, second place is up to grabs as CSKA and Wolfsburg are sitting with an equal number of points. Wolfsburg only have themselves to blame for this situation after they let CSKA come back in the second half of Wednesday's game.
Cristiano Ronaldo finally came back from injury this week (just in time for the clasico) as he stepped off the bench in Madrid's win over Zurich. Behind them, Milan and Marseille fought to a 1-1 draw which keeps both team in the running for second place. First place is also up for grabs as Milan is only two points behind Madrid.
Nothing to report in this group since Porto and Chelsea are both qualified for the next stage.
FC Porto Chelsea: 0-1
APOEL FC Atletico de Madrid: 1-1
- Group E -
How far have the mighty fallen? Liverpool, winner in 2005 and a regular fixture in the semi-finals, have been kicked out of the Champions League after five games and will continue their continental quest in the Europa League. Their win against Debreceni on Tuesday was simply too little too late. With the Premier League title getting further and further away, Liverpool will have to fight for a Top Four finish in the Premiership.
Inter Milan had the chance to deliver a crushing blow to the defending champions on Tuesday. Instead, fans got to see the same Inter Milan who choked against Manchester United last year. Indeed, the Nerazzurri came out flat against Barcelona, letting them waltz to a 2-0 lead before half-time. The usually-vibrant Eto'o was invisible against his former teammates. The Italians seemed to be completely absent in midfield where Xavi, Busquets and Iniesta laid down the law as to who was in control. In the other game, Dynamo Kyiv were held to a draw against Rubin Kazan. Both results leave things wide open in this group as no team have ensured their qualification.
An unknown club from Romania, Unirea Urziceni have played the spoilsport in this group, beating both Rangers and Sevilla. The result doesn't affect the Spanish club much since they're through, but Stuttgart will have to beat Urziceni if they any hopes of going through to the knock-out stage.
Arsenal will easily finish at the top of this group. The question is who will be second as Standard de Liege are three points behind Olympiacos and could steal second place if the Gunners thrash the Greeks in the final match.
One week before the 'Clasico,' Real Madrid bounced to first place thanks to a 1-0 win over Santander while Barcelona struggling with a rash of injuries could only draw 1-1 against Athletic Bilbao and slipped to second place.
Nothing new to report this week in La Liga. Real Madrid won the Madrid derby but Barcelona's victory against Mallorca keeps the Galacticos in second place, one point behind the blaugrana.
Several teams booked their tickets to the next round this week but two superpowers now have their backs to the wall as the end of the group stage draws near.
Real Madrid got back to their winning ways last weekend thanks to a great performance by Higuain who scored both goals in Madrid's 2-0 victory over Getafe. Meanwhile Barcelona let a win slip away as they drew 1-1 against Osasuna. The full results follow.
Has Manuel Pellegrini already lost his team? After Milan's stunning victory last week at the Bernabeu, Real Madrid looked even worse on Saturday where they ended with a 0-0 draw against Sporting de Gijon. After yesterday's debacle against Alcorcon, Pellegrini is on the hot seat will look for better performances from his team this weekend as well as next week. Here are the full results along with video highlights.
It was an interesting round of the Champions League this week as several results went against most experts' predictions. Several teams who were expected to be punching bags in their respective groups are surprisingly pulling great results out of thin air, making some groups' outcome difficult to judge even after three games.
Real Madrid got back to their winning ways with a convincing victory over Valladolid over the weekend. The win brings them one point closer to Barcelona who fought tooth and nail to a 0-0 draw against Valencia. At the bottom of the table, Villarreal and Atletico Madrid are continuing their downward spiral as both teams lost to lesser clubs (on paper). The full results follow.
Real Madrid suffered their setback of the season on Sunday: a 2-1 loss against Sevilla. Despite an excellent performance by Casillas, the Galacticos couldn't edge out Sevilla and often lacked creativity in attack. Although the team is filled with superstars, the absence of both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lassana Diarra probably played a major part in the team's demise. They may not be so invincible after all. As for Barcelona, Almeria made it tough for them but they managed to get the three points which put them alone at the top. Here are the full results.
After two games played, we're getting a better picture of the standings in the Champions League group stage. While some powerhouses are making a good case for themselves (Barcelona, Real Madrid, Manchester United), others (Liverpool, Inter, Milan) are finding the task more difficult and should kick it up a notch in Matchday 3.
Obviously, this year's title race in la Liga will be between defending champions Barcelona and runner-ups Real Madrid. After three weeks, both teams are steamrolling their opponents in their bid to outdo each other. Both Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo scored a double last weekend, and that individual race will be interesting to follow as the season goes on.
So, the Inter Milan-Barcelona game wasn't as exciting as I anticipated so I won't be posting an individual recap of that game but read on for my thoughts on Day 1. There are several games for which I didn't find any highlights. Video sites are quick to take off links these days, so there's not much I can do about that.