Last night Barcelona proved that they are still the best team in the world .Last night in the first leg of Spanish super cup Barcelona not impressively but well deservedly defeated Real Madrid 3-2 .The match between Barcelona and Real Madrid as expected was full of suspense and irony .
Barcelona scored three goals through Pedro ,Messi and Xavi while Real Madrid grabbed their two crucial away goals through C.Ronaldo and Di Maria.The game was an interesting one but as usual was dominated by Barcelona .
Surprisingly Real Madrid opened the scoring through C-Ronaldo, when on a corner of Ozil, Ronaldo blasted a fantastic header into the Victor Valdes goal.Barcelona in response equalised through Pedro when a beautiful through ball was provided to him to the right and he dribbled it into the box and laid a stunning low drive pass Iker Casillas.
Barcelona did not remain quite after the equalizer .Just few minutes after the equalizer Sergio Remos laid a furious tackle on Iniesta in the box ,which rewarded Barcelona a penalty and Messi made no mistake in making the score line 2-1.Soon after the second ,Barcelona scored their third through Xavi . Iniesta played a wonderful through pass to Xavi in the box and Xavi made no mistake in putting the ball to the back of the net .
Lastly Real Madrid scored their all important second goal through Di Maria because this goal has gave them a life line in the tie .On a back pass to valdes ,instead of making a clearance ,he tried to deceive Di Maria but failed and lost the ball to Di Maria in front of the goal.
Player Ratings
These players ratings are from 10
Victor Valdes 5
Although the first goal was the fault of his defenders but in the whole game he was a dull figure .He was not comfortable with the in coming Diagonal balls of Real Madrid in the box and was struggling against them.Real Madrid numerous of times tested him on the counters but his foolish mistake against Di-Maria certainly will cost Barcelona .
Messi 7
Spurned the best two chances of the first half, failing to find the target from good positions. Was able to enjoy more freedom on the ball after the break, and buried the penalty that put Barca up for good.
Pedro 8
Was well active in all the attacks of Barcelona , continuously tested the defenders of Real Madrid but whenever he tried to come of his shell many white shirts were there to block him . He took his goal well though, sprinting away from Coentrao and finding the bottom corner, despite suspicions of offside.
Gerard Pique 7
As a defender read the game extremely well ,was sharp and attentive but lost his pace at the end of the game and allowed some player to dribble pass him.
Alex Sanchez 5
Although his pace was a continuous threat for Real Madrid but his bad habit of falling down in the box under minimal contact was irritating .He also did not fascinate much and was an average player on the field
Xavi 8
Found it a bit difficult to manufacture space in the first-half, and was restricted to a few pot-shots on goal. His passing expertise was more on show in the second half though, as he exploited the increased gaps in midfield well. Scored Barcelona’s third with a tidy finish from a wonderful Iniesta feed.
Andrés Iniesta Luján 10
Probably was the best player on the field .He was continuous threat for Real Madrid,his nibble footwork,his long runs and his dribbling ability really differentiated him from the rest .He also created the last two goals of Barcelona and truly deserves to be the man of the match .
Iker Casillas 7
Made some crucial saves which kept his side in the match but will be disappointed to concede three gaols .
Raúl Albiol Tortajada 5
Put in a willing effort at the back, but his clumsiness betrayed his enthusiasm as he was guilty of a few ungainly fouls. Deservedly booked in the second half for a challenge on Busquets.
Sergio Ramos 4
In the first half Sergio Ramos was more than amazing .He did not allow anybody to went pass him but we are all aware with recklessness of Ramos .He without any reason laid a foolish tackle on Ineista in the second half which probably took the game away from Real Madrid .
Mesut Özil 6
It was his corner that gave Real Madrid their opening goal but games such as this, where defence becomes a priority, never suit Ozil well. His first half was one to forget, but as Madrid’s tactics changed in the second period, so, ever so slightly, did his influence.
Ronaldo 8
Did not find any type of ball in the first half and was completely dull and notorious on the field but maintained his track record of scoring against Barcelona.
Á. di María 9
Quickly made an impact on the game after being substituted and quickly pounced on Valdes’ moment of weakness, and secured a potentially priceless goal for his side heading into the second leg.
Gonzalo Higuaín 7
Came on for the last half-hour and looked lively at times in his appearance.
Top scorers of the Game
| Player | Goals | Penalties |
|---|---|---|
| Lionel Messi | 1 | 1 |
| Xavi | 1 | 0 |
| Ronaldo | 1 | 0 |
| Á. di María | 1 | 0 |
| Pedro | 1 | 0 |
Mangers Reactions
Jose Mourinho after the match came for the post match press conference where he told that
“I didn’t enjoy the first half. Sometimes you play a way you don’t want to. The opponent has the ability to change the game plan you have and Barcelona did that in the first half. They pressed well and didn’t let us play. We defended well and we occupied defensive positions, but Barcelona was better. It might appear as though it was a defensive plan, but it wasn’t and we showed that in the second half, where we played completely differently”.
Whereas Tito thinks that the current Barcelona squad is legendary and is undisputed at the moment
“It’s good that we won but we could have ended the match with a larger margin of victory yet, in the end, the result was pretty tight.”
“I’m sticking with the [observation] that we played a good game. We dominated and we created chances to score [but] I think Madrid’s two goals were scored at the right time [for them].”
“We’ll go to the Bernabeu to fight for the title.”
Enjoy the Goals of the game
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