Barcelona Vs. Real Madrid: Blaugrana Win First Leg 3-2

Barcelona Vs. Real Madrid, 2012 Spanish Super Cup: Final Score, Blaugrana Takes 3-2 Lead To Second Leg

Real Madrid have two away goals and a chance to turn around this result in the second leg of the Spanish Super Cup, but Barcelona will be heading into Wednesday's match as favorites to lift the trophy. Los Blancos jumped out to a 1-0 lead, but Barca stormed back to go ahead 3-1. They appeared to be coasting to a two-goal victory before Victor Valdes gifted Madrid a goal, and the visitors will be heading back to the Santiago Bernabeu feeling like they have an excellent chance to win the cup after their 3-2 loss at Camp Nou.

Lionel Messi had a very solid game, but was not at his best. He had two poor misses in a first half which was reminiscent of the second half of the last season, when Barcelona regularly dominated but inexplicably failed to score. Messi's great chances came in the 18th and 29th minutes, and he pulled both shots wide when he had a clear shooting lane.

The end of the second half featured a penalty shout for Alexis Sanchez, though no one made very much of it. Sergio Ramos appeared to make contact with Sanchez on the edge of the box, but Sanchez appeared to embellish the contact and no penalty was given. Eventually, Ramos' errors would catch up with him and Madrid.

Raul Albiol, Madrid's replacement in defense for the injured Pepe, had an absolutely terrible first half filled with aggressive fouls. Incredibly, he did not see his first yellow card until the 51st minute, then toned down his aggression significantly. It was about that time that Barcelona started playing much better and looking much more comfortable with their attacking movement.

However, for all of Barcelona's pretty play and domination of possession, they couldn't produce a goal in the early going. Madrid did very little going forward throughout the match, but they got on the board first with a great set piece routine, finished off by Cristiano Ronaldo in the 55th minute. Mesut Özil provided the assist with a chipped cross into the box after the corner, and Ronaldo rose above the Barcelona defense to head the ball past Valdes.

They weren't able to celebrate their lead for very long. It took less than two minutes for Barcelona to find the equalizer, opening up the match considerably. With an uncharacteristic pinpoint long ball, Javier Mascherano set up the Blaugrana's first goal, hitting a perfect pass. Pedro picked it up and created a shot for himself with a perfect first touch, then placed the ball by Iker Casillas to tie up the score at 1-1.

For the next 13 minutes, the match was wide open with half-chances on both sides, but Ramos managed to end any chance of his side taking a win back to Madrid. In the 69th minute, he hauled down Andres Iniesta in the box and the referee correctly pointed to the spot. Messi stepped up and buried the penalty, putting Barcelona ahead.

The Blaugrana extended their lead in the 78th minute on a very typical Barcelona passing move, with Iniesta setting up Xavi for the goal. Iniesta timed his pass perfectly and somehow snuck a pass through two Madrid defenders, finding Xavi who barely stayed onside on his run. He finished calmly, extending Barcelona's lead

With a two-goal lead, the Blaugrana would have gone into Wednesday's second leg as heavy favorites to win the Super Cup, but Valdes gave Madrid a way back into the tie. He inexplicably gave the ball away to Angel Di Maria while dwelling on the ball in his own penalty area, and after Valdes failed multiple times to win the ball back, Di Maria scored from inside the six-yard box.

Barcelona can be pleased with their performance, but they've left themselves more work in the second leg than they should have had. If it wasn't for Valdes' error, this tie would be close to wrapped up. Instead, Barcelona are only very slight favorites.

You can find our previous coverage in our Barcelona vs. Real Madrid, 2012 Spanish Super Cup StoryStream. For more on the Blaugrana, head over to FC Barcelona blog Barca Blaugranes. For more on Los Blancos, check out Real Madrid blog Managing Madrid.

Barcelona Vs. Real Madrid, 2012 Spanish Super Cup: Victor Valdes Gifts Di Maria Goal

Victor Valdes might want to pretend the 85th minute didn't happen because he just handed Real Madrid a goal and while he will almost certainly complain about the referee on the play, it was 100% his fault. He allowed Angel di Maria to take the ball off his foot and then knock it into the open net, cutting Barcelona's lead to 3-2 in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup.

Simply put, Valdes took too many touches in front of his own goal. di Maria pressured him as soon as he got the back pass and Valdes should have just booted it quickly. While there was some contact, it was nothing that merited a foul even if Valdes is a goalkeeper. He was playing the ball on the ground like any other player and Valdes just embellished when he realized he was going to lose the ball, hoping for the referee to bail him out. The referee didn't and di Maria had a wide open net to shoot into. He didn't miss.

Barcelona will still probably hold on to win this match, but besides there just being a one-goal difference for the return, Real Madrid now has two away goals. With how even these two teams are, that could end up being the difference in the Super Cup.

Follow live coverage in our Madrid vs. Barcelona, 2012 Spanish Super Cup StoryStream. For more on the Blaugrana, head over to FC Barcelona blog Barca Blaugranes. For more on Los Blancos, check out Real Madrid blog Managing Madrid.

Barcelona Vs. Real Madrid, 2012 Spanish Super Cup: Iniesta Brilliance And A Xavi Goal

Andres Iniesta to Xavi Hernandez is about as good of a combination as you can find in world football and the two have combined once again, this time to deliver Barcelona a goal that should seal a first leg win in the Spanish Super Cup. The goal was created by Iniesta, whose tremendous skill was on display once again, and Xavi's clinical finishing put a cap on the goal that has Barcelona 3-1 up on Real Madrid in the 79th minute.

The bulk of the work was done by Iniesta, who drew the entire defense to him with some fancy footwork. It was tremendous play that he made look easy before sliding the ball through for Xavi, who was all alone on goal. From there Xavi just had to slide the ball into the net and Barcelona were two up.

Up 3-1, it's tough to imagine Real Madrid mounting a comeback now, but it is just the first leg. They do get to head back to the Bernabeu in the second leg and try to make up the deficit, but if Iniesta and Xavi are combining like this it will be a tall task.

Follow live coverage in our Madrid vs. Barcelona, 2012 Spanish Super Cup StoryStream. For more on the Blaugrana, head over to FC Barcelona blog Barca Blaugranes. For more on Los Blancos, check out Real Madrid blog Managing Madrid.

Barcelona Vs. Real Madrid, 2012 Spanish Super Cup: Lionel Messi Penalty Puts Barca In Front

Barcelona have their first lead of the match and it is through Lionel Messi, of course. The Argentinian slotted home a penalty after Andres Iniesta was fouled in the box by Sergio Ramos to give the home side a 2-1 lead in the 71st minute of the Spanish Super Cup first leg.

It was a clever bit of play by Iniesta to draw the penalty as he showed Ramos the ball while sprinting down the right then turned quickly, but more blame will go to Ramos than credit to Iniesta. It was a stupid challenge by Ramos as he had no reason to go diving in with Iniesta near the endline. Iniesta couldn't really challenge the goal from where he was and Ramos was in a fine position, but less-than-intelligent challenges are not rare with Ramos.

Messi stepped to the spot calmly and sent Iker Casillas the wrong way to easily find the net. Barcelona have now scored consecutive goals to go from a goal down to a goal up, delighting the Camp Nou crowd and infuriating Jose Mourinho in the visitor's dugout.

Follow live coverage in our Madrid vs. Barcelona, 2012 Spanish Super Cup StoryStream. For more on the Blaugrana, head over to FC Barcelona blog Barca Blaugranes. For more on Los Blancos, check out Real Madrid blog Managing Madrid.

Barcelona Vs. Real Madrid, 2012 Spanish Super Cup: Alvaro Arbeloa Does A Crazy Thing

Dani Alves has been pretty good for Barcelona today, and he causes some hilarious havoc in the Real Madrid back line when he scampers onto a pass and sends a floating cross to the back stick for Alexis Sanchez to dive at try to get his head on. Sanchez is thwarted, thanks to the intervention of Alvaro Arbeloa, who takes a rather cavalier approach to defending that involves chesting the ball against his own goalpost.

That was... interesting. Alves tries to go it alone shortly thereafter having been put through by Lionel Messi, and his shot looks destined for the bottom corner before Iker Casillas intervenes, the big goalkeeper flinging himself at the ball to push it just wide.

It's still 1-1, but Jose Mourinho's hoping to change that. Karim Benzema is off, Gonzalo Higuain on. Let's see if the Argentinian has any more luck than his French teammate.

Follow live coverage in our Madrid vs. Barcelona, 2012 Spanish Super Cup StoryStream. For more on the Blaugrana, head over to FC Barcelona blog Barca Blaugranes. For more on Los Blancos, check out Real Madrid blog Managing Madrid.

Barcelona Vs. Real Madrid, 2012 Spanish Super Cup: Ronaldo And Pedro Exchange Goals

Oh hi there Cristiano Ronaldo. Real Madrid were outplayed by their hosts in the first half, but they've got the lead against Barcelona now. A fast break eventually leads to Jose Callejon winning a corner on the right side, and Mesut Ozil's inswinging delivery picks out Ronaldo perfectly, and the Portuguese bullets a header past Victor Valdes for the 1-0 lead.

How would Barca respond? By scoring, actually. Javier Mascherano sends in a through ball for a possibly offside Pedro, and a perfect first touch takes Fabio Coentrao out of the picture. The second slots past Iker Casillas to make it 1-1. That lead lasted about thirty seconds. We can't not be drawn in this game, apparently.

After the leveller, Karim Benzema attempts to restore the Madrid lead with a sidefooted volley from an angle that would make Marco van Basten blanch. It doesn't work.

Follow live coverage in our Madrid vs. Barcelona, 2012 Spanish Super Cup StoryStream. For more on the Blaugrana, head over to FC Barcelona blog Barca Blaugranes. For more on Los Blancos, check out Real Madrid blog Managing Madrid.

Barcelona Vs. Real Madrid, 2012 Spanish Super Cup: 2nd Half Underway

We're back at the Camp Nou! Aren't you excited? I can feel your excitement. It's palpable. It's beautiful. Much more beautiful than this game, anyway. The first event of note that happens is that Raul Albiol gets booked for flying into a tackle on Sergio Busquets, who is 'injured' by his studs. Mmmmmhmmm.

Anyway, that should be Albiol's second booking (or his fourth), but the referee apparently takes the first yellow card he showed him back and give it to Xabi Alonso instead. This is all highly nonsensical.

Barcelona are playing a lot of long passes forward, which seems silly as they have a cumulative height of one Sergio Ramos, and it's not really working very well. Oh, and Alexis Sanchez tries for another penalty with another dive. It doesn't work this time either.

Follow live coverage in our Madrid vs. Barcelona, 2012 Spanish Super Cup StoryStream. For more on the Blaugrana, head over to FC Barcelona blog Barca Blaugranes. For more on Los Blancos, check out Real Madrid blog Managing Madrid.

Barcelona Vs. Real Madrid, 2012 Spanish Super Cup: Halftime Score, 0-0 With Blaugrana Controlling Play

UPDATE: Barcelona 3-2 Real Madrid, Final Score

It's been an entertaining 45 minutes of football in the Spanish Super Cup, but neither Barcelona or Real Madrid has been able to separate themselves from the other, and they're locked up at 0-0. Barcelona have been well on top in possession, as everyone expects going into any of their matches, but they have struggled to create clear scoring opportunities and have not made the most of their half chances.

Real Madrid looked very good pressing and getting out on the counter-attack in the opening 15 minutes of the match, but Barcelona were eventually able to settle down in a rhythm and set up camp in Madrid's half of the pitch. Sami Khedira, Xabi Alonso and the Madrid defense did well to win possession back and start moves forward, but Madrid's attackers were mostly ineffective in the first half.

Lionel Messi had both of the game's best chances, but was not able to convert on either of them. The first came 18 minutes into the match on a very nice cutback ball by Daniel Alves, which made its way through the defense to Messi at the top of the penalty area. Messi had a shooting lane, but pulled his shot wide. He had a similar-looking shot in the 29th minute after he danced through a bit of traffic, but produced the same result.

Barcelona also had a penalty shout late in the half, but the referee didn't give the spot kick. Sergio Ramos appeared to make contact with Alexis Sanchez as the Blaugrana forward went down in the box, but Sanchez went down very easily, and he certainly didn't protest when he stood up.

Besides one corner kick late in the half and a good interception by Girard Pique on a through ball intended for Cristiano Ronaldo eight minutes into the match, it's been all one-way traffic thus far. It seems like it's only a matter of time before Barcelona finds the breakthrough, but Real Madrid has held onto 0-0 draws before.

It's also worth noting that Raul Albiol, who is making a rare start in the center of defense for Real Madrid, is seriously playing with fire. He somehow escaped getting booked in the first half and seems intent on being as aggressive as possible until he sees yellow. He probably should have been booked a couple of times in the first half.

Follow live coverage in our Real Madrid vs. Barcelona, 2012 Spanish Super Cup StoryStream. For more on the Blaugrana, head over to FC Barcelona blog Barca Blaugranes. For more on Los Blancos, check out Real Madrid blog Managing Madrid.

Barcelona Vs. Real Madrid, 2012 Spanish Super Cup: Sanchez Tries For Penalty, Doesn't Get It

It wouldn't have been a Clasico without a hilarious dive, so thanks to Alexis Sanchez for providing it. With Fabio Coentrao lured out of position, Barcelona can strike down the Real Madrid left, and eventually that means that Sanchez got to go one on one with Sergio Ramos. Ramos left his feet to go for the ball and nicked it away, so Sanchez's response was to do this:

That's a penalty, a yellow card for diving, or a corner kick, and the referee opts for the last option. He should have booked Sanchez -- the Chilaean deliberately trailed his foot behind him hoping for contact, which he didn't get. Because he kicked the ground.

Meanwhile, Raul Albiol performs a tackle on Xavi which should have earned him his third yellow card of the game. Maybe you can't get booked again if you're on a yellow card? That sounds dangerous. Anyway, 0-0 as we get closer to halftime.

Follow live coverage in our Madrid vs. Barcelona, 2012 Spanish Super Cup StoryStream. For more on the Blaugrana, head over to FC Barcelona blog Barca Blaugranes. For more on Los Blancos, check out Real Madrid blog Managing Madrid.

Barcelona Vs. Real Madrid, 2012 Spanish Super Cup: Pedro Forces Save

A save! It's Barcelona on the attack again, and Pedro finds himself near the top of the box with zero passing options on. So he decides to shoot, and it's a cracker, struck well and with enough dip that it's heading under the bar until Iker Casillas intervenes to tip it over. From the corner, Lionel Messi nearly finds Gerard Pique with a back post cross, but Real Madrid are able to break it up and eventually escape the pressure when Sami Khedira spins around and falls over in the general vicinity of Xavi, which is apparently a foul now.

The visitors make the most of the reprieve, however, earning a corner which ends up getting recycled by Jose Callejon. Mesut Ozil's second attempt is immensely dangerous, and forces Victor Valdes to punch clear under heavy pressure from Karim Benzema. That was exciting, but we're still scoreless here.

Follow live coverage in our Madrid vs. Barcelona, 2012 Spanish Super Cup StoryStream. For more on the Blaugrana, head over to FC Barcelona blog Barca Blaugranes. For more on Los Blancos, check out Real Madrid blog Managing Madrid.

Barcelona Vs. Real Madrid, 2012 Spanish Super Cup: Raul Albiol Is A Lucky Boy

I don't know why Raul Albiol is still on the pitch, because the Real Madrid centre back should be off after a very late tackle on Pedro. Albiol was already on a yellow card thanks to either mistaken identity or something that nobody really saw, but he should definitely have been shown another one for this:

Maybe he was trying to retroactively earn it? Either way, Albiol remains on one yellow.

Meanwhile, Barcelona are doing the lion's share of the attacking at the moment, and Real Madrid are having to spend far too much of their time packed into their penalty box for comfort. Lionel Messi's giving them real problems at the moment (surprise!), and they're lucky that the Argentine hasn't scored yet. This time he skips free of a gaggle of white shirts at the top of the box only to fire just wide of Iker Casillas' left post.

Follow live coverage in our Madrid vs. Barcelona, 2012 Spanish Super Cup StoryStream. For more on the Blaugrana, head over to FC Barcelona blog Barca Blaugranes. For more on Los Blancos, check out Real Madrid blog Managing Madrid.

Barcelona Vs. Real Madrid, 2012 Spanish Super Cup: Messi Misses Game's 1st Chance

Hey! A genuine scoring chance! In a Clasico! Amazing. Even better, it's a genuine scoring chance which Lionel Messi completely blows, which is basically a collectors' item. Dani Alves does well down the Barcelona right, weaving his way to the byline before cutting the ball back across the box. The pass evades everyone until it reaches Messi in space near the penalty box.

You'd expect him to score from there most of the time. Iker Casillas looked traumatised as Messi wound up for the shot, but it ended up flying well wide of the post. Maybe he's not omnipotent after all!

Anyway, thanks to that miss, it remains 0-0 at the Camp Nou. Don't expect that scoreline to change very soon -- both teams are defending well enough that goals don't seem particularly likely at the moment.

Follow live coverage in our Madrid vs. Barcelona, 2012 Spanish Super Cup StoryStream. For more on the Blaugrana, head over to FC Barcelona blog Barca Blaugranes. For more on Los Blancos, check out Real Madrid blog Managing Madrid.

Barcelona Vs. Real Madrid, 2012 Spanish Super Cup: It's Terrible Cross O'Clock!

Now it's Barcelona's turn to go forward. Lionel Messi has his first major moment of the match, attempting a one-two with Pedro which causes absolute panic in the Real Madrid defence, with Iker Casillas in particular having no idea what to do. Unfortuantely for Barcelona, nobody's close by enough to take advantage. Seconds later, Andres Iniesta breaks free on the left and fires a low cross that's... well ahead of everyone, and frankly pretty awful by Iniesta's high standards.

Madrid have their own awful cross shortly thereafter - Sami Khedira is released down the wing via a piece of absolutely delicious midfield play, and the German international, in acres of space, opts for an off-balance cross aimed in the general direction of Karim Benzema. It's cleared easily. Obviously.

Oh, and now we've had our first shot of the game. It's a Gerard Pique effort from 35 yards that goes well wide. Was that even worth talking about? Still 0-0 here. Clasico!

Follow live coverage in our Madrid vs. Barcelona, 2012 Spanish Super Cup StoryStream. For more on the Blaugrana, head over to FC Barcelona blog Barca Blaugranes. For more on Los Blancos, check out Real Madrid blog Managing Madrid.

Barcelona Vs. Real Madrid, 2012 Spanish Super Cup: Madrid Pressing High, Looking Good

Oooh, that was interesting. Real Madrid aren't afraid to attack Barcelona here and they come very close to putting a penetrating pass into Victor Valdes' box for Karim Benzema. Unfortunately for the visitors, Cristiano's pass for the French striker is a little bit off, allowing Gerard Pique to mop up. That's Pique 2-0 Ronaldo, for those scoring at home. Pique makes it 3-0 in his personal battle with the Portuguese when he blocks an ill-advised Ronaldo shot a few mintues later, but Real will even consider blocked shots a positive. Nobody is this aggressive at the Camp Nou, and they're playing very well indeed.

Barcelona have a player down after Xabi Alonso comes in on Sergio Busquets with a lively tackle, but since it's Busquets I think we can all assume he's fine. The foul was meaty enough / sold well enough that... Raul Albiol is booked, which makes not very much sense. We'll roll with it!

Anyway, it's still 0-0 a little over ten minutes in, and there've been no really good goalscoring chances to speak of.

Follow live coverage in our Madrid vs. Barcelona, 2012 Spanish Super Cup StoryStream. For more on the Blaugrana, head over to FC Barcelona blog Barca Blaugranes. For more on Los Blancos, check out Real Madrid blog Managing Madrid.

Barcelona Vs. Real Madrid, 2012 Spanish Super Cup: Match Underway

The first Clasico of the 2012/13 season has now begun, and even though this is a friendly don't expect much in the way of smiles between these two teams. Barcelona and Real Madrid are the two best teams in world football, and their rivalry is, well, rather intense. Last season, it was Los Blancos who knocked the Catalans off their pedestal at the top of La Liga, so expect Barcelona to be looking for revenge in front of a rather partisan home crowd.

Madrid, in their usual whites, kick us off. It doesn't take long for the hosts to get control of the ball and pin Real in their own half, however, which actually suits Jose Mourinho's team just fine -- that means they can break forward while Barcelona have players pushed forward. They do succeed in breaking and stuttle the ball to the always-dangerous Cristiano Ronaldo, who dances down the left before being stopped by a hefty challenge from Gerard Pique. Yep. The Clasico is back.

Follow live coverage in our Madrid vs. Barcelona, 2012 Spanish Super Cup StoryStream. For more on the Blaugrana, head over to FC Barcelona blog Barca Blaugranes. For more on Los Blancos, check out Real Madrid blog Managing Madrid.

Barcelona Vs. Real Madrid, 2012 Spanish Super Cup: Lineups

Both Barcelona and Real Madrid have some notable omissions from their lineups for the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup. First choice left back Jordi Alba is sitting out for Barcelona, as is central defender Carles Puyol. Adriano and Javier Mascherano play in their places. Real Madrid have dropped Gonzalo Higuain and Angel Di Maria, and they're replaced by Karim Benzema and Jose Maria Callejon. Pepe is out injured and Raul Albiol takes his place in the center of defense for Los Blancos.

Barcelona Lineup (4-3-3): Victor Valdes; Adriano, Gerard Pique, Javier Mascherano, Daniel Alves; Sergio Busquets, Xavi Hernandez, Andres Iniesta; Alexis Sanchez, Lionel Messi, Pedro Rodriguez

Real Madrid Lineup (4-2-3-1): Iker Casillas; Fabio Coentrao, Raul Albiol, Sergio Ramos, Alvaro Arbeloa; Xabi Alonso, Sami Khedira; Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Özil, Jose Maria Callejon; Karim Benzema

Kickoff is at 4:30 p.m. ET from Camp Nou. You can catch the game on either ESPN Deportes or ESPN3, and we'll have live coverage right here.

We'll have updates throughout the day and live coverage of the match in our Real Madrid vs. Barcelona, 2012 Spanish Super Cup StoryStream. For more on the Blaugrana, head over to FC Barcelona blog Barca Blaugranes. For more on Los Blancos, check out Real Madrid blog Managing Madrid. For more from around the world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on twitter.

Barcelona Vs. Real Madrid, 2012 Spanish Super Cup: Jose Mourinho Plays Down Super Cup

The Spanish Super Cup probably gets more press than any other preseason match in the world. Sure, the Community Shield is hyped up in England, as are several other preseason contests around the world, but the Super Cup so often matches Real Madrid and Barcelona that it is bound to get more publicity than the other. After all, everyone loves another El Clasico, at least until April and they are playing for the sixth time.

But as much as people look forward to the Super Cup, Jose Mourinho doesn't. He'll send his team out there and he would probably rather win than lose, but don't expect him to let a loss weigh him down. After all, he knows what the Super Cup really is -- two glorified friendlies.

"I think it's a game that will have little effect [on the season]," said Mourinho. "If I could choose, I'd choose what happened last year where we lost the Super Cup and won the league. If losing is a motivation for winning the league, I'd sign off on it now."

So Mourinho doesn't think the Super Cup is of grave importance. That is probably because it isn't.

The two rivals will play two probably entertaining legs in two of the most famous stadiums in the world. More people will watch the match than one would think possible for a couple of friendlies and then the Super Cup will be forgotten. The teams will go back to playing matches that matter in the table and everyone will look forward to October 7 when Madrid visits the Camp Nou.

Barcelona can't really hold a Super Cup win over Madrid's heads after the Merengues claimed last year's La Liga title. And is Real Madrid really going to tout a Super Cup win when they have the league title in their trophy case? Even the bragging rights are limited in this match.

Luckily for us, the entertainment value won't suffer, even with limited stakes. The Super Cup will still features Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Gerard Pique, Mesut Ozil and another couple handfuls of the world's best players. That's quality entertainment, Mourinho's wet blanket (soaked in truth, but still) be damned.

We'll have updates throughout the day and live coverage of the match in our Real Madrid vs. Barcelona, 2012 Spanish Super Cup StoryStream. For more on the Blaugrana, head over to FC Barcelona blog Barca Blaugranes. For more on Los Blancos, check out Real Madrid blog Managing Madrid. For more from around the world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on twitter.

El Clasico Proves You Can Have Quantity and Quality

For those that believe that too many games between Barcelona and Real Madrid is a bad thing, allow me to attempt to set you straight.

Barcelona Vs. Real Madrid, 2012 Spanish Super Cup: Tito Vilanova Returns Barca To The 1930s

Barcelona have operated on the same footballing principles for a very long time, but that doesn't mean that managers don't make their own very subtle changes. There are plenty of different ways to play exciting, possession-based football.

Tito Vilanova takes over for Pep Guardiola this season and shouldn't be making drastic changes. The team will still play a formation that looks a lot like 4-3-3, occasionally playing with three at the back. And, as is usually the case with Barcelona, individual player performances and the cohesion of the team will matter a lot more than the actual formation. However, Vilanova has made some subtle changes.

FC Barcelona blog Barca Blaugranes compares the subtle changes that Vilanova has made to the system utilized by former Barcelona manager Vittorio Ponzo, just about 80 years ago.

Taking Guardiola's 3-4-3 one step further, Barcelona (so far) under Tito Vilanova have often found themselves in a 2-3-2-3 formation similar to the one created by Vittorio Pozzo back in the early 1930s. In fact, comparing the style of Barcelona's performance on Sunday and Pozzo's Italy team makes for interesting reading - in Pozzo's sides, one of the two defenders would be responsible for marking the opposing centre-forward - a stopper if you will - (Mascherano/Puyol?) while the other played as a libero of sorts, covering his colleague and building the attacks (Piqué?).

Expect to see Carles Puyol sticking to Gonzalo Higuain like glue while Girard Pique plays more aggressively than he has in the past. Jordi Albi is also much more like his right-sided counterpart, Daniel Alves, than any recent Barcelona left back. With Messi in the middle and Alba on the left, the Barcelona XI looks more balanced and symmetrical than it has in the recent past. Whether or not that's a good thing remains to be seen.

We'll have updates throughout the day and live coverage of the match in our Real Madrid vs. Barcelona, 2012 Spanish Super Cup StoryStream. For more on the Blaugrana, head over to FC Barcelona blog Barca Blaugranes. For more on Los Blancos, check out Real Madrid blog Managing Madrid. For more from around the world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on twitter.

Real Madrid's Quantity Takes On Barcelona's Quality

The battle between Real Madrid and Barcelona has been shifted as Jose Mourinho's strategy has focused on his squad, rather than his team, and so far it seems to be working for Los Merengues.

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Barcelona Vs. Real Madrid, 2012 Spanish Super Cup: Defensive Lineup For Los Blancos?

Real Madrid's most successful matches against Barcelona during the 2010-11 season came with Jose Mourinho picking a team with a very defensive-minded three-man midfield, but he mostly moved away from that strategy last season. He was out-managed at the Santiago Bernabeu in the first league Clasico, but got the better of Pep Guardiola at Camp Nou with an attack-minded lineup.

It's possible that Mourinho's selections had more to do with injuries than any preference, however. Pepe, Ricardo Carvalho and Nuri Sahin all missed significant time with injuries. Lassana Diarra and Sami Khedira both missed some games as well. Mourinho never had a great defensive midfield three to pick from last season.

According to Real Madrid blog Managing Madrid, Mourinho could revert to the 'trivot' on Thursday, then play for the win in the second leg at home.

Since Los Blancos have the advantage of playing the second leg at home, Jose Mourinho will most likely go with a more defensive line-up to try to take a favorable result back to Madrid. Given that Mesut Özil played the entire game on Sunday and seemed tired, he will most likely not start the game. Mourinho might instead start with a 4-3-3 formation to try to neutralize Barcelona's attack and bring Mesut Ozil on late in the game to get a crucial away goal.

Esteban Granero or Diarra could enter the lineup for Real Madrid if Özil sits out. This strategy has been effective in the past for Madrid, though their best performances while playing these tactics have come with Pepe as the defensive midfielder. Pepe is expected to sit out with an injury, and if he was fit, he would likely start at central defense anyway.

We'll have updates throughout the day and live coverage of the match in our Real Madrid vs. Barcelona, 2012 Spanish Super Cup StoryStream. For more on the Blaugrana, head over to FC Barcelona blog Barca Blaugranes. For more on Los Blancos, check out Real Madrid blog Managing Madrid. For more from around the world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on twitter.

Barcelona Vs. Real Madrid, 2012 Spanish Super Cup: Game Time, Live Updates, TV Schedule, Streaming, And More

Real Madrid and Barcelona play the first Clasico of the year on Thursday, contesting the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup.

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Barcelona Vs. Real Madrid, 2012 Spanish Super Cup: The First Of A Half-Dozen Clasicos

Barcelona and Real Madrid should play Thursday's glorified friendly at the intensity of a meaningful edition of El Clasico.

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