Real Madrid have been seeing quite a lot of the ball since the Andres Iniesta miss, which is making them look far less dangerous - despite the threat of their three forward players, they don't really seem like breaking through Barcelona when the visitors have numbers back. It's on the counterattack that Cristiano Ronaldo and company are looking great, and that can't happen when they start out with the ball.
Speaking of counterattacks, Barcelona launch one, nearly finding Cesc Fabregas with a lovely aerial pass/Blackburn Rovers-style punt which requires Iker Casillas to race out of his box to head clear, coming quite close to getting a boot to the head in the process. Both teams look vulnerable on the break, and Real Madrid look pretty poor whenever Hamit Altintop gets involved. He's just given away the ball twenty yards from goal, and the hosts are pretty lucky that nothing came from it. Anyway, it's 1-0 to Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu, but if this game finishes like that I'll eat my hat.
For more on the two teams, check out Real Madrid blog Managing Madrid and FC Barcelona blog Barca Blaugranes. We'll have live coverage of the match in our Real Madrid vs. Barcelona, 2012 El Clasico StoryStream.
0 comments
2
Jan 18
Comments
Comments For This Post Are Closed