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by Philipina A. Marcelo
And so, after all the nerve-wracking anticipation that almost induced a nervous breakdown in me, the first El Clásico of the current Spanish La Liga season finally unfolded at Estadio de Santiago Bernebéu. Real Madrid CF went into the Clásico with a 15-match winning streak and was the slight favorite over the seemingly out-of-form and winning-fatigued FC Barcelona... then again, most of those opinions came from Madridistas and those who are "bored" of the Catalans genius on the pitch. The two giants in the beautiful world of football marched to the center of the Madrid pitch... and, as the referee blew his whistle to get the highly-anticipated duel underway, millions of hearts went racing as adrenalin surged and rest at the summit of excitement! I'm still recovering from the heap of football awesomeness... so let me just post this as I savor the moment:
I join the cules all around the globe in rejoicing over this sweetest of victories, Real Madrid CF 1 - 3 FC Barcelona. Oy! Groovy, oy!
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A fast goal and playing catch-up...
It was a classic "come-from-behind" away victory as the Blaugranes saw Karim Benzema slot the fastest goal in the history of Spanish La
Karim Benzema, slotting the fastest goal in
La Liga history.Liga on the 23rd second via a say-what??? mistake by Victor Valdes. VV kicked the ball to Angel Di Maria (huh??? I know, right?!), who attempted a cross to Karim Benzema, but it was foiled by Sergio Busquets with a kick. The ball was effectively deflected to Mesut Ozil's direction. MO took a shot that got deflected once again by the incredible Busquets - bless him - but, only for the ball to find Benzema, who was a few feet away from the Barça goal. The Frenchman quickly slotted the ball in while Gerard Piqué was still positioning himself in front of the goal and VV still processing what he just did in his head, putting Los Blancos in front. Stunning I must say! Needless to say, the fast moves and the resulting goal thrilled the Madridistas (and most football fans) to the ceiling of enjoyment. Barça's captain, Carles Puyol, called his team to settle down and signaled them to stay focused on the game amidst the Madrid excitement.
Lionel Messi, phenomenal as always no matter the situation, was the first to heed the Catalan captain... and he was not about to be silenced by a stunning goal, history-setting it was notwithstanding. The little genius, in his usual unstoppable form, stole the ball from Sergio Ramos and then flew past Ramos and Xabi Alonso, avoided a blocking Pepe, as he sped and rallied Barça into a response with a kick-on-a-run... only, the tip of Iker Casillas's fingers sent it spinning away to thread-thin safety from the Madrid goal. The wasted chance was matched by
Alexis Sanchez, a classic El Clásico
debut - with an equalizing goal.Cristiano Ronaldo with a lousy miss on the other end of the pitch. :) CR7 decided to finish the cross from Benzema instead of passing to Angel Di Maria who was wide open to make the shot - typical of Ronaldo though. Little did everyone realize that that would define the outcome of the match.
Relentless in his search for an equalizing goal, Messi negotiated a busy Madrid thoroughfare that was intimidatingly lined with four towering defenders. He got through with the ball at his feet, which was not a surprise for any football enthusiast... it's Lionel Messi, hello! The little genius then played Alexis Sanchez, who impressively remained unpurturbed by the mighty task of finishing a Messi assist - not such an easy thing to do, especially on his El Clásico debut. And, clean finish, the Chilean did despite the formidable Iker Casillas of a wall in front of the Madrid goal and two Los Blancos defenders building a fence around him closely as he moved towards the goal! EQUALIZER! Game on!
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Tactical duel - an El Clásico, indeed!
Level in points now, the guests and the hosts, recalibrated their shot
El Maestro, Xavi, a classic 600th appearance in
Blaugrana shirt - punctuated by a goal.and defense artilleries as they get ready to get deeper into the duel... why not, afterall, it's an El Clásico! In the second half, the men returned on the pitch with renewed vigor. Xavi, who was on his 600th appearance in the Blaugrana shirt, with some sheer determination and a little bit of luck, blasted an off-balanced kick from 30 yards out. Marcelo's toes deflected the ball, an occurence that distracted Casillas into clearing the shot, diving in the wrong side, failing to clear the shot as it happened... therefore, 1-2, in favor of Barça! Ah, classic!
A few exchanges of chance por chance between the giants, great defensive plays by Puyol, some shows of dazzling brilliance in the second-half from Don Andres Iniesta... and some CR7 for-crying-out-loud misses later, Barça "volted in". They took tiki-taka to high gear... and then, in one of those vintage
Cesc Fàbregas, debuting in La Liga El Clásico
with a goal... and a nice haircut - finally. :)Barça moments, Dani Alves, Messi and, the now-well-groomed Cesc Fàbregas sped to the front in a wide triangle, with Alves carrying the ball on the right wing from a Messi pass while Messi and Fàbregas sped in front of the Madrid goal to position themselves for a finish - a perfect puzzle for Casillas to figure out! Both Messi and Fàbregas appeared ready to receive an Alves cross, and drive a cushion goal in to finish Madrid for good. In a decisive stroke, Alves flicked a pretty cross to the farther away Fàbregas who had lesser challenge from the Los Blancos defense, at Casillas's far post. Fàbregas then resurrected himself from silence in the first-half and surged purposely forward for a diving header that sent the ball home before Casillas could take his eyes completely off the speeding Messi in front of him and concentrate on the attacking Cesc! GOAL!!! What an absolutely brilliant play! 1-3 - Barça surged farther up, and Madrid could only stare upward defeatedly!
Los Blancos, the "Special One" and the Madridistas were effectively silenced by that piece of brilliance... just because the Bernabéu Club didn't have an answer to that - even in their best form... and in their own backyard, too. And so, the Catalans went home - classic victory in tow! :)
5 + 6 + 10 (+ 8)... Barça Stalwarts = classic awesomeness!
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Victory comes to those who respect the power of teamwork...
Pep Guardiola, come on!Congratulations to you, Pep Guardiola and your valiant men, for giving the world yet another brilliant football - a remarkable testament to the beauty of teamwork, focus, hardwork, consistency, and unwavering faith in one's team principles! Once again, you and your men have proven that tactical and technical brilliance can only translate to victory when it is anchored on teamwork - a lesson, not just for footballers and football fans, but for everyone! Thank you for that wonderful victory and the classic display of football beauty - we loved it! All the very best in your next matches.
Visca, El Barça!!!
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Video credit: Thanks, YouTube, for the video link.
Photo credits: All photos were grabbed from the Zimbio website - thanks!
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