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25.10.2014 » Real Madrid 3-1 Barcelona. A comeback victory with a special taste!
After having lost their two league fixtures against Barcelona last season, this time around Real Madrid have finally beaten their archrivals in a La Liga game, as they dictated their own terms at the Bernabéu in a 3-1 win. Nevertheless, the Blaugrana basically started the game leading it, thanks to a goal scored from Neymar near the 3rd minute of the first half. The Merengues' comeback started getting shape when Cristiano Ronaldo equalized the "Clasico" with a penalty-kick near the 35th minute, but the final blows ended up only being struck during the second-half, first through a header from Pepe and lastly a clinical right-foot finish from Karim Benzema. Barcelona will remain on the top of La Liga standings for now, but after tonight's loss, they've already seen Real Madrid cutting distances to a single point.
Cristiano Ronaldo game photos in Real Madrid vs Barcelona
Real Madrid 3-1 Barcelona - Goals and highlights:
All Cristiano Ronaldo actions vs Barcelona:
Having in mind that, before this weekend, Real Madrid were 4 points behind Barcelona in La Liga table, the Merengues were definitely well aware that they had a lot more on the line than their rivals. A victory for Barça at the Bernabéu would mean that the gap between the two sides would be set in 7 points and coming back from that could very well become an herculean task in the future for Carlo Ancelotti's men. Fortunately for the hosts, that pressure didn't seem to have had any negative effect on the team, but quite the contrary in fact...
Ancelotti sticked with his 4-4-2 tactical approach for this Saturday's Clasico, strengthening his midfield against an opposition who has always had a great reputation of dominating games precisely on that area of the field. What also seems true is that not having Gareth Bale available, somehow may have helped the Italian manager making that decision of switching from his preferred 4-3-3 system into this more dynamic 4-4-2. As a result, the incredibly talented Isco was obviously the player who benefited the most from all these subtle changes in the team and his contribution this Saturday was once again priceless...
With the two teams coming into this game with all guns blazing, it ended up being Barcelona delivering the first punch in the stomach. The opening goal in this Clasico was the result of a good understanding between the debutant Luis Suárez and the Brazilian ace Neymar Jr, with the first sending the ball over to his teammate from one side of the pitch to the other, ultimately allowing Neymar to take on both Carvajal and Pepe as he was cutting inside from the left. Neither of them managed to stop the 22-year old and he went all the way to finish off his brilliant play with a low strike into the far post, making it 0-1 for the visitors.
Like any fighter in a ring who receives a strong hit right in the first round, Real Madrid needed to bounce back from the shock as quick as possible and do all in their reach to put Barcelona on their back foot. They've done it shortly after we had crossed the first half of an hour mark, when a handball from Gerard Piqué led the referee to point to the spot. As usual, Cristiano Ronaldo stepped up to take the penalty and scored the equalizer for Real Madrid that broke Bravo's unbeaten record. It's the Portuguese 16th goal in La Liga this season, now that we have completed 9 fixtures in the competition...
The 2-1 arrived just a few minutes after the two teams had come from the break. Toni Kroos took a corner-kick on the right attacking side and Pepe rose in the air to beat Claudio Bravo for the second time on the afternoon. The Chilean goalkeeper had never been beaten in La Liga this season, but he was now realizing that facing Real Madrid was a totally different matter. Pepe scored his first goal of the campaign and naturally celebrated it enthusiastically with the home fans.
Only ten minutes later and around the 61st minute of the game, Real Madrid added a third to their score and basically sealed the deal at the Bernabéu. It all started in a ball that was about to go out near the sideline on the halfway line, but which ended up leading to a misunderstanding between Iniesta and Mascherano, allowing for Isco to get it back and immediately initiate the counter-attack. The Spaniard left it over to Ronaldo in the middle, who then passed it to his right to James Rodríguez. The Colombia international spotted Benzema making a run a few meters in front of him and assisted him for an irreproachable finish from the Frenchman. Great football display at the Santiago Bernabéu and 3-1 for the home side!
With close to 30 minutes left on the clock left to be played, Real Madrid got more loose in the game and still created a few more chances to extend the lead. The 3-1 score wouldn't suffer any further changes though and every home fan at the Bernabéu was certainly delighted to see their team beating Barça and doing so in such a convincing manner.
Real Madrid line-up vs Barcelona:
Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas
Defenders: Marcelo, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Carvajal
Midfielders: Toni Kroos, Modric, James Rodríguez, Isco
Attackers: Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema.
| Match stats provided by www.ronaldo7.net
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|---|---|---|
Real Madrid
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vs
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Barcelona
|
3 |
Goals |
1 |
18 |
Shots |
16 |
6 |
Shots on goal |
5 |
3 |
Corner kicks |
9 |
11 |
Fouls commited |
10 |
2 |
Yellow cards |
4 |
0 |
Red cards |
0 |
42% |
Ball possession |
58% |
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Real Madrid is a Copa del Rey fixture against UE Cornellà, on October 29 (Wednesday). You can watch Juventus live stream, Cornellà vs Real Madrid, Sevilla vs Villarreal, Man Utd vs Chelsea, Tottenham vs Newcastle, and Borussia Monchengladbach vs Bayern Munich, all matches provided from our football streams section.
Real Madrid next game:
UE Cornellà vs Real Madrid kick-off time (29-10-2014):
Jakarta (Indonesia) | GMT+6: 01:00
Spain (Madrid) | GMT+1: 20:00
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | GMT+0: 19:00
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | GMT-4: 15:00
New York (United States) | GMT-5: 14:00
Los Angeles (United States) | GMT-8 11:00
Beijing (China) | GMT+7: 02:00
Sources: ronaldo7.net / bbc.co.uk / realmadrid.com / cnn.com
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