With their 31st league championship already secured, Real Madrid wasted no time with their complete 4-1 victory over nemesis FC Barcelona at Bernabéu.
This latest instalment of the Spanish El Clásico ended early on with two goals from Real Madrid in the first 20 minutes. Barcelona’s loss dooms the Catalan club to third place in the Primera División.
This result forces Barça into the UEFA Champions League qualifying rounds, where the potential for a shock upset by a smaller club looms.
Raúl, Madrid's captain, set the tone early on in the match. He opened the scoring in the 13th minute with a brilliant finish. He now has 17 league goals. Midfielder Guti was credited with an assist on the play.
Seven minutes after this opening score, winger Arjen Robben’s header from Guti’s free kick increased Los Blancos lead to two. Robben now has scored via a header in his last two matches. When the Dutch footballer exited the match, he received a standing ovation for his tremendous effort on the day.
In the second half, Gonzalo Higuaín, the 20 year-old Argentine-French forward came on for Robben. He quickly sent the supporters to their feet with the club’s third goal in the 63rd minute of play.
Real Madrid’s fourth goal came courtesy of Ruud van Nistelrooy’s penalty kick in the 78th minute.
Barcelona’s lone goal arrived from forward Thierry Henry in the 87th minute, a goal that came much too late for this dreadfully inconsistent Barcelona squad.
<a href="http://www.socialmarker.com" >Social Bookmarking</a>
Comments (4) Add a comment »
from 8 days ago
Dodgy first goal, never a free kick for the second and a disputable penalty....Where is all that bud :)
from 8 days ago
How Barca must miss a willing Ronaldinho.
from 7 days ago
why is there a pic of Figo??? he doesn't play in Spain nevermind Barca and Real!
from 7 days ago
Real will be a team to watch next season on all fronts. A very young team for a Madrid team with several first team players in their early 20's (Ramos, Marcelo, Higuain, Gago, Robinho, Robben), even the old-timer Raul has had a good season this year.
They may well have a new manager as Schuster's position is still not clear, but whatever happens they will be big contenders to add to their 9 Champions League/European Cup successes.
Barca need a complete overhaul as the golden team of 2006 is past its best. A new manager and lots of new players seems a certainty, but even with their problems this season they still made the CL semi's and will be a threat again. Expect Henry, Deco, Eto'o, Ronaldinho, Abidal, Zambrotta, Thuram, Gudjohnsen to name but a few to be available in the summer. They will still have the diamond that is Messi though.
Write a new comment