Real Madrid vs Barcelona (2nd Leg)
May 4 @ 2:30AM (Balls Channel)
The el clasico series this season will come to an end with the 2nd leg of the Champions League Seminfinals. So far, there is one draw and both teams have one win (click here for recap, stats, etc of el clasico I & II and here for recap, stats, etc of el clasico III):
el clasico I – La Liga (Apr 16): Barcelona 1-1 Real Madrid
el clasico II – Copa del Rey (Apr 20): Barcelona 0-1 Real Madrid
el clasico III – Champions League Semis leg 1 (Apr 27): Real Madrid 0-2 Barcelona
Barca comes into this match with a 2-away goal advantage. It’s not a big mountain to overcome but according to Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho in his post-match comment in the 1st leg game, it’s an “impossible” task. His skipper disagrees with him, though. According to Iker Casillas:
"The names of the two teams that will play the final haven't been inscribed yet. You never know what may happen. We will play in Barcelona knowing a final is set to take place in a month and that any of the four teams still in the championship may be in it."
And I agree with Casillas, never say never. And in football, you never know. But for Real to win this match, they need to score goals, they need to change tactics as the defensive football they played in the 1st leg did not work and honestly it was unpleasant to watch. I mean, they have a lot of great offensive players like Kaka, Gonzalo Higuain, CRonaldo, Karim Benzema, etc. so playing offensively won't be a problem for them. However, I wonder how the team will function with Mourinho banned from the game after he was sent off during the 1st leg.
For Barca, on the other hand, have happy news for the injury-plagued team. Andres Iniesta and Eric Abidal trained normally and are in the squad for the game. Eric Abidal has been out since March 17 from a surgery to remove a tumour in his liver and now the doctors have given him the clearance and he’s included in the squad for this match. I don’t know if he’ll be in the 1st eleven or could just be an unused substitute. Guardiola has said that, “Abi' can't play 90 minutes, he has lost weight. But he is in perfect health and he'll be able to help us.” So maybe a few minutes of game time? But either way, I am glad he’s fully recovered. Andres Iniesta, who was sidelined in the 1st leg because of a calf injury, has also joined the training and is included in the squad, no official word yet if he’s starting. Carles Puyol, however, worked separately from the rest of the team as he continues his recovery. He played during the 1st leg (he had a spectacular game, btw) but did not play in Barca’s domestic match during the weekend, probably being rested in time for the 2nd leg.
Barca can capitalize on Real Madrid missing two of its key defense players, Sergio Ramos and Pepe, due to suspension. They may have a 2-goal advantage, but I hope Barca won’t play too defensively (although I shouldn't worry as that isn't how they play). Guardiola has said they will attack, but attack with common sense, so maybe we'll to see some amazing goals from them.
I do hope this time it will be a showcase of great football from the best teams of this sport and not a war of the words as what happened in the 1st leg (click here to read on the 1st leg controveries/issues). There was just too much controversy that it detracted from the amazing goals that Messi scored.
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| the no-nonsense Pierluigi Collina photo courtesy of Reuters |
After three stormy el clasico matches within two weeks, tensions will be high, so I guess UEFA is not taking chances in this match as they are sending Pierluigi Collina to monitor this game. I love this guy. When I started watching football, he was one of the most respected referees. A highly recognizable figure in football, he even had a sponsorship deal with Opel, how many referees could say the same? He’s retired now but he’s considered as the best referee of all time.
So I hope both teams will play clean and fair and I’m looking forward to an exciting match. I’ll be crossing my fingers for a Barca-Schalke finals J
Aggregate Score:
Real Madrid: 0
Barcelona: 2
For the win:
Real Madrid
They need to score 3 more goals than Barca will
Barcelona:
If they can hold on to their 2 goal advantage (so a draw or letting Real score one goal), the can advance them to the finals.
Stadium: Camp Nou (Barcelona‘s home turf)
Barca Injury Update:
Eric Abidal (liver tumour): now fit to play after more than a month of absence
Adriano (hamstring): misses the match
Bojan Krkić (knee) : misses the match
Maxwell (groin): misses the match
Gabriel Milito (thigh tear) : misses the match
Andrés Iniesta (calf): now fit to play after missing the 1st leg
Carles Puyol (recovered from a knee injury that he had since January but he suffered from hamstring problems in his 1st game back): he played in the el clasico I but was stretchered off during the game, was an unused substitute in the el clasico II and played in the el clasico III. I’m including him in this list as you never know what happens when you come off a long injury-related absence.
Martín Montoya (broken collarbone and dislocated left shoulder… ouch!): he’s not really on of the 1st 11 players but he’s a full-back, so considering the injury-plagued defense of Barca, they need all the defense players they can get
Yellow/Red Card and Suspension Updates:
Suspended:
Jose Manuel Pinto (Barcelona) – from a red card
Pepe (Real Madrid) – from a red card
Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid) – from picking up two yellow cards
Jose Mourinho (Real Madrid) – he was sent off during the 1st leg for mocking the ref
One card away from suspension:
Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid)
Raul Albiol (Real Madrid)
Angel Di Maria (Real Madrid)
Emmanuel Adebayor (Real Madrid)
It says something for a team to have a lot of cards, don't you think?
More great news articles on the match here:
Here's my attempt in being an “expert”... Below are score combinations showing which team can qualify to the next round.
Real Madrid | Barcelona |
0 | 0 |
1 | 0 |
2 | 0 |
3 | 0 |
4 | 0 |
5 | 0 |
1 | 1 |
2 | 1 |
3 | 1 |
4 | 1 |
5 | 1 |
1 | 2 |
2 | 2 |
3 | 2 |
4 | 2 |
5 | 2 |
1 | 3 |
2 | 3 |
3 | 3 |
4 | 3 |
5 | 3 |
1 | 4 |
2 | 4 |
3 | 4 |
4 | 4 |
5 | 4 |
Highlighted in yellow means that that team will will proceed to the Quarter finals. Pink means the aggregate score as well as the number of away goals is a tie, so I dunno if they'll do extra time, shoot out or coin toss...