Thanks for your company and emails. I’ll leave you with Sid Lowe’s match report. Bye!
Real Madrid go top of the table after doing the double over Barcelona for the first time since 2007-08 (I think). It was an imperfect but wildly entertaining game, played in torrential rain throughout the second half. Real’s counter-attacking tactics worked superbly, particularly in the first half when Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos put them 2-0 ahead. They had a few hairy moments in the second half, with Oscar Mingueza’s goal sparking a Barcelona onslaught.
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Full time: Real Madrid 2-1 Barcelona
That was some finish! A long free-kick was headed back across the area towards Moriba, who took it on the chest and slammed a sweet volley off the crossbar. The ball rebounded to ter Stegen, up for the free-kick, on the edge of the area - and his shot was blocked by one of his team-mates!
90+4 min Moriba hits the bar in the last attack of the game!
90+3 min Mingueza makes a vital tackle to deny Marcelo, who would otherwise have been through on goal. At the other end, Alba’s cross is headed wide by Braithwaite at the near post. It wasn’t much of a chance.
90+2 min Moriba shoots over from 20 yards.
90+1 min Messi gets this one on target, but Courtois moves across his line to make a comfortable save. There will be four minutes of added time.
CASEMIRO SENT OFF!
90 min Casemiro gets a second yellow card in as many minutes, this time for fouling Mingueza just outside the area. This is another free-kick opportunity for Messi: 20 yards out, slightly to the right of centre.
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90 min Real Madrid have had less than a third of the possession. They’ve also scored two thirds of the goals.
89 min Casemiro is booked for a Francis Begbie tackle on Messi in the centre circle.
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Change of shirt for Leo Messi pic.twitter.com/4y84WwTrEi
— The Spanish Football Podcast (@tsf_podcast) April 10, 2021
87 min Real Madrid aren’t really bothering to attack now. All that matters is protecting their lead.
83 min Barcelona appeal furiously for a penalty when Braithwaite goes down in the area. Alba had poked a shot past Courtois that was going wide of the far post. Mendy was shepherding it away from goal when Braithwaite nipped in front of him. Braithwaite felt a slight touch on his arm from Mendy and went over. It looked like a dive to me, though it was a risky move from Mendy and the Barcelona players were livid. Alba has been booked for dissent.
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82 min Isco batters over the bar from the edge of the area. There’s a desperate feel to the match, partly because of the context and partly because of the rain.
81 min Two more changes for Barcelona: Martin Braithwaite and Francisco Trincao replace Dembele and Pedri.
80 min There’s a break in play while the referee’s walkie-talkie is fixed, presumably because of rain damage. It has rained incessantly since half-time. Messi takes advantage of the timeout to change his shirt.
78 min Barcelona’s last league defeat was at Cadiz on 5 December.
77 min Mariano has a shot blocked and then Marcelo slices the rebound wide.
76 min Odriozola’s mishit cross almost sneaks past ter Stegen, who has to leap and flap the ball over the bar.
75 min Messi’s floated cross is headed straight at Courtois by the substitute Moriba. It was a good leap but he couldn’t generate any power in the header.
74 min Real have gone to a back three/five, with Mendy moving inside and Marcelo coming on at left wing-back.
72 min Substitutions galore. Real first: Marcelo, Isco and Mariano Diaz replace Benzema, Vinicius and Kroos. And Barcelona have brought on Ilaix Moriba for Araujo. Both sides will benefit from some fresh legs, not to mention dry shirts.
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71 min The increasingly influential Messi combines with Sergi Roberto to release Mingueza on the right of the area. He smashes a cross shot that beats everyone in the middle and flashes wide of the far post.
70 min Messi’s free-kick hits the wall. It’s still absolutely pelting down, by the way, which is making for a slightly shambolic but extremely entertaining second half.
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70 min The free-kick is 22 yards from goal, slightly to the left of centre, and Messi is going to take it...
68 min Another great chance for Madrid! A cross from the right was headed back across goal by Vinicius towards Kroos, whose stooping header was cleared in the six-yard box. It was off target anyway. Barcelona break and Messi is flattened by Nacho as he curls a shot wide from the edge of the D. A foul is given and Nacho is booked.
66 min: Great chance for Vinicius! Modric clipped a long pass upfield, and Vinicius had too much pace for the last man Mingueza. He ran from the halfway line to the edge of the area, but then tried to play a square pass to Benzema instead of shooting. It was the wrong choice, poorly executed, and Lenglet was able to clear.
65 min Griezmann is fouled 25 yards from goal. Messi cracks the free-kick into the wall.
64 min Another Barcelona change: Sergi Roberto replaces Sergio Busquets.
64 min “Imagine the red card Sergio Ramos could produce in these conditions,” says Phil Cowen. “If he wasn’t already itching to be out there, he is now.”
63 min Alba’s low cross is crucially blocked by Courtois at the near post, with two or three Barcelona players waiting behind him in the six-yard box.
61 min Real Madrid bring on Marco Asensio for the excellent Fede Valverde. Moments later, Vinicius’s cross hits Araujo and deflects onto the outside of the near post.
Messi poked a pass down the left towards Jordi Alba, who curled a first-time cross into the middle. Griezmann leapt to dummy it at the near post, and Mingueza stretched to force a shot past Courtois. He didn’t catch it cleanly - in fact it came off his shin - but he’ll not care.
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GOAL! Real Madrid 2-1 Barcelona (Mingueza 60)
Barcelona are back in it!
57 min And now Benzema cracks high and wide from 20 yards with his left foot. There are more goals in this for Madrid.
57 min Another superb counter-attack from Real ends with Valverde’s low cross just evading Benzema.
56 min “I concur with Matt Dony’s rant only insofar as I’d like Barcelona to make life difficult for Real Madrid ahead of Liverpool’s second leg match on Wednesday,” says Colum Fordham. “I actually prefer Barcelona to Real Madrid (and have fond memories of seeing them at the Camp Nou) but the team seems to be falling apart at the seams. Vinicius tortured Liverpool last Tuesday and is doing the same to Barca this evening. We need some Messi magic.”
Either that or an abandonment because of the rain. It’s not impossible, because the conditions are atrocious.
55 min Griezmann misses a great chance, though it wouldn’t have counted as the flag went up just after he slid a shot wide of the near post.
54 min “I think Liverpool should just invite one supporter to stand in the Kop end on Wednesday and give Real a piece of his mind,” says Justin Kavanagh. “If there’s any left of it after that scarifying email. I can just imagine Matt Dony belting out You’ll Never Walk Again all on his lonesome…”
Was the ‘Again’ deliberate, or subconscious recognition of Matt Dony’s furious anger.
53 min Loads of Barcelona possession, same as in the first half. But Madrid still look very dangerous on the counter-attack. After a good one-touch move involving Modric and Benzema, Kroos sweeps over the bar from 25 yards.
52 min “Messi doesn’t really hide his feelings these days,” says Ruth Purdue. “The misses from Dembele come to mind. Being as good as he is must be hard for him sometimes.”
The contrast with Maradona is interesting; he made mediocre players feel like they could beat the world.
51 min The rain is biblical, and there’s already some surface water holding the ball up slightly.
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48 min It’s proper John Cusack weather in Madrid now, and even the referee slipped over a moment ago.
48 min Good defending from Nacho, who stops Pedri’s cutback reaching Messi at the near post.
46 min Barcelona have switched to a back four, with Oscar Mingueza moving to right-back.
46 min Peep peep!
Barcelona have made a half-time substitution. Antoine Griezmann is on for Dest.
“Well, yes,” says Matt Dony. “Of course Aditi Modi is going to agree with me. Because I’m right. It’s the only rational approach to this match. However, I would like to stress that I’m not actually scary in any way. I would say I’m a lover, not a fighter. But, come on. I’m emailing the MBM on a Saturday night. I’m clearly neither. And I’ve made my peace with that.”
“Scoring that penalty against Chelsea in the 2012 semi would’ve gone a long way toward another Champions League!” says Phil Podolsky, adding another to the list of Lionel Messi’s Expected Champions League winners’ medals.
“There’s a case to be made,” begins Paul Fitzgerald, “that if Higuain and Dembele showed more composure in certain games, that Messi would have an extra Champions League and a World Cup to his name.”
True, although Messi missing a sitter in the World Cup final didn’t help either.
Half time: Real Madrid 2-0 Barcelona
Peep peep! Real have control of the clasico after an exemplary counter-attacking performance. Karim Benzema scored a superb first goal before Toni Kroos added a deflected free-kick. But the star of the first half was Vinicius Junior, who has been a constant menace on the break.
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45+3 min Dembele’s deep corner from the left finds its way through to Messi, whose close-range shot is superbly blocked by Courtois. Messi had controlled it with his arm, so I doubt it would have counted anyway.
45+1 min: Messi hits the post from a corner! It was a wicked, booming inswinger that beats the stretching Courtois and thumped off the far post. There would have been plenty of stink had he scored, because the corner had been wrongly awarded.
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45 min Two minutes of added time. Barcelona are inadvertently giving a masterclass in sterile domination.
43 min Vazquez is unable to continue because of that injury to his left knee. Alvaro Odriozola comes on to replace him.
41 min Messi has a shot blocked by Valverde, who has had a storming half at both ends of the pitch.
40 min It has started pouring down in Madrid, if you’re interested in that sort of thing. Lucas Vazquez is back on the field, though he’s still limping.
39 min “Matt Dony’s anger was such,” begins Ian Copestake, “that he took the gloves off with that comment only to reveal yet another pair of gloves!”
38 min Lucas Vazquez and Busquets are receiving treatment after a painful 50/50 near the halfway line. I think there was a clash of knees, and Vazquez looks in all sorts of pain.
37 min Barcelona implore the referee to give a penalty when Dembele falls over in the area after a slightly clumsy challenge from Mendy. Nothing doing.
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37 min Real have had 37 per cent of the possession. They’re doing a rope-a-dope number on Barcelona, just as they did to Liverpool in the week.
34 min: Valverde hits the post! That was a scintillating break from Real. Vinicius Junior charged down the left and flicked a lovely outside-of-the-foot pass across to Valverde on the edge of the area. His fierce shot rebounded off the inside of the far post, and Vazquez’s follow-up was saved by ter Stegen.
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34 min de Jong’s cross from the right deflects invitingly towards Dembele, who barely connects with his first-time shot. That looked like a great chance.
33 min “Vinicius scared me,” says Ian Copestake.
Is that what we’re calling Matt Dony now?
32 min “That Matt Dony message was borderline scary,” says Aditi Modi. “I have half a mind to ask you to keep this anonymous. And yet, as a neutral, I find myself agreeing with him.”
31 min Vinicius Junior is starting to look really dangerous on the break. It was his run that led to the free-kick for the second goal, and moments ago he was crowded out desperately in the area by Dest and Busquets.
Kroos’s free-kick took a big deflection off Dest, who turned his back as he leapt, and flew past Jordi Alba on the line. Alba tried to head it away but could only help it into the net. I can’t decide whether Alba should have done better or whether he didn’t have enough reaction time. Either way, I’m pretty sure the original free-kick was on target, so it should go down as Kroos’s goal.
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GOAL! Real Madrid 2-0 Barcelona (Kroos 28)
It’s in there!
27 min Kroos will take the free-kick...
26 min Vinicius Junior is fouled this far outside the area by Mingueza, who is booked. It was a brilliant run from Vinicius, who beat Mingueza twice and was punished for his impertinence.
24 min Benzema wafts the free-kick miles over the bar.
23 min Pedri is booked for fouling Casemiro 25 yards from goal.
22 min “Jordi Alba really didn’t even consider putting his foot in for the lead up to that goal,” says Paul Fitzgerald. “Horrible defending.”
Yeah, it wasn’t good. Valverde just walked past him.
21 min Modric has a snapshot blocked by Araujo. This is Real’s best spell of the game in terms of sustained possession.
20 min “I may have said before, but I detest Barcelona,” chirps Matt Dony. “Probably more than I hate any other football club. The sanctimony and arrogance drive me mad. And, I know they’re not exactly shrinking violets, but I’ve always liked Madrid. Or at least, I’ve liked them since McManaman went there. And if you didn’t enjoy the Galacticos era, then you have no soul. But, right now, I’d love to see Barca absolutely destroy Madrid, and crush their spirit before next week. Not just beat them, as that might make them angry and even more determined to do the business in Europe. I want the see Madrid ripped apart, and left terrified of football. I want Zidane to feel like he has to hand in his notice. (Deservedly, for the shoddy way he treated Bale. But that’s another story, and one in which I might not be entirely impartial.) And, no one wants to condone the ‘agricultural’ approach to tackling, but a few Madrid players out for 7-10 days wouldn’t be the end of the world...”
19 min The scoreline is a minor travesty, as Barcelona have played almost all of the football so far.
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16 min Almost an instant equaliser for Barcelona. Messi dances around the defence on the left of the area and stands up a fine cross that just evades Dembele.
Barcelona are angry because they thought Messi was fouled at the other end. I didn’t think it was a foul, for whatever that’s worth. Play continued and Fede Valverde surged 40 yards before finding Lucas Vazquez on the right. He crossed low towards the near post, where Benzema got in front of Araujo and flicked a jaunty shot behind his front leg. It beat ter Stegen, who might have been unsighted, and sneaked in at the near post. A touch of class from Benzema, who is playing some of the best football of his career.
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GOAL! Real Madrid 1-0 Barcelona (Benzema 13)
The big man gives Real the lead with a brilliant goal!
12 min “Impressions of Ousmane Dembele?” says Simon Frank. “I rarely saw such an upright player with incredible balance and a shot off either foot. He also shows Balotelli levels of not appearing to give a flying one.”
He’s obviously talented but has rarely done much when I’ve seen him. And I can never forgive him for this.
10 min: Good save by Courtois! Messi plays a typical pass inside Vazquez to release Jordi Alba. He fires a low cross towards Dembele that is pushed away by the diving Courtois. That was a vital bit of goalkeeping, because Dembele would otherwise have had an open goal.
9 min Pedri combines nicely with Dembele and finds Messi on the edge of the D. He makes a beeline for goal but it well tackled by Mendy.
6 min It’s been a confident start from Barcelona, with plenty of the old tiki-taka.
5 min Vinicius breaks into the area from the left, but his touch is too heavy and the ball runs out of play. That was a hint of a chance for Madrid.
3 min Plenty of early possession for Barcelona, albeit in the middle third of the pitch.
1 min Peep peep! We’re off and running.
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“Hi Rob,” says Peter Oh. “This training ground pitch doesn’t really do justice to El Clasico, does it?”
Karim Benzema and Lionel Messi lead their teams onto the pitch. Let’s get it on.
A bit more pre-match reading
Just over 10 minutes until the kick off. Here’s a reminder of how the table looks - the leaders Atletico Madrid have a tricky game at Betis tomorrow night.
Sid Lowe’s preview
Team news
Both teams make one change from their midweek wins. Real Madrid bring in Fede Valverde for Marco Asensio, which probably means a change to a diamond midfield. Barcelona have replaced Antoine Griezmann with Ronald Araujo, so Frenkie de Jong will move into midfield. Gerard Pique, who has been out for a month, is back on the bench.
Real Madrid (4-3-3) Courtois; Lucas Vazquez, Militao, Nacho, Mendy; Modric, Casemiro, Kroos; Valverde, Benzema, Vinicius Junior.
Substitutes: Lunin, Altube, Asensio, Marcelo, Odriozola, Isco, Mariano, Rodrygo.
Barcelona (3-4-2-1) ter Stegen; Mingueza, Araujo, Lenglet; Dest, de Jong, Busquets, Jordi Alba; Messi, Pedri; Dembele.
Substitutes: Pena, Tenas, Pique, Griezmann, Pjanic, Riqui Puig, Trincao, Sergi Roberto, Umtiti, Junior, Moriba.
Referee Gil Manzano.
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Preamble
The clasico has got its glamour back. After a couple of years of relative drabness, this feels like a proper meeting between Real Madrid and Barcelona. The context is perfect for the neutral: both teams know that victory tonight would put them top of the table, and make them favourites to win La Liga. That looked unlikely a few months ago, particularly when Barcelona were 13th in the table. But their recent form has been devastating, and they have taken 40 points from 14 league games since the turn of the year.
Real Madrid are also in very good form and dealt efficiently with Liverpool in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final. But they will again be without Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane, which is far from ideal against a rampant Barcelona attack. Oh, just one other thing about tonight’s game: it might be Lionel Messi’s last clasico.
Kick off 9pm in Madrid, 8pm in London.
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