Barcelona 2-1 Real Madrid: Barcelona took a big step towards the championship in Spain on Sunday. The team of coach Xavi Hernández won thanks to a late goal from Franck Kessié against archrival Real Madrid. El Clásico was not always of a high level, but it did provide food for discussion.
Barcelona seems to give Real Madrid a final blow in title fight
Where Barcelona won 1-3 against Real in January in the battle for the Supercopa and three weeks ago won 0-1 in Madrid in the Copa del Rey tournament, it was the Madrilenians who won the competition in October (3 -1). After that, Barça built up a large lead in La Liga that amounted to nine points for the Clásico in Camp Nou. Even in the event of a defeat, there would therefore be no acute danger for the Catalans. With a win, a Barça championship seemed almost a certainty.
The visitors from Madrid wanted to put a stop to that. In that respect, Real’s start was excellent. At the first chance it was a hit for the guests. Ronald Araújo received a cross from Vinícius Júnior from the left, after which the ball flew into the goal. Goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen, who has collected so little this season, also had no answer at the unfortunate moment.
After the 0-1, Barcelona, with Frenkie de Jong in midfield, took control. That resulted in opportunities via Andreas Christensen, who headed wide of the goal, and Raphinha, who forced Thibaut Courtois to make a save. Real seemed to hold onto the lead until half-time, but the home team came alongside just before the end of the first half. After a cross from Araújo, Real couldn’t get the ball away. The defense blocked a shot by Raphinha, after which Sergi Roberto shot in from close range to make it 1-1.
Second half
In the second half, an equal and yet mediocre spectacle followed. Both Barça and Real did not create great opportunities for a long time. Frenkie de Jong saw an attempt fly high over the Madrid goal and Vinícius did the same thing a little later on the other side of the field. Only after seventy minutes did the first shot between the posts follow in the second half. Courtois saved on a good attempt by Raphinha.
In a leisurely second half, Barcelona and Real seemed to be heading for a draw, until the visitors struck out of nowhere in the final phase. After a good action from Rodrygo, Dani Carvajal reached teammate Marco Asensio. With a clever tap, the attacker made sure the ball rolled into the goal. Everyone in white cheered, but the VAR stopped the goal. Asensio turned out to be offside, so the goal was disallowed.
Despite a final offensive, Real was no longer able to make the winning. At an unexpected moment, Barcelona did succeed. Robert Lewandowski had a nice heel, with which he delivered the ball to Alejandro Baldé. The cross from the left back reached Kessié, who shot in at the far post to give Barcelona an important victory. The Catalans now have twelve points more than Real with twelve rounds to go.
