First off, Barcelona deserved to win. There was no phantom call. There was no atrocious officiating. Barcelona deserved to win. And they won. I’m sure that Sir Alex could find some fault with a close off-sides call, but Madrid lost, fair, square, & full circle.
Still, this game failed to live up to the hype of a clasico. Messi did have handful of clear cut chances, only for San Iker to intervene, but ultimately Madrid’s full court press did cause problems for Barcelona “build-from-the-back” approach. Valdes, not used to seeing a forward run at him full speed, booted his fair share of balls to the sideline. A moral victory? More like a morale victory by immoral means. But I’ll take it.
Still, Xavi and Messi function in perfect harmony on another plane. They don’t actually play on the same field, mind you. Rather, they float about three feet off the ground, disappearing and re-appearing like those apparitions in a painfully drawn-out film based on a bestselling novel. He who shall not be named…
At the 60 minute mark, when Guti came on and provided a bit of imagination from the midfield, I thought – I thought I thought – I hoped that I thought that I thought… Madrid could pull out a draw. A goal seemed possible with Ronaldo running free down the left but unable to find his shot. Then, like Mayweather waiting for a mistimed jab, Pedro stuck a dagger through the Madrid backline to make Brutus wince.
As per usual, the Madrid media machine will call for Pellegrini’s head on a platter. I hope Perez resists the temptation, because I could not envision this core of players performing that much better. Plus, with midweek Champions League ties eating up minutes, the Cules could easily trip up in La Liga against minnows.
Still, millions of pounds can buy players but not a team. This off-season, Pellegrini will need to call the shots and plug holes, as he did at Villareal. While Robben and Schneijder dance into the Champions League semifinals, Madrid must look beyond “name brand” players to push jersey sales.
Merengues the world over can hold our head up high – this was no 6-2 spanking. But still, spending tense Saturdays engaging in wishful Barcelona schadenfraude seems more like a punishment than a past time.
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