Barcelona 2-1 Real Madrid: Neymar upstaged Messi and Ronaldo
Full-time: Barcelona 2-1 Real Madrid
Goals: Neymar (18′), Alexis Sánchez (79′)
Match date: October 26, 2013
Stadium: Camp Nou
Competition: La Liga
Barcelona line-up: Valdés, Adriano, Mascherano, Piqué, Daniel Alves, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Messi, Neymar, Cesc Fabregas.
Barcelona have beaten Real Madrid at the Camp Nou this Saturday afternoon, after getting the better off their archrivals on a 2-1 game. Neymar made his “Clasico” debut the best possible way, by scoring the opener and even outstaging the other superstars on the pitch: his own teammate Lionel Messi and his opponent Cristiano Ronaldo.
The first goal got scored precisely by the former Santos footballer, in a play that started with the usual fantasy that comes out of Andrés Iniesta feet. The Spanish midfielder spotted Neymar unmarked on the left before sending him a low pass and the Brazilian took care of the rest. His shot still got slightly deflected on Carvajal‘s leg, but it was accurate enough to get past Diego López and put the Blaugranas in front.
There were several controversial plays from that moment onwards, with Barça claiming a penalty made by Pepe on Cesc Fabregas, while Real Madrid feels they should have earned two, the first coming of an handball by Adriano after a sliding tackle and the second one on a fould made by Javier Mascherano on Cristiano Ronaldo. The referee Undiano Mallenco didn’t point to the spot in any of the situations and the goals ended up arriving through natural running plays.
The 2-0 was quite simply a masterpiece from Alexis Sánchez. The former Udinese forward showed off his body balance skills after colliding with Varane, then took his time to make a decision and chipped the ball above Diego López for a splendid goal. It all happened in the 79th minute, so at that point Real Madrid certainly felt their chances had just got reduced to dust.
There would still be time for one more goal though, but this time for the visitors. Cristiano Ronaldo initiated a counter-attack on the left wing, carried the ball forward for several meters and then assisted Jesé RodrÃguez in the middle, who was on an open run towards Victor Valdés. The “Canterano” didn’t struck the ball perfectly but his shot only stopped at the back of the net and Real Madrid reduced to 2-1. No more goals were scored in the remaining minutes and Barcelona secured the 3 points that now allow them to be 6 points on top of Real Madrid in La Liga.
Sources: fcbarcelona.com