La Liga - Ibrahimovic wins Clasico for Barca

Eurosport - Sun, 29 Nov 20:05:00 2009

Substitute Zlatan Ibrahimovic was the Clasico matchwinner as Barcelona defeated Real Madrid 1-0 at Camp Nou to climb back to the top of the table.

Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Barcelona teammates celebrate goal v Real Madrid - 0

The Swede scored within five minutes of coming on in the second half, dispatching a 56th-minute volley from six yards out.

Barca's slender cushion seemed to provide scant comfort when Sergio Busquets was dismissed immediately afterwards.

However Real, despite a promising first-half performance, rarely looked like capitalising on their man advantage and it finished 10-a-side when Lassana Diarra was sent off in the closing stages.

What excellence was on show in El Clasico was not exclusively in attack, with the Barcelona defensive pair Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique arguably the standout performers. The duo were called upon particularly in a first half where Pep Guardiola's side were not at their best.

Twenty minutes of probing had elapsed before the game's first real chance came and went.

Not for the final time in the half Real Madrid broke with real purpose, the ball transferred by Kaka's fleet feet to Cristiano Ronaldo but, confronted by Victor Valdes, the Portuguese struck his shot too close to the keeper.

Valdes was the busier of the two keepers and would have been tested again but for a great block from Puyol. A poor first touch from Marcelo gave a second invitation to a player who usually requires none.

Visiting defenders Alvaro Arbeloa and Raul Albiol finished the first half in the referee's book but it was the remonstrations of a frustrated Thierry Henry that were a truer indicator of the feelings of the two teams.

Barcelona's bonhomie was being compromised by their inability to elude their solid yet slick opponents with only an Andres Iniesta cross-shot seven minutes before half-time threatening an opening goal for the home side.

Ibrahimovic was introduced for the disappointing Henry shortly after half-time and within five minutes of his arrival, the Swede had given Barcelona the lead.

The substitute volleyed home with his left foot from just six yards out after Dani Alves had swung over a cross from the right.

His introduction buoyed Barca almost immediately but moments before he broke the deadlock for his team the home side were again indebted to Puyol for a block on Gonzalo Higuain.

If Barcelona were now beginning to enjoy themselves then they had not counted on the stupidity of Busquets, with the midfielder receiving a second yellow card and thus a red for a needless handball.

Ronaldo headed a presentable chance over the bar in the 65th minute before the returning Portuguese was withdrawn for Karim Benzema as Manuel Pellegrini's side sought to capitalise on their numerical advantage.

Legendary frontman Raul was also called upon, with the Real coach withdrawing a defender, Arbeloa, in place of the Spanish goal-getter to leave no-one in any doubt as to his side's intentions.

Pique could have ended Real's vain pursuit 20 minutes early had he not headed wide, while Eric Abidal fired wide of goal with his left foot.

Real were not without their chances in the closing stages, but Sergio Ramos headed wide and Benzema was unable to control a bouncing ball sufficiently to get a shot on target.

Messi could have wrapped the game up a minute from full-time only to shoot straight at Casillas but when Diarra was dismissed for a second bookable offence in time added on, the visitors knew the game was up.

Chris Stanton / Eurosport

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  1. alan you are gay, so if ronaldo was half fit, when he­ played the game before Barcelona, than what do you call­ Messi, Ibra, Abidal, Toure who did not play at­ all????????????????? and quit imagining too much, 6-0,­ that will never happen, even if franco comes and helps­ you people!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    From Money Does Not Buy Success - Fuxxk Getachew44, on Thu 10 Dec 3:21AM

  2. what fuc king game was money does not buy success­ watching? it wa barca that only had 3 shots on goal we­ had a half fit ronaldo and a team that hasnt gelled and­ still gave barca a good game ifbarca are the best in­ europe then once madrid have gelled we dont have­ anything to worry about cant wait t get the scum at the­ bernabeu well fu ck them 6-0

    From Alan, on Fri 4 Dec 8:50PM

  3. !!!ANTIMADRIDISTA!!!

    From damnsoldja, on Tue 1 Dec 1:14AM

  4. Visca el Barca!!!

    From damnsoldja, on Tue 1 Dec 1:14AM

  5. Barça is actually the best team in Spain and maybe in­ Europe. Money can buy Cristiano but not buy classy­ football.

    From jordi_boronat, on Mon 30 Nov 7:52PM
  6. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    9.haha madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!!­ haha­ madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!!­ haha­ madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!!­ haha­ madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!!­ haha­ madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!!­ haha­ madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!!­ haha­ madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!!­ haha­ madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!!­ haha­ madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!!­ haha­ madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!!­ haha­ madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!!­ haha­ madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!!­ haha­ madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!!­ haha­ madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!!­ haha­ madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!!­ haha­ madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!!­ haha­ madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!!­ haha­ madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!!­ haha­ madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!!­ haha­ madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!! haha madshit!!!!

    From money_does_buy_jerseys, on Mon 30 Nov 1:11PM

  7. F@ck you real. you need to learn from barca how to play­ good game.

    From albanianbarca, on Mon 30 Nov 1:02PM

  8. terry norfolk go fak ur self u and the epl!
    when i­ watched chelsea vs arsenal i was going 2 sleep!
    madrid­ vs barca was a very exciting match that shows that la­ liga is much more entertaining then the epl.
    this year­ chelsea madrid sevilla and barca will be in the semi­ final if u epl fans like it r not!

    From j_ball_4life, on Mon 30 Nov 12:41PM

  9. terry norfolk go fak ur self u and the epl!
    when i­ watched chelsea vs arsenal i was going 2 sleep!
    madrid­ vs barca was a very exciting match that shows that la­ liga is much more entertaining then the epl.
    this year­ chelsea madrid sevilla and barca will be in the semi­ final if u epl fans like it r not!

    From j_ball_4life, on Mon 30 Nov 12:39PM

  10. For you madrid fans that say madrid played well. How­ did madrid play well? Madrid only had 3­ shots on­ target, only ronaldo had a good chance but he­ flops­ against big teams and the most of the game madrid was­ defending. Barca on the other hand­ controlled­ possesion 69% to 31%, and Barca had 7­ shots on target.­ Also madrid were animals, the were­ falling and kicking­ Barca players, that is why they got­ 5 yellow cards and­ 1 red card. And if madrid was so good, they could­ have­ beaten a 10 men Barcelona team for the last 30­­ minutes, but they were not good enough. haha­­ madrid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    From Money Does Not Buy Success - Fuxxk Getachew44, on Mon 30 Nov 11:46AM

  11. For you madrid fans that say madrid played well. How­ did madrid play well? Madrid only had 3­ shots on­ target, only ronaldo had a good chance but he­ flops­ against big teams and the most of the game madrid was­ defending. Barca on the other hand­ controlled­ possesion 69% to 31%, and Barca had 7­ shots on target.­ Also madrid were animals, the were­ falling and kicking­ Barca players, that is why they got­ 5 yellow cards and­ 1 red card. And if madrid was so good, they could­ have­ beaten a 10 men Barcelona team for the last 30­­ minutes, but they were not good enough. haha­­ madrid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    From Money Does Not Buy Success - Fuxxk Getachew44, on Mon 30 Nov 11:46AM

  12. This blog proves just one thing, fans from Spain or­ following Spanish teams are just as unintelligent and­ blind to the opposition as EPL fans.

    Terry Norfolk

    From terry b, on Mon 30 Nov 11:43AM

  13. Suranya....U are an jdiot, were u watching the same­ game as therest of us. Real's threat in the match­ went with CR9' substitution

    From Samuel, on Mon 30 Nov 11:09AM

  14. WHERE THE FUXK ARE YOU GETACHEW44, WHY ARE YOU MADRID­ FANS STILL MAKING EXCUSES???????????? I told you MONEY­ DOES NOT­ BUY SUCCESS. Madrid suxk, they could not even­ beat­ Barca without Ibra for for over 50 minutes and­ Barca­ with 10 men for the last 30 minutes. And lets­ not mention that Ibra, Messi, and Toure came from­ injury. Where are you­ fuxking getachew44, you­ predicted that Barca would be­ in the 4th place, look­ now, look at who is first. You­ mother fuxker­ getachew44, don't ever predict a win­ for madrid­ because everytime you predict a win, madrid­ ends up­ losing. haha madrid!!!!!!!! Barca has beaten­ madrid­ the last 3 games in the row. 3 wins, 0 draws,­ and 0­ loses for PEP against madrid. Suxk on­ that!!!!!!!!­ Where was kaka, where was ronaldo, where­ was­ benzema???????????? You madrid loser fans were­ judging­ Ibra, but look who is kicking assssssss, he won­ the­ clasico, and has scored 8 goals and 7 assists in 9­­ matches. Ibra is the best striker in the world. Look­ at­ benzema, waste of money, only scored 3 goals. Look­ at­ kaka, biggest flop, only scored 3 goals, and 2 of­ them­ were penalties. Look at ronaldo, he never­ performs in­ big matches. ronaldo has played 4 games­ against­ Barcelona and he has never scored against­ Barcelona.­ haha madrid!!!!!!. Now look at who made bad­ deals on­ players!!!!!!!!!!! haha madrid!!!!!!!!!!­ haha­ madrid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! haha madrid!!!!!!!!!!! let­ me­ say it again. One, Two, Three, HaHa­­ madrid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    From Money Does Not Buy Success - Fuxxk Getachew44, on Mon 30 Nov 10:55AM

  15. WHERE THE FUXK ARE YOU GETACHEW44, WHY ARE YOU MADRID­ FANS STILL MAKING EXCUSES???????????? I told you MONEY­ DOES NOT­ BUY SUCCESS. Madrid suxk, they could not even­ beat­ Barca without Ibra for for over 50 minutes and­ Barca­ with 10 men for the last 30 minutes. And lets­ not mention that Ibra, Messi, and Toure came from­ injury. Where are you­ fuxking getachew44, you­ predicted that Barca would be­ in the 4th place, look­ now, look at who is first. You­ mother fuxker­ getachew44, don't ever predict a win­ for madrid­ because everytime you predict a win, madrid­ ends up­ losing. haha madrid!!!!!!!! Barca has beaten­ madrid­ the last 3 games in the row. 3 wins, 0 draws,­ and 0­ loses for PEP against madrid. Suxk on­ that!!!!!!!!­ Where was kaka, where was ronaldo, where­ was­ benzema???????????? You madrid loser fans were­ judging­ Ibra, but look who is kicking assssssss, he won­ the­ clasico, and has scored 8 goals and 7 assists in 9­­ matches. Ibra is the best striker in the world. Look­ at­ benzema, waste of money, only scored 3 goals. Look­ at­ kaka, biggest flop, only scored 3 goals, and 2 of­ them­ were penalties. Look at ronaldo, he never­ performs in­ big matches. ronaldo has played 4 games­ against­ Barcelona and he has never scored against­ Barcelona.­ haha madrid!!!!!!. Now look at who made bad­ deals on­ players!!!!!!!!!!! haha madrid!!!!!!!!!!­ haha­ madrid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! haha madrid!!!!!!!!!!! let­ me­ say it again. One, Two, Three, HaHa­­ madrid!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    From Money Does Not Buy Success - Fuxxk Getachew44, on Mon 30 Nov 10:55AM

  16. REAL JOKE WON'T WIN F-CK ALL

    From I TYSON, on Mon 30 Nov 10:41AM

  17. Kaka was more dangerous than Ronaldo. Ronaldo is­ clearly no match fit. Even if he was fit, he would not­ be a match for Barca.
    Barca also started with Zlatan on­ the bench, if they would've started with Henry,­ Zlatan and Messi up front, then Real would only be­ playing to defend.
    Iniesta and Xavi need to be playing­ midfield together. This makes it a nightmare for the­ opposition. Great performance from Puyol lastnight,­ handsdown man of the match.
    Congrats to Barca on this­ great win!

    From suraya79s, on Mon 30 Nov 10:35AM

  18. Real should of bought the Kettering Town team forward.­ He would of cost you 2,000£ - who are ya who are ya?­ Ronaldo and his muppets that's what.

    From lee, on Mon 30 Nov 10:09AM
  19. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    GO REAL MADRID.. YOU ARE THE BEST FOOTBALL TEAM ALL­ OVER THE WORLD.. BUT REFRIES HAVE SOME PROBLEMS ABOUT­ EYES.. THEY CAN'T SEE WHAT IS HAPPANING ON THE­ STADIUM.. WE WILL SEE WHO WILL WIN LA LIGA AND ALSO­ CHAMPOONS LEAGUE..

    From Petiko, on Mon 30 Nov 10:09AM
  20. Comment hidden due to its low rating. Show

    The goal a mistake, it was offside by inches, but still­ an offside

    From Marlo, on Mon 30 Nov 10:00AM
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