Both Real Madrid and Barcelona wanted to end the matchday on top before next Mondays clash of the titans, yet it will be Jose Mourinhos team who maintained their one point advantage at the summit and enter the Clasico as league leaders. Barcelona smashed eight past a hapless Almeria, while Real Madrid responded in style with a 5-1 defeat of Athletic Bilbao at the Bernabeu. In the days early match, the points were shared between Villarreal and Valencia in a 1-1 draw at the Madrigal.
La Liga Saturday Matchday 12: Goalfests For Barcelona And Real Madrid
Almeria 0 - 8 Barcelona
As preparations for a Clasico go, it doesn’t get much better than this. Almeria were ripped to shreds by a rampant Barcelona who showed signs that they are hitting top form at just the right moment. From the moment the first ball was kicked it was a barrage of attacks from Barca as Lionel Messi, Pedro and David Villa picked off the Almeria defence at will. The Almeria players had stated they would fight to save their managers job, but they were utterly outclassed by an unforgiving Barca team. Xavi and Iniesta had the freedom of the park to control the match from the middle, while the ease with which Messi and Pedro got into scoring positions was embarrassing at times. There’s no doubt playing against this Barcelona side in this form is a daunting task for any team, but once the third goal went in after 26 minutes, heads dropped and you feared for Juanma Lillo’s men. It was hard not to feel sorry for them.
Read Article >
