Lionel Messi is starting to have a real impact on the game, and Real Madrid's defence cannot hold him. The Barcelona star threads in Alexis Sanchez, and Iker Casillas has to be alert to prevent the Chilean adding to his tally with a good save at the near post. A few minutes later, he's at it again, dancing through the white-shirted ranks and forcing Pepe into a foul that sees the centre back booked, then taking the free kick and sending the ball fizzing juuust wide of Casillas's post.
Real Madrid Vs. Barcelona, 2011 El Classico: Lionel Messi Starting To Dominate Match
In the interim, Lassana Diarra has been pulled off the pitch in favour of Sami Khedira, presumably because of a yellow card he had picked up for a pretty awful tackle on Andres Iniesta. Things are falling apart a little bit for Jose Mourinho and Real - can they recover, or are Barcelona going to run riot?
For all of our live coverage throughout the game, keep it on our Real Madrid vs. Barcelona, El Clasico StoryStream. For more on the two teams, head over to Real Madrid blog Managing Madrid and FC Barcelona blog Barca Blaugranes. For more from around the world of football, follow @SBNationSoccer on twitter and bookmark SB Nation Soccer
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