Real Madrid Vs. Barcelona 2011, El Clasico: 0-0 Halftime, Match Not Lacking In Controversy Or Testosterone

It’s been a physical affair over the first 45 minutes of football in El Clasico, and Real Madrid and Barcelona are locked up in a 0-0 draw at halftime. Both teams have had their chances, but a combination of good defense and questionable refereeing has kept the score sheet clean. Barcelona are enjoying their customary majority of the possession, but Real Madrid have looked dangerous at times on the counter-attack, and despite the possession disparity, it would be unfair to say they look like losing or that they are clearly second best.

Though, they probably should be losing, and can thank their lucky stars that the referee didn’t give a penalty kick when Iker Casillas hauled down David Villa in the box in the 26th minute. David Villa wasn’t called for simulation, either, despite his tumble, so it’s hard to know exactly what the referee was looking at. It was a situation where the official had to give a penalty or book Villa for diving; a no-call was not an option. A no-call is exactly what happened, and Gerard Pique was booked for voicing his displeasure at the lack of a call to the referee.

The game was a tight encounter in the early going, with both teams feeling each other out, but it seriously opened up in the closing minutes of the first half. Lionel Messi awoke from his slumber and showed the first signs of what makes him the best player in the world in the 43rd minute, beating the defense and playing a one-two exchange with Villa before having his shot saved by Casillas.

Just before halftime, Ronaldo almost opened the scoring with a fantastic header towards the upper 90 of the goal mouth, but his effort was brilliantly cleared off the line by Adriano.

Jose Mourinho’s decision to play with a 4-3-3 formation rather than his usual 4-2-3-1 has had its successes and failures. On one hand, it has worked well to limit Xavi and Andres Iniesta’s influence on the game. Both of Barcelona’s midfield playmakers have played well, but they haven’t come close to dominating the way they usually do. The one failing of the system is that there is often lots of time and space on the ball for Sergio Busquets, and this has allowed Barcelona to enjoy nearly 75 percent of the possession.

A draw is almost as good as a win for Barcelona in this match, so it is Mourinho that will have to make the first attacking move. He has a wealth of attacking options on his bench, and it would not be surprising to see Gonzalo Higuain or Mesut Özil introduced before the 60th minute of play.