We were expecting a disappointing, sterile match after Barcelona won the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Real Madrid 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu. In that match, Madrid midfielder Pepe was sent off in rather controversial circumstances with the score at 0-0, leading to an amusing/embarrassing (delete as desired) rant about a conspiracy to let Barcelona win the match because they're good friends with Unicef. It wasn't exactly the best of tones to set for the second leg, which seemed like it would be either a snoozer or a gruesome, leg-snapping experience.
Barcelona Vs. Real Madrid Final Score: 1-1 Draw Enough To See Hosts Win 3-1 On Aggregate
For the first half hour, both teams chose option number one. Kaka and Gonzalo Higuain were surprise inclusions in the visitors' starting eleven, Mourinho presumably hoping they'd add something to the attack that the likes of Mesut Ozil and Emmanuel Adebayor could not. This did not appear to be the case, as neither team could get anything approaching penetration for the opening thirty minutes - the closest we came to a goal being a rather poor effort from Sergio Busquets from a corner that went straight to Iker Casillas.
Then things perked up, mostly because Lionel Messi had had enough of all of that nonsense. The little forward started scything through the Madrid defence, generating chance after chance in the last fifteen minutes of the half. Casillas stood strong, however, with a series of wold-class saves - he really was the difference between the sides in the first half. Madrid responded by having Ricardo Carvalho foul Messi. A lot. He was booked for his first challenge on the game, but his second and third (both int he first half) received no punishment whatsoever and the defender was getting away scot-free with everything. It seemed as though the conspiracy talk had worked its magic.
Oh, and Madrid also tried to go on the attack once or twice, but mostly just wasted promising positions by crossing the ball straight to Victor Valdes. They won their first corner at the very end of the match, but it was an impossibly poor one, rather neatly encapsulating their attacking prowess.
Common wisdom stated that Real Madrid needed a goal before halftime to remain anything like competitive in the fixture while also not conceding further, but a goal right at the beginning of the second would be more or less the same thing and they were very, very close to getting it. Cristiano Ronaldo, who'd been the star of the show for the visitors in the first half, ran down the middle before being shoved over by Gerard Pique. The ball ran through to Higuain, who clipped one of the neatest finishes you'll ever see past Valdes and into the back of the net.
Cue madcap celebrations from Real Madrid. But wait! Referee Frank de Bleeckere had blown his whistle for a foul by Ronaldo on centre half Javier Mascherano. Apparently, an attacking player being hurled into another player by a defender is now a foul on the attack, which I admit is nothing I'd ever seen before. The goal didn't stand, the chance was gone (my opinion, for whatever that's worth, is that it was a foul by Pique and advantage should have been played), and it was Barcelona's turn to inflict some damage.
Real’s need for a goal had led them to start the attack in promising form, but it also opened up space at the back. Eventually that was going to be exploited, and exploited it was. Even for Barcelona, it was a brilliant pass, with Andres Iniesta the architect. The midfielder, returning to the side following an injury, eviscerated the visitors’ defence with an absolutely beautiful through pass that Pedro took in his strike, finishing smoothly past a helpless Casillas.
With a 3-0 aggregate lead and barely half an hour left to play, Barcelona were home and dry. Madrid seemed to agree, withdrawing Higuain for the hulking figure of Emmanuel Adebayor, whose mandate appeared to be mostly ‘act thuggish’. Kaka’s removal came soon thereafter, with Mesut Ozil taking his place - and then something strange happened. Madrid started playing well.
The equaliser was something of a surprise, with Angel di Maria dancing into the box and absolutely leathering a shot onto the near post. He was a little bit fortunate in that the rebound came straight back to him, and he was then able to feed left back Marcelo to finish easily past a now-stranded Valdes. 1-1, 3-1 on aggregate, and Madrid needed two goals in 25 minutes to go through to the final. Game on? Enh.
Although the visitors played hard for a few minutes longer, Barcelona reasserted control and allowed the game to turn into a what amounted to a series of fouls and yellow cards by Madrid. If the visitors had scored again, it would have set up a frenetic finish, but they didn't - about the only noteworthy moment towards the end of the game came when Eric Abidal made his first Barcelona appearance in months after recovering from liver surgery, receiving a standing ovation from the crowd at Camp Nou.
Two and a bit minutes of injury time later, and that was that - Barcelona had won the semi-final 3-1 on aggregate and have a date in Wembley for the final. Schalke or Manchester United will be their opponents (United hold a two-goal lead ahead of tomorrow’s match at Old Trafford), but no matter who they face in the final, you’d have to expect Barcelona to be favourites to reclaim their crown as champions of Europe.
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