Xabi has got the facial expression right, but Modric & Pepe are holding up way too many fingers…Undiano deserved just one. I really, really, really thought I was going to be writing a victory recap. I didn’t think it just before the match had started, but during it too (up until the 2nd half bullshit started). When Benz had scored his brace in just four freaking minutes, I was like “WE GOT THIS! LOOK AT OUR FIYAH!” But the fucker in yellow put out our fiyah and ruined what had started out as a really exciting and fun match.
Even the Barca boys knew we were coming for them! Di Maria’s little smirk to Neymar, as he checks out the competition, kills me. It’s too good!
Our ever supportive team came out wearing shirts in support of Jese. Animo Jese!
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Another tribute was held before kickoff, one for former Prime Minister Adolfo Suarez who passed on Sunday. A moment of silence was observed and both teams wore black armbands.
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In the 7th minute, Iniesta found it all too easy to break through our defense and score the match’s opener. Fortunately, we weren’t about to let the work of Barca’s littles get the best of us, we got back in it shortly after, by the power of Di Maria & Benz!
The Di Benz link up in the 20th minute, brought us our first goal. A header off of Benz’s perfectly buzzed and striped noggin!
LOVE this guy!
The Di Benz duo was at it again, just four minutes later! Same goal, different finish; this time Benz gave a nice little can-can kick to put it away. After his earlier miss, all the beIN commentators wanted to talk about was whether Benz was fit to be playing the Clasico. Buh-buh-Benz sure made them eat their words after scoring a brace in just four minutes! He so deserved to be the one who turned the match around. With his brace he became 19th on the list of all time Real Madrid goal scorers, he is tied with Morientes.
Two minutes later, Benz almost scored a third, but Pique cleared the shot off the line.
Our lead lasted a good 20 minutes before Messi equalized in the 42nd minute, which segued into the mandatory El Clasico scuffle. Fabregas and Pepe got into it, landing them both yellow cards from Undiano. Oh, but that’s not all that went down. Sergio Busquets stepping on Pepe’s face, now that’s no biggie in the ref’s book. Unnoticed and un-carded behavior. Though I’m sure if Undiano would’ve seen the incident happen, he would’ve done something about it….
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….oh wait, the incident DID practically happen right in front of him? Ok, nevermind then. Fuck you, Busquets! Fuck you, Undiano!
Embed from Getty ImagesDuring the second half, or more appropriately called 45 MINUTES OF THE SHITTIEST REFEREEING, we got to see three penalty goals.
Controversy no. 1: The first penalty was awarded to us, when Cris was tripped up outside of the box by Alves. There was definitely contact, but still, it was outside of the area. Cris converted the penalty and we were equalized at 3-3.
Controversy no. 2: Hearing of our fiyah, confused Neymar decided to do the stop, drop, and roll – guaranteeing him a penalty, rather than actually…I don’t know, go for the goal? At first, the penalty awarded to Barca didn’t bother me. We were awarded a penalty that we shouldn’t have gotten, so this made us even, but then the red card came out. [ Enter long string of expletives ] Things sure as hell weren’t even anymore, Sergio was out and I knew that after that bullshit call, the game over.
Following Sergio being sent off, Messi converted the penalty. Not only were we down to ten men, we had to lose our brace scorer as well. Ancelotti made the call and Varane came on for Benz.
You did good, Benzy.
The match wrapped up with one final penalty in the 82nd minute, when Iniesta got sandwiched between Xabi and Carvajal.
Again….
Pics & Gifs via megustaelfutbol, gfsports, sr4oldpics, sheikhyabooty, holaleomessi, cristianorlandoxiaoyao0620, kenzemas, & afootballobserver.
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Post Match Comments
From realmadrid.com
Ancelotti:
Carlo Ancelotti gave the press his opinion on the Clásico played in the Santiago Bernabéu: “It was a good match, we applied pressure up front, tried to control the game and avoid Barcelona possession. I think we did it well, although we did make some small mistakes and that is why we didn’t win”.
“I told the players that in general it was a good match, they played with intensity and fought hard throughout. Now we have to forget this match and think about Wednesday, which could be a key game in the season. We have to be happy with the way we played this game, luck was not on our side but the team proved to be fit and we have the drive and ability to put this match quickly behind us”.
The fight for the championship
“I have said many times that this Liga is open until the last game. We have to fight and respond well. We have an important game on Wednesday and we need to respond immediately. The team played well, applied pressure up front and had a lot of chances”.
We are not happy because we have lost an important opportunity but it does not matter. La Liga is wide open and we are going to keep fighting. There are nine matches left and, as I have said, it will be a very intense race for everyone. La Liga is wide open for all three teams and any match could be key”.
The Ramos penalty and the controversy
“I haven’t seen it, it is difficult for me to comment on the referee’s decisions in this match because he had a lot of decisions to make. It was the key moment in the match because we were 3-2 ahead and then everything changed. With a man down it is difficult to control the game. I have not spoken to the players about this. I don’t know, it could be that some decisions went against us but that doesn’t change anything. What we have to do now is prepare well for the Sevilla game”.
Di María and the midfielders
“Di María’s movement behind Alves in the first half was great and we scored two goals through it. The midfield was under control. Because of the characteristics of their players it is logical that they had more possession and we pushed more up front. Di María is comfortable in the position he is playing in. He is doing very well. His position in the centre is good for the balance of the team”.
Clashes with Barcelona and Atlético
“In the first two matches against Barcelona and Atlético we deserved to lose. This time around we didn’t deserve to lose, it was a balanced match. We have improved a lot in that time and we have played 31 matches without losing. The team has been playing quality football and we did so in this match too”.
Messi
“He scored three goals and he’s an important player, but I think we controlled him well, he didn’t have many chances. His control was good for the second goal. With a player of his quality, sometimes if you are not well-positioned on the pitch, he punishes you”.
Sergio:
“It is not an excuse, it’s the reality. We all make mistakes, but there comes a point where the nerve is unbelievable. There are things you can’t fight against. Let’s hope those that need to take note and that they let us fight for titles”.
“It was a very tense Clásico with a lot of goals, and there are no excuses. We have always had this type of game where there is only one protagonist. We don’t generally talk about referees, but for the good of Real Madrid and of football, let’s hope Undiano does not officiate another of our games this season, because coincidentally something always happens. First in the Camp Nou and today in the Bernabéu”.
Controversial moments
“I’ve seen the replays. You have to see both sides of the story. I think the penalty on Ronaldo was outside the box and Alves didn’t receive a yellow. In Xabi’s there was contact but I don’t think it was a penalty. In my sending off Neymar was offside beforehand and I didn’t touch him. He was looking for contact. I slowed down because I would rather he scored that to be sent off and leave the team with 10 men. The club will appeal, but given what happened here, it won’t make any difference”.
“We have to pick ourselves up, we won’t feel sorry for ourselves. Everyone saw what happened today. You go home feeling powerless and that you could have got more from the game. If they wanted to balance the table, they’ve done it, but Real Madrid will keep on fighting for La Liga”.
Undiano Mallenco’s appointment
“I am surprised that they chose him. That is why there are people to take measures. There are some referees who are at one level and others who are above them. In these games where there is so much at stake you have to have the best there is. For this kind of game you have to have people who are more experienced or better prepared”.
“Today’s defeat is a shame because it was an important step, but there are things you cannot fight against and things that are predetermined. There is nothing you can do. When you are the biggest team in the world there is a lot of envy. And when you have the chance to get a big lead there are things you cannot fight against”.
“It was a very intense and high-tempo Clásico, and there were spells in which they dominated and others in which we did. But when you go a man down against a Barcelona who dominate possession it is complicated”.
Tired squad
“As captain I am the first to say it. Enough of keeping quiet. It is not a question of being a baby about it, not at all. If they win by other means well done to them. You have to be a good winner and a good loser but it comes to the point where the squad is tired of it. I don’t have to say anything to the Federación. Sánchez Arminio is there to make the decisions. And for the good of Madrid, let’s hope that we don’t get Undiano in the final of the Copa”.
“If Ronaldo said people don’t want us to win the Liga it is because that’s what we’re all thinking. It’s not just Cristiano who thinks that. Real Madrid is here on its own merit. We have to fight and we will do so. If there are obstacles put in our way we will fight through them, but there are people with a lot of responsibility in our country and in this sport for making decisions”.
Marcelo:
Marcelo played ninety minutes against Barcelona and after the final whistle he spoke about the match and how the championship now looks: “We fought hard but it is difficult when you are a man down. We’ll look at our mistakes in order not to make the same errors again. We can hold our heads high, there are still a lot of matches to play. If we had beaten Barcelona it would not have been the end of La Liga and we knew they were a great team”.
“We tried to do what the coached asked of us. You cannot play well in every match and the defence will not always keep a clean sheet. I’m not going to speak about the referee because there’s no need. It made it difficult playing with a man down, but there is still a lot of league to play”.
“We are going to try and get a victory away to Sevilla. We have to see what our errors were so that we don’t repeat them, it’s another game, another final and we have to win no matter what”.
Benzema:
Benzema, who scored a brace against Barcelona, spoke to the press after the Clásico: “We’re disappointed with the result. We scored three goals and had control of the game; when Barcelona don’t have it, it is very difficult for them and we played a great game. Barcelona always has possession and we adapted our game against that team and we were doing well. I scored two goals but it doesn’t matter, the important thing is the result”.
“I do not know if it was a penalty from Sergio on Neymar and after the red it is very difficult playing against eleven men. It was a night with a lot of key moments and now we’ll try and beat Sevilla. At this point in the season the matches are all finals and we know that Atlético take on Barcelona on the final day, so we have to think about ourselves in order to win”.
Cristiano:
Cristiano Ronaldo was a key player in the clash with Barcelona and scored the Whites’ third. The striker spoke about his feelings on the Clásico: “We are sad because we knew we deserved more, but the fight goes on. It is difficult because a lot of people did not want us to win and Barcelona would have been out of it. Maybe they don’t want Real Madrid to win this Liga. I’ve been here for five years, so I know how a lot of things are and I hope to win it regardless of this”.
“It’s a feeling of sadness after being 3-2 up and controlling the game. The referee made some unbelievable decisions, but you have to carry on. We were unlucky with everything that happened, but we are still ahead of them and the Liga goes on. We have only lost one game, it is all open and I think the team is fine”.
The referee
“There were a lot of errors in one match. In a Real Madrid-Barcelona you have to have a referee who is up to the game. I don’t want to look for excuses but if you look at the 90 minutes the referee made a lot of mistakes. Really bad. In my opinion he was not up to a match of this stature. Hopefully it won’t be the same in the final of the Copa del Rey”.
“I looked at him and he was pale, that’s because he was so nervous and he was unable to make the right decisions. A referee has to be relaxed in order to do as well as possible. It makes me think that matches are not only won on the pitch, but also with a little help off of it”.
Message for the fans
“Real Madrid is the biggest club and that creates a lot of envy around it. You can say that the treatment is the same, but it’s not. Real Madrid is the best in the world and it will fight until the end. The fans were great, they spurred us on, and I have to thank them for their support since the start of the season. I believe we are going to win the league.”
It’s now being reported that Spain’s Technical Committee of Referees has submitted complaints to the RFEF about Cristiano & Sergio’s post match comments. The committee meets on Wednesday and will decide if the two are deserving of sanctions. Whoop dee doo! Bullshit refereeing and censorship, just what we need.
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Embed from Getty ImagesHALA MADRID!!!!
-Maisougio
Of Headbands and Heartbreak
watishistacorrespondents
Of Headbands and Heartbreak... 
I am so trying to control myself. I swear between the refs constantly sucking Messi’s teet and Neymar being a proud graduate of the Dani Alves School of Diving….ughhhh! Our boys played well and I was so sure Benz would get a hat trick oh wait I forgot that was already written in the cards it would be Messi and Messi only. pfffff!
Ok rant over.
TOTALLY feel you. It was hard to write this without becoming as mad as I was Sunday evening.
Firstly i come here not as a Barca fan but as a fan of the beautiful game, and what happened on sunday was F@^&ing B*(%#)(%.
sergio should not have got sent, baquetes should have gotten carded and now i come here to see they want to discipline Cris and Sergio over thier comment’s anyone who has been watching the league know’s they were speaking the truth.
the ref all season has been making horrible call’s and Madrid if they hadn’t been 1 man down would have won as they played better than barca.
Im sorry to vent but after what happened on sat with the arsenal match and now the classico, extremly angry and pissed off.
No need to apologize, we all need a place to vent!
Oh Lord, have mercy on my soul. Never have I ever hated someone so much as I hated Barca and that Undiano dude this Sunday 😩😫. Hell, I have never hated anyone before. Maisougio, your post is really spot on.
Neymar and Busquetes!!! I have no words for those two. Clearely wrong choice of career for both.
Maisougio, hope that your posts for the rest of La Liga and CL will be much happier than this and that our boys will rise stronger from this and show those Barca actors who the bosses are.
Hala Madrid!!!
I hope my posts will be a lot happier, as well! Hopefully, we can win some trophies and be able to look back on this as just a BIG bump in the road to victory.
I’m still SO ANGRY. The amount of BS Undiano and Barca pulled was unbelievable. Sergio and Cris were dropping some truth bombs in their interviews.
I find the need to blame the ref tiresome in the extreme. The only one of the big decisions that were actually in direct contravention of the laws of the game was Ronaldo’s penalty. Xabi was dumb and Sergio should never have put himself in that situation.
Undiano has refereed plenty Clásicos that we’ve won (CdR final, league win in 2012, semi-final second leg in the CdR last season, just at the top of my head) and plenty where we’ve gotten the rub of the green and I don’t remember anyone complaining then. Ronaldo and Sergio’s comments after the match comes off as Mister 1% complaining that’s hard to make ends meet on only 250,000$ a year. It’s embarrassing.
We didn’t lose because of the ref, we lost because we yet again failed to control the midfield as we have done in almost all big matches in recent times. Xabi is simply not good enough defensively, he’s too slow and he needs to much space. Now he’s even losing his tactical discipline and dragging the team out of shape. When neither Bale (watch him on Iniesta’s goal. It’s dire) nor Ronaldo does any defensive work, you cannot build a midfield around Xabi.
We’ve taken 1 point out of a possible 12 against Atleti and Barca, we’ve lost the mini-league, we’ve lost the head-to-head against both of them, that’s not on the ref, that’s on us. And none of it was helped by having a goalkeeper who either makes mistakes or simply doesn’t do anything, not when games are decided on thin margins. If the players think the refs the problem, then we’ll never improve. At least Carlo seems to keep his eyes on the ball.
I know why you posted as Anonymous, because I know the attack you would be subjected to, but I thank you for your comments. Bravo for having the guts to say it!
Actually, Dr. Heidi, she wouldn’t have been subjected to an “attack” because she actually knows the game well enough to have an opinion worth discussing. Just sayin’
In fact, I’d like to discuss it but I’m in glorious San Sebastian and on my way to buy tickets to see La Real play tomorrow. Watching football games is kind of a thing I do on the regular so I’ll get back to it.
Livin’ the life girl!
Thank you, that’s kind of you. I didn’t post anonymously for any other reason than that I cannot make friends with wordpress today. If people want to send abuse my way, I’ll gladly give them the contact details to do so 😉
I think the discussion of where we go from here is much more interesting than a moan about the ref. I’ve been worried about our midfield for ages and I was among the minority that had mixed feelings about Xabi’s renewal. I like the guy, but as long as he’s around I don’t see Perez spending the money to needed to strenghten the midfield (and lets just say I didn’t think Bale was the best use of this summer’s spending spree). Illarra could be an answer, because he is much more mobile and better defensively than Xabi and while we’d lose Xabi’s long passes and distribution, though he doesn’t link the lines as well as he used to and that’s been true a while (Exhibit 1: Dortmund), the possession play Carlo is seeking to build could compensate for that. But as long as it’s safer and easier to play Xabi in the league week in and week out against weaker opposition, then he won’t get the chance to develop.
As it is it is a necessity to improve our pressing play and I don’t see how we can continue to leave the front three out of it. We’ll get nowhere against anyone with a proper midfield, except by fluke.
I am a little offended that you think this person would be attacked for an opinion. I would like an example of how anyone on this blog has attacked anyone for a valid and knowledge-filled opinion.
I won’t deny I’ve gotten a little feisty here. But I get feisty because I don’t take kindly to “Well, that’s just how it is.”
I personally spent the better part of my life playing this game. So I think understand it extremely well. I spent the past 10 years working in professional sports, so I understand the business. And I have been a Real Madrid fan for over 12 years, so I understand this team.
I have no issues with new fans. I have issues with grand statements that a new fan is convinced is true because they don’t completely understand the team. And when they are challenged to back up that opinion, they can’t do so
Feisty is good….I like it when folks can transition from emotional to rational. It’s an interesting perspective for me to read both sides of the discussion, and I understand both sides as well.
I thought I’d replied or at least WordPress told me I had, so I apologize in advance if this ends up as yet another double post. But as I said, I didn’t post it anon for fear of abuse, but simply because wordpress and I apparently cannot make friends today.
So at the risk of repeating myself: I was one of the few who had mixed emotions when Xabi renewed his contract. I like him, but I fear that as long as he is around, Flo will resist the needed investment in midfield. Illarra could be an option as he is both better defensively and less static than Xabi. That would lose us Xabi’s long passes and distribution, but I think the possession play Carlo is building and Sergio, whose long balls are underrated, could make up for that. And besides, Xabi doesn’t link the lines as well as he has done, esp. not when under pressure (exhibit 1 for the prosecution: Dortmund). Though of course that requires Sergio to remain on the pitch from time to time. Sigh.
But as long as it’s safe and ‘easy’ to play Xabi week in and week out in the league then I don’t think Illarra will be given the time needed to develop enough to be an option against oppositions with a strong midfield. That’s one cost of the league being so tight.
If we are to continue with a midfield built around Xabi, then I think it’s a necessity to improve our pressing play, both the extent of it and the ‘smartness’ of it, and I cannot see how we can continue to leave the front three out of it. Benz actually did a massive job in closing down Xavi on Sunday and that helped to keep him from giving cover to Alves who was left exposed by Neymar again and again. That space Di used to great effect, esp. in the first half. Xabi kept trying to press play to the right to get Neymar on the ball instead of one of the ‘classic’ Barca players, but he often went to far and instead dragged the team out of shape and left way too much space between the lines in the centre, space that Messi and Iniesta ate up with a spoon.
But with the wings not participating in the pressing, space opens up for the opposition there and when i.e. Dani then gets dragged inside, as he still does way too easily, then we end up in trouble across the line.
As it is, I’ll continue to be worried every time we face a strong midfield.
PS. Mods, I sincerely apologize if my battle with wordpress has resulted in me spamming the post.
I have a very long response, as I agree with some things you’ve said and disagree with others however I am only on my iPad because I’m on vacation in Spain (poor me, right?). So I’ll have to respond later. Just know that I think it’s awesome that you were able to back this opinion up with a whole hell of a lot of knowledge!
Lets see if it’ll be fifth time lucky (wordpress, you are killing me): I’ll check back for your reply then. Enjoy your holiday!
I too was upset when Xabi was renewed. For one thing, I didn’t like the months of delay and the leaking to the press.
For another, we have dangerously allowed ourselves to become dependent upon a player who is not adaptable enough in big games, is too easily marked out, is not pacy, can’t do much while running with the ball at his feet and (in his old age) relies too much on nipping at heels and gamesmanship to get himself out of scrapes (which accounts for his yellow cards).
Xabi was always a good passer of the ball and was always able to vary play. As he gets older, his failings are hampering the team. We essentially play the way we do now (with no #10 and with three CDMs in a 4-3-3) to make it possible to have two players who gives almost no defensive cover. One is CR7, the other is Bale.
When one of those three CDMs is getting older and can’t cover ground the way he used to he becomes a liability.
Another problem is chatter among the fans wanting “a new Xabi” or “a Xabi-like player” and hoping Illarra will be that player. I hope Illarra has many of Xabi’s qualities when Xabi was at his best, but I also hope he brings a dynamic to the team Xabi doesn’t and I hope he is more adaptable than Xabi was. Xabi is difficult to pair in midfield when playing a double-pivot and is not a good fit with Modric. He can’t, in games where we dominate, play the holding midfielder in a 4-1-4-1 (the way Khedira does for Germany sometimes).
And finally, injuries are catching up with him.
I could expand on this – he’s a great counter-attacking midfielder (the man who starts moves) – he has many qualities. But his failings are under discussion.
(same anon as above) I agree, he has been great at facilitating quick transitions and made much sense in a Mou side, esp. a Mou side focused on beating Barca – his long, diagonal balls into the space behind their fullbacks were integral to Mou’s game plan. But Carlo’s brief is clearly to build beyond purely counter-attacking football and that of course opens up the cans of worms.
Writing this after the Sevilla game I feel pretty confident in worrying more about the midfield and the bystander in goal than the refs, but the Sevilla match also gave me food for thought in regards to our vulnerability to counters.
Both Bale and Ronaldo needs space to be truly dangerous (one reason I was not sold on Bale. Our biggest problem has for years been small spaces and Bale is not much use in those) and as far as I can tell Carlo is trying to get them that space by keeping possession not-that-far into the opposition half, hoping to ‘lure’ the defenders forward by making them believe it’s worth the risk to dispossess us and hit on the break. And if our midfield is too static, that is risky. If Bale is off the pitch changing his shoes for hours, then it’s even riskier. That’s one reason I really did not understand why Carlo pulled Illarra instead of Xabi for Isco.
Even when Xabi was at the height of his physical powers, Aragones didn’t play him as a single pivot. He played Senna instead and kept Xabi on the bench for pretty much all of their successful campaign. Carlo is asking Xabi to play as a single pivot at an age where he clearly it not at peak-fitness. I don’t think it’ll work and I hope that Illarra will get more chances in the role and as soon as possible too.
Bale has not impressed me. He doesn’t turn up in big games. He’s an Aaron Lennon with technique, and not enough.
His price-tag was a joke. In a Mou-team geared at one thing (beating Barcelona – and congrats on summing up his tenure so neatly) he might have worked out. As it is, I think Jese is far more talented and a better team-player and will miss out on chances because one dude cost more…
Can’t argue on a thing you said about Xabi. It’s all true.
BTW if you rewatch Iniesta’s goal in the clasico you’ll see two players creating the opportunity for that goal.
One is Bale. If you watch closely he actually turns around, sees Iniesta in space behind, but apparently doesn’t realize the danger because he starts moving away from him. He then turns to ball-watch and actually makes a kind of gesture at Dani by flapping his arms like he’s saying: “He’s yours.”
Uh. Not good enough dude. This is Andres Iniesta we’re talking about. Maybe you don’t know this, but if you see Iniesta in THAT amount of space, you pay attention and you don’t help him out by moving AWAY from him.
Xabi’s movement in the build-up also contributes to the space Barca’s players suddenly find themselves in. It’s like he can’t cope with Messi dropping deep (it’s not even that surprising a tactic).
I’d like to remind people of how Pepe has played in the past. Here’s a sample. I don’t delight in the fact that he is considered a dirty player.
Most of those incidents were from before we even started this blog, if I had done a match recap of those matches, I never would have defended his actions. Dirty play is dirty play, no matter what player it’s coming from. Just because Pepe has a history, doesn’t mean Busquets gets a free pass when he plays dirty against him.
No one delights in Pepe being a dirty player. But because he’s had incidents (and been sanctioned for them, btw) doesn’t mean that Busquets had any right in any way shape or form to run his studs down Pepe’s face in that manner. And it doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be sanctioned for it retroactively.