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Some confrontations simply have a way of creating drama and excitement every time we face them.
Another brilliant two-legged encounter between Manchester City and Real Madrid temporarily established this match’s reputation as a classic.
And, based on that, some of The Athletic’s most productive minds came together to talk about some of the others.
GO FURTHER
Man City vs Real Madrid and the matches that have been effective
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Real Madrid 4-2 Barcelona (10 April 2005)
Take a look at some of the names that featured at Real Madrid that day: Zinedine Zidane, Ronaldo, David Beckham, Roberto Carlos, Luis Figo, Iker Casillas, Michael Owen and Raul. The best representation of the galactic era.
Madrid came into this game at the end of the season needing to win to stay in the race for the name and that’s exactly what they got. Early goals from Zidane and Ronaldo set the tone before Raul and Owen also scored to secure a goal. Vital victory.
Hello world!
I’m already the Santiago Bernabéu.
It’s almost 3 hours until the Clasico and, although we are not at the point of the first leg against Manchester City in the Champions League, it is worth saying that tonight there is a special match here.
Many fans are already gathering around the stadium.
Unfortunately, even though the fashion battles are interesting, we no longer have the Messi vs. Messi battles. Ronaldo in this match.
When those two were involved, this encounter seemed like the ideal clash of world football and it is still those two who lead the way, along with some other Real Madrid legends, in the scoring charts.
Barcelona five – 0 Real Madrid (November 29, 2010)
In the midst of Barcelona’s historic treble season, the crusade’s first Clasico saw one of his performances under Pep Guardiola.
Lionel Messi didn’t even score and yet Barca found the net five times, thanks to Xavi, Pedro, David Villa twice and Jeffren Suarez. Sergio Ramos was sent off in the 89th minute for a clever decision.
Barcelona are unbeaten in four games against Madrid this season, winning their third straight La Liga title and knocking out their opponents in the Champions League semifinals.
Barcelona fans woke up Thursday morning to dark skies.
After a few weeks of what seemed like summer in early spring, temperatures dropped last week and there were clouds and some rain (much needed, given that the Catalonia region is experiencing a drought).
The mini-heat wave (up to 29°C was recorded) accompanied the flight of the Barça fans who returned from Paris with the feeling of having fallen in love again, as anyone who headed to the French capital deserves.
From the moment Xavi’s side beat Napoli in the second leg of the Champions League round of 16, optimism began to grow and the quarter-final first leg win over Paris Saint-Germain raised hopes even higher.
After many years of European trauma, it seems that a new season is underway.
But the loss of his leg snuffed out that hope, as The Athletic’s Laia Cervello Herrero wrote next.
GO FURTHER
Barcelona’s ‘little summer’ is over: can El Clasico set the mood?
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A win for Real Madrid would give them an 11-point lead at the top of La Liga.
From there, they would only want 8 more problems to be shown from the remaining six matches as champions of Spain, and this under the assumption that Barcelona would make the most of the problems of their matches.
A draw would leave them at the top of the table as they are and, in that case, Ancelotti’s side would need 11 more points from those games.
A Barcelona win would make the end of the season more exciting, as Xavi’s men could triumph 91 times; which means that Real Madrid need 14 more numbers to be crowned champions.
While Lewandowski struggled to score goals, he had plenty of talent for scoring goals for his teammates.
Only Villarreal midfielder Alex Baena has provided assists in La Liga this season.
Perhaps the indicator of Bellingham’s influence at Real Madrid this season is the fact that he is a genuine contender for the Pichichi Trophy, the award given to the most sensible goalscorer in La Liga.
However, they now have two to make up, as Artem Dovbyk scored yesterday in Girona’s 4-1 win.
Robert Lewandowski won the award last season but has struggled to recreate that form this season and leads the league on five goals.
The last La Liga Clasico, when Jude Bellingham’s goal gave Real Madrid a 2-1 win in October, was full of drama and came late. That wasn’t the case when those two teams met in the Spanish Super Cup in January.
Vinicius Junior scored twice in the first 10 minutes and scored a hat-trick in the 39th minute as Madrid led 3-1 at the break. Rodrygo added Madrid’s fourth goal before Barcelona were reduced to 10 men after Ronald Araujo booked for a moment. time.
On the contrary, the 4-1 flattered Barcelona, such was the ease with which Madrid opened the scoring in the first 10 minutes.
As the dust settles after a series of European matches, the Premier League’s prestige as the world’s most productive league has been given a small blow to the ribs.
Manchester City and Arsenal’s eliminations from the Champions League on Wednesday were followed by Liverpool and West Ham United, who bid farewell to the Europa League the following night. Aston Villa’s penalty shootout win over Lille in the Europa Conference League makes Unai Emery’s team the English team. flying the flag in Europe.
The effects mean the Premier League will almost certainly lose an additional position in next season’s expanded Champions League, Germany and Italy in UEFA’s coefficient rankings.
The mockery of eliminated English clubs will likely persist anytime soon, but is the Premier League weakening?
Read the rest of Mark Carey’s article below.
GO FURTHER
Which of the European leagues are the most competitive?We try to measure it. . .
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Girona’s victory boosted their hopes of completing the Champions League, however, their aspirations to challenge for the name have diminished significantly in recent weeks.
If the table tells us anything, it is that Barcelona (really) want to win today to have any chance of defending the title.
Match between Almeria and Villarreal about a quarter of an hour ago and it is a goalless draw.
After that, there’s still plenty of La Liga action to enjoy in the remainder of today and tonight.
The first six matches of the La Liga weekend were marked by excitement, drama and. . . Same old goals!
Real Betis boosted their chances of finishing in Europe with a six-point win over Valencia, while Athletic Club stuttered in their war for a top-four finish.
Here are the doors so far.
Friday
Saturday
Sunday
Barcelona’s La Masia academy was considered by many to be the driving force behind the conquering team of the late 2000s and early 2010s.
Xavi, Andres Iniesta, Sergio Busquets and Lionel Messi all graduated from this academy and all went on to become the most productive players in the world in their respective positions.
This now seems to have an effect on the new iteration of Barcelona with Yamal and Cubarsi among those still part of the prominent installation in Catalonia.
Athletic’s Pol Ballus took a deep dive into Barcelona’s hidden treasure, which you can read about by clicking below.
GO FURTHER
The power of Barcelona’s La Masia Youth Academy and why it has been ignored for years
Carlo Ancelotti and Real Madrid had to watch Barcelona win the La Liga trophy last season and are on the verge of regaining the crown.
“We’re very close,” Ancelotti said of his team’s chances.
“But Barcelona are a great rival. It will be the same Clasico as always. “
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A disappointing midweek exit from the Champions League leaves Barcelona with a rare trophyless season.
They will have to win if they want to have any chance of winning the silver medal at the end of the campaign.
“For us it’s the most important game of the season,” Xavi said. “We have to win to put pressure on the leaders. If we win, we’ll be closer to being five points behind (Real Madrid) and that’s the situation we want.
“We have a normal respect for Real Madrid. We have 4 fewer problems than last season, when we were leaders.
“We’re going to give it our all to test and compete with a wonderful team. “
On a night when Real Madrid gave their all on the pitch, exhausted bodies were reshaped by Antonio Rudiger’s penalty, sealing their place in the Champions League semi-finals.
Some hugged the striker, others addressed the guy who scored two of Manchester City’s penalty spots, but they all ran towards their hero goalkeeper. Far from celebrating effusively, Andriy Lunin simply calmly returned to midfield, probably unfazed.
Jude Bellingham headed in the opposite direction, towards where more than 3,000 Madrid fans had gathered. Arriving at the outside section, the England midfielder jumped into the seats to hug them and sing with them, and he wasn’t alone.
Carlo Ancelotti’s team had fought hard and were going to celebrate in style. Once again, the Whites reached the semi-finals, the twelfth in 14 years. In total, they did so 33 times. The most successful club in the history of the European Cup/Champions League, with 14 trophies to date, and City, who beat them so well last season, have been their new victim.
How did they do it? For coach Ancelotti, it’s all about “survival”.
GO FURTHER
Real Madrid’s Champions League win over Manchester City: survival and celebration
Great matches for the men’s and women’s Barcelona this weekend.
Let’s hope Xavi’s team does better than Jonatan Giráldez’s.
Barcelona Femeni suffered a rare home defeat (their first in years) to Emma Hayes’ Chelsea in the UEFA Women’s Champions League.
Erin Cuthbert’s goal made the difference between the teams, which is news for Barca as they have next weekend’s second leg to turn things around.