“Both sides appeared content with a point from an entertaining match. Tito Vilanova surprisingly named Adriano at centre-back rather than Alex Song, in the absence of Gerard Pique and Carles Puyol. Andres Iniesta returned to the side in place of Alexis Sanchez. Jose Mourinho went for a familiar side – with no Luka Modric or Michael Essien, it was essentially the Real of last season, with Mesut Ozil as the number ten. It was the usual pattern – Barca dominating possession, Real a threat from quicker attacks and set-pieces.” Zonal Marking
Messi, Ronaldo duel to stalemate in clásico as Barça’s perfect start ends
“Thoughts from the Real Madrid- FC Barcelona match. Pressure, pressure, pressure: That Madrid lay in wait for Barcelona was not hugely surprising, even if they have pressured higher against them in recent clásicos, forcing mistakes from Valdés, Mascherano and Piqué. That Barcelona did not press was more unexpected, though. Madrid were largely allowed to bring the ball out from the back. Only Pedro really chased to close down Madrid’s defenders. Notably, it is not just Madrid, either: this season Barcelona have tended to play a little deeper and press less. Is one of the signatures of Pep Guardiola’s side being abandoned?” SI
Team Ronaldo Or Team Messi? Watch Yesterday’s Goals And Judge For Yourself
“Messi Or Ronaldo? Who do you think is the greatest player of all time? In last night’s El Clasico the two superstars took turns at winning our affections. Ronaldo’s typical storming run into the box followed by a powerful finish opened the scoring for Madrid. Messi then bagged two for Barcelona, the first an opportunistic finish that countless less agile players with inferior anticipation would have made a hash of, the second could not have been more different; a beautifully curled free-kick that Iker Casillas would not have got close to had he been a foot taller. Ronaldo then equalised almost immediately with a clinical finish on the break that he made look very easy indeed.” Sabotage Times (Video)
Another classy clasico
“It was quite a weekend, and how nice for all the games to be played by the end of Sunday night – just like the old days. It almost felt like a broadcast in black and white. Celta v Sevilla was played on the Friday night, which was slightly odd (maybe that’s what affected Sevilla, who lost), but there were several significant games that all coincided on the seventh week of the Spanish league programme. Now there’s a rest for the international fixtures, and in any case it’s a four-day week in Spain, with a national holiday on Friday.” ESPN
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo swat politics aside in breathless clásico
“The homage to Catalonia turned into a homage to Cristiano Messi and Lionel Ronaldo. They say that sport and politics should not mix but sport and politics do mix, especially when it comes to Real Madrid versus Barcelona. The myths matter, even when they are myths, and symbolism seeps through the sport. There may be no more political match on the planet and this Sunday was billed as the most political match of them all, certainly since 1975. Madrid-Barcelona, Gerard Piqué admitted this week, has come to be seen as Spain-Catalonia, even if it shouldn’t. And this time more than ever. In the end, though, it was another match that captured the imagination: Messi versus Ronaldo.” Guardian
Ronaldo, Messi net 2 as Madrid draws 2-2 at Barca
“Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo dueled to an entertaining stalemate on Sunday, with both superstars scoring twice as Barcelona drew 2-2 with Real Madrid to keep an eight-point lead over its archrival intact. The result ended Barcelona’s perfect start to the league campaign as it dropped points for the first time in seven games, but provided yet another memorable chapter in the rivalry between Messi and Ronaldo, two of the biggest names in the sport.” SI
Scissors Kick 