Madridistas certainly had
something to celebrate last night, with los
Blancos pulling a 3-1 win over fierce rivals, FC Barcelona. The win puts Real Madrid into the finals of
the Copa del Rey competition, a final that the men did not make it to last
season. The victory over Barça certainly
tasted sweeter the fact this all took place in a packed Camp Nou. Real Madrid certainly played a better game
than their opponents, who seemed very unlike themselves with all the hesitation
and missed chances. Will the real FC
Barcelona please stand up?
Cristiano Ronaldo opened
up the scoring at the 13' minute mark after having been brought down by his
former Manchester United teammate, Gerard Piqué. The Portuguese powerhouse converted the
penalty with ease, putting his team ahead 1-0 and making history in becoming
the only player to have scored in six consecutive away Clásicos. Congratulations, crack! The remainder of the
half was fraught with chance after chance for los Blancos, but the men were unable to finish.
The second half, in
comparison, held much more excitement as Madrid grew more and more comfortable
on the field. This later resulted in two
more goals for the men in white. Both
teams chose not to make changes in terms of their respective tactical approaches,
and perhaps Barça should have considered it given the way the match was headed. Cristiano doubled Madrid's lead at the 57',
who took advantage of a rebound.
Things did not look great
for Barcelona, who would have to score three goals if they wanted to be one of
the CdR finalists. Real Madrid arrived
to the city, ready to play, ready to fight, ready
to win. They had been smart
throughout the entire match, and dished out their final attack at the 68'. Raphael Varane scored RM's final goal of
evening, following a corner taken by Mesut Özil.
It is not to say that the
home team was unable to save face. It
would be Jordi Alba at the very last minute, at the 89th , to be
exact, who earned Barça's only goal of evening.
That being said, Real Madrid is off to play the CdR finals and will be
facing Atlético Madrid in the 38th Copa final. Who doesn't love a Derby?
Real Madrid play FC
Barcelona again this upcoming Saturday, March 2nd at home in the
Santiago Bernabeu in the Liga competition.
I sincerely hope we have a repeat performance and win against
Barça. Nevertheless, even Culés can't
deny how Madrid deservedly advanced in the competition last night. They certainly were the better team. Here's to the next Clásico! Until then, keep calm and ¡Hala Madrid!
written by Gail Hidalgo
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