NOTE: For report/analysis on Saturday's FA Cup Final between Manchester United and Manchester City, please see previous post
Real Madrid 1-1 Barcelona
HIGHLIGHTS
53'- Messi
82'- Ronaldo
With four Superclasico's in 18 days upcoming, football fans across the world are salivating. Real Madrid and Barcelona didn't disappoint in the first edition, battling to a 1-1 draw in La Liga that featured the usual great play from both sides, and more than a shred of controversy.
In the end, it was two points lost for Los Galacticos, whose most likely trophy pushes now rest in the Copa del Rey (final against Barca on Wednesday), and Champions League (semifinal against Barca begins next week), as they now trail the Catalan Giants by eight points with six matches to play.
The wound from November's 5-0 dismantling against Barca was fresh in the minds of Jose Mourinho's side, who turned in a performance far better than those disastrous 90 minutes at the Camp Nou.
The home side came out with a humble set up, realizing that even for a side of their quality, a defensive outlook was required to get the results against the best attacking team in the world.
The first half took on the outlook of one of Spain's matchups from the World Cup, as Barca patiently knocked the ball around and waited for the chances to arise. But in the end, Pep Guardiola and company knew that the openings would come, not only because of their quality but also since Real needed full points to retain any hope of winning La Liga.
There were still plenty of chances. Cristiano Ronaldo should have done better midway through the half when he received the ball with space inside the area, but his first touch was surprinsingly heavy, and Gerard Pique ended up blocking his attempt.
Referee Cesar Muniz Fernandez was the center of attention in the 26th minute, when he booked David Villa for a dive after the striker went down in the box from a collision with Iker Casillas. The call was not his best, as there was clear contact between the two, meaning at the very least Villa was not guilty of simulation.
Barca began to look lively as the half continued. They nearly created the opener in the 42nd when some vintage combination play between Lionel Messi, Iniesta, and David Villa, saw Messi into space in the box, but Casillas did well to push away his strike from an acute angle.
Real capped off the wild close to the half in the final seconds when Sergio Ramos rose gracefully and flicked to the far post for Ronaldo, who saw his powerful header cleared off the line in magnificent fashion by Adriano.
Only minutes into the second half, the match was turned on it's head.
Ronaldo came inches from netting the opener in the 48th, winning a free kick from 23-yards. His driven shot surprised Victor Valdes, but the Portuguese was left to curse his luck when it clanked off the post.
Just seconds later, Barca had the lead. A long ball into the box from Adriano asked questions of Xabi Alonso, who took a bad angle and allowed David Villa to get position, before recklessly fouling him for a penalty and unavoidable red card. Messi was cool from the spot, and Barcelona were up 1-0 just moments after their opponents had come so close to doing the same.
Real were down a man, and on the back foot as Barcelona went for the jugular.
In the 62nd, Xavi Hernandez was unlucky to hit the post after successfully chipping Casillas from just outside the area.
Madrid fought on, and Pepe should have equalized in the 65th. Sergio Ramos once again brilliantly won with his head from a corner and flicked to the far post for the center-half, but he couldn't get a solid boot on his volley attempt, and then headed a second bite of the cherry into the side-netting.
Barcelona had nearly all of the possession, and Real were beginning to look resigned to their fate. But to their credit, they defended well and kept the result within reach.
In the 81st, Madrid were rewarded for their defensive efforts with a goal of their own. Substitute Mezut Ozil did well to play Marcelo in down the left side of the box, and Dani Alves made contact with him as he lunged for the ball, resulting in Fernández pointing to the spot. The Barca players were incensed at the call, accosting the referee in numbers, and Marcelo had indeed go down easily, although Real would argue there was clearly contact on the play. Ronaldo was reliable from the spot to equalize.
Villa then spured two chances for Barca, both times receiving an aerial pass behind the defense before losing the one-on-one matchup with Casillas.
Sami Khedira came close after Emmanuel Adebayor countered up the left touch line, but Casillas held his low and powerful effort.
Unfortunate Arsenal
If Manchester United win the Premier League this season (all signs points to yes) after Arsenal's incredible 1-1 draw with Liverpool, the Gunners will only have themselves to blame. They've lost home matches to West Brom and Newcastle, drew 0-0 with lowly Blackburn at The Emirates two weeks ago, and also saw a 2-0 home lead on Tottenham turn into a 3-2 defeat. Once again, the consistency has not been there.
But those inexcusable results don't tell the whole story. The Gunners have controversially dropped points in five different matches this season thanks to poor officiating. That was the case in yesterday's draw with 'Pool, who gained an extremely soft penalty on the last kick of the ball to equalize.
In all honesty, a draw would have been a fair result, as both sides created a similar amount of chances in the final 45 minutes after Arsenal had dominated the opening half. But to make a call like that (START VIDEO at 11:00) must be tough to swallow for Arsene Wenger and company.
The decision may well have finished off the Gunners' title challenge, as they now sit six points off the pace with just six matches to go.
Granted, Eboue has no business making any contact with Lucas on the play, as the Brazilian was surely going to topple over after feeling any type of contact, but that type of call is a classic example of an official trying to even things out, as Liverpool players were very unhappy with the previous penalty given to Arsenal (correctly given) earlier in stoppage time.
Unfortunately, the Liverpool scenario is not an isolated incident, as the Gunners have been victimized by a plethora of poor refereeing decisions this season.
I try not to let my Arsenal bias sway my thoughts in this blog or in my analysis of the game, and I know that the claims I'm making here will cause many to think that my status as a Gooner is clouding my view. You can call it more Arsenal "whining" if you like, but PLEASE watch these videos, evaluate the situations and scenarios in which the bad calls occurred, and then try to tell me that officiating didn't have a significant effect on the title race this season. I don't want to hear any arguments if you haven't at least observed the evidence first.
Example #1: Arsenal travelled to the Stadium of Light early in the year looking to show their newfound confidence via a tough road win. They scored a lucky opener when Cesc Fabregas blocked a clearance and the ball sailed over the keeper's head and into the net.
Arsenal did well to dominate the second half, but as they often do, failed to ice the game to leave the result in doubt.
It appeared the Gunners were headed for a fantastic result when the fourth official signaled for four minutes of injury time. But in the final seconds of extra time, Steve Bruce's side won a corner kick, which surely represented the last kick of the ball. The Gunners did well to clear the attempt, but referee Phil Dowd didn't blow the final whistle, allowing another attempt into the box that Darren Bent slotted home.
Decide for yourself
Example #2: Fresh off the heels of a fine 3-0 win over Chelsea, Arsenal were looking to jump start their race for the title over the Christmas period.
They were the favorites when they visited the DW Stadium to face bottom feeders Wigan. But the home side were all over them in the opening moments, and scored their first goal from the spot. Arsenal fought back, getting goals from Andrei Arshavin and Nicklas Bendtner before halftime to take the lead.
The Gunners cruised through the second half, and looked ready for the three points after Charles N'Zogbia was sent off. But in classic Gunner fashion, they yielded a goal from a set piece, as Sebastien Squllaci headed into his own net under pressure.
However, Arsenal should have won a penalty late in the match, when a free kick from Fabregas struck the arm of a flailing Wigan player. Referee Lee Probert was well positioned, but somehow missed the call.
Check it out (START VIDEO AT 13:25).
Example #3: There are differing opinions on Arsenal's 4-4 draw with Newcastle. After all, the Gunners did blow a 4-0 lead for the first time in Premiership history. But a crucial penalty call changed everything.
The visitors looked ready for a fine win after scoring four first half goals in a fantastic half of football.
The second half was a different story. Spurred on by the sending off of Abou Diaby, who callously shoved over Joey Barton after being angered by a tackle from the midfielder, Newcastle got back into the match on goals from Barton (from the spot) and Leon Best.
Referee Phil Dowd's moment of madness came in the 82nd. He handed the home side a silly penalty (START VIDEO WITH 2:13 LEFT) with less than ten minutes left, somehow seeing a foul when Nolan took a tumble going for an aerial ball in the box. Barton converted, making the score 4-3, and the come back was on.
Cheik Tiote equalized in the 89th with a fantastic volley from outside the area, and it was two points dropped for Arsenal.
But the atrociously poor call Dowd (not exactly in the good graces of Arsenal fans this year) saw Newcastle gain a penalty kick that spurred them on to the improbable draw.
Example #4: Despite fielding a sub-par lineup thanks to injuries, the Gunners had to feel confident when Sunderland visited North London last month. Steve Bruce's side hadn't been the same since losing Darren Bent in January, and were never the strongest road side to begin with.
However, Arsenal looked off the pace in the first half and chances were few and far between while Sunderland created legitimate offense of their own.
Arsenal fought back in the second 45, running rampant on the Black Cats defense. In the end, they should have had a penalty and another goal from the run of play. But Anthony Taylor somehow missed a blatant push from behind in the box courtesy of Titus Bramble, who shoved Andrei Arshavin just before he could shoot on the break (START VIDEO WITH 2:13 LEFT).
Arshavin was involved again minutes later, taking a through ball from Nasri and dribbling around Simon Mignolet before tapping home. Unfortunately, the flag was up, and replays would show that the linesman had completely blown the call (START VIDEO WITH 4:06 LEFT).
Three Titles Won?
Barcelona wanted to pound Real into oblivion as they did earlier in the season, but despite only managing a draw, they are likely headed to a La Liga title, as they now sit eight points atop the table. Having only dropped 11 points this season, it's hard to imagine Barca dropping at least eight in their final six matches.
But Spain wasn't the only league that may have been won on the weekend.
In Germany, Borussia Dortmund are sitting pretty after beating Freiburg 3-0, while chasers Bayer Leverkusen are now eight points adrfit with four matches remaining after Bayern Munich embarrassed them, 5-1.
The top two sides in Die Bundesliga won't meet again this season, meaning it will take quite the collapse from Jurgen Klopp's side merely for things to get interesting down the stretch.
Serie A was a similar story, with leaders AC Milan winning 3-0 over Sampdoria. In the meantime, Napoli couldn't get by Udinese, falling six points off the pace, and Inter Milan are now eight points adrift after being shocked 2-0 at Parma.
