Monday, 30th November 2009

A cagey affair between the two greatest sides of Spanish football was played out in the Camp Nou, with Barcelona edging Real Madrid 1-0, thanks to a marvellous finish from second-half substitute Zlatan Ibrahimovic. The fiery match ended with both sides only having 10 men, as Barca’s Sergio Busquets and Madrid’s Lassana Diarra were sent off.

The match started well for the visitors, with Kaka, Cristiano Ronaldo and Gonzalo Higuain looking very dangerous on the counter-attack. But missed chances were left to punish Los Blancos as they went into half-time with nothing to speak of. Ibrahimovic’s introduction early in the second-half to replace Thierry Henry proved to be vital as he slotted home the winner in a tightly-contested affair.

Barcelona regain top spot after the victory, with Real Madrid trailing by only two points. Far from a title decider, the game nonetheless accentuates the stark contrast in philosophy the two sides have. The Catalan giants with their home-grown policy and slick passing against Madrid’s spend at all cost mentality and dependence on individual stars’ abilities. Altough Barca ended up on top on this occasion, all eyes will already be looking ahead to April, when they go head-to-head again at the Santiago Bernabeu.

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