It's like a drug. I just can't go very long without a Classico. Barcelona came out on top of this match, Tito's first Classico victory, and they take a 3-2 result (which coulda/shoulda/woulda been different) back to Madrid to try and win Villanova his first trophy as head man.
Despite only two-ish competitive matches this year, Barcelona look different under Tito, but the same. Still the tiki-taka, but they seem to have an edge now, they aren't afraid to run with the ball, especially the likes of Alexis and Tello. Last nights match saw a number of Barca shots from around 20-25 yards, a rarity under Peps watch. I think this year they will lose some of their ridiculous possession stats, but will find more shots, shots on target and possibly goals, if that's possible.
Iniesta was man of the match by miles. As a supporter of US Soccer I tweeted (@BarceJeremy4Gov) during the match that I wish just one USMNT player had the first touch of any of these guys (exception, Victor Valdes last night). It's almost not fair that Barcelona has two of the best dribblers on the planet in Iniesta and Messi, the best passer on the planet in Xavi, and an entire squad whose first touch never strays. Alas, I humbly submit that someone must like this team, so I will carry that burden.
The most interesting stat to come out of the latest Classico is that since 'The Only One' has been at the helm in Madrid, they have allowed 100 goals in 119 games. 25 of them scored by Barcelona.
Barcelona perhaps had a peek towards their match on Saturday, away to Osasuna, as the match wore down and Valdes made the sort of mistake I had hoped he was over with two years ago. A simple backpass during a counter attack got caught in his feet, Di Maria poked it away and with 5 minutes left, what could have been 4-1 became 3-2. It's the nature of the beast, and a moot point should Barcelona take the trophy next Wednesday, but a 1-0 Madrid score gives them the trophy and leaves us Barcelona fans already thinking what could have been. Granted we cannot expect Tito to win 15 some odd trophies in 4 years, or win 12 in a row the way Pep did, but this cup should have been wrapped up, and instead there will be 90 nerve racking minutes to play at the Bernabeu.
Puyol, who was pulled early in the Sociedad game, did not play at all in the Classico, hopefully it is not a health concern. Fabregas notched his 50th appearance for Barcelona last night, coming in as a sub. Pedro played his ass off, and got his hand stepped on hard enough to warrant a bandage, I suspect he will be given the weekend off and perhaps giving Tello or David Villa a start on the wing.
Visca Blaugrana! Onwards to Pamplona for Osasuna, who have had a good run of nearly 14 years in the top flight, and have seen improvement in the table each of the last 5 years, finishing 7th last season.
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