Barca saves face

Thanks to a magnificent hat-trick from Argentinian wonderkid Lionel Messi, 10-men Barcelona secured a face-saving 3-3 draw at home to their traditional enemies Real Madrid in the latest El Classico in Spain.

Real Madrid was winning 3-2 when I left home yesterday morning for church (saw the progress score on the internet). As a result, I wasn't exactly in the best of moods heading to church & the heat did not improve matters, either (it was sooo hot, I was sweating buckets from the time I did Sunday School chairing). I found out the result when returning home from the usual after-church lunch with some church friends. After seeing the 3-3 scoreline, I was sooo relieved because all the while I thought Barcelona had lost the match. A huge thanks to Leo Messi (surely the best young footballer in the world) for his sterling contribution!!

Defeat would have been hard to take (for me & all Barcelona fans worldwide), even though Barcelona did play with a men less for the second half thanks to Oleguer's unnecessary dismissal just before half-time. But at least Barcelona fans can harp on the fact that Real couldn't even beat Barcelona even when they seemed to have things going in their favour -- soft penalty handing Real their first goal, Thuram's slip-up leading to Real's second goal, playing with 1 player advantage for the entire second-half, Barca denied penalty for injury-time foul on Ronaldinho which could have given them a 4-3 win.

Before the game, all associated with Barcelona FC would have expected victory against their arch-rivals, given the apparent turmoil that Real Madrid had been in (ok, not everything's rosy at Barcelona either, but Real appeared to be having an even worse time). But given the way the game transpired, the draw is acceptable & I guess the fans can live with it.

Barcelona fell a goal behind 3 times, & each time they managed to equalise. The fact that the 3-3 scoreline was achieved in the very last minute may suggest that Barcelona were fortunate. But their character & never-say-die attitude earned its due reward. Playing the second half with a man advantage, Real Madrid must surely feel they missed an golden opportunity to beat their arch-rivals in their own backyard. They may never get a better chance to beat Barcelona on Barcelona territory. But given the amount of pressure their coach Capello had been under, the draw at least gives him some respite.

By all accounts, Real played well - better than most of the matches they've played this season. But from watching the goal highlights, at least 2 (possibly all 3) of the 3 Real Madrid goals could have been avoided. Nevertheless, Real should be given credit for their part in El Classico, & if they play like this on a consistent basis, then their results would be better & their coach would not be under so much pressure as he's been experiencing. On a light side, the 3-3 scoreline could be taken as showing that Barcelona's defence is just as bad as Real Madrid's!!

That aside, reports suggest that some Barca players (notably Eto'o & Ronaldinho) are not in their best form - some just returning from injuries, some just lost form. I hope the come-from-behind effort against Real Madrid will encourage them to lift their performances & improve their form as Barca tries to retain the Spanish championship. Hola Barca!!