XAVI’S Barcelona has walked away from Texas with their second-straight El Clasico win on US soil.
Barca and Real Madrid faced off in front of over 80,000 Texans in attendance at AT&T Stadium, the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.
The game may have technically been little more than a friendly, but you would have been hard-pressed to notice as much in the first half.
Both Xavi and Carlo Ancelotti sent out full-strength sides for the first 45 which had the feeling of a true El Clasico.
After just three minutes, former Southampton man Oriol Romeu hit the woodwork for Barca before Real came close to taking the lead thanks to Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo.
After fourteen minutes Ousmane Dembele gave Barca the lead.
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This came courtesy of a well-worked free-kick routine which saw ex-Manchester City star Ilkay Gundogan clip the ball back to Pedri who slipped it in neatly for the Frenchman who snuck behind Madrid’s defense unnoticed.
But just five minutes later, Real were handed a golden opportunity to even the odds with a penalty following a Ronald Araujo handball.
Unfortunately for Los Blancos fans, Vinicius Jr. slammed the crossbar.
The end-to-end game continued with tensions clearly rising as halftime drew nearer before a Frenkie De Jong foul led to a clash between players in the center of the park.
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By comparison, the second half was relatively tame, feeling far more like a prototypical friendly as the game began to slow.
Two late goals ultimately sealed the deal for Barca with Femin Lopez netting an excellent volley in the 84th minute while Ferran Torres chipped Thibaut Courtois en route to the game’s third goal just six minutes later.
The game was far from as one-sided as the scoreline would suggest, with Vinicius Jr. in particular having come close on multiple occasions.
Unfortunately for him and Madrid, the woodwork was their best friend and worst enemy on the night as they failed to find that much-needed clinical finish.
Reflecting on the loss, Ancelotti said after the game that he felt “we played really well for most of the time.”
However, he also felt that “we were sleeping in some situations…in the free kick when we conceded the first goal, and at the end, we didn’t have the balance that we needed in that kind of situation.”
A true El Clasico in the first half, and a relatively tame second, both have plenty of positives to take away from an enthralling afternoon in Texas.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
