.e.l…c.l.a.s.s.i.c.o.

good evening ladies and gentlemen….there’s over 300 million pounds worth of artillery on display in the majestic nou camp…..the pitch is littered with talent, bucket loads of the stuff.

kaka…is not easy! this day seems to be a good one for two spanish goalies so far….reina pulled off a man of the match performance against old enemies earlier today…and now…valdez victor….is having a blinder in probably one of the top five biggest games on the planet…el grand classico….and if you dont know what that is….look to the top of your screen….there’s an adress bar…….proceed to change the url from wordpress to….s.o.m.e.t.h.i.n.g..e.l.s.e….

kaka skidded past pique like he wasnt there…dashed into the box, lays the ball on a plate for ronaldo to gobble….good strike but valdez victor to the rescue…his trailing right foot somehow stops ronaldo’s low drive headed straight for valdez’s right post and in.

real arent playing like visitors…there here to win this…diarra, who in my humble opinion is due a nomination for some kind of major recognition of his fantastic ability, is on his game..snarling away in the middle….real have had the better chances i must say….barcelona’s defenders are really being tested…and the deadly munitions upfront..messi, henry, iniesta are yet to click…..barca’s best player for me so far is keita…making good runs and providing good cover.

1st 30min.

its the only club game in the world where you can mention kaka, messi, ronaldo, casillas, henry, keita, alonso, xavi in the same sentence…..le creme de la creme.

now the antics that characterize la liga come to the fore…players grimacing, rolling on the turf, team-mates screaming amarilloo! amarrrillloooo! iniesta and ronaldo doing the handbags dance, alves and arbeloa exchanging colourful christmas greetings and the nou camp erupting into a tremendous cacophony….

1st 45.59

half time no goals…i somehow doubt this game is going to end in a draw, i hope it doesn’t.

ibrahimovich on the bench, pedro and maxwell as well for barca….benzema, raul and drenthe for real….the guns on the bench could make the difference for barca.

average goals scored in el grand classico is 3.2, commentators pleading with destiny for a goal with their favorite weapon…statistics!

in a beautiful sequence of events, first messi and immediately after ronaldo spin round opponents and create spaces, the battle for the midfield is on.

2nd 51min

henry out, ibrahimovic on…things change…..the pulse of the game quickens and the barca arsenal are on fire….but wait…real counter swiftly….higuain in the box, leaves keita for dead, turns in..must score!…draws his right foot back and pulls the trigger….carlos puyol dives in with a fantastic block….el grand classico  indeed…

2nd 55min the innevitable happens…

dani alves breaks down the left, swings the ball in early and zlatan absolutely smashes it past casillas, .n.o..c.h.a.n.c.e.!…the second most expensive player in the world has the home team in front….the barcelona bench has made the difference…for now…five minutes on the pitch and he has a goal. good sub.

barca 1 real 0

and then the bizarre happens…busquests, already on a yellow card, handles, needlessly, a real madrid pass….ref pulls out a yellow and he’s off…guardiola is furious! definite hairdryer treatment coming sergio’s way.

2nd 63min

benzema and yaya toure warming up an getting ready to come on. looking at the barca bench earlier, i didnt think yaya would be relevant…but that’s why the professional coaches are down there and fans like me watch on….ronaldo and keita off. guardiola is much more animated now…its battle stations at the camp nou.

real are pressing forward, kaka is running things, benzema getting involved but its barca with the most threatening stance at the moment..messi mesmerizes the galacticos and pepe is forced to make a yellow card tackle…amarillo it is.

2nd 73min

pellegrini shows us he’s got balls, arbeola off, raul on.

eric abidal! finds himself at the business end of a sweeping 10 man barca move…left foot shot, hard and on the ground blazes past casilla’s left upright. the game is beautifully poised…anything can happen really as real madrid, with kaka find themselves in barca’s box….ramos has a free header that flashes wide.

it looks like real are being asked to do something they arent used to doing this season…going for the jugular…five minutes left and as the commentator says…”pellegrini’s hair is getting greyer but the second”…barca, ten man barca look much more comfortable and are handling real’s advances with superior calm and skill.

3 minutes to go.

cassilas! alvez squares a perfectly veiled pass to  messi, the little master is thwarted by cassilas from point blank range! lass gets himself sent off….we’re into extra time now.

i think barcelona have this…but there’s three minutes to go.

barcelona have it!