An incredible evening at the Nou Camp ended with Barcelona running out 3-2 winners in the first leg of their Spanish Super Cup clash against Real Madrid.
After a dull first half – which saw Lionel Messi pass up the two best opportunities – Cristiano Ronaldo headed Madrid into a second-half lead.
Goals from Pedro, Messi and Xavi moved the home side 3-1 ahead, but a horror show from Barca goalkeeper Victor Valdes allowed Angel di Maria to tap home late on to leave the match delicately poised ahead of the second period.
With that in mind, Sports Mole dissects the 90 minutes of action between the two sides.
Barcelona statistics:
Shots 16
On target 6
Possession 67%
Corners 7
Fouls 13
Real Madrid statistics:
Shots 6
On target 2
ossession 33%
Corners 7
Fouls 12
Was the result fair?
On the balance of play you would have to say yes. Barcelona dominated the opening half of the match, and should have entered the break ahead. However, Madrid's defensive work was extremely impressive – until the second period. The home side remained the bigger attacking threat throughout the 90 minutes, but Jose Mourinho must be given credit for the way he set his team up. Ultimately it worked.
Barcelona's performance
It was just as you would expect from the home side. Wonderful passing and movement, while Xavi, Iniesta and Messi all shone once more. However, there is a genuine concern over the quality of their defence as they conceded two poor goals. All in all, it's two wins from two games for Barcelona this season and they will go close in every competition.
Real Madrid's performance
Mourinho's plan appeared to be working perfectly after nullifying the threat of Barcelona in the opening period, but Raul Albiol had a bit of a horror show in defence. Madrid will always score goals, however, as they proved once more this evening. Ronaldo answered his big-match critics with another goal against Barcelona, while Xabi Alonso was simply wonderful in midfield once more.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Andres Iniesta: We really do seem to be running out of superlatives for the Spanish wonder. He was just sublime once more as he controlled the entire tempo of the match. He is just a lovely lovely football player.
Referee performance
Carlos Clos Gomez had a solid match – he did well not to bow to the home crowd's pressure when players hit the deck. However, he should have booked Alexis Sanchez for diving time after time.
Biggest gaffe of the match
This honour goes to Alexis Sanchez. Twice the winger clearly dived in the penalty area, but somehow his name was not taken. It was a poor showing from the Chilean.
What next?
Barcelona: Next up for Barcelona is a trip to Osasuna on Sunday when they will attempt to make it six points from two games in the league.
Real Madrid: Meanwhile, Madrid will attempt to secure their first win of the season when they travel to Getafe on Sunday.
Matt Law
