The most awaited fixture of this year, the El Classico, is on the horizon. Both the teams, Barcelona and Real Madrid, have proved themselves to be the best in the whole of Europe.
Apart from this, these sides have developed their squads and can compete on equal terms for the first time in the last three years, as the last couple of years were completely dominated by Barcelona. There are many superstars and super managers that would
clash with each other, which makes it the biggest match in the world of football.
The rivalry between both these sides is unlike other rivalries in Europe. It goes beyond the football fields and it extends to the ideological differences of both these regions. Barcelona represents the Catalonia, a region which is ideologically contradictory
to a liberal and free society in the Spanish capital, represented by Real Madrid. Therefore, the rivalry between Liverpool and Manchester United or Inter Milan and AC Milan is nothing compared to this rivalry that has its roots in the Spanish history.
The fans would have to wait for another day for the match because it has been delayed for one day. So, rather than on Sunday the match would be played on Monday because of local elections in Catalonia being held on the weekend. This would make the match
more interesting as the people present would be rejuvenated after their victories in elections. Real Madrid should look forward to an unfriendly crowd who would only heckle the Madrid players.
It is very difficult to choose a winner for the match as both teams have been doing great in the season. Madrid has one point lead over its arch-rivals, which would psychologically nullify Barcelona’s domination over Real Madrid in recent years. Barcelona
would have the advantage of home ground, but it would be Madrid who would have an upper hand at the beginning.
Both teams have done very well in recent fixtures in La Liga. Last Saturday, Barcelona was visiting Almeria for their La Liga match. The Catalan giants had a commanding victory over their opposition, going to the top of La Liga table for a short while.
Barcelona scored eight goals against their opponents, in which three goals were scored in the second half when the main players like Xavi and Andres Iniesta were removed from the pitch. Also, Barcelona was missing Gerard Pique in the defence but they did
not struggle at all in the defence. The match gave a lot to think for Madrid.
Real Madrid was up against Athletic Bilbao in Bernabeu. It was an easy match to win for Madrid, but they needed an emphatic victory after the heroics of the Catalans. In the end, Madrid won the match by 5-1, which is apparently not as good as Barcelona’s.
But, Almeria is a team struggling in La Liga and has won only one match this season. Athletic Bilbao, on the other hand, is doing great and is currently sitting in ninth place. So, now the results by both sides on the weekend seem to be on level grounds and
apparently no team has a psychological advantage over other for El Classico.
This year’s El Classico is also important for another good reason. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo would go up against each other for yet another time. Previously, Messi has always dominated his rival- a rival to the best player crown- and outsmarted
him on every occasion. This time, Ronaldo comes into the match with one goal more than his rival in La Liga. Also, when Messi scored a hat-trick on the weekend, Ronaldo reciprocated with a hat-trick against Bilbao. In the end, Ronaldo has a psychological advantage
over Messi as he is the top scorer up till now in La Liga.
Nevertheless, the match is going to be interesting and it would have a lot of surprises. There could be more than a couple of goals in the end but the balance could go on either side. In the end, it would be up to the two superstars of each team to differentiate
between both the teams. In this regard, Messi has a slight advantage over Ronaldo because of his excellent record against Real Madrid in the past.
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