Barcelona vs. Real Madrid: UEFA Champions League – First half review (Part 1)
After losing the first-leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final against Barcelona, Real Madrid utilized an attacking formation for the start of the second-leg of at the Nou Camp. Playing at Barcelona’s home ground, Real Madrid had several concerns heading into the second-leg in Catalonia. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Pepe-c29670 missed out on Real Madrid’s squad as both players had been booked in the first half.
Jose Mourinho was also sent off for his comments to the referee in the first-leg at Santiago Bernabéu, thus he was also missing from the stadium altogether. The Portuguese manager watched the match from his hotel room according to media reports as he was not present at Nou Camp.
Nonetheless, Real Madrid took the field with Gonzalo Higuain as their solitary striker. Higuain was assisted by Ricardo Kaka in the traditional number 10 role whereas Cristiano Ronaldo and Angel Di Maria operated on their respective wings.
In central midfield, Lassana Diarra played as Real Madrid’s defensive enforcer alongside http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Iker-Casillas-c16815 led his team from the back as he played as Real Madrid’s shot stopper.
On the other hand, Barcelona set out with Gerard Pique and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Lionel-Messi-c22296 initiated the encounter as the home team’s main striker.
Real Madrid kicked off the match at a ferocious pace as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Cristiano-Ronaldo-c9629 took the game by the scruff of the neck in the 2nd minute and blitzed past Busquets and Xavi Hernandez before playing the ball towards Marcelo. However, the home side were bailed out by Javier Mascherano’s fantastic game reading skills as the Argentinean intercepted Ronaldo’s through ball towards Marcelo down the left wing.
In the 8th minute, Real Madrid were on the front foot once again as Ricardo Kaka played the ball towards Gonzalo Higuain inside the Barcelona penalty area. Luckily for the home side, the Brazilian playmaker’s pass lacked a bit of pace as Pique slid in to prevent Higuain from getting to the ball.
Real Madrid’s fast paced start to the match made it hard for Barcelona to get their passing game going, but in the 12th minute, it whttp://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/AS-Real-c38478 Madrid who were tracking backwards as Lionel Messi was brought to the ground by Carvalho’s tackle. The referee booked the Portuguese defender despite his protests, as the score line remained at nil all at Nou Camp.
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