The El Clasico played between Real Madrid and Barcelona on Monday gained a lot of importance in the football circles around the globe. Apart from the match, Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo played against each other in a bid to be recognised as the best
player in the world. Although, one match cannot decide which player is better than the other, but Cristiano Ronaldo totally failed in every respect in the match.
Lionel Messi did not score for Barcelona, although he had a great record against the archrivals as he had scored seven goals against Madrid. He had a moment of brilliance in the first half, when he placed a chip over the head of Madrid goalie Iker Casillas,
but was denied by the post. For the most part, Messi played a pivotal role in the midfield, as he seldom tried to make his way past the defenders. Nevertheless, it was a great performance by the Argentinean in the midfield and he played a great supporting
role for his team.
At one point, it seemed that the match is getting on the nerves of Messi. The Argentinean cut his way across the Madrid’s defence, but rather than playing an open David Villa, Messi tried himself and missed. It was very unlike Messi, who is known for his
great support for the team. However, before people could change their minds about the world-class youngster, Messi provided two incredible assists to David Villa, which were proficiently converted into goals. In the end, Messi played a real important part
in the victory against Madrid, without getting himself on the score-sheets.
As Lionel Messi enjoyed the game against Madrid, Cristiano Ronaldo could not do the same. Ronaldo was the first player on the pitch who was fouled, which pretty much set the tone for the match. Soon, Ronaldo became desperate as he could not find spaces in
Barcelona’s half.
There were a few notable incidents in the match that involved both these players. In the second half, Lionel Messi was looking for a free-kick, when he thought that he was fouled by Ricardo Carvalho. However, the referee gave the decision against Messi’s
wish, while the Argentinean stood up to move on with the game. At this point, everyone thought that Messi was hit on the face by Carvalho, with his elbow. The youngster fell to the ground, but it was found to be a little exaggerated by the referee who showed
no hesitation in brandishing a yellow card to Messi.
Similarly, Cristiano Ronaldo was involved in an incident, which was nothing short of a loss of temper from the Portuguese forward. Ronaldo was trying to get the ball for a throw-in, but Pep Guardiola was holding the ball and rather than giving it to the
forward, the Barcelona manager dropped it to the ground. At that point, Ronaldo gave a little push on the shoulder of the manager. This started a brawl between the players, as the Barcelona players gathered in order to defend the dignity of their manager.
In the end, Ronaldo was punished with a yellow card for his misdemeanour. However, apart from this yellow card, Ronaldo lost the last iota of respect that was left in the hearts of Catalans for the Portuguese forward.
Although such incidents might not be rare in football, but a player of Ronaldo’s repute should have shown some integrity. In the end, Lionel Messi was the only player who gained from the match, as Ronaldo did not only lose the match but he lost his dignity
as well. Pep Guardiola turned out to be the bigger man in the incident as he did not even bother to mention the incident in the post-match press conference.
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