The first "classico" of the year in Spain met everybody's expectations. The match was really fast paced and not much happened in the first half but a few attempts to get on top on the scoreboard by Real Madrid. Cristiano Ronaldo had the most clear opportunity to get ahead in early minutes of the first half. It was a well fought match in the beginning and at one point Real Madrid was dominating the game. Half-time came along and at the start it seemed that the game was going to continue to be as the first half. It wasn't until Josep Guardiola, Barcelona's coach took out Thierry Henry and put in Swedish striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic. It only took ten minutes after the substitution for one team to get ahead. After failing to make a good cross, Brazilian defender Dani Alves centered the ball perfectly that finished with a beautiful left-foot strike from Ibrahimovic. Following that Pellegrini, coach of Real Madrid, made a mistake that many are still questioning to why would he have substitute Cristiano Ronaldo out when he was the one that had many attempts at goal. After that there was a red card given to Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets. Real Madrid had few if any shots at goal, Barcelona found themselves closer to score a second goal than Madrid scoring their first. We can give a lot of credit to Barca defender Carles Puyol for stopping four shots that were heading to the net. Best players in Barcelona: Carles Puyol, Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Xavi, and Iniesta. For Real Madrid: Kaka, Iker Casillas, Pepe, and Cristiano Ronaldo.
