Not since August 2008 have both Barcelona and Real Madrid lost league games on the same day. However on the final day of April 2011 they repeated the feat with both sides going down to sides fighting relegation.
Real Madrid's defeat was particularly interesting since it was only José Mourinho's 3rd home defeat in the past nine years. Their opponents Real Zaragoza came into the game just a point above the La Liga trapdoor and were in desperate need for a victory. Javier Aguirre's side came to Madrid today to defend and limit Real space. However for all the possession Real found themselves with, it was Zaragoza who struck first just before half-time when a mix-up in defense between Pepe and Iker Casillas allowed Uché to square to Ángel Lafita who rolled the ball into the open net.
Lafita was involved for the next goal as he drew Ricardo Carvalho into fouling him in the area and as a result Gabi converted the spot kick. Sergio Ramos heaed a goal back for Real soon after but Zaragoza struck for a third when the vision of Uche put Lafita through on goal one-on-one with Casillas and finished cooly despite Marcelo's best efforts to keep his shot out. Despite Karim Benzema's strike shortly afterwards, Aguirre's men held on for a vital three points.
Barcelona:
Barcelona were beaten but like Madrid made changes to the El Clásico clash in midweek. However it was Barcelona who took the lead after Xavi with the help of Messi found Thiago Alcantara who finished impressively over Claudio Bravo. Real Sociedad rallied htough and found an equiliser through Diego Ifran struck on a loose ball in the Barca box. Javier Masherano bought down Antoine Griezmann in the box which resulted in a penalty which was just about converted by Xabier Prieto despite the best efforts of José Pinto.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment