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Barca beat Madrid 1-0 at the Nou Camp tonight thanks to the same qualities that brought them the treble last season – quality and hard work. Ibrahimovic broke the deadlock with a classy strike in the second half, but the team had to draw on all their
Barca got no presents for their 110th birthday, but the players gave one to their fans with a hard working performance, gilded with their typical stamp of quality against their eternal rivals Real Madrid.
The first half was pretty even, with chances for both teams. When Barca imposed their passing, they were in charge, but when the game became more disordered, Madrid, led by Kaka, looked the more threatening. This was the clash of styles we'd expected with both teams focussed on the job in hand and showing the other plenty of respect and that meant the goal took its time coming. When it did, it confirmed Barca's superiority which they looked to build on until Busquets was sent off and Barca had to dig deep to defend their lead.
Stars on show
After all the pre-match speculation, Messi and Ronaldo were both passed fit to play, whilst Ibrahimovic started on the bench. Both teams lived up to their billing and the fans were treated to a game full of intensity and skill right from the start. Barca took the initiative and their pressure up the field made it hard for their opponents to build from the back. When Madrid did break out, principally through Kaka, they looked sharp and dangerous.
Taking control
It was Madrid who had the first chance when Kaka danced through and set up Cristiano Ronaldo on the right, but the Portuguese star's shot was brilliantly stopped by Valdes with his feet. Tension was growing and precision was not the order of the day as many passes went awry, but Barca kept their patience and began to find spaces in the Madrid defence as the half went on, with Iniesta testing Casillas on 40 minutes.
Welcome back Zlatan
Nothing changed after the break as Barca continued to push for goal. Zlatan Ibrahimovic came on for Henry and received a great ovation from the crowd which he repaid in full with a beautifully taken goal, latching onto a deep Alves cross to volley past Casillas. Previous to the goal, Puyol had made a goal saving tackle on Higuain with the Argentinian closing in on Valdes and that and the goal seemed to have turned the game till Busquets' red card turned the game around again.
Epic half hour
Barca didn't have too long to savour their lead – just 7 minutes until Sergio Busquets saw his second yellow for a handball which left his team a man down with half an hour to go. Guardiola held his nerve and kept Messi and Ibra up front, whilst dropping Iniesta back into midfield. Piqué and Abidal both came close and the defence tightened up, though Benzema blew a great chance, firing over from close in after a corner on 80 minutes. That was the only real chance for Madrid though and Barca could have made it two when Messi found himself one on one with Casillas on 89 minutes. Madrid's frustration boiled over and Lass was shown a red for a bad tackle on Xavi, but Barca held firm and showed that hard work and commitment, added to undoubted class, are what's needed to win El Classico.
