La Liga Report: Magical Messi Earns Barca A Heroic Draw
Barcelona 3-3 Real Madrid
A sensational Lionel Messi etched his name indelibly into the El Clasico history, as he completed an injury time hat-trick on the biggest stage in Spain to hand ten men Barcelona a gutsy draw at the Camp Nou, in one of the most breath-taking of El Clasicos.
Real Madrid, meanwhile, will go home gutted, and questions will be asked as to why Capello chose to sit back rather than finish off Frank Rijkaard's tiring charges. Barcelona may have been better in the first half, but were let out of jail in the second!
Ruud van Nistelrooy put Real Madrid ahead twice in the first half, only for Messi to pull Barcelona back on both occasions.
Barcelona went on to dominate in the rest of the half as Ronaldinho, Eto'o and Messi ran riot, but tragedy struck when Oleguer was sent off on the stroke of half time.
Madrid dominated the second half, and deserverdly went ahead through a Sergio Ramos header, but Barcelona kept fighting against the odds, and Messi exonerated those efforts with his fabulous strike in injury time.
Real Madrid remain fourth, while Barcelona go top ahead of Sevilla's clash tomorrow.
First Half
It was a frentic start to the game, with Thuram's failed clearance falling at Ruud van Nistelrooy's feet in the 5th minute, and the Dutchman coolly finishing past Casillas from 20 yards out to silence the camp Nou crowd.
Barcelona were stunned, but recovered their composure to launch a fierce attempt to find the equalize.
Eto'o was denied by Casillas after a good move involving Ronaldinho and Messi, but the reward came in the 11th minute, after a superb pass from Ronaldinho found a bursting Messi, and the Argentine beat Casillas at the far post with consummate ease.
It took Real Madrid all of two minutes to go back in the lead, with Oleguer clumsily leaving a leg out for Guti to fall over and earn a penalty. Van Nistelrooy calmly converted, to make it 2-1 for Los Merengues, barely 13 minutes into the game. Oleguer picked up a booking for his efforts - one that would later come to haunt Barcelona in other ways too.
Barca again laid siege on Real Madrid's goal, threatening through Ronaldinho, Messi and Eto'o, who were combining as superbly as ever.
Ronaldinho was hacked from behind by Sergio Ramos, who made no attempt to play the ball, and was promptly handed a booking, and Eto'o was set up by Ronaldinho and Messi minutes later, but failed to get enough power into the shot.
You could feel, though, that a Barcelona goal was near, and it was once again Messi who grabbed it. However, Ronaldinho and Eto'o, who had both been superb over the last 20 minutes, were the ones who did the hard work. The Brazilian ran into the six-yard box with the help of a one-two with Eto'o, and Madrid's attempt to deny him saw the ball fall to the Argentine, who hammered it into the net.
Xavi then sent Messi through with a superb pass almost immediately afterwards, and the Argentine put in a superb run, only to drag his finish into the side netting. It was all Barcelona, with Miguel Torres looking like a sitting duck against a rampant Lionel Messi.
Higuain then came close against the run of play, but it was Barcelona again immediately, with Deco finding Messi, the Argentine sending it wide to Ronaldinho, the Brazilian crossing superbly, but Salgado scrambling it clear inches ahead of Eto'o.
The Cameroon international then got past two defenders, but took one touch too many in the box, and was quickly crowded out just as he got ready to pull the trigger. Iniesta got in on the act, forcing another superb save from Casillas after another fabulous move from Barcelona.
However, tragedy struck for the Catalans on the stroke of half time, with Oleguer being sent off for a second yellow after bringing down Gago. That threatened to spoil the game though, With Diarra being booked for a shove on Messi, and and then Xavi also going into the book, as the referee seemed to be losing control of the game.
Thankfully, that was the final action of the half, allowing everyone to calm down. Four goals, one red card, and you could sense there could be more of both before the final whistle.
Second Half
Rijkaard sacrificed Eto'o to bring on Sylvinho after the break, and Barcelona looked worse for it, with Real Madrid again looking for the early lead. They nearly got it thanks to a dreadful clearance from Marquez, but Van Nistelrooy blasted over from 12 yards out.
Barcelona looked to have settled into a 4-3-2, but the momentum looked to have shifted to Madrid, with the Catalans looking to break with pace this time around. With Rijkaard wary of throwing too many forward, and Capello never known for that, the game slowed down just a bit as we headed towards the hour mark.
Robinho came on for Raul as Capello tried to inject some pace, but it was Barcelona who responded, with Ronaldinho making a superb run, and falling under a half-challenge from Diarra, but the referee not seeing enough for a penalty.
Real Madrid discovered their feet again, with Valdes denying Van Nistelrooy brilliantly after the Dutchman was superbly put through by Higuain. The keeper denied Ruud two more times to bail Barcelona out, or more appropriately, keep them in the game.
Ten men Barca were beginning to tire, though, and one could sense that Madrid were close to taking the lead a third time. Juliano Belletti came on for Deco, who had already been booked, and was walking a tightrope avoiding a second, but that did not stop Madrid, with Sergio Ramos nodding in a Guti corner to silence the Camp Nou again.
Barcelona had not given in, though, and Iniesta came close minutes later after a quick break. Real Madrid were sitting back dangerously, and Marquez used the space given to unleash a superb drive, which Casillas magically tipped over the bar.
A quick break soon after saw Van Nistlerooy get another chance to get his hat-trick, and Andres Iniesta came close again at the other end, as the game continued to thrill. Gudjohnsen came on for Marquez with ten minutes to go, as Rijkaard made his final roll of the dice with about ten minutes to go.
Barcelona made a final push, throwing everything at Madrid, who wanted to defend tight. Casillas bailed them out again as he dove head first into the ball to get there just ahead of Ronaldinho, and Messi was denied by a superb Torres tackle (for once, for it was inches close to being a penalty), as they looked to shut shop.
It looked increasingle like Madrid had survived the worst as the game headed into injury time. However, a piece of magic is something you cannot plan from, and brilliance from Lionel Messi in the 91st minute proved to be too good for them - the teenager running into the box superbly to slot past Casillas, and complete the most famous of hat-tricks.
It ended 3-3, though Ronaldinho was denied a penalty in the dying minutes (decision remained split after watching replays).
Barcelona will go home with the draw feeling like a win, particularly after battling with ten men for so long, while Real Madrid will regret sitting back and allowing Barcelona to have the ball in the final ten minutes.
Van Nistelrooy missing three great chances in succession will also come to haunt them, when they rue missing the chance to make a big come-back in the title race, and more importantly, hand themselves a shot in the arm as the season heads into its business end.
It made for some sensational football, but that said, it was perhaps the best demonstration of why the two Spanish giants find themselves out of the Champions League, with Barcelona being caught flat-footed by Real Madrid's pace, and Real being split wide open by Barcelona's passing.
thank you messi , he have done the job alone