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The great battle of Spain between Madrid and clubs is interesting not only because of the result - there is no shortage of other intriguing details that catch the eyes of fans.
In the duel, which the Barcelona team won 3-1, several episodes can be distinguished that caused a storm of discussions.
Firstly - Lionel Messi was close to receiving a red card even before halftime. At first, the Argentine was warned for disputes with the referee, and shortly afterwards he grossly committed a foul against the opponent, but remained on the field.
Messi's yellow card and foul against Xabi Alonso:
Also, a lot of attention was drawn to Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes, whose gross mistake allowed Real to take the lead without even playing half a minute. Despite the fact that the Spaniard failed to clear the ball in that episode, he continued to play with his feet.
"Valdes made a mistake, but continued to play as always - making passes. Others, perhaps, would have kicked the ball forward, so Victor's behavior proves his and the team's strength even against opponents like Real," praised coach Pep Guardiola.
Valdes' mistake and other episodes:
Meanwhile, the star of Real, Cristiano Ronaldo, had a very unsuccessful match - the Portuguese did not take advantage of several great opportunities and did not at all resemble an unstoppable team leader.
It is not surprising that part of the stadium booed the striker at the end of the match...
One of the best players in the match was undoubtedly Barcelona's midfielder Andres Iniesta - the footballer did not score goals, but impressed the experts.
Iniesta's game:
Praise was also received by Barcelona defender Carles Puyol. The veteran successfully thwarted the opponent's attacks.
Meanwhile, Real defender Marcelo took the defeat painfully and refused to shake hands with Catalan representative Gerard Pique. Why the Brazilian acted like this remains unclear.
Marcelo didn't learn from Jose Mourinho, who shook hands with Barcelona's assistant coach Tito Vilanova, although in the previous season for some reason he tried to stick his finger in his eye.
