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One of the most important matches of the season - the "El Clasico" called "derby" against "Barcelona" - was won at home by Madrid's "Real". The royal club secured a victory of 2-0, with goals scored by captain Raul and Dutch national team forward Ruud van Nistelrooy, who joined the club in the summer.
Madrid 2 - 0 3` [1 - 0] Raul 51` [2 - 0] Ruud van Nistelrooy
In the rain-soaked "Santiago Bernabeu" stadium, "Real" took the lead as early as the third minute of the match, when captain Raul scored a header goal following a pass from defender Sergio Ramos.
Later, after another attempt by Raul hit the crossbar, "Barcelona" took the initiative and had several chances to equalize: from a pass by Lionel Messi, Eidur Gudjohnsen from Iceland missed the goal from a few meters away, and later goalkeeper Iker Casillas stopped the breakthrough of the Argentine national team player with his fingertips.
However, the territorial advantage of the visitors did not benefit them, and in the second half, after six minutes of play, the royal club doubled the score on the counterattack: following a pass from Robinho from the right side, Dutchman Ruud van Nistelrooy outpaced "Barca" goalkeeper Victor Valdes and sent the ball into the net with his left foot.
Van Nistelrooy had another opportunity to score, but his penalty shot hit the crossbar, and Barcelona had opportunities to reduce the gap, with Ronaldinho from Brazil attempting a goal, but successfully blocked by I. Casillas, while both L. Messi and Javier Saviola, who came on as a substitute, missed their chances on the field.
At the end of the match, the hosts could have further extended their lead, but failed to capitalize on their chances and celebrated the victory with a two-goal margin. After this victory, "Real" reduced the gap to just two points from "Valencia" leading alongside "Barcelona".
