Barcelona 1 - 1 Real Madrid (agg 3 - 1)
By Jonathan Stevenson |
Barcelona booked their place in the Champions League final after drawing their semi-final second leg with arch-rivals Real Madrid at the Camp Nou.
Barca, who led 2-0 from the first leg, were lucky not to go behind when Gonzalo Higuain had a goal disallowed.
They went ahead when Andres Iniesta's fine pass enabled Pedro to rifle home but Real levelled when Marcelo fired in after Angel di Maria hit the post.
Barca now face either Manchester United or Schalke in the final on 28 May.
The Catalans, who have won the tournament on three previous occasions - 1992, 2006 and 2009 - will learn of their Wembley opponents when United, who have a 2-0 lead from the first leg,entertain German side Schalke at Old Trafford on Wednesday.
But European football's governing body Uefa, not to mention the hierarchies at both Barca and Real, will be relieved that Tuesday's match largely passed by without the theatrics, spite and bad blood that enveloped events at the Santiago Bernabeu last week.
As if that game wasn't bad enough, the aftermath of Barca's 2-0 win in the first leg was marred by both teams complaining about the other's conduct to Uefa, Real coach Jose Mourinho stirring things upand the Madrid club accusing Barca's Sergio Busquets of racism, so it was a blessed relief to get back to football.
With a torrential downpour in Barcelona adding to the sense of foreboding at the Camp Nou, referee Frank de Bleeckere led the two teams out perhaps expecting the worst - but he, like the boisterous 90,000 crowd, was instead treated to a thoroughly entertaining football match.
Mourinho, sent off last week, was not in attendance but he picked a more attack-minded Real team with Kaka and Higuain restored to the starting line-up as they went looking for goals to haul themselves back into the tie.
They started brightly enough, with Marcelo finding some joy down the left and Cristiano Ronaldo initially appearing to be in the mood, but once Barca adapted to the slicker-than-usual surface they soon began to toy with their expensively-assembled opponents.
Messi, who had single-handedly spared the teams total embarrassment in the first leg with his two fabulous goals, was causing Ricardo Carvalho all sorts of trouble with his lightning-quick anticipation and the fit-again Iniesta and Xavi were keeping the ball moving with staggering accuracy and speed.
After Busquets headed a corner into the arms of keeper Iker Casillas, Barca put together a mesmerising spell of five minutes in which they could have opened the scoring on five different occasions.
Messi twice forced superb saves from Spanish number one Casillas, who also had to be alert to push away a David Villa shot, while Messi dragged another effort off target and Pedro lashed narrowly wide from just outside the box.
 Marcelo's second-half goal gave Real some hope of a comeback |
But while the score on the night remained goalless, Real always had a chance - and early on in the second half they were unfortunate not to halve the overall deficit as Higuain slotted past Victor Valdes, only for the referee to rule that Ronaldo had fouled Javier Mascherano in the build-up.
A few minutes later, Barca were ahead. Iniesta picked a perfect pass to slide Pedro clean through, the forward taking one touch to tee himself up and another to lash the ball past Casillas with his left foot.
Real were left with a mountain to climb - but try to climb it they duly did. Emmanuel Adebayor and Mesut Ozil came on for Higuain and the ineffective Kaka and they momentarily silenced the Camp Nou when Di Maria fired against Valdes's right-hand post and then kept his cool to set up Marcelo to fire home.
Their main problem then was getting the ball back off Barca. The hosts refused to panic, kept on playing their normal game and did not let Real have another sniff of their goal.
It threatened to get tetchy towards the end as Real's increasingly desperate players found themselves only able to break Barca's momentum by committing fouls but De Bleeckere magnificently stood up to the challenge and exerted his authority at the right moments to keep the players under control.
For for first time this season a Barca-Real 'Clasico' finished with 11 players on both teams but the joy unconfined belonged exclusively to Barcelona at the final whistle as they celebrated reaching a third Champions League final in six seasons.
Live text and stats
Tuesday, 3 May 2011
Champions League
| Home Team | Score | Away Team | Time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Barcelona | 1-1 | Real Madrid | FT |
| (HT 0-0)(agg 3-1) | |||
|
| ||
Hide team line-ups and match stats
Barcelona
- 01 Valdes
- 02 Daniel
- 03 Pique
- 05 Puyol (Abidal 90)
- 06 Xavi
- 08 Iniesta
- 14 Mascherano
- 16 Busquets
- 07 Villa (Keita 74)
- 10 Messi
- 17 Pedritoyellow card (Afellay 90+3)
Substitutes
- 38 Olazabal,
- 22 Abidal,
- 15 Keita,
- 20 Afellay,
- 26 Fontas,
- 30 Thiago,
- 11 Jeffren
Real Madrid
- 01 Casillas
- 02 Carvalhoyellow card
- 12 Marceloyellow card
- 17 Arbeloa
- 18 Albiol
- 07 Ronaldo
- 08 Kaka (Ozil 60)
- 10 Diarrayellow card
- 14 Alonsoyellow card
- 22 Di Maria
- 20 Higuain (Adebayor 55yellow card)
Substitutes
- 25 Dudek,
- 19 Garay,
- 35 Nacho,
- 11 Granero,
- 23 Ozil,
- 09 Benzema,
- 28 Adebayor
Show latest live text only
- Final Result
- Full Time
- 90:00+2:44The referee blows for the end of the match.
- 90:00+2:26 SubstitutionIbrahim Afellay replaces Rodriguez Pedro.
- 89:49 SubstitutionCarles Puyol goes off and Eric Abidal comes on.
- 88:50The assistant referee flags for offside against Rodriguez Pedro. Free kick taken by Iker Casillas.
- Correction - 87:50Ricardo Carvalho gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Rodriguez Pedro. Lionel Messi produces a shot on goal direct from the free kick, Iker Casillas makes a save.
- 87:50Ricardo Carvalho concedes a free kick for a foul on Rodriguez Pedro. Lionel Messi produces a shot on goal direct from the free kick, Iker Casillas makes a save.
- 86:52Xabi Alonso challenges Hernandez Xavi unfairly and gives away a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Hernandez Xavi.
- 84:40Free kick taken by Hernandez Xavi.
- 84:40 BookingEmmanuel Adebayor goes into the referee's book.
- 84:31Unfair challenge on Lionel Messi by Emmanuel Adebayor results in a free kick.
- 84:12Unfair challenge on Lionel Messi by Ricardo Carvalho results in a free kick. Lionel Messi takes the direct free kick.
- 83:16Unfair challenge on Javier Mascherano by Lassana Diarra results in a free kick. Direct free kick taken by Victor Valdes.
- 81:43 BookingThe referee shows Rodriguez Pedro a yellow card for unsporting behaviour.
- 76:06Xabi Alonso gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Lionel Messi. Direct free kick taken by Hernandez Xavi.
- 74:57Direct free kick taken by Hernandez Xavi.
- 74:57 BookingJunior Marcelo receives a yellow card.
- 74:41Foul by Junior Marcelo on Lionel Messi, free kick awarded.
- 73:22 SubstitutionSeydou Keita replaces David Villa.
- 72:05The ball is delivered by Sergio Busquets, Lionel Messi has a headed effort at goal from deep inside the area missing to the left of the target.
- 68:18Direct free kick taken by da Silva Dani Alves.
- 68:18 BookingXabi Alonso receives a caution.
- 68:15Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Lionel Messi by Xabi Alonso.
- 67:46Lassana Diarra challenges Hernandez Xavi unfairly and gives away a free kick. Hernandez Xavi takes the free kick.
- 65:08The official flags Emmanuel Adebayor offside. Victor Valdes restarts play with the free kick.
- 64:32Free kick awarded for a foul by Javier Mascherano on Angel Di Maria. Angel Di Maria restarts play with the free kick.
- 63:29Assist by Angel Di Maria.
- 63:29 GOAL - Junior MarceloBarcelona 1 - 1 Real MadridJunior Marcelo gets on the score sheet with a goal from inside the box to the bottom left corner of the goal. Barcelona 1 (3)-(1) 1 Real Madrid.
- 63:14Angel Di Maria produces a left-footed shot from deep inside the penalty box and strikes the post.
- 60:34Free kick awarded for a foul by Junior Marcelo on Rodriguez Pedro. Free kick crossed by Hernandez Xavi.
- 59:55 Substitution(Real Madrid) makes a substitution, with Mesut Ozil coming on for Ricardo Kaka.
- 57:26Lionel Messi takes the direct free kick.
- 57:26 BookingLassana Diarra is cautioned.
- 57:18Free kick awarded for a foul by Lassana Diarra on Sergio Busquets.
- 56:01Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Sergio Busquets by Emmanuel Adebayor. Javier Mascherano takes the direct free kick.
- 54:56 SubstitutionGonzalo Higuain goes off and Emmanuel Adebayor comes on.
- 53:30Andres Iniesta provided the assist for the goal.
- 53:30 GOAL - Rodriguez PedroBarcelona 1 - 0 Real MadridA goal is scored by Rodriguez Pedro from inside the area to the bottom right corner of the goal. Barcelona 1 (3)-(0) 0 Real Madrid.
- 52:40Inswinging corner taken by Angel Di Maria.
- 52:26Gonzalo Higuain takes a shot. Blocked by Gerard Pique.
- 48:33Hernandez Xavi takes the inswinging corner, clearance by Ricardo Carvalho.
- 47:44Foul by Lassana Diarra on Andres Iniesta, free kick awarded. Free kick taken by Hernandez Xavi.
- 46:23Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Javier Mascherano by Cristiano Ronaldo. Victor Valdes takes the free kick.
- 45:17Unfair challenge on Andres Iniesta by Lassana Diarra results in a free kick. Andres Iniesta restarts play with the free kick.
- 45:01The referee gets the second half started.
- Half Time
- 45:00+1:04The match has reached half-time.
- 45:00+0:21Angel Di Maria takes the inswinging corner, save by Victor Valdes.
- 43:39Unfair challenge on Lionel Messi by Ricardo Carvalho results in a free kick. Lionel Messi takes the direct free kick.
- 42:53David Villa is ruled offside. Indirect free kick taken by Iker Casillas.
- 42:20The offside flag is raised against Rodriguez Pedro. Indirect free kick taken by Iker Casillas.
- 40:02Lassana Diarra concedes a free kick for a foul on Lionel Messi. Lionel Messi takes the direct free kick.
- 39:16Centre by Cristiano Ronaldo, save by Victor Valdes.
- 38:18Outswinging corner taken from the right by-line by Hernandez Xavi, Iker Casillas makes a save.
- 38:10A cross is delivered by da Silva Dani Alves, Junior Marcelo gets a block in.
- 36:00Lionel Messi takes a shot. Iker Casillas makes a save.
- 35:21Angel Di Maria gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Carles Puyol. Gerard Pique takes the free kick.
- 34:28Rodriguez Pedro has an effort at goal from just outside the area which goes wide of the left-hand post.
- 33:43Shot by David Villa. Save by Iker Casillas.
- 32:46Effort on goal by Lionel Messi from inside the box misses to the right of the target.
- 31:15Lionel Messi takes a shot. Iker Casillas makes a save.
- 30:34The referee gives a free kick against Cristiano Ronaldo for handball. Free kick taken by Victor Valdes.
- 29:46Junior Marcelo fouled by Rodriguez Pedro, the ref awards a free kick. Junior Marcelo takes the free kick.
- 28:26Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Javier Mascherano by Xabi Alonso. Hernandez Xavi takes the direct free kick.
- 27:31Ricardo Carvalho gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Lionel Messi. Direct free kick taken by Hernandez Xavi.
- 25:43Rodriguez Pedro is ruled offside. Ricardo Carvalho restarts play with the free kick.
- 24:44Foul by Ricardo Carvalho on Lionel Messi, free kick awarded. Hernandez Xavi restarts play with the free kick.
- 20:57Outswinging corner taken by Hernandez Xavi, Sergio Busquets takes a shot. Iker Casillas makes a save.
- 19:03Angel Di Maria sends in a cross. The offside flag is raised against Gonzalo Higuain. Victor Valdes takes the free kick.
- 15:54Da Silva Dani Alves challenges Cristiano Ronaldo unfairly and gives away a free kick. Xabi Alonso crosses the ball from the free kick right-footed from left channel, Rodriguez Pedro manages to make a clearance.
- 14:58Foul by Gonzalo Higuain on Hernandez Xavi, free kick awarded. Direct free kick taken by Andres Iniesta.
- 12:26Direct free kick taken by Hernandez Xavi.
- 12:26 BookingBooking for Ricardo Carvalho for unsporting behaviour.
- 12:18Unfair challenge on Lionel Messi by Ricardo Carvalho results in a free kick.
- 11:01Effort from the edge of the penalty box by Rodriguez Pedro goes wide of the right-hand upright.
- 9:02Raul Albiol gives away a free kick for an unfair challenge on Rodriguez Pedro. Direct free kick taken by Javier Mascherano.
- 6:25Andres Iniesta produces a left-footed shot from just outside the box that misses to the right of the target.
- 5:57Free kick awarded for a foul by Lassana Diarra on Andres Iniesta. Free kick taken by Andres Iniesta.
- 5:28The ball is sent over by Angel Di Maria, Gerard Pique makes a clearance.
- 2:39Free kick awarded for an unfair challenge on Sergio Busquets by Ricardo Kaka. Free kick taken by Victor Valdes.
- 0:26Junior Marcelo concedes a free kick for a foul on Rodriguez Pedro. Andres Iniesta takes the free kick.
- 0:00The match gets underway.
Live text and data provided by The Press Association.
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