Barcelona pull away from Real Madrid in Dallas
Barcelona pull away from Real Madrid
In a game that looked at times like it was on the edge of degenerating into a good old fashioned brawl, Barcelona slowly pulled out in front of Real Madrid. It wasn’t a clear cut thing, however, and it took every single one of the 90 minutes to do so.
The opening of the game was civil and both teams showed the American audience exactly why they are among the top teams in the world, flashing brilliant runs with outstanding control. A little tiki-taka and a dash of long-ball counter attacks made for a wonder display of LaLiga talent.
In the 15th minute, Ousmane Dembelé struck a beautiful ball across the face of goal, giving Courtois no chance to save it and opening the scoring.
Madrid had their chances, most seriously when they won a penalty just three minutes later after a cross hit Araujo in the hand. But Vinicius Jr somehow struck the ball too high, and it caromed off the crossbar.
This wasn’t their only chance as they took 25 total shots on goal in the game, although only 5 were on target. But for Real Madrid, five shots on target and no goals is a shocking statistic. At times it seemed as if Real Madrid were “salao” or terribly unlucky. Shot after shot bounced off the post, the crossbar, and even the keeper’s back, but nothing would fall for them. Sometimes, I guess, it just isn’t your day.
For Barcelona, the story was the opposite. While they certainly had a few unlucky shots of their own, the blaugrana shot just 12 times, 7 on target, and managed to put half of those into the net.
Not that it all went their way. It took until the 85th minute before they scored their second, on a sweet shot taken by Fermín López from just outside the area. And once that one fell, the third one came just five minutes later, when a Ferran Torres tip caught Courtois out and the follow up tap-in ended the game.
Both teams will have another game in the US before heading back to Spain to prepare for the long season ahead. Barcelona, however, will have a little extra spring in their step. They win the first El Clásico of the year by a 3-0 score.
