Barcelona without Lionel Messi has different antidotes. Though it is a popular theory that the Catalans without their Argentine star, are an opposition of very less category, various players in the past have stepped up when it mattered the most and have shown their ability at the biggest of stages. And on Sunday it was Cristian Tello who replaced the injured Messi and scored a brace to help them to a 3-0 victory over Real Zaragoza.
The uncertain terrain at La Romareda has caused a few problems for league leaders in recent times but it was not the case last night as they cruised to the finish line to get all three points and increased their lead to 16 points over Real and Atletico Madrid.
Barcelona started the game with only 5 of its regulars allowing their injured and fatigued players to get some time off the game before their show down with Bayern Munich in the Champions league semi-finals. Thiago Alcántara started in the midfield with Tello and Sanchez above him. The midfielder scored the first and assisted the second goal for the Catalans before Tello smashed in the final goal after a show from Sanchez hit the crossbar.
A 3-0 win away from home without their stars and mainly without Messi shows the world they could still steamroll to an easy victory without much damage being done.
Real Madrid traveled to San Mames in a very special game, as yesterday’s game will be their visit as Athletic Bilbao are preparing to move to a new stadium (the ‘Estadio San Mamés Barria‘), next season. It was the 102nd meeting between the rivals the whites and Athletic Bilbao in that square, and Ronaldo and co drew the final blood with a 0-3 win thanks to a brace from the Portuguese.
The historic rivalry between the two clubs, multiplied by the political issues that have occurred over the years between the central government and the Basque Country, has always made this game more than the clash of two of the most important teams in La Liga. It was Cristiano Ronaldo who started the party early in the game when the Portuguese star fired in one of his trade mark free kicks to stun the home crowd in the opening minutes of the game.
The home team came back with some determination but lacking the talent to do damage to a well planted Madrid, ended up losing all three points. In form keeper Diego Lopez once again proved why he has kept his place ahead of Iker Casillas with two stunning saves around the 20th minute. When the game restarted in the second half, the hosts came in with a definite point to prove as they were more physical and direct in their play which saw Ronaldo and Albiol takers of some serious challenges, one of which could have broken Albiol’s leg.
However, Mourinho’s men finished off things before Bilbao could push them in the final 10 minutes as goals from Ronaldo and Higuain sealed the night. Madrid who were 16 points behind Barcelona and in 3rd place, reclaimed their 2nd place and stay 13 points below the league leaders.
Elsewhere Deportivo, who before a month was at the bottom of the table, crawled their way out of the relegation zone with 4 consecutive victories. And Malaga who lost out to Dortmund dramatically in the final minutes of their Champions league clash, won their league game against Osasuna early on Saturday with an injury time winner by Júlio Baptista.