FC BARCELONA 0 - ATLETICO DE MADRID 0 ( 1 - 1 AGG + AWAY GOAL ) FC BARCELONA WINS SPANISH SUPER CUP

The away goal scored in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup by FC Barcelona at the Atletico de Madrid ground was enough tonight to give them the title with a 1 - 1 aggregate plus with the away goal advantage. 

Tonight's 2º leg return 0 - 0 final result had goalkeeping match savers by Barça Victor Valdes, a red card to Luis Felipe in the 80th min  which left Atletico down to 10 men & a missed penalty by Lionel Messi in the 88th min which were outcomes of an a tense final.

Intense & physical game with Barça dominating the ball & Atletico defending fiercely & counter-attacking. The first half was Barça & the second half saw a more determined & fluid Atletico de Madrid that had Barça on the back foot.

Neymar started with Messi & there was a lot of expectation but both were relatively quite, well covered & fizzed out as the match went on. Neymar is perhaps learning fast that European Football is another matter & that in FC Barcelona his "starlight" loses shine with so much talent around & tactical responsibilities. 

Although Barcelona had chances Atletico de Madrid had the clearest opportunities with Valdes stopping with a "miracle" hand a shot from Arda in the first half , & another "miracle save" from David Villa in the second half. Barça can thank Victor Valdes tonight for the Spanish Super Cup title.

The match got physical towards the end as Barça settled for a draw knowing they had the away goal advantage, & Atletico got frustrated as the goal they needed to win did not come their way.

Summary, FC Barcelona winners of the first Spanish Football Title thanks to the Neymar away goal in the 1º leg, & tonight without any spark that would lift any passions.

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SPANISH SUPER CUP 1º LEG RESULT | ATLETICO DE MADRID 1 FC BARCELONA 1

Hot night in Madrid that gave the atmospheric backdrop to the 1ºst leg of the Spanish Super Cup between Atletico de Madrid & FC Barcelona which ended in a 1 - 1 draw that keeps the first title of the new Spanish Football season open for the 2º leg at Barcelona next week.

In general terms it was even between both teams & but perhaps Barcelona was fortunate to have equalized in the second half as tiredness affected Atletico de Madrid when they were playing better & "knocking" around Barça. That´s one version, the other version is that FC Barcelona remained cool under pressure & waited for their chance to pounce on knowing that things would be really settled next week at Barcelona.

Atletico de Madrid was tactically very good tonight & very disciplined holding strong to the initial Barça dominance. In the 13th min a Arda Turan cross found David Villa who superbly volleyed to score against his ex-team.

The status-quo remained all the first half with Atletico de Madrid growing in confidence & unfortunately not converting more opportunities that could have put the home side further ahead.

The second half caused surprise as Lionel Messi was substituted for Cesc Fabregas, with the former suspected of fulling again to a leg muscle injury that will need to be examined to see the full ramifications. Atletico de Madrid was the clear dominate team up to the 67th min & could have gone further ahead if they had converted their chances. The referee also forgave a red card to Barça midfielder Busquets which could have also had an effect on the final result as it would have leave his team with 10 men.

However, an Atletico de Madrid defensive relapse perhaps due to tiredness & the smart positioning from Neymar who had just come on, allowed the Brazilian to head home the equalizer from a Dani Alves pass the gave Neymar is first official goal in Spanish Football. 

From here both sides attempted to better & made numerous substitutes but their minds were to keep the result & take the battle once again onto next week for the return 2º leg were the Spanish Super Cup would be decided.

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FC BARCELONA 3 REAL MADRID 2 | 1º LEG SPANISH SUPER CUP

First "Round" of the SPANISH SUPER CUP 2012-2013 goes to FC BARCELONA 3 - 2 over REAL MADRID. Deserved & just victory by Barça which was superior in play & is in much better form. At least it was clearly this way in the first half for Barça with 75% ball possesion on average & an out of sync Real Madrid that still has way too go to find its best form.

FC Barcelona

Said all this, lets not forget that the Spanish Super Cup is a 180 min title. There is still the 2º leg to be played at the "Santiago Bernabeu Stadium" & although Real Madrid was tonight clearly below their last season level & losers they take home two valuable away goals that keeps their title chances wide open.

Some observers may even rightly think that although Barça won & played better, they missed the golden opportunity to have shut the whole story tonight & put the title in their pocket, & along with a terrible Valdes goalie mistake allowed Madrid to score their second to let Real off the hook.

Cristiano Ronaldo

The first half was all Barça & Real Madrid looked slow & lost most of the time. Benzema is out of form & Ozil fades in & out of the game which effects the whole teams flow. Barça with peaks of 75% ball possession missed an opportunity to have stamped their authority early in the match.

The second half was different, Real Madrid looked more lively & Barcelona began feeling the effects of their first half physical effort. It was Real Madrid that went ahead first via CRISTIANO RONALDO in the 55 th min with a corner header. Ronaldo was relatively "invisible" until this moment & appeared as the top players tend to do.

However, Barça reacted immediately while Real was still celebrating when Mascherano found PEDRO in the 56th min & equalized.  Things see-sawed here for a while with Barça again dominating & won a penalty when Ramos fouled Iniesta in the box. MESSI scored in the 70th min & put Barça ahead.

Messi

Real Madrid Coach Mourinho reacted & put on Higuain & Di Maria to attempt to lift the team & take advantage of a tiring Barcelona. But Barça was inspired & smelling "blood" & an Iniesta piece of magic found XAVI HERNANDEZ who scored in the 78th min te third. Real Madrid was wobbly & only needed the final Barça punch to knock them out, when the mistake of the night arrived in the 84th min when Barça goalie Valdes fumbled the ball & DI MARIA scored the second & a oxygen saving goal. This mistake put Real Madrid back into the title race with the 2º leg match now the real decider.

In conclusion, excellent match by Barcelona who look strong & are at this moment a level above Real Madrid, but they failed to finish the job off. To the merit of Real Madrid they withstood well the attacks & even lifted in the second half which highlights that they can only lift & improve in coming matches. No doubt they will be more dangerous in the home return game.

Andres Iniesta was absolutely outstanding & is a delight to watch. The man is a magician of the ball. Messi was relatively quiet tonight & Ronaldo is out of form independent of his great goal & will need to improve to help out his team.

Next week more top World Class Football with the 2º leg.

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SPANISH SUPER CUP 1º ST LEG | FC BARCELONA - REAL MADRID | POSSIBLE LINE-UPS

The SPANISH FOOTBALL 2012 - 2013 season is just days in & we already have already a FC BARCELONA - REAL MADRID CF clash tonight at 22.30 local time. The reason is the 1ºst leg of the SPANISH SUPER CUP title. Both teams have played down the importance of the match &, in some respects, the actual title, but with these two Clubs & the rivalry between both I don´t believe it.

Courtesy of SPORT.ES

The talk & speculation pre-match locally concerns the possible starting 11 line-ups of both teams. We already know that Real Madrid has an important non-starter in defender Pepe, but Barça has all its men available.

Spanish Sports paper "Sport" has elaborated the above infograph to highlight what they think with be the Starting 11 line-ups for FC BARCELONA & REAL MADRID. According the them theses are the names:

FC Barcelona : Valdes ( there is talk perhaps Pinto ), Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Alba, Xavi, Busquets, Iniesta, Alexis, Messi & Pedro.

Real Madrid CF : Casillas, Arbeloa, Albiol, Ramos, Coentrao, Xabi Alonso, Khedira, Cristiano Ronaldo, Di  Maria, Ozil & Higuain.

As said,  they are NOT the confirmed line-ups.

Big match not to be missed! Tweet

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THE SPANISH SUPER CUP 2013 IN CHINA ?

Firstly,  a big hello to all the Chinese Spanish Football Sports readers. Secondly, you maybe in good luck as Chinese Sports Authority Li Yingchuan has let known in a public act that they are in close negotiations with the Spanish Football Authorities to play the Spanish Super Cup Final in Pekin in 2013. 

Puyol with Spanish SuperCup

This means the winner of the Spanish League Championship against the winner of the Spanish Cup (Copa del Rey). Its a trend started by Italian Clubs who have already celebrated their Super Cup Final twice ( 2009 & 2011 ) in Pekin.

The final decision is down for the 29th of May.

Stay tuned!

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