Real Madrid defeated Barcelona for the second straight game this week and is prepared for a vital tilt with Manchester United on Tuesday.
The biggest surprise of the match was the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo from the starting lineup, but Mourinho wisely left him out to preserve his strength for the Champions League tilt. Other players he left out for the tilt included Mesut Ozil, Sami Khedira, Gonzalo Higuain and Alvaro Arbeloa. In their stead Mourinho started Kaka, Karim Benzema, Luka Modric, Alvaro Morata and Michael Essien; these players have played limited minutes throughout the year.
Despite the roster changes, which would indicate that this match was of little importance to Mourinho, ESPN's Nicholas Rigg asserts that a lot was a stake during the game. "Although the match was as close to a meaningless Clasico as you'll get, there was still a pressure on the match, a big desire to win for both sides," writes Rigg. "For Barca, the chance to make amends for their home loss four days before, for Madrid, the chance to cement their current authority, however many points they might be behind in the title race."
Benzema scored during the sixth minute off a nice feed fro Morata, before Lionel Messi evened the score in the 17th minute. Blaugrana maintained possession throughout but was largely ineffective despite starting David Villa at the top of the formation. In the 82nd minute, Sergio Ramos scored a header that gave Madrid its second victory over their rivals this week.
"We came here to try and increase our advantage, and we have to be happy with the team's attitude," Barcelona's Assistant Coach Jordi Roura said. "We stood up and were counted and had chances to win at a very difficult stadium."
Despite the loss, Messi scored his 18th Clasico goal and tied Alfredo Di Stefano for the record in Madrid-Barcelona matches. He also scored his 50th goal of the 2012-13 season in all competitions and his 39th Spanish league goal.
Madrid now trails Barcelona by 13 points for the league title. Even though it means little for Los Blancos, Barcelona will probably have its title run questioned with pundits claiming that the team won the Spanish League not because it was the best team in the league, but because Madrid underperformed throughout the season.
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