FC Barcelona welcomes Real Madrid this Wednesday, March 19 on the occasion of the 26th day of La Liga in a crucial meeting for the title in this Spanish Championship. Follow the match live with commentary.
22:07 – Valverde unscrews
Vincius manages to overtake Araujo and crosses at the far post but Federico Valverde misses his recovery which flees the frame of Ter Stegen.
22:05 – Beginning of the second act
Ricardo de Burgos kicks off the second half of this Barcelona – Real. The two formations are back to back after a pleasant first period to follow. Araujo had unfortunately allowed Los Merengues to take the lead but Sergi Robert equalized just before the break.
21:49 – Break time!
Just after the Barcelona goal, the referee of this Barcelona – Real sends the 22 players to the locker room on this parity score. The people of Madrid had opened the scoring on a counter attack from Araujo in the first minutes but Sergi Roberto put his men back up just before the break.
9:47 p.m. – Barça is back on track!
Despite the fierce defense of the people of Madrid, FC Barcelona comes back to height on this sequence of play thanks to Sergi Roberto who adjusts Courtois after a succession of blocked balls.
21:46 – Courtois clears fists
Raphinha crosses into the penalty area but Courtois comes out and clears with both fists.
21:43 – Ter Stegen deflects
Dani Carvajal tries to alert Karim Benzema at the far post but Ter Stegen narrowly deflects the ball with his right hand and it escapes the Frenchman.
21:39 – There is tension
Militao and Lewandowski warm up several meters from the ball but the referee does not flinch. In the continuity of the action, Vinicius is sanctioned with a fault and attacks the assistant referee. This Barcelona – Real is a good and beautiful Classico!
21:36 – Courtois makes a superb save
Raphinha transplants in the axis and strikes with the left foot but Thibaut Courtois deviates just above his cages and saves his team once again in this Barcelona – Real.
21:33 – Nice gesture from Christensen
On a center at the near post, Andreas Christensen allows himself a clever deflection in a heel but Courtois is vigilant.
21:29 – Vinicius close to the feat
What an attempt by Vinicius in this Barcelona – Real. The Brazilian makes a double contact in front of two Barcelona defenders but Ter Stegen comes out and grabs the leather.
21:26 – Christensen takes the lead
Raphinha applies to cross and finds Christensen at the near post but the Danish defender uncrosses his head a little too much to find Courtois’ frame.
21:23 – The goal seems to have hurt Barça
The Blaugranas had started well this Barcelona – Real but the goal seems to have knocked them over the head and Courtois has been fairly quiet since the Madrid opener.
21:20 – Nacho takes a yellow
The first yellow card of this Barcelona – Real is distributed to Nacho who wiped his crampons on Araujo’s Achilles heel.
21:19 – What a job from Vinicius
Vinicius crosses a magnificent little bridge over Araujo and continues with a cross that narrowly escapes Karim Benzema. The Brazilian winger is untenable in this debut for Barcelona – Real.
21:15 – Carvajal returns well
Lewandowski inherits a ball in the opposing area but Dani Carvajal crosses all his defense to steal the ball from him.
21:11 – Araujo scores against his camp!
Oh the goal gag of entry in this Barcelona – Real! Vinicius crosses but Araujo is on the trajectory and inadvertently deflects the ball into his own cages. The Merengues take the advantage.
21:08 – Another stop for Courtois
Thibaut Courtois is already in great demand in this debut of Barcelona – Real. Raphinha is served at the far post and places a fine header but the Belgian goalkeeper makes an exceptional save.
21:05 – Lewandowski solicits Courtois
Robert Lewandowski responds to Karim Benzema. The Pole achieves an oriented control and continues with a powerful strike repelled by Courtois.
21:04 – Already a strike!
Karim Benzema is already shining in this Barcelona – Real with a tense strike well captured by Ter Stegen.
21:03 – And here we go!
The referee of this Barcelona – Real kicks off this crucial Classico for the title race in La Liga. This is the last match of the 26th day of the Spanish Championship.
20:55 – Kick-off is approaching
There are only five minutes left before the kick-off of this Barcelona – Real. The two formations enter the Camp Nou lawn to play this huge shock of the 26th day of La Liga.
20:49 – FC Barcelona in difficulty against Real in La Liga
Before this Barcelona – Real, the Barcelonans will be able to rely on their excellent record at home this season in La Liga with 10 successes and 2 draws. Despite everything, the Blaugranas must also know that their record against their sworn enemy over the last six meetings is starving with only 1 success and 5 losses.
20:42 – A Classico against a backdrop of controversy
This Barcelona – Real is a little different from the previous ones because it will be played shortly after the suspicions of corruption of referees which concern the Blaugranas. The latter are accused of having paid from 2001 to 2018 around 6.6 million euros to José Maria Enriquez Negreira, via his company Dasnil, to ensure “neutral” arbitrations. “Since I’ve been at Barça, the referees haven’t helped us. Tomorrow, let them blow the right whistle. I don’t like to win by cheating,” reacted Xavi.
20:35 – Ancelotti evasive on the title
Carlo Ancelotti responded very briefly to a question asked about the importance of this Barcelona – Real for the title of champion of Spain. “I don’t know, because I just want to win. I only think about winning,” he said. “It’s very difficult to know what game we’re going to see, because each game has its story. We’re going to play attacking. We have to see Barça like a lion, not like a cat. If we see it like a cat, it looks like that we are going to a party”, then added the Italian technician.
20:28 – Xavi wants dominance from his team
Before this Barcelona – Real, Xavi spoke of the last Classico between the two teams in the first leg of the Copa del Rey two weeks ago, won by his team (1-0): “We will try to be more dominant than in the last Clasico. We will try to be much more protagonists than at the Bernabéu in the Cup. I suspect it will be a very hard-fought match. The Clásicos are unpredictable. It doesn’t matter how one or the other happens. We We’ve worked on many aspects over time.”