The Day Messi MAULED Real Madrid Fans

It didn't mean that Real Madrid's season was over tonight if they were depending on the league. Of course, with Mourinho still a chance of conquering Eurocup next week as well. And who knows? It's only week 31 of La Liga. If they win tonight, they close the gap to five points and Mourinho is a dreamer. He's at home or in the bar where you're watching. Well, let's hope the game lives up to the pre-match billing at an interview with him. He said he wanted to turn the Bernabeu into a footballing Disney. He's run about it the right way tonight, you know, the mosaic and the console. The strength of death is with Real Madrid. It's what they can do. Also, listening to some of the comments earlier, apparently the pitch has not been cut. The grass has not been cut this week. Well, seconds out. Round one of four rounds between these teams. In league cup final, pins league semi-finals. It's a time for retribution they feel in Madrid. And in the opening seconds of the game already, the scene has been set. He has refereed this fixture before and they need a strong referee tonight, Gerry. Because generally, there's a player sent off at this time. Absolutely, totally. And the one player comes to mind who sent off in the last game was Sergio Ramos. And I think he's had 12 red cards in his career. And that's not a long career. He's only halfway through it at the moment. But it'll be feisty and there'll certainly be yellow cards. But I hope everyone stays on the pitch tonight. I really love to see a spectacle and lots of entertainment. Real Madrid have never lost three games in a row to the same opponent ever. Barcelona have won this season, of course, 5-0. They've done the double the last two seasons. There's an awful lot more than pride at stake tonight. Marcelo. Man the ball. And Lijnsman, he takes them all. Well, Lijnsman got off quicker than some of the players did, I'll tell you that. Some tackle, this was... Whoa. It's gonna be a tough night when Lijnsman should be wearing shin guards. Now Iniesta. Lionel Messi. Starting deep. Shadowed everywhere he goes, it seems, by Pepe. Tries to feed the ball through his. Sergio Ramos. The first pass is always gonna be Cristiano Ronaldo, Gerry, isn't it? Who delivers. In every way by Pedro now. Lionel Messi has a good look around. Who's in support? Outlook tonight, don't they? Well, that's a spotted Lionel Messi so far. I think we'd like to have said, well, we're preparing to play the ball around against a very defensive side. This is to be expected, isn't it? I think it's again, it's a bit of pressure. Jose Mourinho's putting a little bit of pressure on the referee. Saying, you know, you're always gonna send one of our players off. And funnily enough, the first boot game was a Barcelona player. The Spanish Championship, but Del Bosque, well, he went because he wasn't sexy enough, and the football wasn't quite... Oh, he's onside, he's onside. Messi is onside. Passes nicely for Messi! Kept out well, but he can consist. 48 goals this season. There he goes, he's onside. As the pass is made, the linesman's got it absolutely spot on. First touch sets it up. Now, there he is, trying to take it over the keeper. Why didn't he just slot it? Inside or down by his legs. That's about it. Caution seems to be the order of the day. That's an interesting... Late decision, but the right one, I think, from the referee. David Villa is coming to the centre now, in from the wing. Fidel Messi's with him. Messi, to Villa, in his path! Casillas comes a long way. And the referee has a big decision today, because immediately surrounded by the Barcelona players. This is a contentious one, because David Villa stretches, as Casillas goes for it, to get the ball right, Casillas, and then Casillas catches a butt. In the referee's opinion, he's made the most out of it. I bet it was a heart-in-mouth moment for Iker Casillas. He has to throw himself fully at it. Well, that's a penalty kick, Rob. He wins the ball, but he goes down too easy, and that's where the referee hasn't given it. Pep Guardiola thinks it's a penalty. Nine times out of ten, I tell you, the referee will give a penalty kick for that. Rob for the intervention of Pique. I can't believe it from that angle. He looks at penalty every time you look at it. He doesn't get the ball. Villa nicks the ball round the goalkeeper. That looks like a penalty kick to me. Here comes Pedro. To Messi. Now Xavi. In the air starts a battle in there. Well-worn back one. If you roll them back to 80,000 witnesses inside the stadium. Another man who's on top of the situation. For his interpretation of that, Gerry, whether he felt that the ball wasn't within playing distance. I think he felt that David Villa had taken a dive, and surely should have been booked. Yeah. Steady book Joe Pique. One more. One set-up. Quick feet from Messi, isn't it? Chest control. Flicks it over the top. The Argentinian is asking for the Brazilian to be booked, and the referee grants his wish. I'm actually pleased about that, because Marcelo has been doing that for years. I've watched him doing that, and asking for other players when they've filed him to be booked. He certainly did it against Peter Crouch in the Champions League game, which I don't like to see. Let the referee do the job. Getting his legs in the way was Pique. Messi. Now this. Now the game is beginning to lighten up, as Real are taking a gamble or two. Ramos crosses the halfway line for the first time tonight. Coming back, winning the ball, is Lionel Messi. The thing is, Rob, I have to say, this half, and the line-up that we've seen from Real Madrid, has been very defence-minded. It might have worked in terms of nullifying Barcelona to a certain extent, but from a creative point of view, they've not done anything. This is Di Maria. Stopped by Alves. Messi. Passed Alonso. Passed Marcelo. Just enough of a touch to unbalance him now. Messi's gone down. Just wondering whether he ran into Xabi Alonso there, who's pleading his innocence. I think it was accidental. He might have got caught when he was falling over by a straight foot. The heel of Xabi Alonso or someone. It wasn't a foul. He loses balance just here. Looks like the leg of Xabi. It was accidental. Messi. Alves. Guardiola. Screaming orders from the edge of the technical area, and he raised the tempo of his team. It's over the top of Messi. Pedro giving chase, and Marcelo wisely knocks it high into the stands. Some interchange of play from Barcelona was good, but the final ball from Messi was poor. The weight of the pass was too much. Xabi. Now Pique. Just a couple of minutes remaining in the first half. Psychological being massive. Time to score. Messi for once shakes off Pepe. It'll want to. Excellent football mix. Messi on the blind side. Brilliant save by Iker Casillas. Well, that's a move of the match. Great imagination from Messi. That is a move of the match. What a fabulous piece of play. Just exploded. Lovely one-twos and a shot at the end of it. Don't get a chance to see this quality again. Lovely little one-two flick from David Villa. He gets it out from his feet. That's a great save from Casillas. It's a good height. Pepe and Sergio Ramos, they're all converging on him. It tells you something of the magnitude of a match when the world's best player is kept out of the world's best goalkeeper. The man who lifted the World Cup that summer. And then collided with the post. They're into a single minute of time added to the first half. It's a Barcelona counter-attack. It's three on two here. If Messi can make the right pass. Now David Villa. Pedro's joined in. Messi's at the far post. Comes to nothing and the Real Madrid supporters are rather initially absorbing the Barcelona style of play. Lionel Messi having the chance of the game just before half-time break. Real Madrid have had their moments as well. Second half kicks off. Brest have slowly entered the equation. Watch Jose Mourinho play a tight, defensive style of football. I think it's having a fast level to continue. David Villa is claiming that he could break down the Achilles. Great turn from Chary. Pedro. And he has to lose it to his captain Pierre. Now Pique. Has to go backwards to go forwards. Rui Valdez. But Benz must close in three. Barcelona players down on his own now. Is this a chance for Villa? Villa comes across. There's David Villa whose legs give way in the penalty area. Here it is. But he's off. They're down to ten men. And Messi has a chance to put Barcelona in front. Lionel Messi has never scored against a Jose Mourinho side. A big moment for him. That's his 49th goal of the season. Beckham. It's Lionel Messi. It's 1-0 to Barcelona. And Mourinho's premonition that his team would have a player sent off has come true. I hope they now change tactics and go a little bit more positive. I know Mesut Ozil was warming up but I think they have to really go positive. There's no point in losing 1-0. Barcelona's played mostly attacking football. I do feel Real Madrid's been quite negative. And now things are going to change. 1-0. Great penalty kick. From Messi. He's also broke another record, hasn't he, as well? Messi. Estefanos. I think he was level with him on 48 goals which is a record for the season. Hitting it long. Suspicion of handball as it rolls down the chest of Cristiano Ronaldo. Alonso. Big fall over. Straight inside to Lionel Messi. Messi. To Villa. Pepe. With a very fair shoulder charge. Good up-throw, doesn't he, Pepe? He wanted to make that his. Iniesta. Marciali. Messi. Watch this. Greeting every pass of the ball from Barcelona's players. Keita gets a first touch. Messi. The baristas trying to be supportive. Trying to raise the atmosphere inside the stadium. Barcelona happy to keep it at a slow tempo to stretch Real Madrid. Make them chase the player less. He forced the penalty. Messi. Messi works his way inside. Gets around Pepe. Xavi. Pedro. Toe-to-toe with Marcelo. Xavi's behind him! It's the top of the bar. Well, they're keeping possession so well. They're picking their passes. They're creating the opportunity. And Pedro, shape to go outside, come inside. Curtsied back to the edge of the box for Xavi to strike the ball off the crossbar. And they're just toying with Real Madrid at the moment. They play like a chess game like we're getting today. Tactical, you try and do this. It doesn't matter what way you play against them. They seem to be able to cope with whatever tactics are thrown at them. Dani Alves. Alonso. Now Zil's touch. Ronaldo playing as the head of the attacking diamond. He looks very despondent, though. Whenever he loses the ball, he doesn't do it like Messi does. He would chase after players and try and win the ball back. His head goes down. It's as if they're accepting defeat too easily from him. Look at this run from Messi. Swirling run from Lionel Messi. David Villa's backflip. Great improvisation from Barcelona. They've got to do it as a unit. You know, they must close down and work more effectively as a unit. Messi. They're playing a little league ball game there. Barca midfielders with it. David Villa! Stopped by Casillas. Well, you can see he's short of confidence. You know, normally it ends up as a back pass to Casillas after a fabulous run from Lionel Messi. Look at this. He goes past four or five players. The ref may come back and caution Pep Guardiola. He's asking Barca to take their advantage which Messi doesn't. That was a very good challenge. Messi gets to his feet again. Aboula is a lucky man. Now a mishit shot. It is Ozil. Good turn from Ozil. Plays the ball back. Excellent from Iniesta. For Lyon. For Lionel Messi. Ramos to check the run. Look at the challenge he puts on here. He goes in strong. He bounces off Sergio Ramos in the previous challenge. Fabulous attitude. Here is Alves to check the game. He starts his run. Alves to play as Lionel Messi. Those little legs still going. Wonderful durability. Oh, it's frustrating when he can polish the ball into the crowd. That was a flurry of paper darts. I think Messi is going to get into trouble again. It was a foolish thing to do, wasn't it? Yeah, but look at Pep. He's one to talk, isn't he? Anything to start a run. It's very rare that Lionel Messi shows his frustration. There's loads of stuff going on off the ball. Davide has been fouled two or three times off the ball. It's getting really niggly. Messi thought it was funny until the large shadow of Pepe loomed over the top of him. What I've seen Pepe do as a player, he has a real cheek to come over. A yellow card for Xavi. It's to an end. The lead tie between the two teams. It will leave Barcelona. Well ahead of Real Madrid in the table. Probably too far ahead of them. But on the calendar coming up, of course, the Copa del Rey final and the Champions League semi-finals. It hasn't been a Classico.