Real Madrid and Barcelona prepare for El Clasico
The Spanish giants have destroyed all comers in Europe - now they face each other
MANCHESTER City and United may have been left with egg on their faces after crashing out of Europe's main cup competition this week, but there have been no such problems for Real Madrid and Barcelona, who warmed up for the first Clasico of the league season with emphatic victories.
Between them the two Spanish giants scored 39 goals and conceded just six as they qualified for the knock-out stages with the two best records in the competition. Real became only the fifth team in Champions League history to win every group game, while Barcelona would have done the same had they not conceded a late equaliser to AC Milan back in September.
Even more scary for the rest of Europe is the fact that both Real and Barca finished off their campaigns with easy victories this week despite fielding second-string sides.
It all adds to the tension ahead of arguably the most eagerly anticipated game in Europe so far this season, the El Clasico clash on Saturday night. It will be the first meeting of the two teams since they met in the Spanish Supercup at the start of the season, a game that ended in a huge brawl.
The latest instalment of the rivalry will feature the three best players in the world, Cristiano Ronaldo of Madrid, and Barcelona's Lionel Messi and Xavi Hernandez, all shortlisted for the Fifa Ballon D'Or award.
Last season Barcelona were the better team. They beat Real 5-0 in the league, and then knocked them out of Europe in a foul-tempered showdown. But Jose Mourinho has galvanised his troops this season and Los Blancos are on an incredible run of 15 straight victories in all competitions. A win against Barcelona at the Bernabeu would set a new club record and open up a six-point gap at the top of La Liga.
Central to Real's re-emergence has been the form of Ronaldo, who has scored a remarkable 21 goals so far this season. The only man who can rival that is Messi who, incredibly, has 27 under his belt.
Add to that the bad blood between the two sides and the clash could be the game of the season. ·
