GOAL! Barcelona 1-3 Real Madrid (Asensio 90)
What a goal this is! Real shred Barcelona again on the counter-attack. Vazquez runs 50 yards into space and angles a pass towards Asensio on the edge of the box. He pushes the ball in front of him and then smashes a thrilling left-footed shot past Ter Stegen at the near post.
86 min I’ve lost count of the yellow cards. There have been at least nine.
85 min It’s kicking off all over the pitch now. Vidal is trying to pick a fight with Casemiro, I’m not sure why. A minute ago Carvajal was being shoved by Busquets. This is turning into a proper pre-season unfriendly.
82 min Ronaldo was clear on goal when Umtiti challenged him and, while I’m not sure it was a penalty, I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a dive. Umtiti’s contact put him off balance, which is why he fell over. I think; who knows any more. He reacted to the red card by pushing the referee in the back.
RONALDO IS SENT OFF!
This is bizarre. Ronaldo was booked for taking his top off after scoring and now he’s been given a second yellow card for diving.
81 min Real make their final change, with Lucas Vazquez replacing Gareth Bale.
GOAL! Barcelona 1-2 Real Madrid (Ronaldo 80)
Pick that out! Ronaldo has scored a belter on the counter-attack. The superb Isco led the break, easing the ball out left to Ronaldo. He ran at Pique, cut inside and screamed the ball into the far top corner from 18 yards. He celebrates by whipping off his top to show the kind of six-pack that shames us all. He looks like a weightlifter
78 min “A bloke at the Astoria diner where I’m watching this opined that Barcelona ‘are weak without Neymar’ and while there’s clearly more to it than just this, he’s not wrong!” says Phil Podolsky. “ A third attacker who’s the best player in the world-in-waiting, with a ridiculous goal rate, who can create something out of nothing when Messi has a day off. Look, late capitalism is a farce and all that but PSG kind of knew what they’re doing.”
GOAL! Barcelona 1-1 Real Madrid (Messi 77 pen)
A cool penalty from Messi, sidefooted low to his left as Navas went the other way.
It’s a tricky one. Messi’s deflected shot came to Suarez by the left touchline. He was going nowhere but Navas was committed and Suarez went over him. He certainly made the most of it, but that doesn’t mean there wasn’t contact.
PENALTY TO BARCELONA
Real Madrid are furious, thinking this was a dive by Suarez.
75 min Messi’s stinging long-range shot is excellently saved by the diving Navas, who springs to his feet to save the follow-up as well. But…
75 min We’ve just seen a different replay of the Ronaldo disallowed goal which suggests he was definitely offside. I give up.
74 min Busquets misses a great chance! Denis Suarez’s blocked shot fell perfectly for him eight yards out, but he leant back and sidefooted it over the bar.
72 min It’s livening up now. At the other end, Denis Suarez shoots tamely at Navas from the left side of the box.
71 min Isco and Ronaldo combine brilliantly to free Marcelo, whose fierce shot from a tight angle is chested away by Ter Stegen. Moments later, Ronaldo has a goal wrongly disallowed for offside. It was a tight call but he was just onside.
70 min Bale’s deep cross from the right is met by a spectacular scissor kick from Ronaldo. Thankfully for the humour of Barcelona fans, he slices it wide.
68 min Another substitution per side: Sergi Roberto for Iniesta, Marco Asensio for Kovacic.
67 min Vidal tries to lash a bouncing ball towards goal from 25 yards. Know your limits, son.
64 min That was almost another own goal. Suarez’s sharp cutback from the left touchline hit the shin of Varane at the near post and looped just wide of goal.
62 min Isco opens the game up with a great reverse pass to Kroos, who helps in on further to Ronaldo. He is one against one with Pique, who does well to ignore 474 consecutive stepovers and block Ronaldo’s eventual shot.
60 min Isco, on the stretch, heads Bale’s right-wing cross high over the bar at the other end.
59 min Luis Suarez’s header is tipped over by Navas. It was a comfortable save, right above his head.
59 min Both teams make a substitution: Cristiano Ronaldo replaces Benzema for Real, and Denis Suarez comes on for Deulofeu.
57 min Sergio Busquets is booked for being Sergio Busquets.
55 min Jordi Alba makes his second goal-saving contribution of the night. This one was even better than the first. Benzema destroyed Pique with a series of stepovers on the left of the box. He slid the ball across the face of goal to Carvajal, whose sidefoot was cleared off the line brilliantly by the sliding Alba.:
54 min Isco has been very good again tonight. Perhaps the biggest compliment you can pay him is that there are times when he reminds you of peak Iniesta.
53 min That was a great chance for Barcelona. Vidal broke into the area and crossed low towards Messi, who just couldn’t reach it on the stretch. It came to Deulofeu, who shaped a curler across goal that went under Messi in the six-yard box and whistled just wide of the far post.
52 min Benzema leads a fine Real break down the left. He tries to cut the ball back into the area and it hits Pique again before deflecting wide of the near post.
GOAL! Barcelona 0-1 Real Madrid (Pique 50 own goal)
Gerard Pique gives Real Madrid the lead. The goal was created by Marcelo, who made a good overlap to receive Isco’s pass and drove in a dangerous low cross. Pique was at the near post, not knowing what was behind him, and slid in to try to clear. As is so often the case when a defender is facing his own goal, all he could do was slice it into the net.
48 min Messi slithers into the area, getting past the first wave of defenders but not the second.
46 min Peep peep! Real begin the second half, kicking from left to right.
Half time: Barcelona 0-0 Real Madrid
Peep peep! That was fun, although neither side has created many clear chances. See you in 10 minutes for the second half!
