Real Madrid v Barcelona: La Liga – live! | Soccer

A deserved lead for Barcelona! Dembele beats Nacho with ease on the right and lifts a good cross to the near post, where Aubameyang gets in front of Militao and flicks an accomplished header into the bottom corner. That’s an excellent goal.

29 mins It’s still all Barcelona. Carlo Ancelotti’s funky formation really hasn’t worked.

27 mins Jordi Alba is down after being poked in the eye by Valverde. It was an accident and Alba accepts Valverde’s apology.

24 mins Pedri swaggers away from Eder Militao and scoops a gorgeous pass over the top to Torres, whose shot is crucially blocked by Casemiro.

22 mins Tiki taka tiki taka tiki taka tiki taka tiki taka tiki taka tiki taka tiki taka tiki taka. Barcelona are really dominating possession.

21 mins Rodrygo walks away from Pedri and rakes a shot that is blocked on the edge of the area, I think by Garcia.

18 mins A loose ball falls kindly for Torres, 25 yards out. He uses Carvajal as a screen and shapes a beautiful curling shot that flies just wide of the far post. Barcelona are looking dangerous.

16 mins It’s an interesting contest, this. Barcelona are playing like the home side, with Real happy to use the pace of Vinicius and Rodrygo on the break.

14 mins At the other end, Vinicius cuts inside Araujo and shoots straight at ter Stegen from the edge of the area.

12 min: Double save from Courtois! Barcelona should be ahead. Torres got away from Carvajal and crosses low to Aubameyang, whose unconvincing shot is beaten away by Courtois. Dembele collects the loose ball and hits a curling shot that is pushed away dramatically by Courtois. Aubameyang’s was by some distance the better chance.

11 mins Aubameyang is late on Kroos, who goes down holding his knee. He’s a bit lucky to avoid a yellow card for that.

9 mins Modric is still playing as a false nine, with Valverde supporting him a lot of the time. It’s a really unusual system, essentially a diamond midfield with two wide forwards and no striker.

7 mins Vinicius twists Araujo inside out on the left of the area but has to wait for support. Eventually he plays the ball to Valverde, who slides a low shot from the edge of the area that is pushed behind by the diving ter Stegen. Good save.

5 min Valverde zooms through midfield and finds Rodrygo to his right. He runs at Jordi Alba and spanks a shot that swerves wide of the near post.

4 mins “I was wondering how many names I would recognize from the Barcelona lineup,” says Charles Antaki. “Lo and behold our old friends Gerard Piqué and Sergio Busquets are still happily ensconced, and even Jordi Alba, who spent some time in the wilderness, is back on the pitch. Goal Pierre Emerick Aubameyang? Still hard to come to terms with. But the move seems to have suited him, so the best of luck to him. Xavi’s new army, indeed.”

3 mins Lots of early possession for Barcelona. I’m trying to work out the Madrid system – at the moment it looks like Modric is playing as a false nine. I didn’t see that coming. Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo have started very wide, so there’s no orthodox center forward.

2 min “Right,” says Matt Dony. Just endured a surprisingly tense and horrible 90 minutes, where I couldn’t relax until the final whistle blew. Now I’m looking forward to hopefully relaxing and seeing Barcelona given a Mes Que Un Clubbing. There’s just something about them. I might hate them more than any club in the Premier League. Hala Madrid.”

1 min Peep peep! A few minutes later than advertised, the clasico is under way.

The players are ready for action. It’s a pleasantly cool night in Madrid, and things are about to get lively.

“It’s weird to be watching El Clásico in the spring with as much riding on the outcome as, say, Wolves v Villa,” writes Kári Tulinius. “Yes, it might have an effect on who gets into the Champions League next year, and it’s a grand old fixture with a venerable history. But I’m having trouble remembering a match between Real Madrid and Barcelona where the outcome would have so little to say about who’d win the league. Maybe spring 2013? I’ll still watch, of course, even if it’s El Meaninglesso.”

A reminder of the teams

Real Madrid (Possible 4-D-2) Courteous; Carvajal, Eder Militao, Alaba, Nacho; Casemiro; Valverde, Kroos; modric; Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr.
Subs: Lunin, Diego Pineiro, Vallejo, Hazard, Asensio, Marcelo, Jovic, Lucas V, Ceballos, Isco, Mariano, Camavinga.

Barcelona (4-1-2-3) ter Stegen; Araujo, Pique, Garcia, Jordi Alba; Busquets; F de Jong, Pedri; Dembele, Aubameyang, Ferran Torres.
Subs: Riqui Puig, Dani Alves, Memphis, Gavi, Mingueza, Traore, Braithwaite, Neto, Nico, Lenglet, L de Jong, Arnau Tenas.

The early evening game has finished Sevilla 0-0 Real Sociedad. That means, if they win tonight, Real will go 12 points clear with nine games remaining. A Barcelona victory would move them to within three points of second-placed Sevilla.

Sid Lowe’s match preview is really good. Of course it is; Sid Lowe wrote it.