2-3: Real Madrid claim spoils in legends’ El Clásico in Tel Aviv Strikes from de Munitis, Alfonso and De la Red handed the Whites victory over Barcelona at Bloomfield Stadium.
The Real Madrid Legends got the better of Barcelona in the sides’ El Clásico clash at Tel Aviv’s Bloomfield Stadium. The teams served up an entertaining contest that featured five goals and some fine football. Ronaldinho converted from the spot to put the Catalans ahead, before strikes from Munitis and Alfonso in the space of two second-half minutes turned the game on its head. Jofre Mateu later restored parity, before De la Red fired home a sublime effort to secure victory.
The first half proved to be an even affair with chances at both ends. Barcelona came close on 20′, when Ronaldinho’s shot cannoned off the crossbar. However, the Brazilian would go one better seven minutes later when he slotted home a penalty following a challenge by Núñez on Saviola. The reaction from the madridistas was instant and they were denied by two stellar saves from Angoy to keep out long-range efforts from Roberto Carlos and De la Red with 31′ and 35′ on the clock.
FIGHTBACK IN FINE SECOND-HALF SHOWING.
The Real Madrid Legends came out after the break intent on turning the scoreline around and did so just two minutes after the restart, with de Munitis’s introduction proving to be key. The Cantabrian levelled matters on 42′ after he pounced on Amavisca’s shot from the edge of the area that ricocheted off Guzmán, before conjuring up an exquisite piece of skill to skip around the goalkeeper and tap home into the unguarded net. Two minutes later, de Munitis picked up the ball wide on the right and swung in an inch-perfect cross that Alfonso got on the end of to put Madrid in the ascendancy.
The tempo of the contest subsequently dropped and Barcelona drew themselves level in the 60th minute following a fine solo run from Jofre Mateu, before Madrid hit the winner 10 minutes later. The decisive goal was a thing of beauty from De la Red as the madridista skipped past Goikoetxea, before tucking the ball just inside the post from the edge of the area.
LINE-UPS
Barça Legends: Angoy, Juan Carlos, Dehu, Tortolero, Goikoetxea, Deco, Mendieta, Arpón, Rivaldo, Saviola, Ronaldinho. Guzmán, Amor, Ronald de Boer, Coco, Jofre Mateu and Okunowo also featured. Real Madrid Legends: Codina, Núñez, Iván Campo, Fernando Sanz, Roberto Carlos, Milla, Rivera, Figo, Amavisca, De la Red y Alfonso. Velasco, Víctor, Álex and Munitis also featured.
Barça Legends 2-3 Real Madrid Leyendas: Beaten in Israel
Despite taking a first half lead through Ronaldinho, Albert Ferrer’s side end up losing a wonderfully contested game of veterans football
www.fcbarcelona.com
08:06PM TUESDAY 20 JUL
CLUB
5 hrs ago
The Barça Legends have lost the Clásico in Israel against the Real Madrid Leyendas. Despite going ahead thanks to a Ronaldinho penalty, the all-whites came out strong in the second half and scored through Munitis, Alfonso and De La Red, despite Jofre adding a second for the blaugrana.
Barça started the game with Angoy, Dehú, Tortolero, Juan Carlos, Arpón, Goikoetxea, Mendieta, Deco, Ronaldinho, Rivaldo and Saviola and dominated early on, with Ronaldinho giving us copious reminders of why he was regarded as the greatest footballer of his era.
With the likes of Roberto Carlos and Luis Figo lining up for the opposition, Ronaldinho had already hit the post before converting a penalty after a foul on Saviola. The spot kick itself had been ordered by Sapir Berman, who made history last year by becoming the first transgender referee of a top flight game in Israel.
We had seen little of the Madrid veterans until now, but there was a whole new look to the all-whites after the restart, and Munitis and Alfonso Pérez very quickly scored twice.
Substitute Jofre Mateu levelled following a fine solo run, with Guzmán, De Boer, Okunowo, Amor and Coco also joining the fray. But it would be Madrid’s day in the end when Rubén De La Red scored what would prove to be the winning goal.
The result might have been wrong, but everything else was wonderful on a night where the local fans got to enjoy a tremendous spectacle … and some of the finest players of yesteryear showed that they still have it in them!
