Barcelona earn slender Spanish Super Cup lead
Thursday, August 23, 2012
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The Spanish Super Cup is set for an exciting conclusion in the capital next week after Ángel Dí María's late strike for Real Madrid CF pegged FC Barcelona back to a 3-2 first-leg win.
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FC Barcelona will take a narrow lead into next week's Spanish Super Cup second leg against Real Madrid CF after an exciting Clásico finished 3-2 in favour of Tito Vilanova's side.
After a tense first half, things changed dramatically ten minutes after the restart when Cristiano Ronaldo powered a header past Víctor Valdés for his fourth goal in as many games at the Camp Nou.
Barcelona's response took all of two minutes and it was Pedro Rodríguez who levelled proceedings, controlling Javier Mascherano's cross-field pass before firing low past Iker Casillas.
It got even better for the holders with 20 minutes to go when Lionel Messi slotted in a penalty after Andrés Iniesta was tripped by Sergio Ramos. Iniesta then produced a superb run and through ball for Xavi Hernández (78) to slide in the third.
The drama continued until the end as Casillas denied Messi a fourth before Valdés failed to control a Daniel Alves back pass, allowing Ángel Dí María to complete the scoring with five minutes remaining.
"The result is tighter than we would have wanted considering the chances we created," Pedro said. "Now we have to play a good game there if we want to win the trophy." The second leg is in Madrid on Wednesday.