A loss is a loss. Madrid earned their win fair and square. Zidane particularly impressed. That said, how is this epitome of football? what is at stake that catapults this goal past others?

Mr Nick09 wrote:liverpool vs tottenham important

that misplaced madrid pride

Thimmy wrote:I've noticed that mostly Barcelona fans all over the internet are arguing that, "since nothing was at stake", Barcelona didn't take the game seriously, and thus they shouldn't be held accountable for this loss. "It didn't matter to them". Do people actually believe this to be true?

While the league is practically already won for them, I honestly saw nothing that indicated that they didn't take the game seriously. From what I've been told by Basque and Madrid- based fans, El Clasicos are more about cultural pride and civil rivalry than importance towards winning titles. If you ask international fans, you'd think pride, in this particular case, was insignificant.

Of course they took it seriously (including the fans).. At the end are we still on top? Yes. Did we want to win? Yes. Did we come out not trying to play the game? No. The thing is we can sit back and say yeah this didn't matter as we are still ahead, but no way was it not like any one care. Had we won the story would've been different. Barca/Madrid players/fans etc will always give it their all, as these games are like this regardless of form/position in the league.

Our SA players came back from WC qualifiers and a 12 hour flight (Messi/Suarez/Masche/Alves) all who started and they mostly are out of form/shape after these international breaks since they travel far to play them, so yes perhaps their was a lot of fatigue in them. However we've been playing pretty badly in the last 3-4 games (especially against the top teams), not that convincing performance against Arsenal, Sevilla barely got by, should've lost to Villarreal and RM end up taking the 3 points. At the same time are bench is thin as hell only one sub and that Turan in this game was made. Not trying to find excuses we lost at the end.

Funny thing is that Liverpool v Tottenham isn't even a rivalry, let alone one where you have two elite teams these days.  Man U v Liverpool or Liverpool v Everton or Man U v Man City are proper rivalries at least Not elite teams other than City... but at least you have the rivalry angle.

@Nick... let it go.  The Barca fans and apologists + the anti-Madrid crowd + the anti-Benz mafia are all set in their ways.  They won't even admit that Benz has been our best player by far in clasicos for the past 3 years lol.

so the excuses are:
-  It was a friendly
-  the poor SA players had to take a 12 hour first class flight 3 days earlier
-  Messi farted at the wrong time and threw his timing off
-  Suarez missed his dental appointment so his canines weren't sharpened optimally
-  Pique had to miss his normal Saturday cross-dress bingo night and wasn't happy
-  Enrique was afraid that Zidane would get him in another choke-hold and couldn't concentrate properly on the game

Anything else?

I thought we were talking about the goal. Why can't it just be a great goal? why does it have to be goal of the season?

why cant it be though?

Cause its so far from other goals this year. Just look at BCs list.

Mr Nick09 wrote:liverpool vs tottenham important

clearly it was. Spurs had their entire season and league challenge at stake. Their draw means Leicester are sole challengers for the league. What has changed as a result of the clásico? Nothing.

My god, brothers in arms, why did you feel the need to create a topic for this? It's a great goal, no question. But goal of the season? Unlikely.

And I'm pretty sure Benzema himself scored better goals for Real Madrid than this one, scissor kick goals even, like the one against Ajax.

I disagree with you, respectfully.

sportsczy wrote:so the excuses are:
-  It was a friendly
-  the poor SA players had to take a 12 hour first class flight 3 days earlier
-  Messi farted at the wrong time and threw his timing off
-  Suarez missed his dental appointment so his canines weren't sharpened optimally
-  Pique had to miss his normal Saturday cross-dress bingo night and wasn't happy
-  Enrique was afraid that Zidane would get him in another choke-hold and couldn't concentrate properly on the game

Anything else?

"Messi didn't pass the ball to a wide open Suarez, because he was already in dribbling mode at the exact moment when Suarez created space for himself".

Decent argument, but I personally think Messi had plenty of time to pass the ball, if he had really wanted to. The guy even managed to squeeze out a lob, inbetween multiple defenders who were up in his face. He had plenty of time and space to pass it to Suarez, when he decided to take on Ramos and Pepe instead. Don't get me wrong, I think a lot of players would've done the same thing, but certain players get a lot more flak when they do it

You could argue that he might've been successful in doing so, if Ramos hadn't fouled him, but my opinion is still that he went for glory instead of passing it or neatly flicking it over to Suarez - which would've been a more typical, classic Barca move in that situation.

The Demon of Carthage wrote:My god, brothers in arms, why did you feel the need to create a topic for this?  

obviously to antagonize barca fans lol, it's a good goal, that i'm sure is made sweeter by the fact it was scored against their bitter rivals, but I've seen 3 goals better than it this weekend.

Not the best goal but gutsy af it is.

I think so. Only topped by when Benzema will score in stoppage time in the CL final against Barcelona.

Not even best goal of yesterday.

no, it isn't the goal of the year; not even the best goal in the league season, not even the goal of the month, despite being only two/three days in. it was a well taken goal, and as a madrid fan, i was pleased. it was more important than ramos' goal in our loss away at sevilla, but it wasn't as beautiful as ramos' goal. goal of the year is a stretch. we just saw some unknown brazilian score a crazy curler not long ago (luck or not, that curler was beautiful to see......this was nowhere near that). hell i think the goal he scored where he lifted the ball over puyol was even better than this

epitome of football

Champions League Finals, World Cup Finals, European Finals>>>>>>>Madrid v Barca La Liga match with no real significance in the table

When Chad says Benzema's goal is not Goal of the Year, who are we to argue?

Chad

Does this mean that Sports and Nick are more biased than Chad?

Well, at least until he puts on on the NT shirt...

Fanzemas

No... it means that goal of the year isn't just aesthetics.  For example, i thought Goetze's goal was undeniably goal of the year in 2014.  

Unless someone pulls a similar technical feat in a similar elite v elite game, then this one is the one for me in 2016.  

The teams involved and the pressure plays a big role for me.  Regardless of what Barca fans are trying to say (because they lost), clasicos are the biggest games of the year for Madrid and Barca other than CL elimination round games regardless of league standings.

You have to go to Spain and actually listen to the media and go to the stadium to realize how huge it is. Just as an example, in Mou's first year, we were in a similar spot in the second clasico (pretty far behind). But the tension was massive. It's about bragging rights and when you're talking about one team representing a region that wants to separate from Spain against the team for Spain's capital.... well you know how it feels.

It's about football, politics, club bragging rights, etc. It's just a lot more than what you guys make it out to be.

sportsczy wrote: Regardless of what Barca fans are trying to say (because they lost), clasicos are the biggest games of the year for Madrid and Barca other than CL elimination round games regardless of league standings.

This is what I said in the Barca section a day before the match:

BarrileteCosmico wrote:Can't remember the last time less was at stake for a clasico

That being said I think Barca are quite comfortable with the lead and that could be dangerous

BarrileteCosmico wrote:

sportsczy wrote: Regardless of what Barca fans are trying to say (because they lost), clasicos are the biggest games of the year for Madrid and Barca other than CL elimination round games regardless of league standings.

This is what I said in the Barca section a day before the match:

BarrileteCosmico wrote:Can't remember the last time less was at stake for a clasico

That being said I think Barca are quite comfortable with the lead and that could be dangerous

Are you saying they lost because they were complacent?

I don't mean you BC... you're mostly level-headed unless Argentina is involved

I'm talking generally... these games are huge. It doesn't matter what the stakes are because it's a national pride issue. It's like Serbia v Croatia or Russia v Ukraine. There's that level of national fervor.

I don't think Barca were complacent. The issue has been for a bit now that Suarez is missing a lot... for the past 6 weeks. Messi has picked up his pace to compensate... but he also had a poor game in this one (and like CR7, he's clearly slowing down).

I would venture to say that the clasicos have become a lot more Benzema/Bale v Neymar/Suarez. These duos key the attacks a lot more.

What are you talking about sports?

I've always seen as Benzema vs mehssi and co. since the other two are like hot and cold. Benzema is the man when it comes to clasico. Bale and Cristiano either have a hot game or go primadonna on us leaving benz to do it all himself. The latter usually happens.

Benzema goal is finishing of the highest level , his goal is up there just for the mental toughness alone, after the first miss, clearly rusty and being 1-0 down, on a deflected pass no less, to go for that acrobatic finish that froze Bravo on the spot, its an amazing goal that would be legendary, if any striker not named benzema scored in that situation.

I totally agree with the context and all that. Scoring wonder goals in matches of importance, however you wanna describe that importance is gonna have a bigger impact on the mind than wonder goals that are scored in games of lesser stakes. Think Messi wonder goal vs Getafe all those years vs Maradona's wonder goal against England in a WC quarter finals.

And Benzema's goal still was not goal of the season.