"So Sergio Ramos appearing on the right flank could very well be the highlight of Capello's tactical adjustment this time."
"And Ramos's original position will be filled by the youngster Kompany, whom Real Madrid signed this season."
"Kompany hasn't played many matches for Real Madrid this season, but aside from his debut, his performances in the other games have been quite solid. At the very least, he hasn't been completely outmatched by players like Raúl Bravo, Pavón, or Helguera."
"Considering that Kompany's height can effectively raise the overall defensive line, his inclusion in today's starting lineup is hardly a surprise."
"Beckham once again fails to make the starting eleven, but with Beckham, Robinho, Cassano, and Guti all sitting on the bench, Real Madrid still boast excellent squad depth."
Stewart Robson quickly picked up the thread:
"As for Barcelona, their starting lineup is basically their standard setup this season, also a 4-3-3."
"Ronaldinho, Gudjohnsen, Messi."
"Deco, Xavi, Iniesta."
"Silvinho, Puyol, Thuram, Zambrotta."
"Valdés."
"Compared to Real Madrid, Barcelona's lineup has stronger ball control and plenty of explosive points. Whether it's Ronaldinho, Messi, or Iniesta coming from midfield, their dribbling efficiency is extremely high."
"It's just a pity that Eto'o misses this match due to injury."
"Barcelona are one of the two highest-scoring teams in La Liga this season."
"But the other top-scoring team is Real Madrid. Compared to Barcelona's multi-point attacks, Real Madrid seem to rely more on Su Hang's individual ability."
"Recently, though, Real Madrid have been trying to spread the goals around, and it's been showing results."
"The two teams are actually very familiar with each other. Several Barcelona players are Su Hang's teammates on the national team and know his abilities and characteristics extremely well."
"On the Real Madrid side, most of them have faced Barcelona's core players more than once—and have come out on top."
"So this match is truly something to look forward to."
"Alright! With the referee's whistle, the match officially gets underway!"
From the opening whistle, both sides launched into fierce battles for possession.
Playing away from home, Barcelona needed to bring intensity.
With the home advantage, Real Madrid had even less reason to fear anything.
Barcelona relied on quick, agile play, pressing fiercely and decisively.
By contrast, Real Madrid's midfield and attack looked like a "forest of muscle," holding a clear physical edge.
In the third minute, Su Hang repeatedly disrupted play in the middle, helping Diarra and Emerson win the ball off Iniesta.
Emerson immediately shifted it to Sergio Ramos on the right.
Ramos burst forward at full speed, as if reliving his World Cup moments.
The World Cup–winning right back makes his presence felt!
Barcelona's left back Silvinho is more attack-minded and was positioned quite high up the pitch.
With Ramos charging down the flank, Silvinho had no time to recover defensively.
He could only throw himself into Ramos.
But as a 32-year-old veteran standing 1.73 meters tall, how could he possibly knock over a 20-year-old powerhouse standing 1.84 meters?
Silvinho was sent flying by a braced Sergio Ramos, who powered straight through with the ball.
Bang!
A driven cross from the byline!
With Van Nistelrooy dragging defenders away, Raúl sprinted to the near post, leapt ahead of Puyol, and met the ball with a header.
Swish!
The ball hit the net.
Boom!
The entire Bernabéu exploded.
"GOAL!"
"Raúl! The eternal King!"
"When people talk about Real Madrid's greatest players, never forget Raúl!"
"One–nil! Raúl punishes the arrogant Barcelona players!"
"This is the Bernabéu—this is a fortress they will never conquer!"
Real Madrid's players rushed toward Raúl, celebrating wildly together.
In the third minute, Raúl's goal handed Real Madrid a dream start.
Barcelona were clearly rattled.
After the restart, Ronaldinho began launching attacks frequently, testing Real Madrid's defense with his dazzling footwork.
Emerson's marking of Ronaldinho turned out to be better than many had expected.
After all, as Ronaldinho's teammate in the national team, Emerson knew him extremely well.
In the eleventh minute, Iniesta shook off Diarra with a slick roulette on the right half-space and threaded a through ball into the box.
Gudjohnsen received it and fired a powerful shot, but the ball flew over the crossbar.
As a former Chelsea player, Gudjohnsen was someone who remained a starting striker even after Drogba arrived. In his very first match for Barcelona this season, he even scored a match-winning goal.
However, as a classic Nordic-style forward, his rough edges didn't quite fit Barcelona's system.
Shooting and heading were once his strengths.
But within Barcelona's structure, where he lacked room to adjust, his finishing lost its sharpness, and wasted chances became common.
In the twenty-second minute, Zidane refused to let Barcelona steal the show at the Bernabéu and floated in a perfectly weighted lob.
Over the past stretch of play, Barcelona's players had seemingly used up every technical trick available in football.
Ronaldinho, Messi, Iniesta—they practically polished the ball to a shine.
It was spectacular to watch.
But did it lead to a goal?
Then came Zidane's delicate pass. Van Nistelrooy held off the World Cup–level center back Puyol and delivered a textbook "receive, turn, and shoot" in one smooth motion.
Puyol and goalkeeper Valdés were reduced to nothing more than background figures.
Only when the ball rippled the net and the Bernabéu erupted did the Barcelona-leaning commentator reluctantly concede:
"Oh! Real Madrid score again!"
"Although Barcelona have had the upper hand in possession, Real Madrid seem to have better luck today."
Of course, from the Real Madrid–leaning commentary booth, it sounded more like this—
"In the dark forest, grass stirs in the wind; the general draws his bow at night. At dawn he seeks the white arrow, only to find it buried deep in stone!" Derek Rae burst into poetry. "As expected of Van Nistelrooy! As expected of the King of the Six-Yard Box! When he gets the ball inside the penalty area, the only thing defenders can do is pray!"
"And this time, Puyol clearly wasn't devout enough!"
The atmosphere at the Bernabéu grew increasingly feverish.
The Spanish Clásico was beginning to look one-sided.
Barcelona, despite sitting top of the league table, failed to show the dominance their ranking suggested.
Rijkaard was livid on the touchline.
He was extremely dissatisfied with his players' ability to convert chances.
In fact, during the summer, Rijkaard had asked the club to sign Van Nistelrooy.
If Barcelona were willing to spend the money, he could have used his Dutch connections to persuade Van Nistelrooy, with a very high chance of success.
But Barcelona's hierarchy didn't support the move. Competing with Real Madrid for Van Nistelrooy would likely have driven the transfer fee toward €20 million.
Barcelona felt the deal wasn't worth it.
After all, they only needed a backup for Eto'o—not another, older version of Eto'o.