Barcelona 3 Real Madrid 2: Xavi and Messi rule as Vilanova's men earn slim advantage
Posted Friday, August 24, 2012 by Dailymail
On the move: Ronaldo gets a pass away after escaping the attentions of Javier Mascherano (right) and Adriano
The game then became increasingly stretched as both sides tired slightly from playing in the still searing heat, despite the late kick-off time, and the visitors' luck with Gomez eventually ran out as Iniesta was brought down inside the area by Ramos and Messi stepped up to thunder home the penalty.
Moments later Iniesta showed incredible speed of foot to dance past three Real challenges and slip a pass through for Xavi to sidefoot past Casillas.
Messi then had a great chance to all but seal the trophy but he was denied from point-blank range by Casillas, and within seconds the complexion of the tie had completely changed as Valdes' error allowed Di Maria to give Madrid a lifeline heading into the return at the Bernabeu next Wednesday.
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