3 April 2006, by Sean Gillen

Barca and Deco edge nearer to title

Barcelona 1-1 Real Madrid

Champions Barcelona moved a step closer to retaining their La Liga crown, despite being held by 10-man Real Madrid at the Nou Camp. Former Barca striker Ronaldo earned a point for Real, who had Roberto Carlos sent off midway through the first half.

Portuguese midfielder Deco took his place in the Barca starting line-up and performed well as the home side dominated for large parts of the game, enjoying plenty of possession and several good chances.

Following pressure from Real in the opening moments, Barca took control of the game almost immediately, and could have taken the lead in the 3rd minute when Mark van Bommel lobbed his finish wide when put through by Ronaldinho.

After Real Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas had saved from Deco and Samuel Eto’o, Barca were gifted the chance to take the lead when Roberto Carlos brought down van Bommel in the penalty area and referee Luis Medina Cantalejo pointed to the spot.

Brazilian superstar Ronaldinho stepped up and gave Barca a well-deserved lead, sending the 98,000 strong crowd into raptures.

Carlos sees red

Things got even better for the Catalan side when Roberto Carlos, who had been booked after his protests at the penalty award, was issued a straight red for offensive words to the referee before the half hour mark.

However, Real stunned the home side with an equaliser in the 37th minute when Julio Baptista won the ball in midfield and found Ronaldo. After outpacing Barca defender Motta, the recently criticised forward produced a world-class finish to lift the ball past the advancing Victor Valdes.

The second half again saw Barca dominate but they could not find a way past the ever-impressive Casillas in the Real goal. Eto’o hit the post in the opening minutes of the half and Ronaldinho, Larsson and Giuly were all off target or denied by the Spanish number one.

Baptista shot over with a rare Madrid attempt on goal but Barca continued to look the more threatening side and Henrik Larsson missed a golden headed opportunity with 15 minutes to go.

Deco and Iniesta again shot from long range but Real held out for an unlikely draw, which keeps the gap at the top of the league at 11 points.

Although Madrid, having lost heavily to Barca at home in November, will be happy to have avoided another embarrassment, the champions will be happier with the result. With the league almost won, the Catalans will now be able to focus almost fully on the Champions League, starting with their crunch second leg tie in the quarter-finals against Benfica at the Nou Camp on Wednesday.


Barcelona:
Valdes, Oleguer, Motta (Belletti, 38), Puyol (Gabri, 89), van Bronkhorst, van Bommel, Iniesta, Deco, Ronaldinho, Larsson, Eto’o

Yellow Cards: van Bommel (34), van Bronckhorst (56)

Real Madrid:
Casillas, Cicinho, Roberto Carlos, S.Ramos, R.Bravo, Baptista, Guti (P.Garcia, 90), Beckham, Zidane (Gravesen 79), Robinho (Mejia, 34), Ronaldo
Yellow Cards: Guti (20), Roberto Carlos (21), Ronaldo (68), Baptista (75), Beckham (88)
Red Cards: Roberto Carlos (25)

Goals:
[1-0] Ronaldinho, 22 (pen)
[1-1] Ronaldo, 37