You're exaggerating. The chances Ronaldo did get were because he created space for himself. He passed the ball to Benzema and went into the area for the return pass; he seemed to get caught in two minds, i.e. perhaps he did see Di-Maria and wasn't sure whether he was going to shoot or pass. And in the second half he did get open for that header which he didn't attack aggressively. He did stop an attacking winger deep in his own zone on the right in the second half. He did head the ball clear when defending a corner and he spent quite a bit of time behind the ball defending. He lacked aggression in his game.

Even when Ronaldo is playing bad he creates space for his teammates because of the attention he gets.

Let's get real: What teams actually do well against Barcelona? What players perform well consistently against Barcelona?

Madrid simply does not have a midfield that can match Barcelona, no team has. And that is why you get defenders leaving their positions early to help out in the midfield. Watch the game on that Barcelona first goal: Messi doesn't even look up when he passes the ball, it's a blind pass because he knows a Madrid defender has over committed.

Ozil has been non existent for most of the season, but you will hardly hear anyone mention it. Ronaldo is a different case mainly due to fanatical supporters of Messi who blame Ronaldo for everything under the sun. It seems their lives revolve around hating the man. Ronaldo's poor performance on Saturday must have been a glorious day for those fanatics.

Everybody has a bad game once in awhile, even Messi. I watched Messi this year in a game against a midlevel La Liga team in which he couldn't beat a single player and made numerous stray passes, the commentator described Messi's performance as the worst of his career. So, if he can have a bad game anyone can.

Sahin is a midfielder; he was voted the best player in the Bundesliga last season.

Marcelo has played in the midfield before. He is a talented player but not a very good defender.

I don't know why Coentrao is being criticized? Despite playing as a right back, a position that is unfamiliar to him, I and many others would say that if it wasn't for him it would have been 5 or 6 goals.

I think Ronaldo was clearly nervous and not himself around the net. However I would like to point out that he did have a couple of important defensive interventions, but for the average fan that usually goes unnoticed.

Yes gee dee ny ny USA he was part of the Manchester United team that beat Barcelona. In the game at Old Traford, Ronaldo played an outstanding defensive game.

Mario, what are you talking about? Sahin is a forward not midfielder and Marcelo is definitely not a midfielder. In my opinion, Marcelo should not even be on the pitch but I believe he has a strong relationship/understanding with the Portuguese players on the squad.

Jerrold, great drunk comment. Keep them coming.

Said it before and believe it still to be true to get better of Barca you got to ugly it up at the very least for maybe a half or some portion of the game. In the 8 times in which Mourinho's side has played Barca, the most success is when Real(even though only 1 win and 3 draws in 8 games) plays defensively, uglies it up with an extra holding mid and Pepe in midfield. Perfect example when Messi is running by Lass you got to make that tackle; eat the yellow and prevent Messi with his mazy runs.

May not be what Madristas want to see but if you can soak up pressure, be ultra aggressive with 2 of the 3 of Xavi, Messi, and Iniesta this Barca team stuggles. Look at last year in Kings Cup final Madrid played on attack in 1st half, 2nd half survived Barca onslaught and then in extra time CR bangs home winner from counter attack. Damn the whole beautiful footy concept. You do whatever gives you the best possible chance and that is not to try going toe to toe with Barca in attack. When this game was 1-1 at half Mourinho should of played numbers meaning play for draw. Regardless of what most say there is nothing wrong with playing defensively, especially when your the team with 3 point lead in standings and game in hand.

Now i didnt think any of the Portuguese played well and that includes Coentrao; at best he was mundane, got beat by a slower, smaller Fabregas made some really poor passes when he was occasionaly invoved in attacking. Ronaldo we all want him to succeed and love the man but yes he played very poorly, but I lets not pretend he is some scrub of a player and isnt a big asset to Madrid and Portugal. Fact is in last couple games in SuperCup, Kings Final and last yr in Madrid he looked to maybe stem the tide as he scored in each of those games. Saturday was poor no doubt but what is worrying

Is when People say what if he plays in Euros this way. What is reallly worrying is that so many folks still expect him to carry Portugal, and if thats everyones mentality then and Portuguese players he plays with then We might as well not even show up for Euros. No Major tourney has been won single handedly by 1 player since days of Maradona and if we are to do anything impressive In Euros we need all 11 to play above their level a cohesive heroic display by everyone who takes pitch. One man shows rarely win anything if at all. But like I said if Madrid and Portugal play like collective unit then the succeses will be greater.

All of a sudden CR7 lacks visibility and control on the ball?
Yes Cristiano had an awful game and this one is going to hurt more than the others. He just didn't play well at all.
But let's not totally diminish the player.

I'm not the biggest fan of Barca, but this team is truely great. The midfield just works so well together.
Xavi for me is the player of the year. Barca or for that matter Spain are just not the same without him.
As much as I despise Busquets, he does his job well. Iniesta has proven his worth, although at times I still feel he's overhyped. But Cesc is proving me wrong.
I still think that the defense will be Barca's demise. If Puyol or Pique miss any time, Masherano or Busquets ultimately are just serviceable there. It also hurts them in midfield, making that move.

Real will be fine, especially if they continue their brilliant run in the Champions League.
Mourinho's slight dig at Cristiano, just might further the cause.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"We could have scored the second goal when we were winning 1-0. Normally a fantastic player like Cristiano would have scored and at 2-0 it would have been a different story."
Jose Mourinho

No more excuses for CR7, he is what he is and not sure if we see will change. He has limitations as a player and it shows in big games. Most of his goals are scored making runs to open space and his teammates feed him the ball for easy goals. He can not score against tight defense when playing good teams. Check his goal counts and draw your conclusions.

CR7 has poor vision, lacks creativity in passing, poor decision-making, and his dribbling has evolved where he takes no one off the dribble 1v1. He then gets frustration allows the pressure to build up and then misses chances against teams like Barca. After 3-4 years of this, does anyone think it will chance?

Hope I am wrong but we'll be seeing the change thing in Euro 2012. I want to be wrong but you are what your past sustained past performance is.

Watched teh game again, Ronaldo clearly a hug ebaby on the field. Di Maria is by far teh dtongest asset Madrid have. Coentrao teh second. yep I'm drunk////

It is apparent that Ronaldo has a mental block when it comes to playing Barca. He missed two sitters, which would have changed the outcome of the game.

When Arbeloa returns from injury, Coentrao should be put in his natural left back position and perhaps Marcelo could be moved to the midfield. Marcelo is a liability on defence.

Pepe is a red card waiting to happen when he faces these quick small players. Perhaps it's time to give Varane a chance.

Ozil is having a terrible second season with Madrid.

The reality is that Barcelona have one of the greatest if not the greatest midfield to ever play this game, i.e. Iniesta, Xabi, and Busquets. The midfield is such a critical part of football and in relation to Barcelona's Madrid's midfield is not quick enough physically and mentally. Khedira should never be on the field when Barcelona is playing and I'm glad he didn't start the game. Perhaps Sahin when he gets in game shape will make the midfield stronger and like I've said developing Marcelo into a midfielder could also help.

CR7 was not at his best and it showed. To be the best you must show it in games like this. Too many missed opportunities.
Also, I believe it was a Marcelo OG.

Caught the first 70 minutes.. The strategy to press deep was executing well and Barca could not get in rhythm. After 1-0, Madrid had plenty of chances to finish the game. CR could have pass to Di Maria for a wide open net. Lass also took a long range shot with better options.

They were too selfish and overconfident when leading and it cost them the match. CR was not playing well at all. Coentrao made all the right interceptions.

Its annoying because they have the quality to defeat Barca.. they just werent in the right mindset.