Madrid fighting for cup scraps as Barca streak away

Barcelona's record-breaking first half of the season has left Real Madrid focusing on two Cup competitions, explains Ben Lyttleton.

 

Within two days of watching Lionel Messi be crowned Ballon D'Or for a record fourth successive year, Cristiano Ronaldo was at it again. The Real Madrid winger scored a hat-trick in a 4-0 Copa del Rey win over Celta Vigo. The next night, Barcelona went one better and beat Cordoba 5-0 to reach the quarter-final, though Messi was rested.

 

It was the opposite this weekend, though, as Ronaldo was suspended for Madrid's 0-0 draw at Osasuna - and was obviously missed - while Messi scored the first and created the second goal for Cesc Fabregas in Barca's 3-1 win over Malaga. That leaves Barcelona 11 points clear of Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga (and 18 points ahead of Madrid), and Messi ten goals ahead of Radamel Falcao in the Pichichi charts. Barcelona are now just 1.03 to win La Liga with Messi 1.1 for the Pichichi.

 

The backdrop of this weekend in Spain was whether Messi deserved the Ballon D'Or: in Barcelona, for whom he scored a mind-boggling, and record-breaking, 91 goals in the last calendar year, the answer was a resounding yes. Catalan paper El Mundo Deportivo devoted 13 pages to the event, with discussion ranging from the voting patterns from other countries to Messi's polka-dot jacket and bow-tie combination (designed by Dolce & Gabbana, and not, according to Messi, a homage to a similar outfit worn by Diego Maradona 30 years ago: "that was a coincidence," he said).

 

"I can tell my children that I had the privilege of playing with the greatest player in history," said his Barcelona team-mate Pedro, while club president Sandro Rosell, after presenting each member of the squad with a leather jacket, said: "There will be no else like him. I do not know how far he can go. Each year, he surprises us by improving and improving his team-mates. If he continues like this, next year, it is likely that he'll win a fifth Ballon D'Or!"

 

That might be more justified as Barcelona coast to La Liga this season. Over in Madrid, there is a belief that because Barcelona only won the Copa del Rey last season, their man Ronaldo should have won the award. After all, he inspired Madrid to the title, and helped Portugal reach Euro 2012 semi-finals. Not only that, but the Madrid press criticised Messi for not mentioning Ronaldo during his acceptance speech, and even lowering his head and looking down, giving the impression of not listening, during the pre-ceremony press conference.

 

The reaction to Madrid's result focused on three things: their failings without Ronaldo, managing just one shot on goal, the sending-off of Kaka, a third red card in as many games this year, and the body language of Jose Mourinho, for whom the league seems increasingly like a distraction with the Champions League, for which Madrid are 1.62 to get past Manchester United, and 5.6 to win the main event.

 

Barcelona, meanwhile, had better getting used to playing Malaga:  they face off twice more in the next ten days in the Copa del Rey, a competition for which Barcelona are 2.3 to win, while Madrid, who are drawn against Valencia, are 3.05.

 

The Spanish season is now at its halfway point: for all the chat about Mourinho's future, the Ballon D'Or and the Messi/Ronaldo debate, one fact stands out: Barcelona's record is Played 19, Won 18 and Drawn One. Maybe Pep Guardiola was just the warm-up act after all, because this side is on the verge of something very special.

 

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