Catchetat
02-04-2006, 01:18 PM
Barcelona draws 1-1 with Madrid in Spanish league
MADRID, Spain (AP) - Ronaldinho converted a penalty and Ronaldo tied it as FC Barcelona played a 10-man Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw Saturday.
The result at Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium left Barca 11 points atop the standings and requiring 10 points from its last seven games to retain its title.
Barcelona has 69 points, followed by Madrid with 58 and Osasuna with 55. Valencia is next with 53 points, while Sevilla has 51.
Madrid captain Raul, who has played against Barcelona 29 times, was omitted from the team's starting lineup. The Spain striker has struggled since returning last month from the serious knee injury he sustained during November's 3-0 defeat by the Catalan team.
Barcelona midfielder Mark van Bommel missed his side's first chance in the fourth minute with a chip over goalkeeper Iker Casillas which went just wide in the fourth minute.
Van Bommel was involved again in the 20th minute when he won Barcelona's penalty by being felled by Roberto Carlos' sliding tackle.
The Brazilian left back received a yellow card for protesting just before Ronaldinho sent Casillas the wrong way with his seventh penalty of the season. It was Ronaldinho's fourth goal in four matches against Madrid.
Madrid's problems worsened in the 25th minute when Roberto Carlos received his second yellow for again arguing with referee Luis Medina Cantalejo.
However, Madrid equalized 12 minutes later when Ronaldo raced on to Julio Baptista's through ball before lifting it over goalkeeper Victor Valdes. The Brazilian ran through unchallenged because defender Thiago Motta pulled up with a thigh injury and was then carried off.
The goal by Ronaldo was his third in Madrid's last league games.
Madrid left Ronaldo alone up front in the second half, focusing its efforts on defense. Barcelona striker Henrik Larsson still managed a free run on goal in the 66th minute but was unable to beat Casillas.
Barcelona pressed for the winning goal in the closing stages, which were halted briefly when a spectator ran onto the field before being apprehended by security staff.
Casillas made a series of saves to preserve the draw for Madrid although Larsson missed Barcelona's last chance in injury time when he headed wide from substitute Juliano Belletti's cross.
A group of Barcelona fans hurled bottles, cans and stones and broke a window of Madrid's team bus as it arrived about 90 minutes before kickoff, news agency Efe reported.
The match had been in doubt until Friday when Spanish referees called off their threatened strike over unpaid wages.
http://i.a.cnn.net/si/2006/soccer/04/01/bc.eu.spt.soc.spanishro.ap/p1_zidane-getty.jpg
MADRID, Spain (AP) - Ronaldinho converted a penalty and Ronaldo tied it as FC Barcelona played a 10-man Real Madrid to a 1-1 draw Saturday.
The result at Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium left Barca 11 points atop the standings and requiring 10 points from its last seven games to retain its title.
Barcelona has 69 points, followed by Madrid with 58 and Osasuna with 55. Valencia is next with 53 points, while Sevilla has 51.
Madrid captain Raul, who has played against Barcelona 29 times, was omitted from the team's starting lineup. The Spain striker has struggled since returning last month from the serious knee injury he sustained during November's 3-0 defeat by the Catalan team.
Barcelona midfielder Mark van Bommel missed his side's first chance in the fourth minute with a chip over goalkeeper Iker Casillas which went just wide in the fourth minute.
Van Bommel was involved again in the 20th minute when he won Barcelona's penalty by being felled by Roberto Carlos' sliding tackle.
The Brazilian left back received a yellow card for protesting just before Ronaldinho sent Casillas the wrong way with his seventh penalty of the season. It was Ronaldinho's fourth goal in four matches against Madrid.
Madrid's problems worsened in the 25th minute when Roberto Carlos received his second yellow for again arguing with referee Luis Medina Cantalejo.
However, Madrid equalized 12 minutes later when Ronaldo raced on to Julio Baptista's through ball before lifting it over goalkeeper Victor Valdes. The Brazilian ran through unchallenged because defender Thiago Motta pulled up with a thigh injury and was then carried off.
The goal by Ronaldo was his third in Madrid's last league games.
Madrid left Ronaldo alone up front in the second half, focusing its efforts on defense. Barcelona striker Henrik Larsson still managed a free run on goal in the 66th minute but was unable to beat Casillas.
Barcelona pressed for the winning goal in the closing stages, which were halted briefly when a spectator ran onto the field before being apprehended by security staff.
Casillas made a series of saves to preserve the draw for Madrid although Larsson missed Barcelona's last chance in injury time when he headed wide from substitute Juliano Belletti's cross.
A group of Barcelona fans hurled bottles, cans and stones and broke a window of Madrid's team bus as it arrived about 90 minutes before kickoff, news agency Efe reported.
The match had been in doubt until Friday when Spanish referees called off their threatened strike over unpaid wages.
http://i.a.cnn.net/si/2006/soccer/04/01/bc.eu.spt.soc.spanishro.ap/p1_zidane-getty.jpg