When you go into the Nou Camp, the opposing team cannot expect much possession, not even Real Madrid. That was pretty much the case in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup, but Real showed their typical fighting spirit, so evident under Jose Mourinho, as the match finished 3-2 in Barcelona's favor.
In a rather slow first half, no goals came to the fore, with Barcelona enjoying the lion's share of the possession, but failing to convert that advantage into any solid chances. Real were, as expected, relying on the counter attack, but like their opponents, failed to find their mark in a rather cagey opening 45 minutes.
That statistic changed drastically in the final 45, however, with Real opening the scoring through Cristiano Ronaldo. The man for the big occasion scored the first goal of the first El Clasico of the new season, heading in a corner from Mesut Ozil; Real taking the lead completely against the run of play.
But, Barcelona are not considered one of the greatest club teams of all-time for no reason. The Catalans immediately hit back, within the space of a minute, through Pedro, who latched onto a brilliant pass from Javier Mascherano to tie the score at 1-1 in the 56th minute. The goal was Pedro's fifth against Real Madrid in all competitions.
Barca, who had a massive 73 percent of the possession throughout the game, took the lead through their talisman Lionel Messi. Andres Iniesta, who was the best player on the pitch, was brought down clumsily by Sergio Ramos inside the box, leading to the referee pointing to the penalty box. Messi, who missed a crucial penalty against Chelsea in the semi-final of the Champions League last season, made no mistake this time, taking the score to 2-1.
Iniesta notched another assist to his name, putting the ball on a plate for Xavi to calmly slot home for his side's third goal. Barca were sitting pretty, and the score-line reflected their dominance, but Real got back into the tie thanks to a blunder from Victor Valdes.
The Barcelona goalkeeper tried to dribble past Angel Di Maria, only for the Spanish international to gift the ball to the Argentine, who made no mistake, slotting into an empty net and giving Real real hope going into the second leg.
