Things aren’t too quite between the biggest rivals in Spain after the Copa Del Rey Clasico – Lionel Messi allegedly got into some sort of clash with Alvaro Arbeloa after the match, Dani Alves claims Real Madrid fans are racists while Xavi thinks Barcelona conceded a goal that never should have been allowed while Cristiano Ronaldo gets protection from the referees.
It’s always hard to say after draws who is the happier side with the result, but it seemed like Real Madrid were probably slightly more pleased with 1-1 in the first leg between the teams, while Barcelona players felt the missed a big opportunity to seal the deal before the second leg almost a month from now. A few one on one chances wasted, especially by Xavi and Pedro, are what remains on their minds.
The Lionel Messi Alvaro Arbeloa clash is keeping the papers in Spain busy; apparently, Messi approached Alvaro Arbeloa in the parking lot after the match and had to be pulled away towards the team bus. The two were quite confrontational all throughout the match, and some claim Messi kept trash-talking and throwing certain x-rated words towards Arbeloa through the 90 minutes, adding something else in the parking lot. If this is true, it’s interesting to see how revealing the meaner side of his personality will effect the Messi popularity trend.
Dani Alves tweeted after the match, hinting that he suffered from racial abuse during the match, although nothing more has been heard about any incident involving him and Real Madrid fans. Racist-sounding abuse was particularly loud at two moments – in the first half when he clashed with home players Alvaro Arbeloa and Xabi Alonso, and in the second period when he was booked for a foul on Cristiano Ronaldo.
Both Xavi and Cesc Fabregas spoke about how disappointing it was not to come away with a win from a match they felt should have gone their way due to their dominance in the second half. Xavi added that Real Madrid’s goal came after a corner that was supposed to a goal kick for Barcelona and a handball previously by Carvalho, that stopped Barcelona’s attack. He also pointed out that Cristiano Ronaldo enjoyed preferential treatment from the referee, not receiving a yellow card because that would have suspended him from the second leg.