Israel Saria
Head-to-head record (in European competition)
Played: 7
Wins: Real 3, Barcelona 2, draws 2
Goals: Real 12, Barcelona 9
Previous meetings
EC: SF 21.04.60 Real 3 Barcelona 1
27.04.60 Barcelona 1 Real 3
EC: R2 9.11.60 Real 2 Barcelona 2
23.11.60 Barcelona 2 Real 1
CL: SF 23.04.02 Barcelona 0 Real 2
1.05.02 Real 1 Barcelona 1
CL: SF 27.04.11 Real 0 Barcelona 2
Disciplinary
Suspended: Jose Manuel Pinto (Barcelona), Pepe, Sergio Ramos (both Real Madrid)
Misses next match if booked: Cristiano Ronaldo, Raul Albiol, Angel Di Maria, Emmanuel Adebayor (all Real Madrid)
Facts
Barcelona are in position to break their semi-final jinx against Real Madrid by beating them for the first time in the last four of Europe’s premier club competition. They lost to Real twice before at this stage in 1960 and also in 2002 when Real notably pulled off a 2-0 win in Barcelona.
Barcelona’s coach Pep Guardiola has a magnificent record in the CL, losing just four of the 36 matches in which he has been in charge. One of those was against Real’s current trainer Jose Mourinho last year when Barca went down 3-1 in the first leg of the CL semi-final with his then club Inter Milan.
Barcelona have won their last nine CL home games, all by a margin of at least two goals, apart from their 1-0 win over Inter in the semi-final return last season. In those games Barca have scored 28 and conceded just four.
Barcelona’s amazing Lionel Messi, top scorer in the tournament with 11 goals including two in Madrid in the first leg, has scored 12 in his last eight CL games at the Nou Camp. He has scored twice or more in five of those games.
Real, who have won two of their three European away games against their arch-rivals, have won five of their last nine CL away matches and have lost only once.
Real’s Cristiano Ronaldo, his team’s great hope if they are to turn around their two-goal deficit, has scored 10 goals in his last 11 CL away games for Real and Manchester United. He has scored two goals in a match four times in those games.
Real need an away win by at least two goals to go through to their first final since 2002. Curiously, the last time they achieved an away victory by two goals in the knockout stages of the CL was in the semi-finals in that year – against Barcelona.
Real coach Jose Mourinho’s teams have lost their last three CL semi-final away games by the same score of 1-0. Chelsea lost to Liverpool by that score in 2005 and 2007 and Inter Milan went down 1-0 to Barcelona last season.
Reuters
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