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Zlatan Ibrahimovic of Barcelona FC - Source: Reuters -
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Zlatan Ibrahimovic came off the bench to volley 10-man Barcelona
to a 1-0 home victory over Real Madrid on Monday which put them
back on top of La Liga.
The visitors successfully frustrated Barca until substitute
Ibrahimovic made the breakthrough by smashing a volley past Iker
Casillas in the 56th minute.
Shortly afterwards, Barca midfielder Sergio Busquets foolishly
picked up his second yellow card to leave his side a man short for
almost 30 minutes.
However, Real could not make the extra man count in a pulsating
finish and champions Barcelona went to the top with 30 points from
12 games, two ahead of Real who slipped back to second.
There were five candidates for the 2009 Ballon d'Or on display at
the start, with favourite for the award Lionel Messi, Xavi and
Andres Iniesta in the starting XI for Barca.
Another candidate, Ibrahimovic, was on the bench after his recent
thigh strain.
Real, who have invested around 250 million euros ($373 million) in
new signings over the close season, fielded Kaka and Ronaldo, even
though the Portuguese winger had played only 20 minutes since his
two-month layoff with an ankle injury.
Barca dominated the early exchanges but the first clear chance fell
to the visitors after 19 minutes when Kaka set up Ronaldo for a
free shot. Victor Valdes saved with an outstretched
foot.
Quick Breaks
Real grew in confidence, working hard to disrupt Barca's midfield,
and started to get behind their hosts' defence with quick
breaks.
Carles Puyol flung himself across to block a shot from Marcelo but
openings remained at a premium.
Thierry Henry made way for Ibrahimovic early in the second half but
it was Real who streaked away on a counter-attack led by Ronaldo
and, again, a despairing challenge from Puyol extinguished the
danger in the area.
Barca broke the deadlock when Daniel Alves crossed deep to the back
post and Ibrahimovic scored with a fierce volley.
The hosts were almost immediately on the back foot when Busquets'
deliberate handball saw him sent off.
A rusty-looking Ronaldo made way for Karim Benzema as Real pressed
forward in search of an equaliser, but the Frenchman spurned a
great chance hoofing over the bar at a corner.
Gerard Pique and Eric Abidal went close at the other end as the
game opened up and Alves fed Messi for what should have been the
decider at the end but Casillas pulled off a magnificent
save.
Real lost midfielder Lassana Diarra to a red card in the last
minute.
