By Alex Al-Kazzaz
Just when Barcelona thought they had Real Madrid all figured out, Los Blancos had finally had enough. Barcelona had got the better of Real Madrid too many times this season. Los Blancos lost to Barcelona in the Supercopa de Espana final back in January, along with a recent La Liga encounter that surely put Madrid out of the La Liga title contention, and the first-leg of the Copa del Rey semi-final. Real Madrid finally found a way to return a much-needed favor to their historically longtime adversaries.
A hat-trick by Karim Benzema did the trick for Real Madrid in this match. The 35-year-old striker also had a hat-trick in Madrid's La Liga match on April 2nd against Valladolid. Furthermore, Benzema is the first Real Madrid player to score a hat-trick against Barcelona since 1995 and the first to do so at Camp Nou(Barcelona's home turf) since 1963!
Before this match, Barcelona had outscored Real Madrid 6-1 this year. At this point, Barcelona's only objective is to finish out La Liga play so they be crowned the new La Liga champions. Real Madrid will take on Osasuna in the Copa del Rey final on the sixth of next month. Next week, Los Blancos will meet Chelsea in leg 1 of the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals. A week later, the quarterfinals will be wrapped up. It's the final stretch of the season, meaning it's the most crucial. So Real Madrid can't afford any more poor play and bad results.
Real Madrid has already won the UEFA Super Cup as well as the FIFA Club World Cup. Los Blancos are determined to win more. What's most important to the club is retaining their Champions League title so they can be crowned champions for the 15th time. It's all about keeping the winning tradition alive.
Cover photo courtesy of Columbia Missourian