Anything you can do we can do better. That’s the mentality of Real Madrid against Barcelona. The Catalans defeated Sporting Gijon 1-6; Real Madrid mauled the newcomers 7-1. Barcelona snatched a winner in a heated derby last week, with the second side in Catalonia visiting the Bernabeu in the final game of the Spanish weekend fixtures. Could Real outdo their title rivals once more?

Higuain was played in by a clever Van Nistlerooy header but lacked composure and skied his effort, when he should have at least tested the keeper. Soon after Raul glanced a header wide, before almost playing in Van Der Vaart as Los Blancos stated their intent. Espanyol were concentrating on the counter attack and men behind the ball reduced Real Madrid to shooting from distance. Van Der Vaart curled one over, while Sergio Ramos sliced an effort with his left foot, having been forced inside. Real Madrid’s defence seemed to be playing the offside trap by default. The only problem is they had no idea when to step up. This hilarious tactic allowed Raul Tamudo to run onto a clearance, cut in and get sliced down by Gabriel Heinze. The Espanyol talisman dusted himself down and sent Casillas the wrong way from twelve yards.

Yet Espanyol’s 1-0 lead lasted only 4 minutes, as Raul headed into the corner of the net, having shrugged off his marker. Will this goal scoring performance reinstate him into Del Bosque’s Spain squad? Probably not, considering some tepid performances earlier in the season along with the politics he would drag along with him. But the Real Madrid skipper added another goal to the hundreds he has scored in the white shirt and deserves recognition of some sort. It is unthinkable as to how he never won a individual award during his prime, and despite having an Indian summer during Schuster’s tenure at the club.

Espanyol continued to threaten against a defensively nervous Real Madrid, with Nene winning a soft free kick against Pepe on the left flank. The Espanyol winger made minimal contact with the leg of the Portuguese defender but decided to hold his face as he fell down in apparent anguish. Luis Garcia whipped in a deceptive free kick to the near post rather than aim for the bodies in the box. The brilliant effort curled over the wall and clipped the base of the post, bouncing back into the danger area. It hit a static Pepe, who managed to react before the ball bounced over the line, clearing desperately. Real Madrid managed to claw back the deficit through Raul once again. Van Der Vaart controlled a long free kick from the right flank into the path of the Real captain, who danced past two players before slotting home past Kameni. 

Robben, who managed a dive within 30 seconds of coming on for Van Der Vaart, crossed for Van Nistlerooy, who tried an overhead kick, but the shot lacked any power. Soon after, Higuain and Robben had efforts, both of which were unsuccessful. Espanyol were as lively as ever and having scored two goals in a game for the first time in seven moths, they were hungry for more. Raul Tamudo was dangerous and Real Madrid weren’t helped by the incompetence of Pepe, who was out of sorts and looking nothing like the €30m defender he is meant to be. The Espanyol captain along with Nene wasted good chances having been gifted space by Pepe.

Robben’s shot hit one-time Tottenham target Dani Jarque in an end-to-end game and only a wonderful reaction stop from Kameni denied the home team a third goal. The Real fans welcomed back Wesley Sneijder who returned having suffered a knee injury against Arsenal in the Emirates Cup. The Dutchman replaced De La Red, as Los Blancos chased the win. They almost took it, after a weighted pass from Ramos set up Higuain down the right flank for the cross, which was met by Van Nistlerooy. The sharp strike was denied by a wonderful reaction stop from an in-form Kameni. One of the other Dutchmen in the Real side, Arjen Robben, had worse luck, lasting just 23 minutes after pulling a hamstring. But despite the set back of gaining Royston Drenthe, Madrid continued to attack as the all-action full back Sergio Ramos burst into the box, fooling the backtracking defenders with a lovely step-over but he lashed his shot high into the stand. He should have scored.

Heinze then crossed for Van Nistlerooy, who couldn’t direct his header on target. The striker had 8 goals in 8 games up to this game but seemed unable to add to his tally tonight with a brilliant Kameni in his way. There was controversy in the final minutes, with Moises apparently handballing Sneijder’s free kick. Soon after, Diarra was involved in a small scuffle, which Espanyol used to eat up the majority of stoppage time. Real Madrid failed to make their numerous efforts on goal count as Valencia retained top spot, while Barcelona went ahead of the capital club for the first time this year. If it wasn’t for Raul, fans of the 31 time champions could have brought out the white handkerchiefs in force.