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Outstanding game in all phases.

He made some very good plays (passes, winning balls), but he also nearly gave away a goal with a suicide pass, and while you can debate if the second yellow was a correct call, he should have known better than to try that.

When he plays for Spain, he looks reasonably good on the wing, but he doesn't play well there for us.

I didn't mean you; I meant the endless array of commenters on major football sites yelling about how nothing is Torres's fault. I suppose I need to avoid said comment sections more often. His performances at Liverpool have apparently given him a fanbase for life.

I feel sorry for Drogba, who actually does his job once in a while and yet has to share time with an incompetent jerk while getting bashed by said jerk's army of ballwashers. Drogba hasn't been very good this year, and he probably should go, but unlike Torres he actually has had good games...

My best wishes to Abidal and his family. I'm relieved that his doctors seem to have been aware of his condition for some time. It'll be a tough fight, but we all know he has what it takes.

ESPN doesn't compile stats (except goals) for the Copa.

It boggles my mind how many assists he would have had if Spain had played a competent striker from the start instead of that POS Torres.

It's amazing how much more comfortable I am with him than Pinto.

Talented but inconsistent. This game, he had several great individual moments, but he also disappeared for long stretches. I don't know what his 'best' position is, but I prefer to have him as the advanced midfielder, where his ability to make spectacular passes is most valuable and his tendency...

He needs to be careful; quite frankly the ref should have awarded a penalty kick against us for his foul in the first half (on Valero IIRC).

He maintained possession better than he has in many recent games (I don't recall any misplaced passes), but he didn't have any creativity today. I'd like to see the passing stats to check my first impression.

Don't forget that two of the wins on the road were 1-0 wins against poor teams (Gijon, Granada). There have only been two road performances where we convincingly won.

Judging from the comments on the chat and match thread, if some random poster suggested that Barcelona dominated the first 60-65 minutes, they would have been asked what drugs they were on. In the chat, most people agreed that it was lucky Madrid hadn't scored two or three by halftime.

"He was never a problem until he got married. He used to go into work with the academy coaches at night time, he was a fantastic young lad. Getting married into that entertainment scene was a difficult thing – from that moment, his life was never going to be the same. He is such a big celebrity...

Give me a break. It was a dive, and the ref would have been entirely correct to show a yellow card to Xavi for it. Incidentally, Barcelona played a hybrid defense against Real, not a straight 3-4-3 or 4-3-3.

I never thought I'd see the day when Messi made Cristiano Ronaldo look like a good sportsman. Asking the ref to card opponents, kicking a ball at the fans, getting annoyed with a teammate; if Ronaldo did any of that at Camp Nou, we'd be all over him. It especially bothered me to see Messi...

That was probably the plan for the next game before he got suspended. We'll still probably do that in the Copa final and the CL. In the Liga match, it'll be Milito or Fontas (with Masch out, Busquets has to play DM).

Somebody needs to tell Xavi to re-evaluate how he plays at home against weak Liga teams that park the bus. His over-cautiousness / desire to maintain possession at all costs means that in these games, he ends up playing endless sideways passes 25-35 yards in front of goal without trying through...

Nearly all of his goals are openers, equalizers, or game winners. This guy is going to be an elite player. Right now, Bojan isn't even close to being as good.