As time continued to pass, the air inside the Bernabéu Stadium seemed to have frozen solid.
On the pitch, Barcelona, with one more man than Real Madrid, had seized overwhelming control. They were practically crushing Real Madrid inside their own half, forcing the shorthanded side farther and farther back.
At first, Real Madrid had retreated into their own half. Then they fell back into the thirty-meter zone, yet they still faced threat after threat from Barcelona.
First, Messi fired over from the edge of the penalty area. Then Alves crossed, and Afellay struck a long-range shot high over the bar from the right edge of the box.
As the match entered its final stage, Barcelona continued launching attack after attack. Both wings pushed forward together, showing their determination not to stop until they had breached the Bernabéu Stadium's defenses.
Real Madrid stubbornly held out. Even Kaka had dropped back to the defensive midfield line, and every player on the team was showing tremendous tenacity.
Once Real Madrid retreated into the thirty-meter area, Barcelona found it difficult to locate an effective attacking route. They could only keep passing the ball around the perimeter, utterly helpless against Real Madrid's iron wall.
After Afellay's long-range shot sailed over the goal, the match began to enter its closing stages.
The fourth official on the sideline soon raised the board indicating four minutes of stoppage time. It reminded everyone that the highly anticipated second El Clásico would end in four minutes.
Barcelona quickly organized another attack, but once again they only managed to advance to the outskirts of Real Madrid's thirty-meter area. When they tried to pass farther inside, Xavi was dispossessed and sent tumbling by Real Madrid midfielder David Silva. The referee waved play on.
Xavi was deeply dissatisfied with the decision. He complained