Speed. Skill. Power.

Those were the three things that hit both Real Madrid and Ricky Hatton on Saturday. There were three things that these two had in common- they did the lion's share of the talking, their dominance lasted very little, and the battle was done when they least expected it.

Ricky Hatton had no answers for the left hook, the speed, or the precision that Pacquiao brought to the MGM in Las Vegas.




Barcelona had those same ingredients against Real Madrid. For Barcelona that left hook was undoubtedly Thierry Henry who torched Sergio Ramos on various occasions. It was like Ramos was always a step behind of the French international and was able to capitalize with the precision of Roubilliac, the symbolism of Moreau, the realism of Bonheur, and the short hook of Pacquiao. His first goal was symbolic of what was going to happen. His almost Picasso-like wayin which he received a millimetrically precise pass from Xavi and face the world's best goalkeeper with coldness when he went to the far post when his body went near. His second goal was classic and will remain etched in the minds of Blaugranas and Merengues. He caught Sergio Ramos-once again- sleeping in his laurels. He just scored a goal off a set piece and was pumping his team up to go for the draw. Madrid's backline pushed up too much and they paid for it much like Hatton did when he went after Pacquiao in uncontrolled fashion. Xavi went deep and Henry adjusted himself and waited for the right moment to strike the ball past Iker Casillas. The Madrid keeper scrambled 10-15 yards out of his box and found himself doing the only thing he could do- and it was not enough.



Barca's fourth goal was the deal-sealer. There was no more wind in the Madrid sails. There was no more water in the well. Barca controlled the ball and kept the ball away from the home side. The fans knew it. The press knew it. More importantly, the players knew it.

I always have a saying regarding big games- necessity always trumps history. But in both of these cases, the side that is on the verge of history comes in with a does of necessity. There were people coming in to Saturday knowing that it wasn't just their season that was on the line- it was their legacy. Players like Messi, Henry, Xavi, Puyol, and yes Pacquiao, knew that their legacies would become greater based on what they did on this May evening.