Alan Smith: Barcelona’s daring attitude against Real Madrid reaps beautiful Champions League results

The killer strike when it came encapsulated everything that we love about this Barcelona side. More than that, it required the kind of audacity no other team in the world would dare to show, or indeed have the ability to produce on a grand stage such as a Champions League semi-final.

Barca’s insistence on playing out from the back must be heart-stopping at times, not just for their fans but for their manager too. Pep Guardiola, for instance, must have gone nuts when a risky square pass resulted in Real Madrid grabbing an equaliser.

But what could he say? It’s in Barca’s DNA. That daring attitude had already created Pedro’s exquisite opening goal when their goalkeeper, Victor Valdes, rather than playing safe with a thump upfield, decided to dink a cheeky ball out to Daniel Alves. If Valdes had got it wrong, Real would have regained possession in a dangerous position.

But Valdes didn’t get it wrong. He got it spot on, floating the ball inches over the head of a Real player to release the full-back up the right flank.

From there, Alves had the time to look inside and pick out Andres Iniesta, who had drifted into space

40 yards from goal. Real’s Lassana Diarra was closest to Iniesta but nowhere near close enough to prevent the visionary midfielder from picking his spot.