Madrid Humiliate Barcelona; R.Madrid-4, Barca-1

The humiliation of applauding Madrid players on to the pitch turned out to be minute, in comparison of the humiliation suffered in the match. Madrid destroyed Barcelona with a great all round performance. The final score line is a great injustice to Madrid, yes I mean what I said - they should have won the match by a dozen goals or so. Victor Valdez should be credited with keeping the Madrid score line to just four. This Classico was built up as a last attempt by Barcelona players to restore some pride; instead the Barcelona players were not at all interested. El Classico stature came from the fact that it is the ultimate clash between two Titans - but yesterday Madrid played like a real Champion, but Barcelona's performance resembled a team which has just been promoted to first division. But the most terrible part was to see Rijkaard sitting in his seat devastated by his players performance. He has given so much to the club, he deserved a better performance. Actually its better for him that he leave this season, as this bunch of players will not stand and fight for him.

Barcelona started with Marquez partnering Puyol. Thuram should have started instead of Marquez, Gudjonsen cam in midfield with Bojan, Henry and Messi upfront. Real Madrid settled down pretty quickly and had their first shot on target in the first minute when Robben curling kick was caught by Valdez. Then in the 6th minute Valdez tried to be smart and almost gave a way the ball to the opposition in the box - he was trying to round off Raul. In the 13th minute, Raul scores after a quick exchange of passes between Sneijder, Robben and Guti. Barcelona can consider themselves lucky for the referee overlooking the foul by Guti on Marquez, but whatever that finish from Raul was simply outstanding. He curled the ball past Valdez. Then in the 17th minute, Valdez gave another scare when he spilled a good long range shot from Gago towards Raul, but he managed to somehow grab it the second time. In the 21st minute referee gave a free kick for a non existing foul by Abidal on Guti. Guti's resulting free kick was directed into the net by Robben, who simply ran across the goal mouth without getting picked up by a defender. What pathetic marking! Rijkaard tried to instill some spirit by bringing on Giovani instead of Gudjonsen. After the second Goal Messi understood that he is not going to get any support from his team mate and tried to up the tempo all by himself. That resulted in a free kick just outside the box for a foul on Messi; but as usual Henry shot that wide. In the 32nd minute, Giovani shot wide from outside the box. Casillas cannot be blamed if he has started a taking a nap by this time, he never saw the ball. Then in the 34th minute Valdez puts across an excellent save to deny Guti. Next up was Robben's turn, he turned the entire defense inside out in the box but Valdez brought in another wonderful save to deny him also. In the 45th minute Bojan wins free kick again just outside the box only for Xavi to waste it. The first half story was simple - Madrid outplayed Barcelona in every field. May be that is an exaggeration, Madrid played and Barcelona players watched that was the truth.

Everyone hoped to see a different second half. Sylvinho was brought in place of Marquez but nothing changed. In the 54th minute Puyol's and Sylvinho's terrific intervention denies Madrid of a third goal. Sylvinho gets hurt in that process and had to be replaced by Edmillson. In the 63rd minute Higuain put Madrid three nil up, when he converted from an excellent pass from Diarra. In the 69th minute Valdez brings in another save to deny this time Marcello. But then in the 77th minute referee gave a penalty to Madrid for Puyol handling the ball that was again a bit harsh. Van Nistel Rooy scores the penalty and that was his 50th league goal for Madrid. In the 80th minute Robinho who was brought in after half time makes fun of the entire Barcelona defense with his trademark step overs. Again like the last ten minute in the first half, Messi single handedly tried to challenge Madrid. in the 81st minute Messi was denied by a terrific save by Casillas. In the 86th minute Messi was again denied by Casillas after an excellent run into the box. Then in the next minute Messi provides an inch perfect through ball from which Henry scores the consolation goal for Barcelona. In the injury time Xavi picks up a second yellow card and gets himself eliminated.

With this performance and Villareal's victory early in the night, Barcelona made sure that they have to play the qualifications for the nextb season's Champions League. This timid performance also saw Victor Valdez being toppled from the top of Zamorra table deservingly by Casillas. To a great extent, this humiliation was necessary, but cannot stop sympathizing with Rijkaard. Messi needs to step up his game, more importantly understand that he alone sometimes have to turn the matches. Whenever he tried to step up the tempo all by him Madrid looked uncomfortable.

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Barcelona Ends Goal Drought In Style;Barca-6, Valencia-0

I actually don't know what to make out of this result. On a positive note, we can consider this as a turning point on which the next season can be build upon, or this could also be an indication of how bad the season was for a side like Valencia. Whatever; on a night in which Madrid retained the League title, Barcelona put up an impressive display against Valencia ending their goal drought but putting six across the net. One could only hope that if one of them came at that eventual night at Old Trafford. This win would have boosted the morale of Barcelona side ahead of the El Classico at Barnebeu. That match has no significance apart from the fact that Barcelona could salvage some pride by beating the champions. But the suspension to Eto and Deco could very well end up Barcelona dreams.

Barcelona got off to the best possible start when Messi won the penalty in the 4th minute. Messi made a great run, dribbling past defenders and drew the foul on him from Alexis. Valencia could consider a bit unlucky as the foul looked marginally outside the box. Messi made no mistake of the penalty and that was Barcelona’s first goal for four consecutive goal drought matches. Then in the 8th minute it was Xavi's turn to get into the score sheet. The move started with Messi placing the ball on to the patch of Henry to the left, Henry's attempt to find Messi in the centre hit the foot of defenders, Messi picked up the rebound and placed it back to Henry who by that time had moved to edge of box, he placed the ball in Xavi's path whose fierce shot from outside the box found the back of net. Then in the 14th minute Eto placed the ball into Henry’s patch who made no mistake to take Barcelona three up within first fifteen minutes. Barcelona continued to pour forward, troubling a Valencia side which looked lost. Henry saw his shot saved and Eto hit the side netting. Just before the half time, Messi could have made it four when he failed to convert a header of an excellent cross from Deco.

After the interval, Barcelona continued to probe for more goals. This made me think if they have showed the same attitude in earlier matches, we wouldn't have been sitting here with no trophies. It was Henry in the 57th minute who added the first of the second half. The move started with Eto passing the ball to Messi who placed it to Henry, Henry put the ball back into the net with the trade mark curling shot. In the 65th minute Eto was substituted with the flavour of the season - Bojan Krkic. In the 70th minute Joaquin had Valencia's first shot on Goal. Then in the 72nd minute, Bojan got into the score sheet. The move again started with Messi who placed the ball to Deco, who visionary through ball found Bojan in the box who made no mistake. Then in the 79th minute, Bojan added his second of the night from a wonderful assist by Gudjonsen from the left. Again the move started with Messi who placed a through ball to Gudjonsen spotting his run. In the 81st minute Valencia thought they had a consolatory goal but to be ruled offside.

First Half


Second Half

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End Of All The Dreams; ManU-1,Barca-0

This season definitely have to end like this - a great performance put forward but got kicked out of Champions League royally. A fourteenth minute screamer from Paul Scholes was enough to damn Barcelona to their second consecutive trophy less season. Paul Scholes might have done enough to end Rijkaard's career at Barcelona also. There is a sense of desperation among all the Barcelona fans, but honestly speaking we didn't deserve to win anything this season. Our team never looked committed or determined to do that. Barcelona had one change from their first leg - Puyol coming in for suspended Marquez. Manchester United was forced to drop Rooney, because of injury and bring on Tevez and that played a crucial part in the game. Nani also made into the starting eleven. In my preview to the Deportivo match, I have written that it would be good to give Messi more time on the field, I was proven right. Even though he had a great night, he could not gel properly with other players.

Barcelona looked more settled in the initial exchanges. Messi made an excellent run into the box in the first minute; Scholes has to commit a foul to stop him. Zambrotta was in total control of the Ronaldo situation, he never allowed Ronaldo any decent possession. But in the 14th minute Zambrotta robbed Ronaldo off the ball and made the biggest mistake of his life when he gave the ball away to Scholes. Paul Scholes, who have an history of creating goals from long range did not make any mistake there. I would say it was very unfortunate for Barcelona to concede that goal, any other day it would have sailed past the cross bar. After that as usual Barcelona panicked. Manchester United with all its claim of being the best attacking side in business started playing the English way - Get a goal some how and put eleven players in the box. In the 29th minute Puyol had to intervene to clear a Ronaldo header to safety. With the half time approaching Barcelona started to look once again settled. In the 38th minute Evra made a crucial intervention denying Eto a clear cut chance when Van Der Saar failed to hold on to Messi's cross.

Barcelona started the second half pretty much confidently. Some beautiful runs were made but none could pierce the Manchester defense. On the other end Valdez have to bring a decent save from Tevez. The rest of the half resembled Barcelona's effort at Nou Camp; could not pierce a packed ManU box, they were getting frustrated. Henry and Bojan were introduced but nothing changes the tide. In the end it can be said that Sir Alex's side were deserved to go through. They may not have played the beautiful football, but they played the effective football. But as for the question of "who is the best player in the planet now?” It looks like there is only one answer - Lionel Messi. He may not have scored the goal but that was mainly because his team mates never supported him.

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All Set For an Exciting Second leg; Barcelona-0,ManU-0

This match was billed as the pinnacle for attacking football, but fans of the beautiful game have to wait till the second leg to see attacking football at his best. Manchester United in form attacking line up was supposed to drub this Barcelona team, who are running into all kinds of trouble this season. English commentators were predicting Manchester United running riot through Barcelona lineup, but nothing of the sort happened. Ferguson might have opted for a attack oriented side in the form of Park, Tevez, Rooney and Ronaldo, but honestly he was only hoping to get out of Camp Nou with a goalless draw and got the same result. Rooney started in the midfield and Hargreaves started as full back. Manchester United still will be considered the favourite to go to the Finals as they are now playing the second leg at Old Trafford. But one thing this Barcelona side proved with their performance is that if there is a team who have the guts to play their natural style of football both away and at home, then that would be Barcelona Messi was pretty much closed down whenever he had the ball; this might make some English commentators ridicule his and the team's chances at Old Trafford. But honestly, Manchester United resembled the Greece side which won the Euro cup with close to nine players in and around the box almost every time. Manchester United is expected to play their natural game at Old Trafford which will leave tons of spaces for Messi and company to work with.

Rijkaard started with a front trio of Iniesta, Eto and Messi. The real surprises were the inclusion of Deco, who has not played since ages and Abidal, who had some bad performance prior to this one. In the preview to this match I have written that Messi may not be fully match fit, and I was proven right. Marquez also looked a bit of slackly throughout the match. But the biggest surprise was Deco, who in spite not playing for sometime, had a great day. But the best player for Barcelona was Yaya Toure, who for the second match had an absolute perfect night. Barcelona fans received the biggest scare in the 1st minute of the match when Manchester United was awarded a penalty when Ronaldo headed straight to the hands of Milito. That was a pretty harsh decision, but luckily for Barcelona, Christiano Ronaldo missed from the spot. That gave an early indication to Ronaldo of his night. In the early exchanges Barcelona looked bit rusty with Manchester united closing down effectively whatever space available. In the 9th minute Messi made a dangerous run from the right into the box, but his pass towards the centre could not find any team mate. Then in the 11th minute Messi was again involved in a short exchange of passes with deco and Iniesta, again Iniesta final ball to the centre was behind deco. In the 12th minute Van Der Sar made a mess up of a regulation clearance when he shot the ball directly at the path of Messi, but Messi could not make use of it. In the 13th minute Barcelona gets a free kick just outside the box, which Marquez hits straight at the wall. Then in the 23rd minute, Barcelona wasted another chance when no one could get to the end of an excellent Abidal cross. Manchester United were remaining quiet till Iniesta passed the ball to Ronaldo just outside, Ronaldo's excellent run into the box was blocked by Marquez, but the referee never gave the penalty. Honestly this was a better penalty shout than the first one. The rest of first half remain the same, with Manchester United blocking every Barcelona move. Barcelona won enough free kicks at real dangerous position but could not make the most of it. Deco and Xavi needs to practice more on this aspect. In the 44th minute Marquez got a yellow card for a rash challenge on Ronaldo and now misses the next leg.

The second half started with Barcelona firmly under control. Throughout the entire half Manchester hardly saw the ball. In the 48th minute Zambrotta's long range effort was tipped over by Van Der Sar. Barcelona had the best chance to go ahead in the 50th minute when a sliding tackle from Messi got the ball to Eto. Eto should have crossed immediately to Messi in the centre, instead he took time and allowed defenders to get back. Eto looked sharp through out the match, but appeared a bit slow. In the 51st minute Eto hits the side netting after a serious of short passes involving Iniesta, Messi, Deco broke the Manchester defense. In the 53rd minute, a rare counter attack from ManU ended with Carrick hitting the side netting. In the 62nd minute Bojan came in for Messi who looked a bit tired. In the last ten minute Rijkaard brought Henry in, Henry forced Van Der sar to make a decent save in the 83rd minute with a shot from outside the box. Then in the 88th minute Henry saw his free kick comfortably saved by Goal Keeper.
Manchester United now again starts as favourite in the second leg. But there are enough hopes left for Barcelona in that match. Barcelona can expect ManU to play their normal football which will leave spaces for Barcelona players to exploit. Messi and deco can be expected to be fully match fit by that night and Puyol will return back to the side. For Barcelona the second leg remain simple, they just have to win the match or get a goal scoring draw. This leg proves one thing the entire Europe still fears this Barcelona side, even though they have not played to their potential in ages.

HighLights of The Match

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Tough Espanyol Holds Barcelona; Barca-0,Espanyol-0

A tough and organised Espanyol defense held Barcelona for another Goal less draw ending any of Barcelona's hope of keeping the La Liga title hunt alive. How ironic is the fact that its again Espanyol which would have ended Barcelona's dream like last year. It was not at all a dull draw or a bad performance as the Goal line may suggest. Barcelona created many chances and it was only for their finishing which led them down. Many chances were thwarted by the Espanyol back four and when they were compromised kameni came up with the goods to deny Barcelona a well deserved goal. But all is no lost and if the performance is any indication we should be able to give a good account of ourselves against Manchester United.

Rijkaard started with Giovanni, Eto and Bojan front line. I thought that was the only blunder he did in the match, as it was best not to add both the kids in the starting lineup. We cannot expect them to overcome the pressures of this season. Henry started in the bench and never was used which make me ask why Ezquerra was left out, We could have started with him in the left. Eugjonsen started with Xavi and Toure in the middle - Toure had an excellent game after a long time. Abidal was replaced by Sylvinho and Puyol, who will miss Ck\hampions League tie at home aterted with Milito. The first half started very quietly, it took almost 24 minutes for Barcelona to have the first shot on target - when Gudjonsen's shot was saved by Kameni. In the next minute Zambrotta fired a shot which just clipped the bar and in the very next minute Xavi saw his header go high. There wasn't much opportunities in the rest of first half, and I do believe it was mainly we had two kids up ahead. In the lst match we saw how Gudjonsen and Ezquerra combined well.

The second half started with Rijkaard bringing in Messi and iniesta in place of Giovanni and Gudjonsen respectively. Immediately both looked like changing the face of the match. In the 48th minute Messi played a great one two with Xavi but Kameni did well to close down Messi's shot. A minute later kameni did it again to deny Eto. Barcelona kept on raiding the Espanyol defense regularly but their back four remained solid, rock solid. In the 78th minute Eto cut inside from the left and played in a terrific cross but nobody could meet it. Then Eto missed the best chance of the night when he shot wide.

Despite the fact that they couldn't score a goal, Barcelona played very well. Eto may have missed two to three clear cut chances, but on the positive side he is getting involved in the game more. Messi started well but looked a bit tired by the end. Iniesta looked great - but the most positive performance came from the defense - Milito, Zambrotta and Toure all had a great game. Marquez in the shot time he was in the defense looked solid. This performance give immense hopes for Manchester United tie.

Some Beautiful Moments from the Match

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Throwing It All Away; Recreativo-2,Barcelona-2

Barcelona players threw away a fantastic opportunity to put pressure on Madrid, and instead now will be fighting with Villareal to hold on to the second spot. Barcelona went ahead twice in the match only to see their inability to defend the aerial ball taking away two vital points. Rijkaard rightly didn't rush Messi to start and this gave Giovani a chance to start in the line up. Gudjonsen joined Xavi and Toure in midfield behind Ezquerra who till this match was looked as if abandoned by Rijkaard. Milito and Puyol joined with Abidal and Zambrotta in defense.
Barcelona started the game in the best possible way when Eto scored off Giovani cross with just 62 seconds on the clock. Xavi played the ball to Giovani who placed the ball on his left ball to provide the best of crosses which duly met Eto's head. But after that Barcelona lookde pretty much confused in the defense and almost paid the price in the 5th minute when Recreativo failed to equalise. Then in the 11th minute Gudjonsen made an excellent run dribbling past defenders and overcoming tough challenges, but the final ball was interpreted. Then slowly Barcelona started giving all the possesion to Recreativo and it staretd telling when they started creating chances. That was rewarded with a very controversial goal when the linesman ruled that Valdes has spilled the ball across the line from a header from Ruben. The ball never crossed the line , but Recreativo deserved the goal for all the pressure they were able to create. Barcelona had a great chance to go ahead in the injury time of first half when Giovani was played through by Eto, but Recreativo Goal Keeper Sorrentino produced an excellent save.
Barcelona went again ahead in the start of second half when Eto prodeuced an excellent goal from outside the box. But as in the first half Barcelona looked lazy after the goal and Valdes has to make three excellent saves to prevent Recreativo from equalising. Then in the 64th minute Messi was brought in place of Giovanni. In the 68th minute Messi made a great run from the right which was stopped by a desperate defense. Then in the 69th minute Eto shot wide after a difficult one two with Ezquerra. Then in the 71st minute Barcelona defense was left napping and Recreativo scored thanks to huge mistake by Valdes. Then in the desperate dying moments Messi had a huge opportunity when Sorentino put his shot in the path of Messi, Messi should have shot himself rather than trying to cross to Eto. This result officially should have ended Barcelona's quest for La Liga title. the only positives where Eto's return to form and Gudjonsen's and Ezquerra's performance.

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Barcelona sets up Manchester United Clash; Barcelona-1,Schalke-0

Barcelona overcame a tricky challenge from the German side to setup a semi final clash with Manchester United. A Yaya Toure goal in the dying minutes of first half was enough to see off Schalke but it cannot be said that Barcelona had a great night. Barcelona included Thuram in the starting eleven in place of Milito and the rest of the side remained the same as the Getafe match except Abidal was brought in. As a Barcelona fan I am too used to seeing Barcelona controlling the game from the beginning. But this game was a different. In the first 15 minutes Schalke bombarded Barcelona goal mouth. In the 7th minute Valdes has to make an excellent save in denying Altintop from the scoring the equaliser in the tie. Then it was Kuranyi who did well to get in between Zamrotta and Thuram but to head wide. In the match report of the first leg I have written that Schalke had a complete control over Barcelona with aerial ball, they repeated the same in this leg also. In the 20th minute Jones saw his shot going wide; then in the next minute Kuranyi failed to connect properly to an excellent cross from the right. In the first 30 minute Barcelona could not match the physical presence of Schalke player and was outplayed completely. The rest of the first half was quite boring with both the team doing nothing in terms of creating goal scoring opportunity. Then in the 43rd minute Yaya Toure put Barcelona in the lead. That goal came from nowhere. Yaya placed the ball to the right giving Bojan the space to move forward, Bojan's cross hit defenders leg and flew up in the air, Schalke defender Krystajic in his attempt to clear the ball kept the ball in play and that too placed the ball in front of Toure who obliged by scoring his first Champions League goal. That was indeed a very, very luck goal. That goal eased up Barcelona and the realisation that Schalke has to score twice to go through gave more confidence in the second half.

Second half started in sharp contrast to the first. Barcelona started more confidently. In the 49th minute Henry shoots high after an excellent ball from Bojan. In the 51st minute Iniesta shot was parried away to safety by Schalke goal keeper. Then in the 64th minute Puyol picks up a yellow card which will see him missing the tie against ManU at Camp Nou. In the 66th minute Xavi shot from outside box was punched away. Then in the 79th minute Kuranyi shot was deflected by Thuram. The rest of the match looked as boring as it can get. Coming to individual performance Bojan looked the best of the lot; Henry and Eto both had a forgettable night. Abidal looks like completely lost.

As far the semi final is concerned, at the moment Manchester United holds all the positives. They are playing better as a unit at the moment, they have the advantage of playing the second leg at home, Barcelona looks in complete shatters; but then Messi should be back for that tie and that might be the match where he decides to show what he really is.

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Schalke-0,Barcelona-1

Barcelona gained the upper hand in the two legged Quarter final against Schalke courtesy of a solitary Goal from Bojan Krkic. Considering their performance against Betis, Barcelona played well and showed enough consistency and courage to grind out this result. Now they can firmly look forward to finish the job at Camp Nou and get ready to face Manchester United in the semis. Rijkaard brought back Milito in place of Thuram and the rest of the line up was the same as the Betis match.

Barcelona started the match in pretty much their usual manner. They had the majrity of possession and got their first shot on target in the 8th minute when Iniesta shot was blocked by Neuer. Then in the 12th minute Barcelona went one up when Henry placed the ball across the face of the goal for Krkic to have the easiest of tapping. The goal was a courtesy of Schalke keepre who failed to held on to Henry's first shot and the rebound found Henry again. That goal made Bojan the second youngest to score a goal in Champions league Matches. Barcelona could not make any meaningful attack in the rest of first half and apart from some unfutile attempts Schalke really failed to test Valdes. In the begining of second half it looked like there will be a repetition of the Betis match. Barcelona was allowing too much of possession to Schalke and was finding it difficult to hold the ball against a more physical opponents. Throughout the second half Schalke was interested in testing the Barcelona defense with arial ball and was successful in most of the cases. Barcelona defefense didn't fare well against the arial ball but did well to thwart any danger. Moreover poor finishing skills of Schalke players helped Barcelona a lot.

Schalke has already shown that they are no push over. But to win at Camp Nou will be little tough for them.

Match Highlights

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Giving Up; Betis-3,Barcelona-2

I can't simply remember the number of time Madrid has oppened the door for Barcelona and Barcelona has denied every opputunity to get back at Madrid. Yesterday's match showed the twisting fortunes involved in a soccer match. Barcelona controlled the game for the entire first match and scored two goals. From that point it looked done and dusted, but nobody expected the sides to switch their positions in half time and even worse; no one expected Barcelona to lose the match.

Barcelona went with henry, Bojan and Eto upfront. Thuram and Puyol joined Abidal and Zambrotta at the back. In the first half it looked like even the best attack in the world could not break this well organised defense. Then football is a match of two hals and thing went from one end to another in the second half. Within fifteen minutes Barcelona went two up against a hapless Betis side. It was first Bojan who put Barcelona in the lead. The opener came from a magnificent assist from Xavi to find Eto’o, whose shot struck the post, but Bojan grabbed the rebound and made most of it. The second was from Eto who latched on to a wonderful pass from Iniesta. Barcelon could have scored more in the first half. Second half started just the reverse. Barcelona was happy to defend the two goal advantage. They didn't realize they were diggng their own grave. With Betis attacking them one after other the defense started crumbling. This showed when Edu cut down the lead in the 63rd minute. The goal did wonders for lifting the Betis side and they kept attacking and was rewarded with a penalty which Valdes saved. Barcelona players was too casual with celebration of that good save and paid by conceding another goal within minutes. Edu made it 3-2 with a wonderful effort. Puyol had no idea how to stop him.
Rijkaard did the biggest mistake in substituting bojan, He should have substituted Henry with Gudjonsen, especially when they were looking to defend the lead. He also should have brought Sylvinho instaed of Abidal as he would have added another dimension with his run from left. Anyway if Madrid wins to day its all obver for Barcelona; but then I have a feeling which says watchout for Villareal.

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School Boy Stuff; Almeria-2,Barcelona-2

With the ever increasing injury list, Barcelona's visit to Almeria was not a easy one. But even in my wildest dream I never thought that we will come from there being the second best team. Our team resembled some high school team with their passing, actually that would be an insult to high school team. They had an opportunity to cut the lead to five points, in the end I will say we were pretty lucky to cut the lead to 7points. A repeat of the same performance, Valencia will murder us on Thursday.

Barcelona decided to keep Henry on the bench and started with Bojan, Eto and Iniesta upfront. Gudjonsen started in midfield and for me was a pretty consistent fellow. Puyol filled in as Right Back and Milito and Thuram joined in the middle. Almeria started the game much brighter than Barcelona; they had few futile runs before Barcelona converted from their first real attack. In the 19th minute Bojan put Barcelona ahead after Diego Lopez, the Almeria keeper only could push an Iniesta shot onto Bojan. Iniesta received a ball from Abidal and cut inside two defenders to test the goal keeper, it was the keeper's mistake which gave away the goal. In the 32nd minute Almeria equalised from a corner when Abidal forgot to mark Pulido. In the 35th minute Valdes had to be on his toes to save another Almeria shot. In the 42nd minute Bojan's effort was saved by Diego Lopez. The second half also started the same fashion with Almeria in complete control. Henry was introduced shortly and that seemed to settle the team a bit. In the 57th minute Henry run from the left produced the second goal when he found Eto in the middle. In the 63rd minute Henry effort saved by Lopez after a wonderful pass from Bojan. In the 71st minute Milito was sent off for a second yellow card when he lunged on the defender. The way Barcelona was defending it was a disaster waiting to happen. Then in the 85th minute, Almeria grabbed the well deserving equaliser from another corner.

Barcelona played terribly. It looks like Madrid cannot win any of their away matches now, but we can't win any actually. Every team comes with a plan against Barcelona, to choke them for space by defending upfront. It’s not a new thing but the disturbing fact is that we can't find a way out of it. We don't have a plan B; we don't have a player who has a different style. We are lacking a winger kind of player who can simply run past defenders and cross from the sides. That would have drawn defenders from the centre. It was terrible to see Almeria defenders expecting every time Barcelona players to cut to the centre, they could have used the wings a little better. One more thing Sylvinho looks a better player than Abidal while going forward and considering the fact that Barcelona need to win at Valencia he needs to start.

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Black Sunday; Barcelona-1,Villareal-2

This match was billed as a dedication to Lionel Messi; don't be surprised if Messi hesitates to accept this dedication. With yesterday’s performance Barcelona find themselves a huge eight points adrift of the leaders. Two weeks before we were just two points away and now its again we have to wait for Madrid to slip, really badly. Will Madrid do the favour a second time, is doubtful. Two weeks before we were celebrating the fact that Madrid were unable to win their away games in the league, now we suddenly have a problem of our own. In recent weeks our defense has conceded more goals than any of the top flight clubs in Europe. Unless Rijkaard address the entire problem as early as possible, we might be out of Copa Del Rey pretty soon.

Barcelona started the match with Ronaldinho on the right and Henry on the left. Iniesta, who was Barcelona's best player, joined Xavi in the middle. With Puyol suspended and Marquez injured, Barcelona had the combination of Milito and Thuram who both had a forgettable night. In the third minute Abidal created an early chance for Eto, but his attempt on goal was a very weak one. In the 26th minute Abidal found Henry in the box, who did well to lose his marker but to shoot high. Then in the 30th minute Franco's individual play won Villarreal a penalty when Valdes brought him down in the box. Marcos Senna converted to take Villarreal one up in the match. The lead should have doubled in the 38th minute after another excellent Franco run into the box, but the defense somehow cleared the ball.
Just after the break, Barcelona should have equalised when a wonderful ball from Ronaldinho found Eto but Eto was very indecisive and gave time for defense to close him down. Then in 65th minute Bojan came in for Henry, Barcelona looked like settling into a decent formation for the first time in the game. In the 67th minute after a beautiful one two with Ronaldinho, Iniesta rushed past defenders into the box from the left and place the ball into Xavi's path, who converted it with ease. For sometime Barcelona gave signs that they might convert one more, but then in 80th minute Tomasson scored after a neat exchange of passes by Villarreal players. That goal was a defensive disaster with nobody feeling the need to close down players. In the 89th minute Ronaldinho free kick hit the cross bar, that should have summed up Barcelona's night.

Its time Rijkaard looked into the problem of our defense. It would be better going back to the tactics that saw us past Villarreal and Sevilla in Copa Del Rey. It is also necessary that Rijkaard understands that he can only have either one of Henry or Ronaldinho in his side. They both prefer to play in a wide left position; Iniesta could play in front right, with Gudjonsen getting his dues in the centre. He is a very decent player. Have we lost the championship? I don't know.

Xavi Goal

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Awaited Disaster; Athletico-4, Barcelona-2

Last time when Barcelona visited Athletico, they thrashed the host by a whooping six goals. How ironic was the fact that yesterday's match also produced six goals; more ironic would be that Barcelona found at the receiving end of four of them. Athletico has done their city rivals a big favour by extending their lead to five points. The entire match was a case of Barcelona surprising themselves with the stupid rotation policy, anyway i will come back to that later. Barcelona started the match with Eto on the right, Ronnie on centre and Henry on left. Edmillson miserably tried to fill in the foot of Yaya.

Barcelona started the game as clear favourite, they were in total control and Athletico looked like a completely confused outfit. They controlled the first hjalf but could not create any clear chances. Eto found the net after ten minutes only to be judged offside. There was no understanding between the forwards and it was majorly due to the facts that Eto was playing out of his position. It took an unbelievable effort from Ronaldinho to break the deadlock. In the 29th minute Ronaldinho produced a beauty of an overhead kick from a Xavi cross to take Barcelona into the lead. Athletico could not mustrer a decent effort in reply of this till a harmless Aguera shot which would have gone wide was deflected into the goal by Puyol. That was the stroke of luck Athletico needed. Then in the 42nd minute Aguera produced a good ball to Maxi past Abidal and Milito, which Maxi put into the far corner to take the lead. Victor Valdes should have comfortably saved that.

The second half started with Aguera leading the Athletico charge. They should have gone 3-1 earlier but Aguera hit the sidenetting. In the 61st minute Puyol gave away a cheap penalty and Forlan took his side 3-1 up. In between Eto failed to pull one back when he failed to turn in a corner into the goal. Barcelona paid for it when Aguera curved one back past Valdes to take the lead to 4-1. Barcelona shortly pulled one back with Eto scoring after a Iniesta picking Gudjonsen's run and the rebound fell into Eto. Barcelona had chances to equalise both Gudjonsen and Eto missed on easy chances towards the end.

As I mentioned in the preview of this match, the decision to rest Yaya would be the major factor. For me that along with one more decision was responsible for the defeat. Yaya's replacement Edmilson had a crap game and that did not help, he was majorly responsible for the second goal when he failed to close in Maxi. But the major stupid decision would be using Eto at right. Rijkaard like Benitez looks like has a complete disregard to the basics of the game. Football still remains a simple game, You use specialist people at specialist position. Eto is the only centre forward in the team and not using him at his favourite position destroyed the team. That confused the entire team as Ronaldinho played a little back in the pocket for most time and Iniesta and Xavi had no idea to whom they should pass. Its time Rijkaard stop using this stupid rotation policy and stick to a tried eleven. Yaya is a must in most of important game, and the combination of forwards is simple. Eto always should start as centre forward , either henry or Ronnie plays at the left and Messi , bojan or Giovanni plays in the right.

Ronaldinho Goal

Scissors Kick Goal RONALDINHO Atlético de Madrid gol ...
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Tie Tantalisingly Poised; Barcelona-1,Valencia-1

Xavi's last gasp equaliser gave Barcelona a very well deserving equaliser in the first leg of the Copa Del Rey semi final tie. Valencia went ahead against the run of play with a free flowing counter attack which was well finished by David Villa. For almost all the 90 minutes it looked like a match where Barcelona will never find a way past the Goal Keeper. But Xavi found the equaliser in the dying moments when he found the net after a wonderful run by Eto. Barcelona would have been hard done if they were to be condemned to defeat after having almost all the chances in the match. Any other season Valencia escaping from Nou Camp with a away goal would mean the end of the story for Barcelona, but then this season Valencia is nowhere near the best and the way they played at Nou Camp gives ample hope for Barcelona to beat them at Valencia.

The match began in the expected fashion with Barcelona having a tremendous triple chance in the seventh minute. He denied Xavi from a close range, the rebound was struck fiercely by Eto at the defense and Lionel Messi effort from the resulting rebound was chested away. Soon Joaquin's goal was disallowed for offside. In the 15th minute Milito saw his shot go high after a wonderful free kick from Deco. In the 28th minute Henry had a powerful shot saved by Hildebrand. Just before half time, Abidal's effort from over 25 yards was saved by Hildebrand. Hildebrand was the busiest man in the pitch and he was not going to have any reprieve in the second half also.

After the restart it was Messi who tested Hildebrand for the first time, his low shot would have found the net any day but not today. Then in the 58th minute Hildebrand denied Messi again with a wonderful save. In the 67th minute, Rijkaard opted to bring on Andres Iniesta and Bojan Krkic in place of Henry and Deco. That soon produced the result but at the wrong end. David Villa played a neat exchange before passing to Javier Arizmendi to the right; David Villa again made sure that he reached the end of Javier's excellent low cross. Barcelona then pushed forward for an equaliser. In the 81st minute Messi's another effort was saved by Hildebrand , Messi tried to be a little too smart there after his wonderful run past defenders from the left. In the end Hildebrand had all of Messi's effort under control. In the 84th minute an excellent long range effort from Milito was well saved by guess who Hildebrand. Then in the 89th minute Toure saw his wonderful curving kick from outside box parried away by Hildebrand . Then in the injury time about to finish Eto made a wonderful run in to the box (there were doubts whether he has handled the ball) his shot was blocked by Hildebrand but only to see Xavi finishing off from the rebound.

Barcelona did play well and was denied by Hildebrand for most of the time. Barcelona's defense in recent match has been caught sleeping at some times. There is no doubt that we can finish the game off at Valencia with a little more clinical finishing.

HighLights Of Match

Football Scores

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Beauty is Back; Barcelona-5, Levante-1

With a scintillating performance against Levante at Home, Barcelona's return to the beautiful football they play is complete. They looked very comfortable, and is no surprise that all this is happening because Ronaldinho is finally enjoying his football. With Getafe condemning Real Madrid to their first home defeat of this season, Barcelona finds the leaders a mere two points away. The best thing is that everything now lies in the hands of Barcelona. If they can continue their good form at worse they can decide the title race at Barnebeu. Nobody expected miracles from Levante; the entire match was watched or looked upon to decide whether the good signs shown at Celtic park were just a Mirage. But Barcelona with their performance has reignited the hopes of a wonderful treble. I know its a little premature, but then human minds can't stop dreaming isn't it?

Barcelona started the match with Henry and Deco given a break from the hectic schedule. Messi, Eto and Ronaldinho joined together to recreate the magic of the fantastic three. Iniesta and Xavi paired with Toure who for me was the best player on the pitch, he won most of the tackle and his vision for that Eto goal was simply awesome. Puyol got back his customary position with Zambrotta and Sylvinho joining him and Milito. Barcelona showed their intent pretty early and in the fourth minute there was a wonderful 1-2 between Ronnie and Messi in the box, but the final ball to Iniesta was well intercepted by defense. Then in the 12th minute an excellent cross form Ronnie finds Messi in the box, Levante Goalkeeper Kujovic makes an excellent interception to deny Eto of the final ball. Then in the 14th minute as everyone expected, Barcelona takes the lead with a Xavi Goal. Iniesta plays the ball to Eto, the defense some how manages to throw up a desperate successful tackles but the rebound fell in the path of Xavi. In the 16th minute Ronaldinho should have doubled the lead when he failed to keep his shot low. Xavi send a wonderful pass to Eto who sets up the whole chance with a beautiful decoy by Iniesta, Ronaldinho was trying to put it into the top corner. In the 27th minute Geijo cuts inside Puyol but his shot hits the inside of the post and somehow stays out. In the 32nd minute Sylvinho shoots high after a brilliant inter play between himself, Ronaldinho and Iniesta. Then in the 39th minute Eto couldn't find a decent header onto an excellent cross from Ronaldinho. Barcelona were made to pay for their lapses after Mustafa Riga coverts the penalty which was given away by Zambrotta for handling the ball in the box. Within four minutes Barcelona responds well to take back the lead through Lionel Messi. He played a beautiful 1-2 with xavi and converts from the narrowest of angles and from a non existent gap.

In the 47th minute Xavi sends in a beautiful flick spotting Eto's run but the Goal keeper responds quickly. Then in the 55th minute Eto makes the score line 3-1 with a wonderful finish after Messi set him up. In the 62nd minute Eto adds one more to his tally when Messi unselfishly placed the ball on ton Eto's path; after a delightful Toure flick above the defense which found Messi. Eto should have completed his hat trick in the 65th minute when Ronaldinho placed a terrific through pass to Eto, but his first touch was too heavy. Then in the 74th minute Messi produces terrific football to stay of the challenges of Levante players and finds Eto with a beautiful pass. But Eto hits it straight at Kujovic. By the time Ronaldinho was taken off and Bojan was brought in. In the 78th minute Bojan tries for a long range shot from outside the box, but loses his footing. In the 85th minute Levante tried to catch Barcelona back four by surprise but Valdes managed to save Riga's shot. Then in the 87th minute Eto completes his hat trick with a bizarre finish, after Bojan unselfishly gave the ball to Eto. Then in the 91st minute Bojan's puts a great pass towards Giovanni who came in for Messi, the Goal Keeper intercepts hit. By that time Referee had decided to put Levante out of their misery and blew the final whistle.

For Barcelona this was an excellent display of attacking football but the result is made sweeter by the fact that Madrid loses to Getafe. Yaya Toure's presence in the midfield is reassuring and Ronaldinho's return to form is the most promising. He may not be 100% fit but very soon we can see him in his real avatar. Messi has found his goal scoring touch and Iniesta and Xavi both are becoming more and more consistent with each match. It looks like everything is going well for Barcelona (touch wood) and nothing for Madrid. That's a strange reversal of luck.

Messi Goal see the reaction of Defender

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A Fantastic Thriller; Celtic-2, Barcelona-3

After a long time, indeed a very long time we got a chance to witness the awesome firepower in the Barcelona ranks. With their performance against Celtic they might have again reignited the hope of seeing the magnificent Barcelona again. One of the main reason of Barcelona's awesome display was a very much improved performance, may be his best this season by the biggest of all stars - Ronaldinho. As I described in the Zaragoza match report he looked very comfortable on the pitch. Rijkaard threw up some surprises when he put Ronaldinho in the starting eleven. Eto rightly was not rushed into competitive match and started in the bench. But biggest surprise for me was Deco's presence in the starting line up, he was erratic in the early matches and i expected him to be dropped. Rijkaard decided to place his trust on him and he did absolute justice to his manager's decision making skill. With a 3-2 win Barcelona almost have placed a foot in the next round. But complacency will be Barcelona's enemy, they just have to look back to last year Copa Del Rey tie with Getafe for evidences. But then Barcelona in this scenario has the advantage of playing the second leg at home and it will be too tough for Barcelona to concede two goals in Camp Nou without scoring at least one, then nothing can be predicted.

Barcelona started with Ronaldinho on the left, Henry donning the centre forward cap and Messi back in his Favorite right position. The midfield was made up of Yaya, Deco and Iniesta. Yaya's presence indeed calmed down the nerves of Barcelona team and he had an excellent game. Milito and Marquez formed their formidable partnership in the centre of defense with Puyol on right and Abidal on left. As expected the atmosphere at Celtic Park, Glasgow was more than electrifying. Barcelona looked very sharp from the beginning and took very little time to settle down. In the 2nd minute Ronaldinho gave long through cross to Messi, but he fails to convert. This was no spectacular moment in the match, but was enough to reassure the Barca fans that he has not lost the good touch which he displayed at Zaragoza. In the 13th minute Iniesta saw his hot saved by Celtic Goalie Artur Boruc after the defense gave the ball away. A minute later Henry was denied by the Caddis just in front of line from a corner, which Henry skillfully controlled by his chest and volleyed. In the 16th minute Celtic shocked Barcelona by scoring their first goal from their only attack till then. It all started from a poorly taken free kick by Ronaldinho which found McGeady in the far right, Puyol, was not able to stop MCGeady's run and his cross was not cleared by the defense. It eventually found McDonald and his clear cut cross in to the box was turned in to the net by a diving Vennegoor of Hesselink. If Celtic goal shocked the entire Barcelona team, then Barcelona equaliser went unnoticed for a moment. The stadium hardly started celebrating the first Celtic goal Barcelona struck back through Messi after a beautiful one two with Deco. Barcelona slowly started taking control of the game from that moment. Ronaldinho was involved in every move and has been successful in dragging defenders along with him to create spaces for others. In the 22nd minute Marquez wins a free kick in a good position outside the box, Ronaldinho's free kick was just a little high but was not bad. Barcelona was constantly raiding the Celtic defense but the final clear cut ball was not coming. In the 28th minute Deco was indeed very lucky not to pick up a yellow card, as he grabbed the ball claiming a handball. Deco could not wait too much for that yello as he managed to put his name in referee's book after two minutes when he did not back up from a free kick. In the 34th minute Puyol crosses into the box and founds Messi, who tries to volley but couldn't control. The angle was too tight. In the 36th minute Abidal muscles out Nakamura and sends a great pass towards Henry in the box, but Henry shot over the bar. Then as in the first Goal after Barcelona wasted a chance at Celtic goal, Celtic went ahead with debutant Barry Robson's header. Again the all attack started with the same man Aiden McGeady who lifted the ball into the area which was lobbed past Valdes by Robson, who came in late and avoided Milito's notice. In the 40th minute Deco and Messi tried to replicate the first goal but this time Boruc comes early and collects it. In the 43rd minute Ronaldinho finds Messi in the box, but to shoot awfully wide. In the 44th minute Robson steals ball from Abidal and passes to McGeady who shoots slightly wide after cutting inside Puyol. Barcelona went into the first half with a goal down; this was the first occasion in 2008 where they have conceded more than one goal in a match.

After the break it was a complete Barcelona show. In the 51st minute Messi shot was deflected; Iniesta volleyed wide from the resulting corner. In the 52nd minute Henry restore parity with a trademark Thierry Henry goal. Ronaldinho placed the ball in to the path of Henry who moved inside the box and curled the ball into the far right corner. What a finish!!!! Maybe this might be the start of the Henry era. In the 55th minute Puyol places a very good pass to Messi inside the Box, but Robson did well to kill the chance. In the 58th minute the fantastic three - Henry, Messi and Ronaldinho displays why they are revered such high. Messi give the ball to Ronnie from the right and cuts in, Ronaldinho gives it back with an exquisite back heel, inside the box Messi gives the ball to Henry but the defense somehow managed to cut off the final ball from Henry to Messi. In the 62nd minute Messi shoots straight at the Goal Keeper after a great run into the box. In next minute Henry misses agonizingly close after Abidal finds him in the box. In the 75th minute Xavi's wonderful free kick finds Puyol in the box but heads straight at Boruc. Then in the 78th minute Messi put Barcelona in the lead for the first time in the match when he latched on to a poor clearance from defense. The match ended with Samaras getting booked for a dive inside the penalty box.

Barcelona looked sharp and may be this is a sign for things to come. Milito was for me the best player on the pitch. Messi looked like rediscovering his touch, Henry looks dangerous when he slotted in the left and most importantly our Hero Ronaldinho is slowly coming back.

Messi First Goal 1-1

Henry Goal 2-2

Messi Second Goal 2-3

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A God Send Victory

I don't think there is anything which is more God send than this victory at Zaragoza. The second Barcelona Goal came through a penalty, which got even the most optimistic Barcelona supporters surprised. Barcelona entered the match after receiving the good news that Real Madrid has slipped in Betis. Earlier I have written a post Accepting The Inevitable in which i described how difficult is for Madrid to lose matches now. I was proven wrong in the second successive occasion when Madrid lost their second consecutive away match. In that post I have written that it is hard for this Barcelona team to win all the matches, I was again proved wrong by God this time. AnywayBarcelona successfully cut down the lead to five points as if now. Zaragoza may feel hard done by luck as they expected to take away atleast a point from this match, but then inability to convert for the second time from a string of chances might have proved their nemesis.

Barcelona started with Giovani, Henry and Messi upfront and Deco, Xavi and Edmilson in the middle. Rijkaard made another return to his trademark ploy of using Puyol as a Right Back. Why is he persisting with Deco is a mystery, he has been one of the worse players on the pitch eventhough he made the Henry Goal. As expected Zaragoza had the majority of oppurtunity in the early exchanges. In the 4th minute Marquez did really well to cut off a wonderful run from Brazilian Oliviera. In the next minute Diego Milito had the first shot of the game when he shot straight at Valdes.In the 6th minute Zaragoza should have gone one up, Oliviera rounded off the defense wonderfully and sends a cross from left side of box, but Sergio Garcia makes a mess of it by shooting high. Zaragoza were always successfully isolating Messi, whenever he gets the ball he is sorrounded by three defenders. This also has been the Deco's worst season in terms of Goal scoring for lat eight year, and he was giving a very well crafted display of why. In the 15th minute Puyol makes a wonderful run from the right, a run which is a trademark of Messi. He has seriously improved as a Right Back, but still send him back to where he belong Frank. As usual Deco wastes the free kick. In the 20th minute Messi failed to control a very good long pass from Abidal, has he been successful in doing so that would have been interesting. In the 24th minute Oliviera shoots just wide from the box, after he created a seemingly non existent angle. In the 26th minute Barcelona got the first shot at goal when Messi played a wonderful through ball to Giovani, which was well saved by Zaragoza Goal Keeper. In the 34th minute Sergio Garcia reacted very slowly to receive a wonderful cross from oliviera. In the next minute Henry finds the net from an exquisite Deco pass. The chest control of Henry was awesome and he never wasted a single second there. In the 39th minute Valdes does well to come sliding forward and collect a through ball to Diego Milito. In the 40th minute, deco saw his shot saved after an excellent exchange with Messi. In the next minute Marquez conceded a penalty which Diego shoots high. There was no doubt about the penalty claims.

Zaragoza came back from the break with a sense of purpose. In the 52 minute Diego denired by Valdes legs, the rebound was shot wide. That was an excellent save by Valdes. In the 53rd minute Oliviera scores from a great pass from Sergio Garcia. In the 58th minute Edmilson was taken out and Yaya was brough in. In the 60th minute Diego Milito heads a free header wide. In the 66th minute Barcelona almost conceded the second goal when Valdes failed to reach the ball from a free kick - Milito somehow scrambled the ball away. As in the earlier matches Barcelona passing has become somewhat like school children, actuall they will pass better. In the 73rd minute Xavi sets up Deco but he shoots wide, he should have atleast tested the Goalie from that angle. In the 74th minute Ronaldinho camein place of Giovanni. In the 75 th minute Sergio Garcia long range effort went high after Abidal gave away the ball, if it had gone in it would have been the Goal of the season. In the 79th minute Henry shoots high after Ronnie beautifully sets him up. But the most controversial decision came in the 81st minute when Barcelona was awarded the penalty after the referee somehow got convinced that Juanfran has handled the ball. Replays suggest a completely different thing, but the worst thing was there was no Barcelona players around him and none appealed also. In the confusion and mayhem which arose after that i don't knbow exactly how many zaragoza player got yellow card. Ronaldinho as cool as ice converts the penalty to take barcelona 2-1 up and five points near to leaders. But there was no doubt thet the penalty was very harsh, when considering that not even a single barcelona players was in any kind of position to use the ball. The last chance of match went to Ronnie when he shoots wide after an excellent pass from Puyol, Ronnie's control and technique was awesome.

For some game running, Valdes was the best player on the pitch. But for me the man of the match should be Oliviera, whenever he got the ball our defense simply trembled. Ronaldinho looked very sharp today as he was trying to setup other players rather than trying to score by himself. He should get a much better playing time against Celtic. In the end my conclusion was that was a very undeserving victory but a very important one.

Ronaldinho Penalty

Barca penalti
by mk171982

courtesy:www.futbolcuyuz.com

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Hard Luck Sevilla: Sevilla-1,Barcelona-1

Sevilla might be cursing their luck after Barcelona managed to take a draw from a match in which they shut off barcelona completely till the 75th minute. Sevilla showed the signs of the previous season, which took them to enormous sucess. If it was not for a sudden, unexpected Goal from Xavi and sending of Keita, Barcelona might have staing again at a nine point lead. Now it will only become eight point lead, is that too much of variation - God Knows? In contrast to Sevilla's goal, which came everyone expected it to come, Barcelona's Goal came from no where. Sevilla will have only themselves to blame as they could have shut off Barcelona with atleast a dozen goals. The official Barcelona site reports " With commitment and a desire to win, Barça managed a draw in the always difficult Sevilla stadium. " Maybe I was sleeping as I didn't see any above mentioned commitment or desire. Maybe only the clever gets to see it, and obviously I am dumb.

Rijkaard staretd with Oleguer at Right Back joining hands with Thuram, Milito and Abidal. The midfield position was occupied by expectedly Edmillson, Xavi and Iniesta. Messi started in the centre along with Henry on left and Giovani on Right. The game started with Barcelona matching Sevilla with some agressive running into the Box, but soon Sevilla was to shut off Barcelona. Luis fabiano and Kanoute was creating havoc for Barcelona defense, with an understanding which remembers the way Eto and Ronnie used to play two season ago. As expected almost all the problem for Barcelona was coming from the wide angle in the two wings, especially Capel was at his menancing best. In the ninth minute Capel gets a free kick for a foul on him by Oleguer, Dani Alves took the resulting free kick and valdes has to produce the first of string serious of saves he made yesterday. The rebound somehow found fabiano and Valdes produce another good save to deny him. Barcelona responded with Xavi placing a cut through pass to henry in the 12th minute, but he couldn't find a final pass to Messi in the box. In the 14th minute kanoute misses a very good chance in the box from a cross from the left. By that time Sevilla has taken full control of the game and every time the ball reaches Dani Alves or Capel Barcelona defense were having nightmares. In the 18th minute Milito gets booked for a desperate lunge on Keita. In the 21st minute Xavi finds Giovani in the box but he is blocked comfortably by the Goal Keeper, he should have taken the shot a bit earlier. By that time Luis fabiano was creating havoc in Barcelona defense - 25th minute he gets a free kick in a very promising position but Alves wastes it. In the 30th minute Alves finds Kanoute through a long pass, who places the ball back to Fabiano whose shot was saved by Valdes. In 32nd minute Valdes throws up another wonderful save to deny Kanoute header from a Capel cross. then in the 35th minute as everyone expected Capel scores with an easy tapping from Jesus navas cutting cross across the goal mouth. Again it was Alves who cleverly slipped the ball to Navas. If anyone expected that barcelona would be shaken by the Goal, they were all wrong - Barcelona was struggling to find the ball. In the 41st minute Keita fails to convert from a free header of a corner. Barcelona was really lucky not to have a much bigger goal difference by half time.

After the half time the only thing that changed was Sevilla allowed Barcelona to take a little more of position. barcelona players looked not interested in getting the goal back. Its one thing that Sevilla was shutting them off, but not trying hard has no excuse. Rijkaard put on Ronaldinho and Marquez in place of Thuram and Edmilson but things did not improve much. To top it all every one of them is ready to fall over for the slightest of touch by defenders. In the 50th minute iniesta found Henry on the left of the box with a wonderful pass, who did well to cross the ball across the Sevilla goal mouth but none of other players seemed to be interested. In the 61st Xavi's long range went wide. In the 58th minute Gudjohnsen came on for Henry and messi moved to the right - he looked so comfortable there. In the 68th minute milito saves Barcelona with a desperate intervention which some how save navs wonderful run and subsequent shot. The frustration of Barcelona players were eveident when Messi got booked for an unwanted challenge. In the 75th minute Marquez almost scored the goal but in the wrong goal, when he truned a Luis Fabiano shot to his own Goal. Valdes was sheer lucky to save that and that save proved so dearly as Barcelona against the run of play found the equaliser within 3o seconds. gidjonsen placed the ball to Messi who placed a absolutely inch perfect pass to xavi who made no mistake. In the 78th minute Keita was sent off after a second yellow card for a foul on Messi, who suddeny seemed to woke up from his deep slumber. Keita was really unlucky as his first yellow came for nothing. That sent off changed the match and Barcelona slowly took control of the game. Messi was finding so much space ahead of him and utilising it. In the 81st minute another woinderful Messi run creates havoc resulting in another free kick, this time Ronnie hits high. In the 84th minute Oleguer makes a mess of a high bouncing long ball and let Capel free with the ball who shoots high. In the 85th minute Ronnie free kick earns a corner, Messi plays back the resulting corner on to the Goal line, but nobody reaches it. In the 89th minute messi gets another free kick and Ronnie again hits on to the wall.

Barcelona should consider themselves very lucky to get a point out of this match. The lack of commitment from players was evident throughout the match. If it was not for valdes we would have been in deep trouble. Messi looked like he was not at all interested to play along with the team till the first goal came. Its time he start from the bench. The Sevilla forward line were defending upfront but Barcelona forwards were not willing to do that.