FC Barcelona got back to winning ways with a nervous 3 - 1 win over bottom placed Xerez. It was not all comfortable aw was expected, Xerez did cause some nervous moments for our defense. In the end we took most of our chances, while they didn't and that showed in the scoreline. Real Madrid meanwhile won their match against Zaragoza to cut the lead on top back to one point. In last season Real Madrid were blown apart after the 6-2 drubbing, but this season they are still looking solid and will give us a huge challenge towards the end. This was one those rare night when all of our attacking players (who started the match) ended up in the scoresheet. Guardiola decided to give a number of regular starters some rest. Messi, Pique, Milito, Pedro and Busquets all started on the bench. The defense had Puyol, Marquez, Chygrinskiy and Maxwell. Toure, Xavi and Keita made up the midfield. Ibrahimovic, Henry and Jeffren formed the attacking line-up.
FC Barcelona started the first half poorly
We started teh first half very sluggishly.
Instead of an urge to finish of the game, we looked complacent in our attitude. Our first chance came in the 10th minute with Xavi sending a great ball to Henry but he shot staright at the keeper. Then in the 14th minute Jeffren put FC Barcelona 1-0 ahead with a great finish. Again it was Xavi who sent in a great ball putting Jeffren ahead, who despite slipping got past a defender and put the ball past keeper from the tightest of angle. Xerez managed to create a couple of scare in our goal, with Chygrinskiy being the main culprit in giving away the ball. In the 24th minute Toure played a good ball to Keita, who played it to Ibrahimovic, who unselfishly squared it to Henry to take Barca to 2-0. In the 25th minute Chygrinkiy's mistake gave Xerez their only goal of the night with Bermejo blasting the ball into the top near corner.
The second half saw FC Barcelona struggling again in the defense. Xerez had two good chances to equalise but luckily for us they couldn't take any of them. The first chance came when a non-sense Valdes clearance went straight to Armenteros but Valdes made up for that mistake with a good stop. The second chance also saw Valdes making another excellent save. Guardiola immediately brought in Messi and Pique for Jefren and Marquez. Then in the 56th minute Keita won the ball in the midfield, put it to Toure, who wonderfully knocked it past Victor Sanchez like Iniesta would have done and then run with the ball before squaring it to Ibrahimovic for a simple finish. At 3-1 the game was finished for Xerez. The game ended with a number of poor challenges from Xerez players, resulting in 2 red cards for them.
After two disappointing results, it was good to see FC Barcelona back on track. But I have to admit that the team looked a bit disorganised at time, especially defense. But with Pique and Milito coming against Inter Milan we shoudl do good. Toure was excelelnt in midfield along with Xavi. Toure now has put a strong case of starting against Inter Milan. The front three of Ibra, Henry and Jeffren never looked menancing eventhough all of them managed to get into the scoresheet. Jeffren showed the glimpse of talent he got, especially with that goal. Ibrahimovic and Henry had a decent night. Maxwell struggled on the left and it would be great if we had Abidal for Inter match. All in all it was a great result but may not have been the greatest of performance. It was also great to see the team wearing a special T-shirt after the match which read - "We will Try Our Best".
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