Not everything that counts can be counted, and not everything that can be counted counts.Albert Einstein
Sometimes, or may be many a times, football results are evoke the emotion expressed by the above mentioned quote. Many a result is all about the things which actually can't be measured easily rather than the ones measured. Barca's draw against Valencia was one such episode. Depending on from where you look what actually matters differ. For the Madrid fans and media, it was the result which counted. Suddenly they proclaimed that the "League is Back in Play" after Barca dropped two points. For Valencia fans and media, there was a pride in their performance; may be a bit of disappointment as they could have won it in the end. But the pride was evident from the headlines that rolled out like "Not even the Best Barca of the League could beat Valencia" and "Only Messi could stop Valencia" etc. For Barca fans there were a lot of disappointment following the unfairly ruled out goal from Messi. That would have changed the complexion of the game in itself.
For me personally, there was a bit of disappointment following the ruled out goal; but in truth this match gave me more satisfaction than any other Barca performance so far this season. Simply because the first half performance reminded us about the old Barca at prime. That was something which was missing from the performances so far this season. It doesn't mean that the team don't have problems but since the team is still yet to find it's rhythm fully; this performance showcased the glimpse of the height this team could achieve. Even going by scoreline alone, to be four points ahead of the second place team and eight points clear of both Madrid sides is no mean task. As per the latest Sports Betting odds the draw against Valencia haven't affected the odds of Barca winning the League. Which means even the bookmakers are considering this as a good result for Barca in the overall picture.
Barca First Half Performance against Valencia has been the best so far!
Without any doubt Barca's performance against Valencia in teh first half was their best so far. It was more or less complete barring a few glitches here and there. The most important factor of the performance was that we had Ter Stegan (who has been saving Barca time and again in recent matches and throughout the season) practically doing nothing much in the first half. The offense was clicking, the midfield supporting and the defense holding especially with Pique missing. Some critics would argue that for all our dominance we actually had no goals in the first half; barring the ruled out one. For me it didn't matter we played really well and had the goal been held up, Valencia could have struggled to get to half time with a 1-0 lead.
The second half was a different matter altogether. The first thing was our formation became pretty loose and Semedo for once started to be the weak link. One of the reason was Valencia pressed up and our forwards didn't helped out the midfield. The gaps were opening on the right and we were becoming more careless and the goal also came from the right. Iniesta who had a splendid first half also dropped the intensity and same with Messi and it started to show. These are things Valverde could easily fix and that's the reason why insist to see the result in a positive light. This was the match which showed to me that Barca could still dominate Europe.
Messi's Sudden Goal drought is a concern!
Lionel Messi still leads the Pichichi chart with 12 goals. But then he has been stuck at 12 for some time. The sudden drought is starting to worry some; Even though he should have one against Valencia. One of the reason of worry is that he is dropping too much into midfield and that is the real concern for the drought. There is some merit to that! He is playing a bit more deep role and Saurez poor form means he will struggle to get into perfectly goal scoring position. Valverde needs to look into this ASAP.
Should Sergi Roberto start ahead of Rakitic?
This is something which is the biggest debate in Barca circles this season. Whether to start Roberto instead of Rakitic. I am also in favour of such a move as I believe he will give more control than the Croatian. Rakitic has been On and Off this season and his deficiencies have become a worry on the right side.
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