Espanyol vs Barcelona Pictures 28/09/08

A Messy Win; Espanyol - 1, FC Barcelona - 2

FC Barcelona finally halted Espanyol's undefeated run in the local derby with a last gasp controversial win. Has this result did any good to Barca's credential as a championship contender is still open to debate. But taking a cue from Madrid's last two season these scamble wins does more good to the confident of the team. Against the run of play Barca went down to a stupid mistake by guess what who - Victor Valdes. Henry equalised for Barca with a lot of luck and then Messi converted a penalty from the last kick of the game. FC Barcelona controlled the game from start to end but sloppy defending and one silly mistake from Valdes who otherwise had a decent night almost outdone FC Barcelona. Guardiola wen a bit further with his swuad rotation including Henry in place of Eto; Gudjonsen in the midfield. As expected Pique played in place of Marquez. Pique, Puyol, Alves and Abidal formed the back four, In the mifield Busquests and Xavi formed partnership with Gudjonsen. Messi, Iniesta and Henry formed the front three.

FC Barcelona started the night confidently. In the 10th minute Iniesta's dangerous cross from the left was intervened by Goal Keeper Kameni.In the next minute it was Messi who burst in to the box with great speed and skill, he placed the ball to henry who turned well but shot wide of the post. In the 14th minute Xavi beat Kameni with a great shot after being setup by a great Busquests back heel, only to be denied by crossbar. Then in the 20th minute against the run of play Espanyol scored from their first move of the match. Raul Tamudo was left unmarked by Abidal his shot was deflected and looped from Pique's body; Valdes who decided to catch the ball was fouled cleverly by Garcia and the ball fell for Coro for a easiest tappin. Valdes was booked for protesting against the goal; the truth was that it was his stupid decision to hold on to the ball in a difficult position gave the goal away. FC Barcelona's every effort from thereon was blocked by a determinant back four and kameni of Espanyol. The best chance came for Barca when Henry's shot was cleared of the line after a beautiful one tow between from Messi and alves; messi's shot was blocked by Kameni which fell to Henry who tried to smash it rather than place the ball. In the injury time of the first half Nene was sent off for a challenge on Busquests.

With a one man advantage FC Barcelona started pushing forward more and more in the second half. they were occasionally caught by the counter of Espanyol players.In the 47th minute Gudjonsen heads wide from a good Xavi cross.In the 54th minute Guardiola brought Eto in for Abidal. Then brought Keita in for Gudjonsen in the 61st minute. In the 62nd minute Eto was well denied by Kameni after a great play from Henry and Xavi. In the 65th minute Bojan was brought in for Busquests. In the 68th minute shots were blocked from Henry, Iniesta and Messi by a vigilant Espanyol back four. Shortly trouble start erupting in the stadium. Some stupid Barca fans decided to throw some flares on to the Espanyol fans and then Espnayol fans reacted by getting trying to get on to the pitch. Laporta looked pretty animated and these actions of FC Barcelona fans does not make any good impression. If they are caught in Camera they should be banned for life from attending any football game. With the restart after 8 minutes; It was Bojan who shot wide in the 82nd minute. But in the 83rd minute Henry equalised with a lucky goal. Xavi released Henry with a great ball; but Kameni rushed out of his post and looked to have dealt with the ball; but Kameni's clearance hit defender Jarque and fell on to Henry for the easiest of finish.In the 88th minute Messi outrun the defense after a clever ball from Alves but his great cross was blocked by defense. Then in the last minute Messi releases Eto but the striker was brought down. The defender seemed to have got a touch on the ball. But the funny part was that the linesman seemed to have flagged for offside against Eto. The referee discarded that call from his assistant and gave the penalty which Messi duly converted.

Barca once again found it tough to break a stubborn defense. But there are some positives to take from the game. Henry for me even though who had a good game, didn't do enough to be looked ahead of Eto. Barcelona has been having the majority of possession; but they should really try hard to make these count.

First Deby of the Season; Espanyol vs Barca Preview

Today's derby match should be the most stern test Guardiola have to face since he has taken charge of FC Barcelona. Espanyol has been a tricky place to visit for FC Barcelona in the past few years. We not only fared badly but there were some really bad memoirs. Espanyol had a very good start to this season but have stumble off in the last two matches. Their last match at Sevilla ended at a 2-0 loss. But then that's last match; they will be a very difficult side to deal with at their home. When you take into consideration the away troubles of Barca, this could be considered as a serious test of their title credentials.FC Barcelona has been in a good run; but not without any triouble. They almost managed to threw away last match against Betis. They have to keep their concentration for longer periods if they wish to come out of this match with their head held high.

Caceres was replaced by Pedro in the squad named by Guardiola. The squad consist of Valdés, Pinto, Alves, Puyol, Piqué, Márquez, Abidal, Busquets, Touré Yaya, Keita, Xavi, Gudjohnsen, Iniesta, Pedro, Bojan, Messi, Henry, Eto’o. Puyol is expected to return back to the starting eleven. But Guardiola might be tempted to give Marquez rest and chose Pique instead in this match. But then the Abidal is also a problem. But the back four may be expected to be formed by Puyol, Abidal, Pique and Alves. The midfield is expected to be made up of Toure, Busquests and Xavi. The forward line up would remain unchanged with Iniesta, Messi and Eto. Henry has spoken out against the lack of playing time; but Guardiola would be doing a world of good by keeping the front trio unchanged. They looked like have settled.

FC Barcelona in the last few matches have played contrasting ways on either half of the break. In Espanyol they have to concentrate for the entire match. Any lapse in concentration would be disastrous. Barca needs to keep up their attacking instinct as when they relax they start putting huge pressure on defense and the defense crumbles.