Malaga Rained Away; Malaga -1, FC Barcelona - 4

FC Barcelona produced one of their best displays of this season to defeat Malaga 4-1, and go to the top of the table. Courtesy of Valencia's loss to Racing Santander FC Barcelona will remain in the top of the table this week. FC Barcelona players showed great composure and skill to notch up their eleventh consecutive win in all competition in a water flooded La Rosellada pitch. Why did the referee let the game to start is still a question in my mind; but like most Barca fans I am not complaining. FC Barcelona players did adjust to the conditions pretty early and better than their rivals. It was a great treat to watch both set of players chipping the ball to pass to one another. Pep Guardiola post match analysis sound perfect - "The Players Judged The Game Well". As I mentioned in the match preview Guardiola put Puyol as left back, Pique, Marquez and Alves formed the rest of the defense ahead of Valdes. Busquests, Toure and Xavi formed the midfield. Eto, Messi and Iniesta formed the attacking trio.

FC barcelona adjusted to the state of the pitch early and went up ahead in the 5th minute from an excellent Xavi free kick from 25 yards out. The free kick was given for a shirt pulling on Messi. Malaga immediately responded with a great goal Duda. Pique failed to deal with a long ball to Adrian; Valdes did really well to save Adrian's initial shot but the rebound fell to Duda who rounded off Pique again and shot past a hapless Valdes.In the 19th minute FC Barcelona regained their lead when Messi shot through the most tightest angle at the near post on the right. It was sheer power on the ball which made that goal after the initail Messi shot was blocked by Arnau. Nothing much happened in the second half and FC Barcelona went to half time guarding a precious one goal lead.

Malaga tried to wrestle the initaiative early in the first half; there was a six minutes period where Barca has to restore to desperate defending. In the 50th minute Guardiola brought in Henry in place of an out of sort Iniesta. That produced immediate result. In the 52nd minute Henry set up Xavi for the third goal with a well cushioned header from an excellent cross from Eto. In the 67th minute a trade mark long range Alves free kick was deflected just wide by the wall. In the 77th minute Busquests shot was saved by Arnau after an excellent ball from Toure to Xavi was cleared by the defense. In the 79th minute Guardiola took off Messi and brought in Victor Sanchez. In the 81st minute FC Barcelona took the game to 4-1; when another long range Alves free kick was deflected this time to goal by Wellington. In the 84th minute Eto was taken off for Bojan. In the 88th minute Puyol had a shot wide outside box. Altogether it was a great performance by Barca side in toughest conditions. Xavi deservedly would be adjudged man of the match.

Fc Barcelona - Malaga Preview

FC Barcelona's great form in recent weeks should have send the shivers down the Malaga camp when the Catalan visit La Rosaleda tonight; but Malaga's sensational upset of Sevilla last week had boosted their confidence and they would be looking to stop the free rolling Barca team. FC Barcelona is seeking a 11 consecutive victories in all competion and seven consecutive in the league. Guardiola has excluded Pedro and Gudjonsen from the squad even after the medical team has given all clear for them. The squad picket for Malaga clash is Valdés, Henry, Márquez, Xavi, Piqué, Iniesta, Puyol, Cáceres, Sylvinho, Bojan, Eto'o, Messi, Hleb, Alves, Touré, Pinto, Sergio Busquets and Víctor Sánchez. Guardiola is expected to pick his best eleven available for tonight's clash. Malaga will play a very defensive style while attacking on counter; tonight's match will a clear test for FC barcelona's title ambitions especially in the Europe. If they are successful in breaking the Malaga defense then this would seriously elevate FC Barcelona to Champions League top contender. Malaga goal is being guarded by the ex-barca player Francesc Arnau, who sounded cautious about the encounter. Malaga has been into an excellent run of form similiar to Barcelona after a shocking start. One of the team has to lose that winning streak; may be both of them.

With Abidal out with injury, Sylvinho is expected to take the Left-Back role. Another option left to Guardiola is to put Puyol on the left and have Marquez and Pique at the centre. But I expect the combination of Sylvinho, Puyol, Marquez and Alves ahead of Valdes. With the unavailabilty of Gudjonsen, the midfield can be expected to be same as the Almeria match formed by Toure flanked by Xavi and Iniesta in both sides. Up front of the pitch Messi and Eto are sure guarantee; but Guardiola may be preferring Hleb ahead of Henry. FC Barcelona should be able to win this tough match. La Rosaleda is not a great place to travel and Barca's previous results stands as a testimony to that. But this FC Barcelona side with their determination to grind results should be able to see oof the Malaga challenge, maybe very narrowly.

Finally Copa Del Rey Awakes

Finally the Copa Del Rey springs to life with teams from first division losing more than expected. Real Madrid joined the latest list of casualities with a 3-2 defeat at the hands of Real Union. FC Barcelona struggled to a 1-0 victory against Benidorm; Villareal were thrashed handsomely by Poli Ejido and Sevilla lose to Ponferradina; what more you can ask to make the first leg interesting. Most of these teams have fielded their second string teams; but their second string side would be too powerful for these minows. Just before the start of this season's Copa Del Rey, there were questions about the format. And when you consider an already over crowded football fixture, it was natural to have a cry for abandoning this from the big club fans. But the early results have thrown out that request and brought back the excitement back to the Copa Del Rey. Now Madrid and Sevilla has to win at home to progress; whereas Villareal have to play out of their skin to do the same.

What makes the Copa Del Rey and the FA cup so interesting is the fact that it gives the smaller clubs a equal footing. Especially in the FA cup format gives more chance for smaller clubs against bigger counter-parts. If Copa Del Rey format was similiar to the FA cup format; Madrid, Villareal and Sevilla would have already knocked-out. For the smaller clubs every match is like a title match, they have nothing to lose but a world to win. Every match is their new shot at glory. But what is applaing towards Copa Del Rey is the apparent lack of interest shown by Spanish Federation. How can you otherwise explain the fact that one of Poli Ejido's biggest victories went unwatched by the majority of soccer fans. The TV coverage for Copa Del Rey is appaling; it is more surprising when taken into consideration the fact that Spanish minnows always have performed better than their English counterparts.