FC Barcelona Player rating against Espanyol on 21/02/09

Valdes - 5 - Had a decent night but his mistake which led to second goal was simply unpardonable, especially taking into consideration that Barca were reduced to ten men.

Alves - 6 - Was not that effective on the right. For a second match in succession he was not influential in offense and defense.

Pique - 6 - Had a better night than last one. Did struggle once Keita was sent off but still looked to go forward on every given oppurtunity.

Marquez - 6.5 - Had an excellent night till Keita was sent off after tthat naturally struggled.

Abidal - 7 - Was good till he was there and is interesting to see how Barca cope in his absence.

Xavi - 6 - Nothing special from the Spanish Midfield giant. Should have raised his game but failed miserably.

Toure - 7.5 - The best of Barcelona players. He was magnificient in defense and did much to attack also. Capped a good night with a goal but would be dissappointed to have lost the match.

Keita - 6 -Played ok till the red card. But is yet to reach his usual form.

Messi - 6.5 - Much was expected from him but failed. Especially after Keita was expelled everything rested on his shoulder. Guardiola's decision to put Busquets along with his didn't help.

Eto - 6.5 - Very poor display. Everyonje expected him to show something after his all week non-sense talking.

Henry - 6 - Missed a glorious chance and had to be substituted after keita red.

Substitutes:

Puyol - 6 - had a poor night on the left. It would be good to try Caceres as Left back till Abidal returns.

Busquest - 6 - Struggled after coming in and moving forward.

Gudjohnsen - 6 - Had some half chances but failed to capitalise.

Man Of The Match - Ivan De La Pena

Losing Momentum; FC Barcelona-1, Espanyol-2

FC Barcelona were condemned to their second defeat of this season after going down 2-1 at home to local rivals Espanyol. On a very ill tempered night ex-barca player Ivan De La Pena scored twice to hand Barca a rare defeat on a night where the defending champions Real Madrid cruised to a 6-1 victory against Real Betis, a team against which Barca failed to win last week. Where it is a sign of the momentum in the league shifting towards Real Madrid is yet to be seen; but the confidence in Real Madrid tracks are undeniable after they managed to cut 5 points from the lead within two weeks. Eventhough a seven point lead is very substantial, Guardiola has a very tough job on hand. His problems will be made more complicated by the fact that Abidla was injured last night and will be out for 6-8 weeks. Valdes was chosen as expected at the goal. The defensive line had Alves, Pique, Marquez and Abidal. The midfield was made up of Xavi, Toure and Keita. The front troika remained as expected with Messi, Eto and Henry combining together.

FC Barcelona had the majority of possession for the first half but never created any decent chances early on. The first real chance came when Thierry Henry headed high from a great cross from Messi. Messi cut past defenders and crossed the ball from the end line but Henry missed it badly. In the 22nd minute a high challenge on Abidal saw the player injured. In the 28th minute messi was brought down and it became a tug of war after that between players. In the 38th minute Keita weas red carded for a two footed challenge on Moises but the replay showed it as not worthy of a red card as the referee deemed. From then on Espanyol raised their game and Barca eventually played for being reduced to ten men. Guardiola changed the formation to 4-3-2 after the break. In the 50th minute Espanyol scored their first from a counter attack with Pena heading the ball from a Nene cross. In the 54th minute Valdes made Barca task even worse by giving the ball staright to Pena who made not mistake in lifting the ball over Valdes with ease. In the 62nd minute Toure scored for Barca to cut the lead after a Xavi free kick was poorly cleared by Espanyol defense. In the 65th minute to everyone surprise Eto was taken off and was replaced by Gudjohnsen. Busquets moved to the front supporting Messi and that made sure that we had only one player up front. In the 70th minute nietehr Busquets nor Messi nor Gudjohnsen failed to get at the end of a great Xavi free kick. Gudjohnsen had two chances towards the end but blasted one high and the other was blocked.

This was the worst game Barca played after a long time. They looked very loose last night. The refereeing of Ferreiro was pathetic and that didn't help Barca's course either. But blaming the referee is not the solution and we have been playing poorly after the break. The only match where we played well throughout was the match against Gijon where the front three were doing their defensive duties upfront perfectly. But the way referee reacts when other team players are hell bent on hurting Barca players is awful. This is one tactics showed by Real Madrid in their match against Barca at Camp Nou in December and everyone is continuing this. Guardiola has to address the dip inform and see how much did Eto's tantrums last week upset the team. If we are going to play the same way we will be doomed in Lyon on wednesday. It is so surprising how Keita got red carded but nothing for Sergio Sanchez for the challenge on Abidal. For once Lyon will start favourite in the first leg.

FC Barcelona vs Espanyol Preview

FC Barcelona would be hoping to put the draw against Betis past them with an emphatic performance against city rivals Espanyol. They have to do that without their influential midfielder Andres Iniesta. Guardiola has promised to unleash Messi from the bigining against Espanyol; Messi started from the bench in Barca's last two games. Espanyol at this moment lies at the bottom of the table and have a good chance of getting relegated. THe fact that they have to play Real Madrid and Villareal after this does not help their cause also. Espanyol keeper Kameni is very doubtful for thsi match and has to pass a late fitness test. The last time these two teams met was for the Copa Del Rey, whereh eventaually Barcelona emerged victorious. It is also to be seen whether Puyol would start the match or Guardiola would prefer to rest him till the match against Lyon. As in the case of all home matches this season, Guardiola has not named his squad.

Valdes is expected to start at the goal after a good performance against Betis last weekend. Alves, Marquez, Pique and Abidal are expected to form the defensive cover. Alves had a bad game last week and he would be hoping to compensate for that. The midifeld would definitely feature Xavi and Toure. The third midfielder would be a toss up between Busquets and Gudjohnsen, I expect Gudjohnsen to be picked. The front trio is not going to change withe Messi, Eto and Henry. It is to be seen how the Nou Camp faithfuls react to Eto's antics recently. This is a must win game for FC Barcelona, we cannot give anymore glimpse of hope to Real Madrid. I expect Barca to win this by 4-1.