Keeping Fingers Crossed with Inietsa's Injury

Andres Iniesta travelled to the Spanish capital for joining his national side mates eventhough he would not take part in the current international fixture. Iniesta is said to have informed the Spanish coach about the extend of his inury and did reveal about his apparent dissappointment with his recent spate of injuries. This is the third time he is getting injured recently and Barca fans are a bit worried with the frequency. He is definite to miss the clash against Real Valladolid but most probably will feature in the home leg of Champions League clash against Bayern Munich. The absence of Iniesta against Real Valladolid may not be troubling many of the fans but if he is set to miss the Bayern clash , then alarms bell would be ringing. But this rest could be a boon to him as he will have enough time to rest and re-coup once again.

The last time when he was injured we went down a downward spiral. At that time also he got injured before the crucial Lyon tie. But this time he should have enough time to get ready for Bayern tie. Actually we were in a downward fall at that point and Iniesta's injury seemed to accelerate it a bit. But this time we look more confident and are back to playing some great football once again. What we don't need a repeat of his injuries anymore down the line. Barca as a team is not heavily depended on Iniesta , but to dominate the proceeding we need Iniesta in the middle especially against well organised sides. Without Iniesta we have seen many times Xavi getting marginalised in the attacking front. It becomes easy for teams to double-mark Xavi and cut the supply. So as every Barca fan I am eagerly waiting with my fingers crossed. It also shed light to the need to buy a attacking midfielder player who can be a decent cover for these two. Maybe we can find some in our youth setup. What's your opinion?

The Champions League Contenders

What I am trying to do here is a round up of teams left in Champions League of this seasona nd their chances going forward. Ok, we will start with the defending champions Manchester United. Machester United is targetting an unprecedented five trophies this season. But their chase for the coveted five has received serious draw backs rercently. The signs were there in the second leg clash against Inter Milan. But an unambitious Inter side was brushed aside by ManU team with ease. But Liverpool dented a huge hole on their confidence with a 4-1 drubbing that too at Old Trafford. Add to that the 2-0 victory of Fulham against Manchester United at their home; that is the first time after 1964n Fulham has managed to upset ManU at their home ground. When Barcelona was brushing past sides at La Liga, the English media ridiculed us saying that we will never be able to do against a Manchester United defense. But now in two matches they have conceded six goals and scored once. The English media which made a fuss over Barca's recent blip is likely to term this as a mere lack of concentration. Alex Ferguson will be looking to have his team back on track as early as possible. Their recent catapulation at Fulham might have raised hopes at Porto but I don't see Porto beating ManU in Quarter finals. Manchester United should reach semi-finals with ease and that means they have time to pick up their form in Europe. But the same cannot be said about their challenge at EPL.

Liverpool is the in-form team at this moment. Their 4-0 and 4-1 drubbing of Real Madrid and Manchester United respectively has raised their prospect in Europe. In the last three matches they have score 13 goals and conceded once. Gerard looks to be in form of life and so does Torres. They could be our semi-final opponents if we get past Bayern. The key for Liverpool's recent victories against Manchester United and Real Madrid was that their opponents allowed them to dictate possession and speed. With Barca's possession football that would be difficult. But a Barca vs Liverpool semi-final is the most anticipated match at this moment. Chelsea's prospect of reaching the semi-final looked bright after the draw as it was revealed that they have to play second leg at home. But Liverpool's recent form and a lack of assertion from Chelsea's side have put them in serious doubt.

Arsenal maenwhile have found their footing back and playing some delightful football. But they will be deprived of the service of Andrei Arshavin in Europe and has to see how they cope without him in Europe. They didn't give a good account for themselves against Roma. Villareal has been written off by English media; I have no idea why. The truth is that Villareal is a very organised team and will be out for revenge for their earlier semi-final final defeat. They are pretty strong at home and have a very high chance of holding on their own at Emirates Stadium. Bayern who is Barca's opponent is having an Up-down season. Their form in Europe has been excellent but cannot be said of their domestic form. Barcelona has not beaten Bayern in Europe till now and that record has to be broken to proceed to the next round. To make matters worse we are going to play second leg away from home. Whatever Bayern vs Barcelona will produce the best football of all the Quarter final draws. FC Porto, the surprise quater-finalist has an uphill task of eliminating Manchester United. The fact that they have to play the second leg at home and Manchester United's recent form should give some hope.

Overall the draws look pretty balanced. Arsenal can write off Villareal on their own risk; they should remember Villareal's performance against Manchester United in the group stage. Manchester United looks to have one foot in the semi-fianls but if they can't pick up their Premier League form then they might become more vulnerable. Liverpool's drubbing of Aston Villa made sure that they now lie with just 1 point drift of Champions ManU. At this moment FC Barcelona and Liverpool are the best bet to lift the cup. Then we can't predict anything when it comes to Chamipons League, can we? Remember Porto's triumph. Aston Villa who opted out of UEFA cup to qualify for Champions League looks like have blown everything away. Martin O'Neil should have remembered the saying - "A Bird in Hand is Worth Two In BUsh".

Barca Player Rating against Malaga

Valdes - 8 - Didn't have anything to do in the first half. But made three crucial intervention in the second half to make sure that a clean sheet has been kept. There were reports suggesting that he would be presented with a new contract and this performance will surely speed up things.

Alves - 8 - Great performance offensively on the right flank. Defensively he might have left spaces but it is necessay for us to have this gentleman in great form. Took his goal really well.

Marquez - 7 - Good performance, Was calm and confident throughout the match.

Caceres - 7.5 - Questions were raised about his ability. Did really well and was the better of both the centre backs.

Sylvinho - 8 - Great performance on the left flank. He is constantly defying his age and improving with each game. Guardiola could think of retaining his when Puyol comes back. Played a part in two goals.

Xavi - 9 - Sensationa Performance!!! He was back to his best. Took his goal well, produced a gem of passes to creat Henry's goal, put Eto ahead in Eto's first goal; What can we ask for now?

Toure - 6 - Was taken off very early.

Iniesta - 8.5 - Continuied his great recent form. Greta pass to create Alves goal. Only downside would be the injury and may be the fact that he failed to get into the scoresheet.

Messi - 8 - Good performance. What a goal, simply out of this world. But wasted some pretty easy chances. Was involved in most of attacks.

Eto - 8 - Linked deep in attack. Was involved well. Great finish for the first goal and took the second goal well.

Henry - 8.5 - Another great perfomance from the Frenchman. Scored one, created one and had shots saved by goal keeper. Went deep to help the defense too.

Substitutes:

Keita - 7 - Good performance. He needed to be solid whne others are going forward and did just that.

Gudjohnsen - 6 - NOthing spectacular.

Bojan - 6.5 - Had a shot saved by goal keeper.

Man Of The Match - Xavi Hernandez