Tie Tantalisingly Poised; Barcelona-1,Valencia-1

Xavi's last gasp equaliser gave Barcelona a very well deserving equaliser in the first leg of the Copa Del Rey semi final tie. Valencia went ahead against the run of play with a free flowing counter attack which was well finished by David Villa. For almost all the 90 minutes it looked like a match where Barcelona will never find a way past the Goal Keeper. But Xavi found the equaliser in the dying moments when he found the net after a wonderful run by Eto. Barcelona would have been hard done if they were to be condemned to defeat after having almost all the chances in the match. Any other season Valencia escaping from Nou Camp with a away goal would mean the end of the story for Barcelona, but then this season Valencia is nowhere near the best and the way they played at Nou Camp gives ample hope for Barcelona to beat them at Valencia.

The match began in the expected fashion with Barcelona having a tremendous triple chance in the seventh minute. He denied Xavi from a close range, the rebound was struck fiercely by Eto at the defense and Lionel Messi effort from the resulting rebound was chested away. Soon Joaquin's goal was disallowed for offside. In the 15th minute Milito saw his shot go high after a wonderful free kick from Deco. In the 28th minute Henry had a powerful shot saved by Hildebrand. Just before half time, Abidal's effort from over 25 yards was saved by Hildebrand. Hildebrand was the busiest man in the pitch and he was not going to have any reprieve in the second half also.

After the restart it was Messi who tested Hildebrand for the first time, his low shot would have found the net any day but not today. Then in the 58th minute Hildebrand denied Messi again with a wonderful save. In the 67th minute, Rijkaard opted to bring on Andres Iniesta and Bojan Krkic in place of Henry and Deco. That soon produced the result but at the wrong end. David Villa played a neat exchange before passing to Javier Arizmendi to the right; David Villa again made sure that he reached the end of Javier's excellent low cross. Barcelona then pushed forward for an equaliser. In the 81st minute Messi's another effort was saved by Hildebrand , Messi tried to be a little too smart there after his wonderful run past defenders from the left. In the end Hildebrand had all of Messi's effort under control. In the 84th minute an excellent long range effort from Milito was well saved by guess who Hildebrand. Then in the 89th minute Toure saw his wonderful curving kick from outside box parried away by Hildebrand . Then in the injury time about to finish Eto made a wonderful run in to the box (there were doubts whether he has handled the ball) his shot was blocked by Hildebrand but only to see Xavi finishing off from the rebound.

Barcelona did play well and was denied by Hildebrand for most of the time. Barcelona's defense in recent match has been caught sleeping at some times. There is no doubt that we can finish the game off at Valencia with a little more clinical finishing.

HighLights Of Match

Football Scores

Copa Del Rey Semi Final, First leg Preview

Rijkaard have excluded Ronaldinho from the crucial first leg of the Cop Del Rey Semi Final against Valencia. The decision came as a surprise especially considering the fact that Valencia will have an advantage of playing the return leg at home. Along with Ronaldinho, Rijkaard has rested Sylvinho, Gudjonsen, Giovanni and Rafael Marquez also for this match. Marquez is out with pain in his foot and others are excluded as he can have only a 16 man squad for Copa Del Rey as opposed to the 18 in the league. Deco and Henry are back in the squad. Henry should start the match on the left along with Eto and Messi. But the unluckiest one will be Iniesta who is sure to miss out of a starting role and have to wait for his opportunity on the bench. There should not be much change in the back four, but the only thing that has to be seen is where Pinto will get an opportunity under the Goal.

For Valencia, their last encounter with Barcelona was a forgettable affair. The Catalans ran riot in their defense, but this Valencia side for the first time in this season has started showing some consistency which was expected from them. Still the absence of Miguel and Marchena will be a blow to the team when considering the fact that Camp Nou is one of the most difficult place to travel. For Barcelona it’s essential to close out this leg in this match itself. The last time we traveled to face a decent opponent in the second leg; we were out of the competition. But the recent resurgence should give them enough encouragement to perform well. It’s crucial not to think of the return leg at this moment. It’s better to consider one game at a time.

Always Remember "If you chase two rabbits, both will escape."

"Concentration is the factor that causes the great discrepancy between men and the results they achieve... the difference in their power of calling together all the rays of their ability and concentrating on one point." - Orison Swett Marden

Beauty is Back; Barcelona-5, Levante-1

With a scintillating performance against Levante at Home, Barcelona's return to the beautiful football they play is complete. They looked very comfortable, and is no surprise that all this is happening because Ronaldinho is finally enjoying his football. With Getafe condemning Real Madrid to their first home defeat of this season, Barcelona finds the leaders a mere two points away. The best thing is that everything now lies in the hands of Barcelona. If they can continue their good form at worse they can decide the title race at Barnebeu. Nobody expected miracles from Levante; the entire match was watched or looked upon to decide whether the good signs shown at Celtic park were just a Mirage. But Barcelona with their performance has reignited the hopes of a wonderful treble. I know its a little premature, but then human minds can't stop dreaming isn't it?

Barcelona started the match with Henry and Deco given a break from the hectic schedule. Messi, Eto and Ronaldinho joined together to recreate the magic of the fantastic three. Iniesta and Xavi paired with Toure who for me was the best player on the pitch, he won most of the tackle and his vision for that Eto goal was simply awesome. Puyol got back his customary position with Zambrotta and Sylvinho joining him and Milito. Barcelona showed their intent pretty early and in the fourth minute there was a wonderful 1-2 between Ronnie and Messi in the box, but the final ball to Iniesta was well intercepted by defense. Then in the 12th minute an excellent cross form Ronnie finds Messi in the box, Levante Goalkeeper Kujovic makes an excellent interception to deny Eto of the final ball. Then in the 14th minute as everyone expected, Barcelona takes the lead with a Xavi Goal. Iniesta plays the ball to Eto, the defense some how manages to throw up a desperate successful tackles but the rebound fell in the path of Xavi. In the 16th minute Ronaldinho should have doubled the lead when he failed to keep his shot low. Xavi send a wonderful pass to Eto who sets up the whole chance with a beautiful decoy by Iniesta, Ronaldinho was trying to put it into the top corner. In the 27th minute Geijo cuts inside Puyol but his shot hits the inside of the post and somehow stays out. In the 32nd minute Sylvinho shoots high after a brilliant inter play between himself, Ronaldinho and Iniesta. Then in the 39th minute Eto couldn't find a decent header onto an excellent cross from Ronaldinho. Barcelona were made to pay for their lapses after Mustafa Riga coverts the penalty which was given away by Zambrotta for handling the ball in the box. Within four minutes Barcelona responds well to take back the lead through Lionel Messi. He played a beautiful 1-2 with xavi and converts from the narrowest of angles and from a non existent gap.

In the 47th minute Xavi sends in a beautiful flick spotting Eto's run but the Goal keeper responds quickly. Then in the 55th minute Eto makes the score line 3-1 with a wonderful finish after Messi set him up. In the 62nd minute Eto adds one more to his tally when Messi unselfishly placed the ball on ton Eto's path; after a delightful Toure flick above the defense which found Messi. Eto should have completed his hat trick in the 65th minute when Ronaldinho placed a terrific through pass to Eto, but his first touch was too heavy. Then in the 74th minute Messi produces terrific football to stay of the challenges of Levante players and finds Eto with a beautiful pass. But Eto hits it straight at Kujovic. By the time Ronaldinho was taken off and Bojan was brought in. In the 78th minute Bojan tries for a long range shot from outside the box, but loses his footing. In the 85th minute Levante tried to catch Barcelona back four by surprise but Valdes managed to save Riga's shot. Then in the 87th minute Eto completes his hat trick with a bizarre finish, after Bojan unselfishly gave the ball to Eto. Then in the 91st minute Bojan's puts a great pass towards Giovanni who came in for Messi, the Goal Keeper intercepts hit. By that time Referee had decided to put Levante out of their misery and blew the final whistle.

For Barcelona this was an excellent display of attacking football but the result is made sweeter by the fact that Madrid loses to Getafe. Yaya Toure's presence in the midfield is reassuring and Ronaldinho's return to form is the most promising. He may not be 100% fit but very soon we can see him in his real avatar. Messi has found his goal scoring touch and Iniesta and Xavi both are becoming more and more consistent with each match. It looks like everything is going well for Barcelona (touch wood) and nothing for Madrid. That's a strange reversal of luck.

Messi Goal see the reaction of Defender