FC Barcelona Player Rating against Getafe 23/11/08

Valdes - 5.5 - He undone all the good impression he created in recent weeks by his trademark spill which luckily for him didn,t go into goal. Was otherwise decent in the match. Couldn't do much for the goal; but I would like to see him anticipating a bit more as Barca is conceding goal in this fashion. Everyone curls ball past Valdes if given some space.

Alves - 6.5 - Was one of the better players in today's match. Was caught at times while defending but then you can't complaint. Produced a telling cross which resulted in the goal. But many of his cross wasn't up to the mark.

Pique - 6 - Was at fault for giving away the ball that resulted in the goal. Had a great header saved by Getafe Goal Keeper. But looked susceptible in defense. I am saying it again I don't see him holding his place when Milito returns.

Puyol - 7 - If it was not for Puyol we would have conceded more. Regularly went forward to inspire team and sometimes left huge void in the defense because of that.

Sylvinho - 6 - Rare start. Did not commit any big mistake but still did not do anything to warrant a place. Was denied by Pato but his strike was stunning. He wasn't helped by the fact that Hlen ahead of him wasn't in any sync with him. Looked good when Henry came; but was substituted shortly.

Xavi - 6 - Another poor game. Guardiola is not helping him by putting two defensive minded players in middle; it leaves Getafe enough players to mark our general out. Needs to tighten up his game; he is giving away ball cheaply.

Toure - 6.5 - Good game as a DM. Gave away ball in a dangerous position but was lucky. Did well to rest possession in many occasion but wasn't that good when going forward. Guardiola should encourage him to take some long range shots.

Keita - 6 - Got the goal otherwise a very poor performance. Played out of position. But regularly gave away the ball.

Bojan - 4.5 - Disaster. Barca fans should not do the stupidity of writing him off like Giovani. He is good and remember he is 18 years old. Guardiola needs to assure him; he looked more desperate than anything; Wasted many chances.

Eto - 6.5 - Hard working. Was undone by the lack of service. Missed Messi like hell. Maybe this is my analysis - I think Messi and Eto gels well and Iniesta nad Xavi gels well. The moment Iniesta was sidelined Xavi gone off pace a bit; and without Messi Eto is struggling to get the ball. He dropped back and created some movement to his credit. But he should have swapped his position with Bojan much often.

Hleb - 4 - Bojan atleast saw most of the ball; Hleb wasn't in picture. Was disappointing to see this. May be we can have one more player for that wide left role.

Substitutes :
Henry (6.5) & Pedro (6.5) - Instilled pace that was missing.
Gudjonsen (5.5) - Wasn't involved in anything.

Best FC Barcelona Player - Puyol
Man Of the Match - Roberto Carlos Abbondanzieri(Getafe)

Getafe Defense Stops FC Barcelona; FC Barcelona -1, Getafe-1

FC Barcelona finally conceded their winning streak in la Liga to a really tough and hard working Getafe defense. Meanwhile Getafe has extended their unbeaten streak against Barca to a season and a half. FC Barcelona yet haven't found a way to deal with this tough and tightly packed defense. A Seydou Keita header in the second half saved a point for Barca after Manu put Getafe infront in the 19th minute. Sure the absence of players like Messi and Iniesta could be blamed for the result, but that was precisely the point I was making in my previous post Is It Too Early to Dream about Silverware, the absence of two of our big four did looked like affecting us. What was more dissappointing about the match was the way Hleb and Bojan who got the first League start of the season played. Eto did work hard but was undone by the lack of service. I have written in my preview to this match that with Messi absent it would be disastrous to put two defensive minded players in the middle. That tactic effectively took Eto out of the match; and we have to see Eto dropping back to create some attacking moves. Guardiola gave Sylvinho a rare start on the left, Puyol moved to the centre to partner with Pique and Alves occupied the righ back position. The midfield was made up of Xavi, Toure and Keita. The forward line was formed by the combination of Bojan, Eto and Hleb.

Barcelona dominated possesion in the first half but did not create any meaningful attack in the early exchanges. Getafe meanwhile settled into their game plan and was looking to hurt Barca on the counter. In the 19th minute Pique gave away the ball to Manu whose initial pass came off from Pique and then he curled a superb strike past a hapless Valdes. That goal stunned the players and the crowd. FC Barcelona tried to reply back immediately. In the 21st minute Bojan's volley from an excellent cross from Eto was deflected for a corner. In the 28th minute it was Bojan again who wastes another great chance when he was caught in two mind. In the 31st minute Bojan wastes another good chance by shooting high after a Alves free kick hit the wall and the rebound fell perfect for Bojan. In the 35th minute it was Sylvinho whose stunning shot from the left of the box was saved by Abadonazzeri. In the 38th minute Barca was almost caught on the counter but Albin's effort was saved by Valdes. In the 39th minute Puyol produced a magnificient run into the box and places the ball to Eto who was on the edge of the box; Eto produced a magnificient, precise shot which beat the keepre but the bar came to his rescue.

In the second half also Barca could not produce any of their free flowing movements. In the 56th minute Guardiola brought in Henry for Hleb and Pedro for Bojan. That move started to instil some pace and an already tired Getafe defense looked a bit shaky for the first time in the match. In the 62nd minute Pique heads wide from a Xavi corner; that was an open chance. In the 64th minute Toure gave ball away in a dangerous position; somehow Barca was lucky to see the chance wasted by Getafe. In the 70th minute Valdes produced his trademark mistake (which was missing in recent matches); Albin picks up a lose ball and shots from a distance; should have been a regular catch for Valdes but as expected he spills but was real lucky to see it go wide. His expression after that was real funny. After narrowly escaping the chance of going 2 nil down Barca equalised in the 72nd minute when Keita got to the end of an excellent Alves cross with a good header. In the 73rd minute Sylvinho was taken off and was replaced by Gudjonsen. FC Barcelona was pressing rigorously for the victory and Getafe defense was having some tough times. In the 79th minute great cross from Keita in the left was cleared by Defense ahead of Henry. In the 80th minute Abadonezzeri produce another magical save to deny a Pique header from a corner. I still can't understand how he manged to save that. For the last minutes of the game Getafe defense hold their fort and FC barcelona struggled to find any movement.

FC Barcelona prepare for the tough fixtures after losing their winning streak. But there is not much to be dissappointed. We still are three point clear; but it is now essential for us to beat Sevilla next week. The absence of Messi and Iniesta, and the lack of fortune and great goal keeping the Argentinian international can be attributed as the reaon for this result. But one have to admit that Guardiola did some tactical blunders; first was to bring Hlen and Bojan, tow non-regulars together in this match. It was enough to get one of them a start. With both struggling Barca really struggled to make an impression early on and created chances only after Eto started dropping back. Secondly was the decision to club Toure and Keita together especially with Messi absent; this could be a sensible decision next week but not in a home match and that too against a team which are looking to drop back and defend. What that move did was opened up Xavi as the lone creative polayer and Getafe marked him well out of the match.

FC Barcelona vs Getafe Preview

FC Barcelona would be looking to their winning streak to 10 consecutive matches when they welcome Getafe in La Liga tonight.There is a high chance that Lionel Messi would not be starting on today's match. Messi left Friday’s training session with a pain in the quadriceps in his right leg. Eventhough the club doctor's examination has ruled out any serious injury; the club is expected not to rush the star especially considering the series of tough matches coming. Pedro is expected to be included in the team as a cover to Messi. Guardiola is expected to make the call for inclusion of Messi just before the match starts. Getafe Lies 13th in the table and are going to real tough times. Getafe makes the trip to Camp Nou with three consecutive defeats in their bag; the only fact that should be welcomed by them could be the non-availability of Messi. It also yet to see how FC Barcelona cope with the non-availability of Messi and Iniesta , two of their brightest stars of this season. The burden of carrying Barca through in this match could rest on the shoulders of Eto and Xavi.

Guardiola is expected to field his best available side for tonight's match. With Villareal losing yesterday, this is the best time to clearly move ahead of rivals. Alves, Marquez, Pique and Puyol is supposed tom guard the defense in front of Valdes. There could be chance of Caceres being slotted as a left back especially after his performance as a left-back for Uruguay. The midfield for me should be made of Toure, Xavi and Gudjonsen. There is no point in slotting two defensive minded players in that midfield especially at home. The forward would be potentially made up of Et, Bojan and Henry. If Bojan comes into the side Guardiola should use him on the right side. There is no point in moving Eto from middle to right in order to bring in Bojan. Even with Messi absent Barca should be able to produce a convincing victory. I predict a scoreline of 3-0 in the match.