End Of Unbeaten Streak; FC Barcelona-2,Shaktar-3

All good things comes to end so does FC Barcelona's unbeaten run. A substantially understrength Barca side has been beaten by a highly competitive Shaktar Donetsk side; Shaktar now have qualified for the UEFA cup. There is no need to ring any alrm bells as none of the starting eleven players would be starting against Real Madrid. In the preivew to the match I have written that the match will be decided how we handle the physical strength of Shaktar player's. Shaktar made most of their oppurtunity from counter attacks. Guardiola gave Jorquera the oppurtunity to guard the goal. Ahead of him Caceres, Sanchez, Pique and Sylvinho formed the defense. The midfield was made up of Vasquez, Keita and Busquets. Pedro, Bojan and Hleb made the front three.

Galdkiy scored twice in the 31st and 58th minute to take Shatar two goals up before Sylvinho pulled one back in the 59th minute. In the 75th minute Fernandinho increased the lead back for Shaktar. Eventhough Busquets reduced the lead in the 85th minute, Barca never managed that crucial goal to keep their unbeaten streak alive. From the player's perspective Pedro showed much enthusiasm and skill; Bojan was really hard working but a very physical Shaktar team kept him on bay. Caceres and Jorquera had a forgettable night, both were at fault for most of Shaktar goals. Sylvinho showed that he is a handy back up to have in the left back position.

FC Barcelona and Shaktar Donetsk Training Pictures

FC Barcelona and Shaktar Donetsk players practicing ahead of their Champions League clash.

FC Barcelona vs Shaktar Preview

FC Barcelona looks to extend their unbeaten streak of 20 matches in tonight's encounter against Shaktar Donetsk. But that may seem highly unlikely after Guardiola decided to rest eight of his regular starters. That seems like the wisest choice as the El Classico is round the corner and you don't want to have any of your main players to get injured. Abidal, Eto, Keita and Gudjonsen are the players included in the squad who have a genuine chance of making into the line-up against Madrid. That looks fine for me - as Eto was suspended against Valencia and you don't want a player to be rusty; Abidal just came from injury and it would be great to get some match time under his belt as he is destined to start at Bernebeu. The squad selected for the night by GUardiola have a bunch of youngsters from Barca Atletic and it would be great result if they can hold to a draw. Shaktar already have demonstrated their enormous physical presence when both the team met at Shaktar's home. They also have a chance to qualify for the UEFA cup and hence they will be motivated and that means Barca has to use the entire pitch to overcome that.


The squad picked by Guardiola is Jorquera, Pinto, Martín Cáceres, Piqué, Sylvinho, Botia, Abidal, Victor Sanchez, Gudjohnsen, Sergio Busquets, Keita, Victor Vazquez, Abraham, Xavi Torres, Hleb, Bojan, Eto'o, Pedro. We can expect Guardiola selecting Jorquera ahead of Pinto in the goal. But the defensive formation baffles me. Abidal, Pique and Caceres is sure to start. Victor Sanchez should be the preffered Right Back. Busquets, Keita and Gudjonsen should form a formidable midfield line-up. Eto should be partnering Hleb and Bojan up front to form a formidable attack. This side would be able to defeat Shaktar if they use the full length of the pitch. Maybe we can have Vasquez or Abrahams in place of Keita or Busquets to give more attacking option in the middle. I hope to see Bojan making a definitive statement in this match.

FC Barcelona vs Valencia pictures 06/12/08

FC Barcelona Player Rating against Valencia 06/12/08

Valdes - 7 - Never had to make any good save in the match.

Alves - 8 - Unbelievable. He looked so dangerous while going forward. Capped the performance with a goal which would have made any striker happy for the finish. Valencia never had any wingers to exploit his attacking prows on the right.

Marquez - 8.5 - For me the pick of defense. Unbelievable; was commanding at his best and looked so happy to have partnered with his captain again.

Puyol - 8 - Another typical Puyol performance. Wonderfully held the defnse and his team together. Made many crucial interventions to make sure that David Villa never got a sniff of a chance.

Abidal - 8 - I have to admit that when I saw him on the starting line-up I was a bit worried. That all came to end with he giving his best performance to date.

Xavi - 8.5 - He wasn't upto the usual Xavi standard in recent matches. But in this one that was Xavi at his best.

Toure - 8 - Like Puyol his performance can be described as a typical Toure like performance. There are enough rumours of his departure from FC barcelona; but if he keeps on performing like this Guardiola will die rather than letting him go. Everyone used to say he is rather calm in attacking area but that pass to find Henry for the first goal would have made the best in business jealous.

Gudjonsen - 7 - A decent performance by the Iceland National. He was involved in all the moves and did take the pressure of Xavi in the midfield.

Messi - 7 - A very quiet night by his standards. Still forced Renan to pull up a couple of saves to deny him; then that's Messi. Wasn't looking assured in the dribbling but then it happens when you are being double marked always.

Henry - 9 - Man of the Match of today's game. Good to see him getting goals. The best fact is that he did it while occupying the left flank. That means he can still produce this display when Eto returns.

Hleb - 7.5 - Very difficult to describe his performance. It was kind of switching off anf switch on. He will produce a moment of magic and then gave away cheap ball to opposition. Still was a great performance which was capped with an assist and a couple of shot being saved by Renan.

Substitutes :

Bojan (7.5), Pedro (7) and Keita.

Man Of The Match - Thierry Henry

Valencia Blown Away; FC Barcelona - 4, Valencia - 0

FC Barcelona extend their lead at top to six points with a 4-0 thrashing of Valencia. Earlier on the night Villareal made an unbelievable comeback to grab a draw against Getafe after going three goals down. That draw means FC Barcelona would have a comfortable lead of six points when they will visit Bernabeu next week. Thierry Henry scored a hat-trick and Dani Alves scored one to complete the destruction of Valencia. Barca played so well that Valdes hardly made a decent save throughout the match. Guardiola decided to field Abidal as left back and he had one of his best games of the season. He was improving when he got injured; that made me worried he would let go off all the good work he did; but he looks like improving very well. Puyol moved to centre along with Marquez and Alves as usual was stationed at the right. The defense was same as I wrote in preview with Gudjonsen and Xavi joining Toure. The forward line up was made up of Hleb, Henry and Messi. My first impression was that Henry was slotted to play the centre role; but he occupied pre domiantly the left position with Hleb and Messi constantly inter-changing their position.

FC Barcelona dominated the game from the very first whistle. In the 2nd minute the make shift Valecia Centre-Defense gave away the ball to Xavi who found himself in a one on one situation with the keeper Renan; but his well placed shot was denied by the post. In the 3rd minute Henry saw his shot from outside the box comfortably saved by Renan.In the 19th minute Alves shot was saved by the goal keeper after a great 1-2 with Messi. But in the next minute Barca went deservingly ahead with a great finish from Henry. Toure found Henry with a great long pass who chipped the ball over an advancing Renan. That was a vintage Henry goal which we were so used to see while he was in Arsenal. In the 21st minute Joaquin wasted a great chance to equalise when he sent ball high but it seemed like it was Marquez desperate defending which made that mistake. In the 28th minute Barca extended their lead from Henry's second goal of the night. Hleb placed the ball in Henry's path after receiving Alves pass and Henry made no mistake with the finish. In the 34th minute Messi starts his trademark run skipping past defenders and earn a free kick outside the box; But Messi's free kick hit the wall, that could be one attribute he could look to improve along with his aerial ability. In the 37th minute Messi was denied by Renan after a great run.

Barca extended their lead early in the first half from a controversial goal from Alves. Alves received the ball from xavi on the left and finished it well past Renan into far corner; but Hleb who put the ball back to Xavi looked to have backtracked from an offside position. In the 53rd minute Alves free kick went brushing the bar. In the 63rd minute Hleb was denied by Renan after a defensive mix-up gave the ball to Hleb. In the 72nd minute Bojan came in place of Hleb. In the 79th minute Henry compleetd his hat-trick courtesy of the hardwork done by Bojan. Alves sent in Bojan on the right; Bojan skipped past two of centre-back before pulling the ball back to Henry for a simple finish. In the 81st minute Messi was replaced by Pedro and in the 84th minute Xavi was taken off to be replaced by Keita. In the 92nd minute Keita saw his header going high from an Alves cross.

The performance against Valencia can be simply described as Majestic. But as Puyol said "We haven't won anything till now". So everyone have to keep their foot firmly placed on the ground. Guardiola would have his best team to chose from against Madrid barring Iniesta and Milito. We have a mid-week match against Shaktar; with already securing the first place in the group, this could see a bunch of members getting rested.

FC Barcelona vs Valencia Preview

With Fc Barcelona's prolific scoring machine, Samuel Eto missing in the game, every fan will be looking upto Lionnel Messi to churn up another magical performance to see them past Valencia. Valencia is in the midst of a financial trouble but that would be the last thing that would be on the mind of their players. Valencia visits Camp Nou this night lying in third in the standings with a five points difference seperating them. Valencia would be hoping to cut down the lead whereas FC Barcelona would be aspiring to repeat last week's performance and move further away from contenders. Valencia's away form has been good this season, they are yet to be beaten away from the home. FC Barcelona's home form has not been that good as their away form. In the past thsi fixture has yielded some great games. Guardiola has been very cautious and has restrained from naming the squad early. Eric Abidal has been given the green light but the chances of Guardiola starting with him is very unlikely. The key would be how he will for the front line up. Bojan and Hleb are contenders for that fron line-up and it is yet to see whom he will prefer.

Guardiola is certain to start with Valdes in the Goal. Valdes has some nightmarish experience against Villa in the past. Hope he does not repeat any of them. The defense should remain unchanged with a combination of Alves, Pique, Marquez and Puyol. The midfield would ideally feature two attacking players in the form of Gudjonsen and Xavi along with the the big Ivorian Yaya Toure. The forward line up would be made up of Messi, Henry and Hleb. I would love to see Bojan in the Centre role but that seems very unlikely. Valencia has some great players in their squad, they would be missing the likes of Edu and David Silva, a player in which the Catalan's are interested; then there is the prolific scorer David Villa, Marquez and Pique would have a tough time to deal with him and then there is Joaquin. Even then the home advantage of FC Barcelona should come to their rescue and they should atleast score three goals.