VILLAREAL 1 - BARCA 4

Barça bounced back from
the disappointment of the
Champions League
elimination with a splendid
1-4 win at Villarreal which
could prove to be crucial in
regaining La Liga this season.
Two goals from Leo Messi
and one apiece from man of
the match Xavi Hernandez
and Bojan Krkic earned us
our 28th league victory of
the season which equalled a
record set by Real Madrid in
87/88 and Barça in 96/97.
Xavi was carrying an injury
but he decided he wanted to
play, proving his commitment
to the cause by playing a part
in all four goals.
Pep Guardiola showed that
he doesn't care what your
price tag is by leaving Zlatan
Ibrahimovic on the bench
and giving a start to Bojan on
the left side of attack, this
meant we started the game
with eight homegrown
players which gave the team
the spirit we needed to win
this game. We came out
strongly playing football at a
high speed and Xavi had an
early chance but his shot was
deflected for a corner.
However, Villarreal are a
very strong team and they
had two early chances to
take the lead, the first after
Valdés came out of his area
to clear but the ball fell to
Cani who played it forward
quickly to Nilmar who, with
only two Barça defenders
covering the goal as Valdés
had not got back, shot over.
Then in the 8th minute Cani
again sent Nilmar through
with a clear sight on goal and
we were fortunate that he
again missed the target. But
Barça were also getting
chances at the other end and
Diego Lopez had to react
quickly to tip Messi's delicate
chip over the bar.
It was an open game but we
got the break we needed in
the 19th minute, Bojan won
the ball and moved forward
on the left before laying the
ball inside to xavi who dinked
a little pass into Messi who
controlled with a sublime
touch to turn before
shooting low past Diego
Lopez with the help of a
slight deflection. We were
looking more in control now
with Piqué and Puyol looking
solid at the back and we got
another break in the 32nd
minute when Gonzalo
needlessly fouled Pedro 25
yards out after Pedro had
already released the ball.
Xavi took responsibility for
the free kick flighting a
beautiful curler over the wall
and out of Diego Lopez's
reach into the corner. Things
got even better in the 42nd
minute when Xavi played a
ball inside to Bojan who
turned before knocking the
ball one side of Gonzalo
while sprinting past the
defender on the other side to
speed into the area and firing
low into the far corner past
the advancing goalkeeper.
With a three goal advantage
it might have seemed all over
but it was necessary to keep
a high level of concentration
in the second half against a
team of Villarreal's quality.
There was an early chance in
the second half after Valdés
failed to make a proper
punch from a corner but
Valdés got across to save the
shot and Maxwell booted the
ball clear. After this we
generally controlled the
situation without making any
chances going forward. It
didn't seem too dangerous
but in the 67th minute
Busquets lost the ball going
forward, and perhaps we
were a little distracted by
Cazorla lying injured, but
Villarreal continued playing
and when Nilmar's pass
came in Puyol failed to cut it
out and Llorente got away
from Piqué to fire past
Valdés.
With more than 20 minutes
to go there was still a chance
for Villarreal to make a
comeback and memories
came back of the 3-3 draw at
Camp Nou last season when
Barça were 3-1 up with 15
minutes to go. However, we
looked serious all night and
Villarreal had no more
chances to speak of. At the
other end we began to look
for the fourth, Messi shot just
wide in the 71st minute and
Pedro forced a good save
from Diego Lopez after
cutting in and letting fly with
a left foot effort in the 79th
minute.
We than had a bizarre
incident as Barça prepared to
bring on Toure Yaya in place
of Busquets. Before leaving
the pitch Busquets attempted
to go across to shake hands
with the referee, Llorente
tussled with Busquets telling
hiom to leave the field
directly but Busquets
continued towards the ref
who surprised everyone by
pulling out a yellow card
which he clearly showed to
Busquets who had already
been harshly booked for a
handball, the ref at no time
pulled out the red card and
Busquets went off and Toure
was allowed to take his
place. It seemed a terrible
mistake from the ref, but in
his match report he stated
that the yellow card was for
Llorente! It seems like an
attempt to cover up his cock-
up and no doubt the ref will
be severely criticised for his
action.
Whatever the case we were
unrattled by this strange
occurence and finished the
game strongly. In the 84th
minute Pedro played a great
ball in to Bojan who hit the
chance just wide, but then in
the 87th minute Xavi played
a superb ball through to
Alves who crossed to Messi
who finished coolly by
dinking the ball over the
keeper for his 29th league
goal of the season.
I cannot stress how satisfied I
am with this victory,
Villarreal are an extremely
dangerous team and those of
you who read my preview
will know that I was
pessimistic for this game. I
apologise for not believing in
the team and I take my hat
off to them tonight. Xavi was
sensational especially as he
was not 100% fit while Messi
got back to scoring goals
with two fine finishes. Piqué
and Puyol were given one or
two problems but they both
made some vital
interventions to keep
Villarreal at bay. Danio Alves
looked more like his old self
while Bojan and Pedro both
made important
contributions and looked
dangerous up front. Busquets
was resposible for losing the
ball before Villarreal scored
and he was also involved in
the bizarre second yellow
card incident but he was
generally very strong tonight
in midfield and Keita also
had a solid game keeping
things simple.
We now have an incredible
90 points after just 35 games,
Real Madrid are still in the
race but they will be very
disappointed tonight as they
undoubtedly hoping for a
favour from Villarreal. They
know that they could win
their last four games and still
not win the league, as we
have two relatively easy
home games with Tenerife
and Valladolid and just one
awkward game at Sevilla
next weekend. After tonight's
game I'm convinced we can
win at Sevilla, however, if
Madrid drop points before
then, and they facea tough
trip to Mallorca on
Wednesday, we may not even
need the win at Sevilla. It's
not the time to start
celebating yet, but tonight's
victory is a massive step
towards retaining the title.
I'm a very happy culé tonight.
Barça: Valdés 6; Alves 7.5,
Piqué 8.5, Puyol 7.5, Maxwell
6; Xavi 9.5, Busquets 7 (Toure
m80, --), Keita 7; Pedro 7.5,
Messi 8.5 (Jeffren m90 --),
Bojan 7.5 (Ibrahimovic m85,
--).
Goals: m19 Messi 0-1, m34
Xavi 0-2, m42 Bojan 0-3, m67
Llorente 1-3, m87 Messi 1-4.
Barça yellow cards: m53
Keita, m63 Busquets, m73
Puyol, m80 Busquets??? (no
red!)