Weakened Barça squad dominates in Mallorca

Even when Barça isn’t playing at its best, the squad can still manage to pull out some spectacular results. On Saturday the team faced Mallorca, with Puyol, Xavi, Valdes and Jeffren injured and Dani Alves off because of suspension. While they found it difficult to get going at the start, once they really got into the game they made it count.

The first half was rather slow for the Catalans, who were struggling to make any serious impact against Mallorca. However, as their game came together both Messi and Adriano came close; and then in the 38th minute Messi headed the ball into the net to open the scoring.

After the break Barça seemed to have been rejuvenated and looking like they meant business. Possession was up and it looked to be only a matter of time before they scored again; that goal came eventually when Villa connected with the ball from Busquets. And minutes later Pedro ensured that all three points would be Barça’s with the third of the night.

Meanwhile Real Madrid dropped two points after a goalless draw against Deportivo, leaving FC Barcelona seven points ahead on 68. This next week’s going to be a tough one though, with Valencia on Wednesday, Zaragoza on Saturday and Arsenal the following Tuesday – it’s make or break for Barça’s Champions League ambitions.

0-1, Messi (min 38)
0-2, Villa (min 57)
0-3, Pedro (min 66)

	Team	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
1	Barcelona	25	22	2	1	76	13	68
2	Real Madrid	25	19	4	2	55	19	61
3	Valencia	25	15	6	4	40	26	51
4	Villarreal	25	14	5	6	44	26	47
5	Espanyol	25	13	1	11	34	36	40
6	Athletic Bilbao	25	12	2	11	39	36	38
7	Sevilla	25	10	5	10	38	40	35
8	Atlético Madrid	25	10	4	11	35	33	34
9	Real Sociedad	25	11	1	13	36	41	34
10	Getafe	25	9	5	11	35	38	32
11	Mallorca	25	9	4	12	25	34	31
12	Racing Santander	25	7	8	10	23	35	29
13	Levante	25	8	3	14	26	37	27
14	Deportivo	25	6	9	9	21	35	27
15	Hércules	25	7	5	13	24	38	26
16	Osasuna	25	6	7	12	26	32	25
17	Sporting Gijón	25	5	10	10	23	31	25
18	Zaragoza	25	5	9	11	22	37	24
19	Almería	24	4	9	11	24	40	21
20	Málaga	24	5	5	14	31	50	20