FC Barcelona News
Valdés the Star at the Calderon
February 27th, 2012A magical late free-kick by Lionel Messi won all three points for Barcelona at the Vicente Calderón on Sunday night, as Barcelona battled to a 2-1 victory. Víctor Valdés made some important saves and interceptions to keep the home team at bay.
The first half was a competitive and feisty affair. As is always the case, Barcelona took the initiative, while Los Rojiblancos appeared intent to sit back, remaining compact and deep throughout, and looking to burst forward on the rare occasions they could wrest possession from Barça.
This time Barcelona started brightly – after seven minutes Messi bustled through three challenges and had the ball in the net, only to see the goal ruled out harshly for a handball.
Xavi then went close, forcing an acrobatic save from Courtois from a free-kick 30 yards out. Atlético responded with a couple of dangerous breaks, with Falcao central to their attacking threat. Mascherano kept the Colombian striker out with a perfectly timed tackle in the box, and then Valdés came off his line in flash to cut out a through-ball.
Some full-blooded challenges added an edge to the match, with the home team picking up a succession of borderline dangerous tackles. But Barcelona gradually found some composure, and their goal came from the best move of the half.
Messi worked some space on the edge of the box as the team broke forward. He fed Cesc down the left, who produced a perfectly-weighted first-time cross low for Dani Alves to finish at the back post.
Valdés had to be sharp once again, bravely denying Falcao as he bore down on goal. And on the stroke of half-time Cesc responded with a rugged tackle of his own, taking Juanfran out as the full-back tried to shield the ball by the corner flag.
Atlético pushed forward early in the second half, and within minutes of the restart they had pulled a goal back. A corner from the right was deflected across goal and Falcao arrived at the back post to volley home first-time.
From there it was an even contest, with Barcelona controlling possession but Atlético driving forward with increasing menace. Still, it was the away side that game closest to taking the lead. Mid-way through the second half Alves got the ball down the right and flashed in a teasing cross that just evaded Messi’s lunge but was met by Alexis at the back-post, who headed agonisingly over.
Then, a defensive mix-up by Barça let Falcao in, but once again Valdés read the danger and managed to palm away the striker’s attempted lob. With time running out for Barcelona, it was Messi who made the difference. After a largely indifferent performance the Argentine took a quick free-kick from the left angle of the area that beat the wall and swirled over Courtois’ head and into the top corner.
Barcelona then had to defend some tricky situations, by Valdés was brave in making some important catches from set-pieces.
0-1 Dani Alves (min 35)
1-1 Falcao (min 49)
1-2 Messi (min 81)
Messi Shines as Barcelona Thrash Atlético
September 26th, 2011Lionel Messi scored a spectacular hat-trick as FC Barcelona destroyed Atlético Madrid 5-0 at the Camp Nou on Saturday night. The Argentine forward was a menace throughout, bouncing back to form after a relatively subdued midweek performance against Valencia.
Víctor Valdés’ goal was rarely under threat from Los Colchoneros’ potent frontline, which was starved of space and possession in the face of a magnificent team display by the home side. David Villa opened the scoring, followed by a João Miranda own goal and Messi’s dazzling three-goal haul.
Even after an opening to the season that has seen a great deal of tactical experimentation by Pep Guardiola, Saturday’s formation was very unorthodox. The coach persisted with 3-4-3, but this time Dani Alves was playing as the right-sided defender. Meanwhile Sergio Busquets operated as a kind of attacking sweeper, dropping into defence when needed, but generally patrolling the area in front.
Barça were ahead within 10 minutes – David Villa chested down a 30-yard diagonal pass by Xavi, danced inside João Miranda and tucked the ball past Courtois to cap a fantastic goal. Tiago Mendes had earlier clipped the top of the bar, but Atlético Madrid were yet to settle, and fell further behind through an unfortunate own goal. This time Pedro broke forward, before the ball fell at the feet of Messi, whose shot ricocheted off ‘keeper Courtois and João Miranda, and into the net.
After the second goal it was Lionel Messi who took the limelight. On 25 minutes he took a short throw on the right touchline. Getting the ball back from Pedro, he squirmed past two Atlético players before accelerating past the remainder of the defence with one touch, and smashing home at the near post while feigning for the far corner. It was one of the best of many fantastic individual goals in the course of his short career.
As majestic as this effort was, Messi nearly topped it in the second half when he ran the length of the pitch before being fouled by Perea on the edge of the area. In between, Cesc Fàbregas almost scored with a fabulous 35-yard chip that Courtois could only watch bounce off the top of the cross-bar. Meanwhile there was more good news for Barcelona when Gerard Piqué made his return from injury, replacing Busquets a few minutes after half time.
With 15 minutes to go Lionel Messi once again went about terrorising the Atlético backline. This time he made a diagonal run from about 40 yards out, bypassing central defence before dummying his way round João Miranda and sidefooting past the static Courtois, into the bottom right corner.
He capped an unforgettable performance just before full time when he played a one-two with David Villa, strode forward and guided a finish between Courtois’ legs. It was a fitting end to the night for Barcelona’s number 10, who must already be counted among the greatest ever to play the game.
1-0 Villa (min 9)
2-0 Miranda (own goal) (min 15)
3-0 Messi (min 26)
4-0 Messi (min 77)
5-0 Messi (min 91)
Barça breaks Real Madrid’s 50 year record
February 7th, 2011Leo Messi’s hat-trick against Atletico de Madrid on Saturday created a new record for winning 16 league matches on the trot, beating a 50 year old record set by Real Madrid. It also marked Barça’s 700th goal at the Nou Camp since its inauguration in 1957.
Barça’s domination from the start – 80% possession – paid of in the 16th minute when Messi beat the Atletico defence to put the ball home. And 12 minutes later, after missing from an Alves assist, he put the ball in the back of the net for the second time. When Atletico came of after the break it was with a new sense of determination, although they created little in the way of real opportunities. Meanwhile Barcelona continued working, which paid off in the 78th minute with Messi’s third goal of the match.
The result leaves Barça on 61 points with Real Madrid seven points behind. As well as creating a new record for the number of league wins, the match also returned Messi’s status as the top goal scorer in the league.
1-0, Messi (min 16)
2-0, Messi (min 28)
3-0, Messi (min 78)
| Team | P | W | D | L | F | A | Pts | |
|
1
|
Barcelona |
22
|
20
|
1
|
1
|
70
|
11
|
61
|
|
2
|
Real Madrid |
22
|
17
|
3
|
2
|
52
|
19
|
54
|
|
3
|
Villarreal |
22
|
14
|
3
|
5
|
41
|
22
|
45
|
|
4
|
Valencia |
22
|
13
|
5
|
4
|
36
|
24
|
44
|
|
5
|
Athletic Bilbao |
22
|
12
|
2
|
8
|
37
|
31
|
38
|
|
6
|
Espanyol |
22
|
12
|
1
|
9
|
30
|
30
|
37
|
|
7
|
Sevilla |
22
|
9
|
4
|
9
|
33
|
35
|
31
|
|
8
|
Atlético Madrid |
22
|
9
|
3
|
10
|
31
|
29
|
30
|
|
9
|
Getafe |
22
|
9
|
3
|
10
|
33
|
35
|
30
|
|
10
|
Real Sociedad |
22
|
9
|
1
|
12
|
33
|
37
|
28
|
|
11
|
Mallorca |
22
|
8
|
4
|
10
|
24
|
30
|
28
|
|
12
|
Zaragoza |
22
|
5
|
8
|
9
|
21
|
34
|
23
|
|
13
|
Sporting Gijón |
22
|
5
|
7
|
10
|
22
|
30
|
22
|
|
14
|
Osasuna |
22
|
5
|
7
|
10
|
21
|
29
|
22
|
|
15
|
Hércules |
22
|
6
|
4
|
12
|
22
|
36
|
22
|
|
16
|
Racing Santander |
22
|
5
|
7
|
10
|
17
|
31
|
22
|
|
17
|
Deportivo |
22
|
5
|
7
|
9
|
19
|
34
|
22
|
|
18
|
Levante |
22
|
6
|
3
|
13
|
23
|
34
|
21
|
|
19
|
Almería |
22
|
4
|
8
|
10
|
23
|
38
|
20
|
|
20
|
Málaga |
22
|
5
|
3
|
14
|
28
|
47
|
18
|
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