Not exactly an inspiring match from Barça, but they got the job done all the same. Abidal playing 90 minutes was the was easily best thing about this snore-fest.
The match kicked off after a minute's silence for the victims of the Boston marathon bombings and earthquake in China, which was a nice touch from the club.Barça's starting XI was: Valdes – Alves, Abidal, Adriano, Montoya – Song, Iniesta, Thiago – Villa, Cesc and Tello. The best thing about this lineup – Abidal started! The worst thing? Our defence was comprised entirely of full backs, including Adriano, who struggles to go a full 90 minutes without picking up an injury. Piqué didn't make the squad (neither did JDS, but you knew that already) and I'm assuming it was so he could be rested before this week's match against Bayern, which is ultimately much more important. Messi didn't make the team either, but it seems he's still injured, contrary to what he'll have you believe.
As for the first half…well, there's not a whole lot to say. It may well have been a pre-season friendly. Tello came very close to scoring in the 13th minute, and by close, I mean Levante's goalkeeper saved it with ease. A few minutes later, things started to get interesting, or at least controversial. Iniesta went down outside of the box and Barça were awarded a penalty…a very weak call, but still, a penalty. Now would be an excellent time to capitalise on this so far boring match and score! Villa stepped up to the spot and his effort went straight into Navas' hands. As for the rebound shot…even worse. Cesc managed to Dani Alves™ it, sending it flying over the crossbar. Levante went on the attack and managed to shoot, except it wasn't much better that Cesc's "effort", and went over that pesky crossbar again.
The missed penalty was about as entertaining as the first half got. There was a very good free kick taken by Alves, which was saved by Navas. It would have made for a brilliant goal, but this is an Alves free kick, so I'm just impressed that the ball remained on the pitch. Navas made yet another save on a Villa shot, assisted by Song, and I started to get the feeling that this was going to be one of those fun matches in which Barça have about 99% possession, create a fair few shots and…nothing comes of it.
Well, nevermind, time for the second half and time for Barça to wake up and score lots of goals…said no one. As far as the match itself was going, it wasn't all bad, but that's mainly because Levante did nothing, therefore nothing to defend. Just as well, given Barça's rather experimental defence.
Ah, what was I saying about boring? Levante had a goal disallowed in the 48th minute! Acquafresca (amazing name, by the way) was slightly offside and the goal was disallowed. You know things are bad when you consider this an exciting moment. Xavi came in for Iniesta in the 58th minute, probably armed with a big stick to prod some life into our players. I'm not entirely sure Xavi needed to come on (neither are his tendons), but this wasn't Iniesta's best match and he seemed a bit off. I can't say I blame him.
Pedro came in for Thiago in the 66th minute, and Alexis came in for Tello in the 76th. I don't think I was the only one baffled by these subs…Cesc managed to disappear into obscurity until he scored, and as for Villa…as Ade said, you could tell he wasn't doing much as he wasn't offside once.
And yet, somehow, Cesc emerged from the shadows to score the only goal of the match! I swear he has a habit of doing that. Although by now, most of us were probably asleep. The goal was assisted by Alexis, and after my initial confusion as to why he was subbed on, I understood why.
The best thing about this match was easily Abidal's performance. The match may not have been against a particular tough opponent, no (although the time it took for Barça to score the only goal of the match may say otherwise), but when you realise it's been a full year since he last played 90 minutes, you can't fault him. Of course, Abidal is not at 100% fitness yet, but he's come back at a very crucial moment and looks like the solution to our seemingly neverending defence problem. He looked very cool and collected on the ball, which is amazing given how long he's been out for. If Barça manage to clinch the league in the next couple of matches, hopefully we'll see him play the last few games of the season to get his match fitness back but without the pressure.
And that's it for this snoozefest of a match. Don't worry though, Tuesday's match against Bayern promises to be a return to the Barça we're used to – extreme stress for 90 minutes, wailing over our "defence", screaming at the likes of Cesc to shoot…ah, wonderful. I wouldn't change that for anything!
Via: [Live Football] Saint-Etienne - AC Ajaccio - French Ligue 1
No comments:
Post a Comment