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April 2009 - Posts
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While Barca have had a fantastic season and have in their sights an historic treble it is too early to celebrate quite yet with vital matches against the Real Madrid and Chelsea coming up in the next few days.
The truth is that Barca were not at their best against Chelsea at the Camp Nou and if they had played better then they would have caused a lot more damage in attack with Messi very quiet but there is a lot of hope for the return game because Chelsea cannot defend as they did this week and if they do come out of their shells then Barca also will find it easy to break them down.
The big worry though is that neither Carles Puyol or Rafa Marquez will be able to play so Pep Guardiola will have to put out a make-shift back-four with maybe Martin Caceres playing or with Eric Abidal in the centre.
After the game against Chelsea the Barca players were rightfully annoyed that the referee was not stronger on some of the tackles but the fact is we all know Barca at their best would have made more goal scoring chances. Michael Ballack said that the pressure is now on Barca as they have more big games to play including Real Madrid this weekend but in reality it will be on Chelsea as if they lose then they can only win the FA Cup whereas Barca are alive in the league and in the final of the Copa del Rey.
For now though Barca must concentrate on the el clasico against Real Madrid on Saturday and more or less seal the league title with victory.
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Barcelona will have their Champions League rivals quaking after they swept aside Bayern Munich with an awesome display of first-half attacking football led by the dazzling feet of Lionel Messi.
Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson was proved spot on as he asserted that the Spanish giants were the team he feared most in the competition. While United disappointed at Old Trafford against Porto and now will need to be at their best to win in Portugal, Barca played Bayern off the park playing the quick-passing which brings back memories of Johan Cruyff's Dream Team of the early 1990s.
The mercurial Messi was living up to claims that he is the best player in the world this season as he led Barca's star-studded forward line alongside Thierry Henry and Samuel Eto'o, scoring twice and setting up another as they ripped open Bayern's injury ravaged defence at the Camp Nou and moved into a commanding position in the quarter-final tie.
Chelsea maybe feeling confident after their 3-1 first-leg win at Anfield but Barca's fast moving football is set to pose a whole new challenge.
Under pressure Bayern coach Jurgen Klinsmann without his first choice centre-halves and Hans Butt in goal instead of Michael Rensing after he conceded five in their thrashing by Wolfsburg last weekend saw his worst fears realised and with the team also disappointing in the league his days could be numbered.
The signs were ominous from the start though as Henry, looking for his 50th Champions League goal, saw the ball cleared off the line, having rounded the keeper after just five minutes.
The Bayern backline were not given a breather though as Barca pressed forward in waves and Messi made the breakthrough scoring his seventh goal in this year's Champions League, slipping the ball into the corner.
A darting run from Franck Ribery was all Bayern could muster as Messi set-up Eto'o for the second on a night when everything was paying off for the home side.
Despite two early goals the 98,000 capacity crowd were still eager for more and their full wrath descended on the referee when Messi was booked for going down easily in the box under a challenge from Christian Lell. The emotion of the night also seemed to get the better of coach Pep Guardiola who took his protests too far and was sent from the dug out.
Messi couldn't be tamed by the German defence lacking the assuredness of Lucio and Daniel Van Buyton and he got on the score sheet after 37 minutes sliding home an Henry cross from in front of goal.
Henry, back to his Arsenal best this season, was more than a worthy accomplice for Messi, and having earlier seen a shot go a whisker past the post he finally got his landmark 50th goal shortly before half-time scoring with precision following a fine Messi dribble.
With Van Bommel and Ze Roberto over-run in midfield, Klinsmann chose to take off Hamit Altintop from the wing and bolster the middle with Andreas Ottl a move which was already to be little more than damage limitation.
Having clearly been told to take their foot off the peddle at half time Barca went into cruise control and while they posed less of a threat in the final third Bayern continued to struggle to get a touch. Even having lowered the tempo though Messi was still a threat and looking for his hat-trick, he drifted in from the right-wing went past a couple of challenges but saw his shot parried onto the bar by the keeper.
If the match was billed as Messi versus Ribery then there was only one winner although the Frenchman will rightly claim he had a lack of support as Bayern found themselves chasing shadows.
The only real danger for the Barca defence came when Ribery slipped through a ball for Ze Roberto in front of goal but the Brazilian was unable to take the ball in his stride and there was little to indicate the potential for a miracle turnaround for the second leg.
After the game former Barcelona defender Gerard Pique admitted the size of the victory was unexpected: "we were obviously confident before the game because we were playing well but the way it turned out tonight was a surprise. Everything turned out right for us in the first half, Messi was fantastic and we got the perfect start. In the second half the rhythm dropped a bit but we did what we had to before then and it was a great result."
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Barcelona's players return to Catalunya after international duty and will need to be on their toes as they face a Valladolid side this weekend looking to take advantage of any jetlag.
Pep Guardiola's team have lost three out of four of their games following internationals this season and they cannot afford to do so again as with 30 points still to play for in the league there is a long way to go. They have a five point lead but still competing in three competitions it is going to be very tough to keep fresh for each game and it will also take some good luck.
Toure Yaya has been one of the unsung heroes of the team this season, working hard in midfield while the forwards take the plaudits and he is well aware that Barca cannot take anything for granted.
"It is not going to be easy, but I have confidence in the players and our style of football - our aim is simply to entertain people and I do not mind doing the dirty work so that the strikers can entertain the public, our philosophy is beautiful football," he said, "but we are still going to have to play against a lot of good sides if we are going to achieve our aims."
Toure performances have led to many comparisons with Patrick Vieira but the azulgrana player modestly played down the link: "Vieira is clearly better and I will have to work in order to reach his level."
Sports director Txiki Beguiristain disagrees though: "he gives us security and allows us to play the ball at pace. He is strong, wins possession and opens play extremely well."
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