I’m excited for the game today. You should be too.

Kick off is at 4pm EST, 6am in Tokyo, 11pm in Beirut, 3pm in Tegucigalpa, and midnight in Minsk HLEB CITY. Liveblog starts whenever I feel like it. (Probably half an hour before)

FCB Lineup: Valdés, Alves, Puyol, Mascherano, Adriano; Fàbregas, Dos Santos, Thiago; Messi, Cuenca Tello

Bench: Pinto, Xavi, Alexis, Pique, Busi, Abidal, Sergi Roberto

They’re talking about refs, lots of draws, and the possibility of Guardiola not renewing. None of this concerns me. None of this is remotely interesting. Real Sociedad is playing at the Camp Nou this weekend? Okay, then. We’ll focus on that for 2 hours Saturday afternoon. We’ll purchase Gareth Bale in the summer, Iniesta will recover from his injuries and score the greatest goal known to man when he jumps 50 feet in the air and doesn’t a double somersault flying chilena from his own box. Guardiola will renew. These things are written in stone.

The powers that be can’t keep a good man down. First Guardiola screams about how you can dry out the pitch all you want but Captain Caveman will swing in on his Tarzan vine and decimate your careful planning. Then he takes his kids to a basketball game. My friend CJ and I discussed it:

At first glance, this is terribly unfortunate. And annoying. And thought provoking. But mostly why is this happening I hate hamstring injuries screw it all to Madrid and back arghhhhhh!!!112!1!

But then you stop and realize the truth behind the madness. That we actually have 32 first team players when you really think about it.

Xavi is worth 12 players*, Abidal is 7 players, Busi is roughly worth 3[10^2974*(x-3 + 71)] + 2 – YAYA + y players, and Puyol is worth PUYI players. Messi is worth ∞ players.

*Where 0.12452 player is equal to approximately 3 million Pepe-s.

So have no fear, our lineup of heroes are here. The only kryptonite is yellow cards, as if Busi and Messi pick up one [both on 4] they’ll be suspended for the next match (vs. Real Sociedad)

FCB lineup: Valdes Alves Puyol Pique Abidal; Xavi Busquets Mascherano: Cesc Messi Adriano

Bench: Pinto, Thiago, Alexis, dos Santos, Roberto, Tello, Cuenca.

I was optimistic about their chances going in. They had retained all but Santi Cazorla and Joan Capdevila over the summer (and that perennial goal-monster Jozy Altidore, of course), meaning they had the majority of their team intact. They were missing a playmaker, yes, and a very hit-or-miss left back–also true–and I wrote “Villarreal appears set for a dive down into the table, but the weakness I see in other teams is the ballast that will keep them up at periscope depth.” I was wrong only about one thing: Villarreal was not going to be buoyed by my terrible nautical terminology.

It turns out they’re terrible. They just defeated fellow relegation battlers Sporting Gijon (Preciado’s mustache must have been trimmed for the encounter), but that’s just they’re 4th victory of the season. Their other victories were against Mallorca, Rayo Vallecano, and Real Betis. All have been at home, where they’re a solid 4W-4D-1L (15GF, 10GA). It is virtually identical to Barcelona’s away record: 4W-4D-1L (16GF, 10GA). Roughly speaking, it’s an even match between the 2nd placed side and the 17th placed side.

With Real Madrid facing off against last placed Real Zaragoza at the Bernabeu in the match prior to their own encounter, Barcelona are likely to be facing another 8 point gap. I think it would be fair to say that anything less from los blancos could be fairly treated as an epic tropiezo. The La Liga equivalent of this. For Barça, though, there’s a match to be played regardless of that outcome (no doubt if they lose, Mourinho will ride in the ref’s car all the way home berating him).

Villarreal are no true slouches. Yes, they’ve lost a large number of games (8) and they have the T-15th worst defense in the league with 28 goals allowed, but they have the T-8th best defense at home (10). They drew with Valencia 2-2 at the Madrigal and before that they drew with Real Sociedad at home. They’re capable of stealing points, that’s for sure. Anyone thinking that their 17th place situation is going to stop them from playing their hearts out in front of their own fans is crazy or hasn’t been paying attention the last few years to what goes on in that stadium.

Villarreal’s squad is this: Diego López (GK), César (GK), Mariño (GK), Joan Oriol, Mario, Gonzalo, Ángel, Marchena, Zapata, Musacchio, Marcos Senna, Bruno, Cani, Camuñas, Borja Valero, De Guzmán, Castellani, Marco Ruben, Joselu.

That squad is missing even more key ingredients, including Nilmar as well as long-term injury Giuseppe Rossi. They’ve signed no one in the transfer window, but have also not let anyone go. They remain dangerous given that it’s Marco Ruben that’s their leading goalscorer with 6. Borja Valero comes in with the most assists (4) and holds down their midfield region alongside Marcos Senna. He’s not particularly goalscory this year with just 3 to his name, but he’s capable when the mood takes him, as it did last week with this stunner (better quality at 4:50 here).

Barça are down a few players, yet can still field a rather competitive starting 11. The squad sent to El Madrigal is thus: Valdés, Pinto, Piqué, Fàbregas, Puyol, Xavi, Messi, Thiago, Mascherano, Sergio Busquets, Adriano, Abidal, Alves, Pedro, Jonathan dos Santos, Isaac Cuenca, Sergi Roberto, Cristian Tello.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see Pep tinker with the lineup even though he knows it’s extremely risky. There’s Valencia on Wednesday in the Copa semifinals, after all. Yet losing any more points to Madrid is, as it was before, an invitation to losing the league, even this early. 5 points is surmountable, but 7 or 8 points seems extremely unlikely. So why not start a solid 11 and get the points? Then bother about Valencia on Wednesday. We’re already missing Iniesta and Alexis from this past Wednesday, so tinkering is a must, but not the point of starting, say, Pedro, right?

Valdes, Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Adriano, Busquets, Xavi, Thiago, Cesc, Messi, Pedro

Official Prediction: 1-2. A very hard game that wears the team down even more and causes a loss in Valencia on Wednesday. Which is okay if we beat Real Sociedad on the rebound. Goals by Adriano and Messi.

(Insert reference to Lio, lions, and roaring here)

Pep’s notes before the game must have been:

1. Give Messi the ball.
2. ????
3. GOLAZO
4. Repeat 1-3 until sufficient scoreline is achieved.

A simply remarkable game from the world’s best player. But the thing is, this is him being “back on form”. That’s the incredible part.

By his standards, Leo Messi has been a bit lacklustre in away games. Despite being the focus of the opposition team’s defense, a minimum of three defenders on him at all time, despite the fact that that means that the rest of the team has much more space to operate, he only scored one goal in away matches in the Liga this season. (Compared to the 18 goals scored at Camp Nou).

And that is poor. By his standards.

By his standards.

Those are the key words and ones I would repeat ad nauseam.

Because the standards this man has set is higher than Mount Everest and it only continues to elevate as he plays. A standard no other human can ever reach and maintain.

Because Messi to me is like a footballing superhero. Except it’s not Superman, it’s Argentinaman! (His Argie blood gives him strength, don’tcha know?).

He is the team’s greatest offensive threat. He’s been carrying them offensively. The real story this season is not that he’s only score one goal away from home, but that the team itself has had problems scoring. Even if he himself doesn’t have a direct impact, though assist and goals, the indirect influence he has is priceless. He forces a team to change shape and makes sure the opposition can never really relax just by being there because they know that one false move, and BAM. Destruction. Goals. Mayhem.

That’s why Pep doesn’t sub him off.

And as the mister said today: “Messi’s main quality is his consistency; for being decisive in so many games, for such a long time.”

But if he doesn’t dominate the game as his often superhuman, Argentinaman self does, doesn’t shine the way he’s supposed to – the way us Barca fans are used to – then he’s had a bad game. He looks uninterested, unmotivated and has to be subbed off.

If that were me, I’d be weeping at the unfairness of it all.

But not Messi. Because he knows. He knows the standards he’s set. He knows that he has to keep improving, that he can’t just rest on his laurels. That the fans and the club are demanding and expecting and will not allow that. And if he wants to stay, he’ll have to keep pushing himself.

He told Don Balon a couple of weeks ago:

“I’m at the best club in the world, no other team could fulfill me as much as Barcelona does. I grew up at La Masia and I became a man at Barca. I hope to stay here until they get tired of me, which is hopefully never.”

This is our player. And today, he showed that hunger that never left.

Target: Locked

We rolled into Malaga’s stadium with Valdes; Alves, Pique, Masche, Abidal; Busi, Iniesta, Thiago; Adriano, Messi and Alexis. It was an interesting one. No Xavi, Fabregas, or Puyol, and Adriano starts as LW.

The game itself stated with a battle for possession. Malaga weren’t interested in sitting back a la Madrid and going for a counter attack. But unlike many games this season, we got into a rhythm early, passing the ball around, getting into a groove.

Or rather, Messi got into a groove. As early as the 7^th minute, he went on one of those classic runs, dancing past Malaga defenders, before slotting the ball to a wide open Thiago on the right who first times the cross for a diving Alexis header in the box which was saved by the excellent Malaga goalkeeper.

But the onslaught was just beginning. Two minutes later, another lovely dribble from Messi ends with a powerful shot deflected JUST past the post for a corner. Iniesta was wide open in space to the left of Leo and he probably should have passed to Ghostface.

Barcelona were really dominating now. But Malaga then decided to try and get something out of the game.

Now Victor Valdes must have the hardest and easiest job ever. The ultimate paradox. He has to be alert to the danger, which is often meager. But if he’s not focused, the goals will pour in like locusts.

In the 14^th minute, Valdes produced three successive goal denying saves from Isco to keep Malaga shut out before the Messi show took over.

Messi was once again on a run but the ball is tackled away (he gets accidentally kneed in the head for his troubles). Malaga counter attack. After a nice one-two on the left, Isco unleashes a shot that’s headed for the top right corner, but he is DE-NIED by a flying Valdes. From the resulting corner, Boo! Wellington the pesky Isco directs a header towards goal but that man Valdes saves again. The rebound is smacked goalwards yet again by Isco but no ball shall pass the Wall of Valdes. In the first half anyway.

You shall not pass!

Regular service resumed from there as Pique had a free header in the 17^th minute which was poor. Decent chances from Thiago and Adriano followed. The break-through only a matter of time.

Déjà vu hit in the 29^th minute when Messi floated an incredible pass to a wide open Abidal. Very reminiscent of the winning goal last Wednesday. But Willy Cabanero was alert to the impending catastrophe and forced Abidal back. Abi passes back to Messi who is lurking in the box. Leo spanks the ball towards goal but Demichelis clears off the line.

But Messi’s wasn’t finished. He lays an incredible pass to Alexis which is saved. The Malaga GK, desperately trying to relieve some pressure, launches a counter attack through Eliseu. He curls a wonderful cross to Ruud van Nistelrooy (yeah, he was playing) who puts it wide.

Fantastic game and still only a half hour in. You’d wonder how it was still 0-0.

That would change in the 32^nd minute when Adriano puts in a fabulous floating cross for –who else?– Leo Messi to head in. He may be the second shortest player on the field, but the man can head the ball. I’ve always thought so. The placement was spectacular. 1-0 to Barca.

Eat it, Pele! With a side of paella.

I’ll take the time to say Messi’s passes are just incredible. I mean, really. Nothing flashy, just simple perfectly weighted passes that are so, so deadly.

The half ended with two more half chances. The first comes when Alexis wins the ball at the edge of the Malaga box and play a brilliant pass to Iniesta, but he miscontrols (!) and the danger is cleared. The second was Messi passing the ball through the legs on a Malaga defender to Abidal, but his cross is gathered by the Malaga GK before Alexis could get a head to it.

Halftime. 1-0 Barcelona with 70% of the ball. Ole.

The second half started as the first half ended. Barca camped out in the Malaga half.

Wonderful play by Iniesta would be the instigator for the second goal. He sets up Thiago at the edge of the box, but his shot was saved. The danger for Malaga wasn’t averted as Adriano picked up the rebound and squared the ball to Thiago but he is once again saved by the outstanding Malaga GK. He wouldn’t be able to stop Alexis, as the Chilean manages to put in the rebound. 2-0 Barcelona.

Would we let poor Malaga catch their breath?

Answer: Hell to the no.

Just three minutes later, good pressure from Iniesta Busi Leo in the Malaga half wins Barca possession. Busi slides a short pass back to Messi. Surrounded by three players with another two blocking his path, the genius jinxes his way through, drifting to the right before cutting back to his left and slotting the ball past the keeper. 3-0. Game. Set. Match.

But we’d spend the rest of the game looking for a fourth.

Striker Pique would come out of the long grass around the 70th minute, but the team ignores him he doesn’t get any service.

In the 73rd minute, after Pedro comes on for Iniesta, Messi hits the underside of the crossbar. To describe my feeling, I go to the wonderful Ray Hudson:

“Damn that crossbar! Damn it all to hell! A hat-trick would have been deserved. Look at this, the witching way. I think it crossed the line.”

Aye, sir.

Thiago would get two good opportunities to net the 4th. He’s put through on goal by a great Abidal pass, but he tries to set up Cuenca instead of going for goal. A couple of seconds later, he has a header saved.

The fourth goal would come eventually and to describe it, I will consult my notes from this match:

81st Busi wins the ball in Malaga half. Messi. Dead. 0-4. Hattrick. &#^(@#&@)*#@)*#)!(

Argentinaman. I’m so glad he plays for us.

Match ball is yours!

The End

Make no mistake, Malaga were a dangerous opponent. They had very good looks on goal in the first half. In the second half, substitute Rondon was very lively. He scored after Valdes saved the initial shot from a Malaga player, but pushed the ball into the path of Rondon. That man Rondon would get anther look at goal int he 86th minute, dragging his header wide after a great cross from the left.

He himself would provide a cross in the dying moments of the game but the resultant header was poor.

So it’s not like Malaga were parking the bus — we forced them back and put them relentless pressure. So much so that they couldn’t get into the game (until we dropped off towards the end). Important distinction.

Also, Santi Cazorla is a wonderful footballer.

Thoughts:

Team: Easily the best away game of the season. Some frenetic passing in the first half, but calmed down in the second. Was just dominate for 85 minutes and a sensational day between the sticks by the Malaga GK is what kept the score down. No matter who plays, the level doesn’t drop much. Almost scored a goal from pressing in the 26th minute too. This performance was coming, but it was also much needed. Riding the momentum of the Copa win. Keep it up!

But that being said, those last 5 minutes… no me gusta. You can’t just switch off like that. Stay focused for the whole match.

Pep: Made all his subs before the 75th minute!! Also, he had the team ready to play but also rested some key players. As Josep Capdevila, a Spanish journalist, noted on Twitter: Pep is still rotating even with 15 squad players (and a couple of B teamers). This is awesome. Well played, boss.

Valdes: “Without Valdes’ saves in the first half, you don’t know what can happen. Details are decisive in football.” – Pep Guardiola post match. Some really sensational saves Victor. It’s a shame that we couldn’t keep a clean sheet for you. Can’t put too much blame on the Rondon goal, maybe could have push it out, but even then that’s asking a lot.

Alves: Seemed like he was dying in the second half with all those hits. Glad to see he’s okay. Malaga attacked his flank most often in the first half, to be expected. Got up and down the flank with his usual energy. Nice line up play with Messi and Alexis.

Mascherano: Full on man. Fantastic defensive play towards the end of the first half, where he just ate up the ground and blocked van Nistelrooy’s path to goal.

Pique: Getting better. Did some great covering jobs, particularly in the second half. Tried to be a striker, but alas, had to slowly make his way back when it became apparent that a) the team wouldn’t be entertaining that idea, and b) he probably wouldn’t have scored anyway.

Abidal: Maxwell said after he signed for PSG: “Abidal is the best left back in the world. He’s in spectacular form.” Couldn’t have said it better myself, Maxy.

Busi: Really loved the game he played today. Always available as an outlet, always keeps it simple. Just a great footballer. That tackle by Camacho in the second half was just awful. Ripped your shorts and everything. I bet some will still call you a diver afterwords though.

Thiago: Wonderful match. He’s putting in that workman like performance that tends to be a thank less job. Keep possession well, make some great runs into the box. The interesting thing with Thiago is that people are still expecting him to play a looser, flashier match. But he knows that for the team to win, he’ll have to make sacrifices and do the dirty work. I love that.

Iniesta: Another strong match. I love his chemistry with Messi. Their link up play is just a joy to watch. Got some well deserved rest when Pep subbed him off for Pedro.

Adriano: He loves to attack doesn’t he? He didn’t make as many runs that I’d expect him to. And sometimes he had the defender’s reflex in the box where he cleared the ball away from the Malaga goal instead of towards it. Fantastic cross for the opening goal. Shame you got a cramp towards the end. Let’s hope it’s not serious.

Alexis: El nino maravilla! Movement was good, had great chances to score and eventually put away the second goal. Good day at the office, chileno.

Messi: See above. At the halfway point in 08-09 season he had 11 goals, in 09-10 he had 15, last year he had 18 and now he has 22 [Jafri during LB]. Only one two from a penalty (compared to another player who has 22 goals, 10 9 (!) for the spot). And he’s still expected to do more, to be even better. He wouldn’t want it any other way.

Substitutions

Cuenca (for Alexis): Came in when the match was pretty much decided. Good run out for Isaac.

JDS (for Adriano): Yay! JDS got to play and it wasn’t at rightback! I always love seeing Jona on the pitch.

Pedro (for Iniesta): Looked good. Gain some much needed minutes and had nice touches on the ball. Here’s hoping he comes back to form soon.

So we’re still improving. This doesn’t mean that there won’t be more…unfortunate… results in the future. But the team will keep trying hard to win this Liga. I couldn’t ask for more.

Away form: hopefully fixed.
[All images courtesy of fcbarcelona.cat]

Barca lineup: Valdes; Alves, Pique, Masche, Abidal; Busi, Iniesta, Thiago; Adriano, Messi and Alexis

Bench: Pinto, Puyol, Jona, Xavi, Cesc, Cuenca, Pedro. In the stands: Sergi Roberto.

Let's hope for better field conditions

Liga Preview: Málaga – Barcelona, Sunday 12noon ET, GolTV

It’s the first week of the season, everyone! Time to celebrate! There’s a full 38 matches ahead of us and we’ve got quite the schedule lined up for the next–wait, what? Oh, it’s actually the midway point, we’re just calling it the first match of the season? Why would we do that? Oh, RFEF is completely insane? Right. I’d forgotten about that.

So it’s Málaga now, the new big boys on the block, or so they’d have you think. The odd thing is, I’m not sure why they’re not doing better than they are. Yet I bet against them before the season started, saying they wouldn’t make the Champions League spot so many said they would. They’re rich, they’re talented, and they’ve got a good manager, but they’re not really a team yet. They don’t have an identity you can point to and say “this is how Málaga rolls.” They don’t roll. They’re just Málaga.

Their offseason additions were something you could nod at and say “Shnikies, that’s some good stuff.” Expenditures topped €50m with Santi Cazorla being prized from Villarreal for €19m on one of the final days of the transfer window. They brought in Joaquin and Diego Buonanotte, Ruud van Nistelrooy and Jérémy Toulalan. Sergio Sánchez and Nacho Monreal. Martín Demichelis and Joris Mathijsen. They offloaded a good many players as well, but none of them brought in a red cent. They were positioning themselves behind Qatari oil money (for shame!) for a big run. They were closing the gap between the Big 2 and the have nots with giant strides.

And now, 18 matches in, they’re in 10th with a game in hand over several of their better-ranked rivals. They’re only a point from a Europa League spot, but that point could be hard to come by given the other teams involved. Athletic Bilbao has leapfrogged them and Sevilla looks more than capable of pushing towards Levante’s 4th place spot. Espanyol may be surprising a lot of onlookers, but they’re not half bad and they seem to have hit a vein of form. Levante could be weakening, but they’re hosting last place Zaragoza tomorrow, which should be 3 more points and could put them almost out of reach for Málaga unless the los boquerones can manage something against FCB.

That’s the point, though, isn’t it? Málaga was supposed to be challenging for something, not hoping to get the last seat at the European table. They put up a fight against Real Madrid, but couldn’t close the deal at 2-0 up in the first leg, eventually succumbing 4-2 on aggregate, but that about sums up their season. They haven’t won a league match since November 28 when they beat Villarreal 2-1. Since, they’ve drawn 2 and lost 3, including matches to Real Sociedad and Sporting Gijon. They’re playing like a mid-table club: 10th in goals scored (21) and 10th in goals allowed (24).

The silver lining is that they’re good at home (5W-2D-1L, 13GF 9GA) while Barça continues to have an up-and-down season on the road (3W-4D-1L, 12GF 9GA). That suggests a pretty good, even match is coming our way. They were called Maulaga for a reason the last couple of years, but now they’re trying to play a bit and they’re no longer playing Weligton enough to warrant a real BFB shoutout to the original Pepe. He’s basically a hipster. He was stomping on Messi before stomping on Messi was cool. So he’s a stompster. Okay, I’m going to do it: Boo Weligton!

Everyone scores for Málaga. Cazorla leads the way with 4 goals, but after that, there are 5 players with 2 goals apiece.

Barcelona are traveling with everyone save the injured Fontàs, Villa, and Afelley and Keita who is on ACN duty. Pedro was declared fit and included in the squad, so he’ll be traveling alongside everyone plus the B-teamers Cuenca, Sergi Roberto, and Jonathan dos Santos. I suspect Pedro will be reserved for a substitute role, but that he’ll make an appearance regardless of what the scoreline is. If we’re down or level, he’ll come on to beef up the attack. If we’re winning, he’ll come on to beef up the attack. It’s how things go around these parts. Though, did you realize Pedro only has 1 league goal this year? Well whether you did or not, he only has 1. Crazy!

With Real Madrid hosting Athletic Bilbao, it’s likely that any slip up on Barça’s part will result in an 8-point gap. That can’t be allowed, as Guardiola has noted. No more points can be dropped if the league is to be contested. What I love about that article is that Guardiola notes the danger Málaga presents. Pellegrini is no fool and he’s pushed Barcelona to the brink with a 96 point league haul when he was managing Real Madrid. That’s pretty much the hotness except Barça got 99 points. Crazy, right? Yup. But that’s how things have been going and it’s why Málaga is having such a hard time breaking into the big crowd. It’s quite the gap to bridge.

Play hard, play well, play correctly. Get 3 points. Make the world swoon. Whatever gets you motivated, do it. Get it going. That motor should be purring because if it’s not, there goes La Liga. And remember, it’s only the halfway stage. That’s how messed up this league is.

Predicted lineup: Valdes, Alves, Mascherano, Puyol, Abidal, Busquets, Xavi, Cesc, Messi, Alexis, Adriano

Official Prediction: 1-2. Bitter game, but we get the necessary points. It’s going to be tough. It’s going to be physical. And it’s going to be Alves and Cesc with the goals.

"Never attack Russia in the winter"

Apparently Betis didn’t get the memo, and like Napoleon’s march on Russia in 1812 they started brightly. Valdes was forced into action early as Abidal failed to pick up his mark and Mascherano lost track of his man running through, giving him a one-on-one. Valdes again showed his importance to the team on the resulting corner, punching out a bullet of a header. Betis looked hungry, they were pressing well, passing well, and creating chances. And the English commentator just called it the “Nou Camp.” Where is that mute button? Time for some Frank Zappa.

Yet for all Betis’ work, Barcelona is the first on the score sheet with what is essentially our first attack. Puyol makes a smart interception and feeds Xavi who begins to dance through the midfield, exchanging passes with Busquets and Iniesta as he moves left and finds Sanchez in space. Meanwhile Fabregas is doing what he does best and making an incisive run across the box. Sanchez again shows his ninja skills with a cleverly disguised pass, Fabregas has his evening cup of Earl Gray before he clips the ball against the far post, and Xavi is lurking to make it 1-0. A deserved goal for Xavi that earned him the right to a cute hop-skip-and-jump celebration with a fist pump thrown in for good measure.

I had barely finished my own, more excessive, celebration before Messi made it 2-0. The entire Betis backline is in full retreat as Iniesta dribbles at them before playing a simple pass to Sanchez who is in acres of space on the left. The Betis right back obviously didn’t learn his lesson about giving Sanchez too much space from the last goal and Sanchez punishes him with a perfect first time cross that Messi finishes easily. Two goals, both of which Sanchez created by maintaining width on the left and catching the Betis backline out of position. 12 minutes into the game and I started to relax.

Unfortunately I wasn’t the only one. Messi put Iniesta in on goal with a long probing pass but Iniesta looks like he is out on a Sunday stroll and the chance is lost. As a side note, Fabregas starts the play making an interception in the right back zone, and ends it making a slide tackle in Betis’ box. Fabregas dropped deep in midfield throughout the game, playing almost as a defensive midfielder at times without the ball. I’d like to see this more often as it fills the hole Busquets leaves when he drops into a back four (and hopefully will cure Fabregas of his “run wherever the ball is” positioning). The ensuing 20 minutes consist mostly of Barcelona maintaining possession deep but not creating many chances. Strangely the reason we struggled to create chances was because we weren’t patient enough in our passing. The team as a whole was too direct in the opponent’s third, constantly trying to play the hero ball when we needed to be besieging their goal (there was also Sanchez comically tripping over the ball when he was through on goal).

AND HOLY JEEZERS BETIS HAVE SCORED. A darting run from Molina through the middle beats Mascherano. Molina drops it back, and while our entire defense stands transfixed a perfect ball finds Castro camped all alone in our box. A very nice goal that we would have been proud of if our boys had scored it, but all of a sudden our Camp Nou clean sheet run is over. And I’m not quite so relaxed anymore. On a tactical note the worry with the 3-4-3 on defense is generally that teams can find space on the wings. With both Puyol and Abidal playing fairly wide throughout the first half the most danger has come when Betis isolate Mascherano against a quick forward and play a through pass – they’ve had several good chances this way. The rest of the half devolves into a ping pong match with both teams having a couple half chances. Overall it feels like an EPL game for a couple minutes there.

FIST PUMPAZO!!

A nervous half time commenced. I kept hoping that the words a wise man once spoke would be true: “Betis always find a way of troubling us, even if we eventually win.”

Alves replaced Cuenca at half time – starting off at right wing where Cuenca supposedly played in the first half. Within six minutes he was dropping in to play right back, forming a 4-3-3, and within seven minutes Betis scored their second goal. Castro had the whole right side of the pitch to himself as Alves had been drawn way too centrally. Castro finds Santa Cruz unmarked at the top of the box and Santa Cruz nestles the ball in the far corner. 2-2.

And for a couple of minutes after the equalizing goal there were doubts. A dread seemed to hang over the stadium, and you could hear whispers from the peanut gallery: “Pep insists on using this formation even though it is weak defensively.” “The team lacks the killer instinct it had in years past.” “This is the type of match where Barcelona concedes the league.” For a moment I thought I could hear a Cule running down Las Ramblas screaming “Franco is coming! Franco is coming!” But there was lots of time left.

Barcelona started crafting some half chances, with Messi putting a weak shot on target and Xavi playing a nice chip that Fabregas blazed over. Abidal in particular was enjoying the change back to a 4-3-3, getting forward and causing havoc on the left. Fabregas and Messi play a cute give and go but Messi blazes over. Speaking of Messi he lost the ball all too often today, especially after Betis scored their second. 60 minutes gone, and there isn’t so much time left. My heart rate is getting alarmingly high.

The players also seem to be losing their cool, as both Messi and Xavi tell the ref exactly what they think about his call. Alves on the right causing trouble now. We are attacking their goal but the clear chances just won’t seem to come. Messi loses the ball again. Alves goes up with the keeper for a header but the ball just won’t go in the goal. ARE YOU TOO GOOD FOR YOUR HOME? I’m breathing hard now. Xavi is awesome. The ref denies Iniesta a penalty after Montero mistakes his shin for the ball in their box. Iniesta says to the ref “Sir, I must kindly disagree” and gets a yellow for his troubles. Damn this game is exciting. Messi drives through the center and gets wrecked by Montero, who sees his second yellow. Being a man up is great and all by why can’t we score?!?!?! Messi loses the ball again. Oh no Betis is attacking again. Pep is yelling. Sanchez gets a ball through from Iniesta but can’t finish. Sanchez glances a header just wide. 15 minutes left and the tension is rising to uncontroGGGGGGOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLL. GOAL GOAL GOAL.

Xavi has been providing dangerous balls for a half hour and he finds Sanchez running laterally through the middle. Sanchez still has it all to do and he finds space against two defenders and powers the ball past Casto. I may be developing a man crush on Sanchez. The final goal and the nail in the Betis’ coffin comes through an excellent attacking run from Abidal where he combines nicely with Messi and keeps the ball alive after the rebound and earns a rare Barcelona penalty. Messi duly finishes it, and the match is over.

The oddest moment of the match

Valdes: B+. Will be disappointed to concede in the Camp Nou, but can’t take blame for either of the goals. Made a couple excellent saves early in the first half. Distribution was solid as always.

Puyol: B. Made some excellent interceptions, but also got caught way out of position at times.

Mascherano: C+. Beaten several times in the first half to give Betis dangerous chances, although he was left isolated. Much better in the second half with Puyol next to him.

Abidal: B. The second game in a row where he cleared the ball out of bounds with alarming regularity. Looked unsure of his role and positioning on the left of the three man defense in the first half. Enjoyed his freedom to get forward in the second and played a huge role in winning the penalty.

Busquets: B+. Spent the first half somewhere between centerback and defensive midfielder, popping up at the right place with unnerving regularity. He reads the game incredibly well. Distributed well and created a couple dangerous moments when he attacked through the middle. Fouled and won fouls. All in all a stereotypical Busquets performance.

Xavi: A. Scored a deserved goal, and controlled the match throughout. Played a bunch of dangerous balls as we searched for the equalizer – they all found their target, but only Sanchez could capitalize. Good match.

Iniesta: B+. He was a wizard out there with the ball at his feet. Played well with Sanchez in the early going. Created a lot of dangerous situations but just seemed unable to connect for the final pass.

Fabregas: B. He kind of reminds me of watching Pedro in his first season. Covered an unbelievable amount of ground. Made some dangerous runs in the box but could also be seen deep in the midfield at times. Some of his passing wasn’t patient enough and he still looks like he isn’t sure where he should be on the field a lot of the time.

Cuenca: C-. Hooked for Alves at half time after an anonymous first half. Contributed almost nothing going forward but worked hard and covered a lot of ground defending the right flank.

Messi: B. Scored two goals and drew a red card, but didn’t have a great game the rest of the time. A solid first half was followed by a second half where he lost the ball too often – whether on the dribble or a pass.

Sanchez: A. Created danger on the left wing the whole first half, and the first two goals as well. Faded a bit in the middle of the match, but emphatically scored the winning goal after a superb run through the middle. We haven’t had a player with his dynamism and versatility of play on the left wing since Henry circa ’08-’09. My MOTM.

Subs

Alves: B. Deserves the blame for Betis’ second goal, as he was ostensibly playing right back but was standing in the center circle. Created danger on the right, including a sumptuous cross for Sanchez right before we took the lead, but nothing quite seemed to come off for him.

Thiago: N/A. Replaced Fabregas in the 83rd minute to maintain possession and did his job without any fuss.

*All grading is done on the curve.

Overall it was an incredibly exciting game. No, Barcelona wasn’t at their best, and this didn’t turn into the statement game that many were expecting or hoping it to be. In fact it’s fair to say that our execution was off all night – maybe just by a little bit, but that small margin is what makes the difference. These matches are the reason I love watching this team – tense all the way through, moments of magic, and it feels unbelievably amazing when the boys in Blaugrana pull it off. Games like these remind the players, and fans, that even in the Camp Nou nothing can be taken for granted – a lesson that we may have forgotten over three years of success. In the end you can’t help but hope our season plays out just like this match – a strong start, a slump in form in the middle, and a blazing finish that secures the win.

…I don’t jinx my own team, okay?

Betis will no doubt be a tricky opponent–they’ve always given us trouble — but we’re playing in Camp Nou. CAMP NOU. No matter how much fight you put up, you’ll die eventually.

FCB lineup (official): Valdés, Puyol, Mascherano, Abidal, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Cesc, Messi, Cuenca and Alexis.

3-4-3, no Alves or Pique.

They were first for a bit, having won their first 4 matches. They were looking down from lofty heights and thinking about long-term results. They were living up to the hype from last year when they put in a magnificent second leg against Barça and won handily. They were segunda champions. And then: 1 point out of the next 30 and Real Betis fell all the way to 17th, just barely out of the relegation zone. Manager Pepe Mel was supposedly on the hot seat, the team was barely scoring, and the defense was losing its grip. The next match was against Valencia and they were assured of losing.

An own goal appeared to be extinguishing Betis’ season. Extra time came along and suddenly another and then: Ruben Castro scored, the crowd went wild. A point against Valencia at the death. And then: Ruben Castro scored again, a second goal in extra time and one that was worth 2 additional points and pandemonium in the stands. They’ve gone 3 matches without dropping a point. They’re in 10th and looking like the team from the first few weeks. They beat Atleti at the Calderon and Sporting Gijon at home.

So they’re heading to Barcelona now, to play a team that is probably looking to make a strong statement of intent before midweek clasicos. Betis brings along Casto, Fabricio, Juanma, Nacho, Jonathan Pereira, Iriney, Salva Sevilla, Isidoro, Ustaritz, Mario, Dorado, Sergio, Cañas, Jorge Molina, Rubén Castro, Santa Cruz, Matilla, Jefferson Montero.

They play a fairly open and attacking brand of football, which is fun, but hasn’t really paid off with a lot of goals. Only 19 so far this season with Ruben Castro getting 5 of them and Roque Santa Cruz 4. The defense has allowed just 22 goals, however, which is not particularly bad. Barcelona, however, are not your typical team and Betis aren’t particularly good against higher ranked teams.

Barça haven’t allowed a goal at home this year while they’ve scored 39 and are 8W-1D-0L compared to Betis’ 3W-0D-6L away from home. That suggests a pretty high likelihood of a home win, but crazier things have certainly happened. Seydou Keita is now missing for Barça thanks to African Cup of Nations duty. Pedro and Andreu Fontas are also injured, which means that, coupled with Ibi and Villa’s absences, only 15 1st teamers are available. B-teamers Cuenca, Montoya, Sergi Roberto, and Jonathan Dos Santos all trained with the first team and are likely to be included in the final squad list.

Predicted lineup: Valdes, Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Abidal, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Cesc, Messi, Cuenca.

I have no particulary rationale behind that lineup other than it is 11 players and resting Puyol for the midweek game is perhaps something Guardiola will do. Otherwise, I have no idea because it depends on whether or not Abidal gets rested in favor of Adriano or not. We’ll have to see. Either way, Official Prediction: 3-0. No goals are allowed in the Camp Nou.

It’s extremely important to get this win as Madrid has already moved back up by 8 points thanks to their come-from-behind victory over Mallorca. No more points can be handed to them if the league is to be won. And winning the league is the point of the season. It’s not the Champions League and it’s not the Copa and it’s not the Club World Cup. It’s La Liga. And these matches are what matter in the long run. Every point is worth the same and now is when we prove our worthiness. So, now we have to do it. Doing it with a clean sheet just makes it seem better, more convincing.

Apologies for the short preview, but these Sunday games are extremely hard to find time for. We’ll have a review for you and then it’s Clasico Week again and I’ll be posting a couple of times before Pep’s Birthday Celebration in the Bernabeu.