Every time I sit down to an entry about Barcelona, I find myself pretty much unable to come up with anything that I haven't said before. I'm not a Barca supporter by any stretch, in fact I prefer Real Madrid in La Liga, but I can't deny that Barca play some of the most entertaining and attractive football out there.
A lot of folks thought this match was going to be a goal fest for the European champs. It really wasn't though. Viktoria Plzen, the Czech camps, were obviously outgunned and outclassed, but they really did the best they could and did a decent job of containing Barca. To that end, they basically camped two rows of four in and immediately in front of their penalty area.
It took some doing for Barca to break this down, but they did. Honestly, when you have guys like Messi and Iniesta, you've got a pretty good shot against any defense. In the 10 minute, these two combined on some glorious 1-2 play, and Iniesta finished the move with some fancy skill work to get around the last defender and slot home the goal to make it 1-0.
Play continued in much the same manner in the second half. Barca had many chances, but most often couldn't get the final ball. Messi himself hit the post twice. David Villa scored the second goal in the 82 minute, pounding home a loose ball to give Barca the 2-0 win.
At one point in the match, Messi went down with a knock after a hit. However, he was treated on the pitch and continued in the match. Plzen did not register a single official shot in the match.
No comments:
Post a Comment