La Liga Week 14: Barcelona Pull Away, Real Madrid In Trouble
December 10th 2008 05:56
Barcelona – Valencia: 4-0
There is no stopping the steamrolling machine that is Barcelona. Without La Liga's current leading scorer in the line-up, the Blaugrana put up another impressive offensive display with a 4-0 win over Valencia including a hat-trick by Thierry Henry. The Blaugrana made their intentions clear from the first minute of the game when Xavi's shot rattled off the post after a defensive mistake in Valencia's backline. At the 19th minute, Henry scored his first of the game after a nice pass from Toure. The goal was a carbon copy of the hundreds he scored under the Arsenal shirt in the Premiership. Less than ten minutes later, he scored his second, giving Barcelona a 2-0 advantage against Valencia. The home side then added a third goal before the half via Daniel Alves.
As the second half went on, it was clear that the Valencia players lost their hope little by little. They started to lose their focus, fouling Barcelona players here and there instead of concentrating on their football. At the 78th minute, Henry completed his hat-trick thanks to a nice set-up by Bojan who made sure to take out two defenders and the goalkeeper to give Henry a wide open net. It's a moment of solace for the French striker who hasn't been comfortable ever since he joined the club. Still, this performance won't make him take Eto'o's place as the center forward. Patience will be key for Henry.
Barcelona's line-up: Victor Valdes; Daniel Alves, Rafael Marquez, Carles Puyol, Eric Abidal; Xavi Hernandez (Seydou Keita, 83rd), Yaya Toure, Eidur Gudjohnssen; Lionel Messi (Pedro Rodriguez, 81st), Thierry Henry, Aleksandr Hleb (Bojan Krkic, 72nd).
Real Madrid – Sevilla: 3-4
The point of a football game is to score more goals than your opponent, but limiting your opponents' chances of scoring is a pretty good start. The Meringues don't seem to understand that concept. Game after game, their defense is as leaky as a sinking ship. Against Sevilla on Saturday, the defending champions surrendered four goals while they could only score three. The first goal was scored at the 2nd minute of play after Casillas made a rare harazardous exit from his net in order to punch away a cross coming in from the left. The goalkeeper missed his clearance, and the ball found itself at the feet of an opposing player at the far post who only had to kick it into a wide open net. Madrid equalized at the 18th minute when Guti's free-kick connected with Raul's head. Unfortunately, Sevilla took the lead once again three minutes later, and added another goal at the 38th minute.
For a while, it looked like the game was over right then and there. Madrid were down 3-1, and weren't exactly producing some inspired play. All that changed at the 66th minute when Higuain, out of nowhere, scored his team's second goal. Two minutes later, Gago equalized the mark after another free-kick superbly struck by Guti. Hope was restored in the Bernabeu faithful. However, everything came crashing back down when Arjen Robben was sent off. With six minutes left to go, Sevilla scored the winning goal, and consequently passed the defending champions in the standings.
Not only does Madrid need another defensive midfielder, but I'm also starting to think that their defense needs a more intimidating presence. Face it. How can their opponents be afraid of entering into the box when their opposition is offensively-minded Sergio Ramos and Marcelo, old legs Salgado, and lackluster Cannavaro. Don't get me wrong, I love Cannavaro but he hasn't been the same since joining Madrid. Furthermore, he doesn't have the presence you would get if a John Terry or a Rio Ferdinand or a Vidic played in his position. You could say that it's because of his short stature, but Barcelona are doing pretty well with Puyol as the general of the defense. The difference is that Puyol is a warrior. He'll stick to your shorts, snap at your heels, and put in some solid tackles all within the rules of the game. Cannavaro on the other hand is more cerebral. He'll watch you and wait for the perfect moment to step in. He is a cerebral player, not a physical one, and that is probably from his career in the Serie A. Maybe that is the problem of Madrid's defenders. They think too much. They worry about their positioning and not getting into Casillas' way; all it takes is one opposing player to get through before the whole defense turns off-kilter. Anyways, next week is “El Clasico,” and with the way Barcelona is playing, it's looking more like a slaughter than a classic confrontation.
There is no stopping the steamrolling machine that is Barcelona. Without La Liga's current leading scorer in the line-up, the Blaugrana put up another impressive offensive display with a 4-0 win over Valencia including a hat-trick by Thierry Henry. The Blaugrana made their intentions clear from the first minute of the game when Xavi's shot rattled off the post after a defensive mistake in Valencia's backline. At the 19th minute, Henry scored his first of the game after a nice pass from Toure. The goal was a carbon copy of the hundreds he scored under the Arsenal shirt in the Premiership. Less than ten minutes later, he scored his second, giving Barcelona a 2-0 advantage against Valencia. The home side then added a third goal before the half via Daniel Alves.
As the second half went on, it was clear that the Valencia players lost their hope little by little. They started to lose their focus, fouling Barcelona players here and there instead of concentrating on their football. At the 78th minute, Henry completed his hat-trick thanks to a nice set-up by Bojan who made sure to take out two defenders and the goalkeeper to give Henry a wide open net. It's a moment of solace for the French striker who hasn't been comfortable ever since he joined the club. Still, this performance won't make him take Eto'o's place as the center forward. Patience will be key for Henry.
Barcelona's line-up: Victor Valdes; Daniel Alves, Rafael Marquez, Carles Puyol, Eric Abidal; Xavi Hernandez (Seydou Keita, 83rd), Yaya Toure, Eidur Gudjohnssen; Lionel Messi (Pedro Rodriguez, 81st), Thierry Henry, Aleksandr Hleb (Bojan Krkic, 72nd).
Real Madrid – Sevilla: 3-4
The point of a football game is to score more goals than your opponent, but limiting your opponents' chances of scoring is a pretty good start. The Meringues don't seem to understand that concept. Game after game, their defense is as leaky as a sinking ship. Against Sevilla on Saturday, the defending champions surrendered four goals while they could only score three. The first goal was scored at the 2nd minute of play after Casillas made a rare harazardous exit from his net in order to punch away a cross coming in from the left. The goalkeeper missed his clearance, and the ball found itself at the feet of an opposing player at the far post who only had to kick it into a wide open net. Madrid equalized at the 18th minute when Guti's free-kick connected with Raul's head. Unfortunately, Sevilla took the lead once again three minutes later, and added another goal at the 38th minute.
For a while, it looked like the game was over right then and there. Madrid were down 3-1, and weren't exactly producing some inspired play. All that changed at the 66th minute when Higuain, out of nowhere, scored his team's second goal. Two minutes later, Gago equalized the mark after another free-kick superbly struck by Guti. Hope was restored in the Bernabeu faithful. However, everything came crashing back down when Arjen Robben was sent off. With six minutes left to go, Sevilla scored the winning goal, and consequently passed the defending champions in the standings.
Not only does Madrid need another defensive midfielder, but I'm also starting to think that their defense needs a more intimidating presence. Face it. How can their opponents be afraid of entering into the box when their opposition is offensively-minded Sergio Ramos and Marcelo, old legs Salgado, and lackluster Cannavaro. Don't get me wrong, I love Cannavaro but he hasn't been the same since joining Madrid. Furthermore, he doesn't have the presence you would get if a John Terry or a Rio Ferdinand or a Vidic played in his position. You could say that it's because of his short stature, but Barcelona are doing pretty well with Puyol as the general of the defense. The difference is that Puyol is a warrior. He'll stick to your shorts, snap at your heels, and put in some solid tackles all within the rules of the game. Cannavaro on the other hand is more cerebral. He'll watch you and wait for the perfect moment to step in. He is a cerebral player, not a physical one, and that is probably from his career in the Serie A. Maybe that is the problem of Madrid's defenders. They think too much. They worry about their positioning and not getting into Casillas' way; all it takes is one opposing player to get through before the whole defense turns off-kilter. Anyways, next week is “El Clasico,” and with the way Barcelona is playing, it's looking more like a slaughter than a classic confrontation.
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