La Liga Week 17: Barcelona Defeat Mallorca 3-1, Robben Strike Gives Madrid 1-0 Win Over Villareal
January 6th 2009 06:10
Barcelona – Mallorca: 3-1
I'm starting to feel like a broken record here, but it was another win for Barcelona on Saturday. The Blaugrana's winning streak now extends to five as Pep Guardiola's troops keep rolling along. Unlike their previous victories, this one wasn't easy as Barcelona struggled to get the rust out of their system after the two-week break. Puyol especially looked a bit off-balance in the first half, and his absence in the center of defense (he switched positions with right-back Victor Sanchez after five minutes of play) proved devastating for the home side who conceded the first goal in the 14th minute on Mallorca's first real opportunity.
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Barcelona cranked up their game after that goal and Henry equalized the mark at the half-hour mark as he was completely forgotten at the far post after a Barcelona corner. Then at the 75th minute, Andres Iniesta celebrated his return by scoring the winning goal. From that point on, Mallorca players started to lose their focus, resorting to nasty tackles to express their frustration. Finally, Toure added the insurance goal at the 94th minute as the visitors found themselves down to ten men in the 89th minute.
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Find more videos like this on MySoccerPlace.net - The Real Football Social Network
Find more videos like this on MySoccerPlace.net - The Real Football Social Network
For once in what seems like a long while, the focus wasn't all there among Barcelona players. It took the entrance of Daniel Alves and Iniesta for them to get the offensive punch needed to get through the nine-men defense. They were probably getting the kinks out of their system. Nothing to worry about in my mind.
Barcelona's line-up: Victor Valdes; Victor Sanchez (Daniel Alves, 55th), Carles Puyol, Rafael Marquez (Sylvinho, 70th), Eric Abidal; Yaya Toure, Xavi Hernandez, Eidur Gudjohnssen; Aleksandr Hleb (Andres Iniesta, 66th), Samuel Eto'o, Thierry Henry.
Real Madrid – Villareal: 1-0
One player stole the show at the Bernabeu on Sunday as Madrid edged over Villareal with a 1-0 win. Arjen Robben was the goalscorer and put on an inspired display that really showed how great a player he can be when he's healthy. Right as the game passed the half-hour mark, the winger dribbled his way past four Villareal players to finish with a beautiful curling shot that left no chance to the goalkeeper. It was the second time in the game Robben had made the run (he hit the crossbar on his first run) and it wasn't the last. He spent the entire match running Villareal's left-back completely ragged. He was speed, style, and substance all wrapped up in a neat little package, and brought the Bernabeu to its feet when he was substituted in the final minute of the game.
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Two other players shone in this victory. First, Iker Casillas came up with splendid saves in the second period as his team were under constant pressure. As a matter of fact, the Meringues rarely left their half of the field in the first fifteen minutes of the second half. Secondly, new signing Lassana Diarra came up with a convincing performance reminiscent of Claude Makelele, winning the ball several times in midfield. He had a couple of mental breakdowns including a back pass straight to Villareal's Llorente who was stopped by Casillas, but had a pretty good game overall. Huntelaar also debuted with his new club, and showed nice capabilities (he came close to scoring in the 39th minute) which seem promising.
With that win, the defending champions leapfrogged from sixth to third, ten points behind current leaders Barcelona. If they can keep the pace (and if Barcelona drops a couple), the next meeting between the two will prove to be very important. And I for one would like to see Robben play against Barcelona.
Real Madrid's line-up: Iker Casillas; Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Fabio Cannavaro, Gabriel Heinze; Arjen Robben (Christoph Metzelder, 90th), Lassana Diarra (Rafael Van der Vaart, 77th), Fernando Gago, Wesley Sneijder; Raul, Huntelaar (Royston Drenthe, 55th).
I'm starting to feel like a broken record here, but it was another win for Barcelona on Saturday. The Blaugrana's winning streak now extends to five as Pep Guardiola's troops keep rolling along. Unlike their previous victories, this one wasn't easy as Barcelona struggled to get the rust out of their system after the two-week break. Puyol especially looked a bit off-balance in the first half, and his absence in the center of defense (he switched positions with right-back Victor Sanchez after five minutes of play) proved devastating for the home side who conceded the first goal in the 14th minute on Mallorca's first real opportunity.
Find more videos like this on MySoccerPlace.net - The Real Football Social Network
Barcelona cranked up their game after that goal and Henry equalized the mark at the half-hour mark as he was completely forgotten at the far post after a Barcelona corner. Then at the 75th minute, Andres Iniesta celebrated his return by scoring the winning goal. From that point on, Mallorca players started to lose their focus, resorting to nasty tackles to express their frustration. Finally, Toure added the insurance goal at the 94th minute as the visitors found themselves down to ten men in the 89th minute.
Find more videos like this on MySoccerPlace.net - The Real Football Social Network
Find more videos like this on MySoccerPlace.net - The Real Football Social Network
Find more videos like this on MySoccerPlace.net - The Real Football Social Network
For once in what seems like a long while, the focus wasn't all there among Barcelona players. It took the entrance of Daniel Alves and Iniesta for them to get the offensive punch needed to get through the nine-men defense. They were probably getting the kinks out of their system. Nothing to worry about in my mind.
Barcelona's line-up: Victor Valdes; Victor Sanchez (Daniel Alves, 55th), Carles Puyol, Rafael Marquez (Sylvinho, 70th), Eric Abidal; Yaya Toure, Xavi Hernandez, Eidur Gudjohnssen; Aleksandr Hleb (Andres Iniesta, 66th), Samuel Eto'o, Thierry Henry.
Real Madrid – Villareal: 1-0
One player stole the show at the Bernabeu on Sunday as Madrid edged over Villareal with a 1-0 win. Arjen Robben was the goalscorer and put on an inspired display that really showed how great a player he can be when he's healthy. Right as the game passed the half-hour mark, the winger dribbled his way past four Villareal players to finish with a beautiful curling shot that left no chance to the goalkeeper. It was the second time in the game Robben had made the run (he hit the crossbar on his first run) and it wasn't the last. He spent the entire match running Villareal's left-back completely ragged. He was speed, style, and substance all wrapped up in a neat little package, and brought the Bernabeu to its feet when he was substituted in the final minute of the game.
Find more videos like this on MySoccerPlace.net - The Real Football Social Network
Two other players shone in this victory. First, Iker Casillas came up with splendid saves in the second period as his team were under constant pressure. As a matter of fact, the Meringues rarely left their half of the field in the first fifteen minutes of the second half. Secondly, new signing Lassana Diarra came up with a convincing performance reminiscent of Claude Makelele, winning the ball several times in midfield. He had a couple of mental breakdowns including a back pass straight to Villareal's Llorente who was stopped by Casillas, but had a pretty good game overall. Huntelaar also debuted with his new club, and showed nice capabilities (he came close to scoring in the 39th minute) which seem promising.
With that win, the defending champions leapfrogged from sixth to third, ten points behind current leaders Barcelona. If they can keep the pace (and if Barcelona drops a couple), the next meeting between the two will prove to be very important. And I for one would like to see Robben play against Barcelona.
Real Madrid's line-up: Iker Casillas; Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Fabio Cannavaro, Gabriel Heinze; Arjen Robben (Christoph Metzelder, 90th), Lassana Diarra (Rafael Van der Vaart, 77th), Fernando Gago, Wesley Sneijder; Raul, Huntelaar (Royston Drenthe, 55th).
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