La Liga Week 8: Barcelona Heating Up, Real Madrid Back In Top Three
October 30th 2008 02:37
Barcelona – Almeria: 5-0
Two weeks after thrashing Atletico Madrid 6-1, the Blaugrana put on another show on Saturday, defeating Almeria 5-0. This time around, Eto'o managed to complete the hat-trick (he was limited to a double on two occasions), and Dani Alves finally put one of his fiery rockets past the opposing goalkeeper. But like the game against Atletico, Barcelona put their feet off the gas pedal after the first 45 minutes where all five goals were scored. The good news is that Henry has now three goals in six appearances, creating a nice problem for Guardiola. I'd still go with Eto'o but knowing you have another potent striker on the bench is a good thing for any coach. For once in a long while, Barcelona is actually looking like a team rather than a bunch of individuals.
Barcelona's line-up: Victor Valdes; Dani Alves (Victor Sanchez, 72nd), Rafael Marquez, Carles Puyol, Eric Abidal; Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez, Yaya Toure (Aleksandr Hleb, 57th); Thierry Henry (Bojan Krkic, 64th), Samuel Eto'o, Lionel Messi.
Villareal – Atletico Madrid: 4-4
I caught this game entirely by mistake, but boy was I entertained! When I tuned in, Atletico Madrid were leading 2-0. A red card to Banega at the 37th changed the whole complexion of the game. Indeed two minutes after the break, Marcos Senna, with plenty of space, fired a long-range shot which goalkeeper Leo Franco couldn't deal with. The Yellow Submarine went on to score three more goals after clever work from their midfieldfers, namely Pires and Cazorla, putting the score at 4-2. At this point, Manuel Pellegrini took out most of his attacking options in favor of more defensive-minded midfielders. After all, Atletico were down to ten men and with fifteen minutes left to go, a two-goal lead seemed sustainable enough. Unfortunately for them, Atletico's most influential player – Simao - was still on the field, and with less than ten minutes left to go, he brought back the score to 4-3 before silencing the home crowd with a free-kick that found Raul Garcia's head for the visitors' fourth goal. Out of breath and completely exhausted, both teams left it at that with Pellegrini probably feeling disappointed with both his team and his decisions.
Real Madrid – Athletic Bilbao: 3-2
I couldn't properly watch this game due to an awfully choppy feed on my PC. Madrid took a comfortable 2-0 lead thanks to superb strikes by Sneijder and Higuain. Unfortunately, Bilbao were back in it before half-time when Exteberria scored five minutes after Higuain's goal. Then, right before the break, Marcelo conceded a penalty that Iraola didn't miss. It's the second time this season that the young defender fouls someone in the box. He should learn that opposing strikers will look for any sort of contact to draw a penalty kick. But then, when you only have Heinze as the alternative (who was the cause of both a penalty and a fluke goal), there isn't really someone to give proper advice. Anyways, Higuain's second gave the lead back to Madrid who could finish the game with relief as Bilbao's Amorebieta received a red card at the 77th minute.
Two weeks after thrashing Atletico Madrid 6-1, the Blaugrana put on another show on Saturday, defeating Almeria 5-0. This time around, Eto'o managed to complete the hat-trick (he was limited to a double on two occasions), and Dani Alves finally put one of his fiery rockets past the opposing goalkeeper. But like the game against Atletico, Barcelona put their feet off the gas pedal after the first 45 minutes where all five goals were scored. The good news is that Henry has now three goals in six appearances, creating a nice problem for Guardiola. I'd still go with Eto'o but knowing you have another potent striker on the bench is a good thing for any coach. For once in a long while, Barcelona is actually looking like a team rather than a bunch of individuals.
Barcelona's line-up: Victor Valdes; Dani Alves (Victor Sanchez, 72nd), Rafael Marquez, Carles Puyol, Eric Abidal; Andres Iniesta, Xavi Hernandez, Yaya Toure (Aleksandr Hleb, 57th); Thierry Henry (Bojan Krkic, 64th), Samuel Eto'o, Lionel Messi.
Villareal – Atletico Madrid: 4-4
I caught this game entirely by mistake, but boy was I entertained! When I tuned in, Atletico Madrid were leading 2-0. A red card to Banega at the 37th changed the whole complexion of the game. Indeed two minutes after the break, Marcos Senna, with plenty of space, fired a long-range shot which goalkeeper Leo Franco couldn't deal with. The Yellow Submarine went on to score three more goals after clever work from their midfieldfers, namely Pires and Cazorla, putting the score at 4-2. At this point, Manuel Pellegrini took out most of his attacking options in favor of more defensive-minded midfielders. After all, Atletico were down to ten men and with fifteen minutes left to go, a two-goal lead seemed sustainable enough. Unfortunately for them, Atletico's most influential player – Simao - was still on the field, and with less than ten minutes left to go, he brought back the score to 4-3 before silencing the home crowd with a free-kick that found Raul Garcia's head for the visitors' fourth goal. Out of breath and completely exhausted, both teams left it at that with Pellegrini probably feeling disappointed with both his team and his decisions.
Real Madrid – Athletic Bilbao: 3-2
I couldn't properly watch this game due to an awfully choppy feed on my PC. Madrid took a comfortable 2-0 lead thanks to superb strikes by Sneijder and Higuain. Unfortunately, Bilbao were back in it before half-time when Exteberria scored five minutes after Higuain's goal. Then, right before the break, Marcelo conceded a penalty that Iraola didn't miss. It's the second time this season that the young defender fouls someone in the box. He should learn that opposing strikers will look for any sort of contact to draw a penalty kick. But then, when you only have Heinze as the alternative (who was the cause of both a penalty and a fluke goal), there isn't really someone to give proper advice. Anyways, Higuain's second gave the lead back to Madrid who could finish the game with relief as Bilbao's Amorebieta received a red card at the 77th minute.
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