Athletic Bilbao 1 Barça 1
Saturday, 21 November 09, 02:06 PM · Comments (12)
Barça lose the top spot in La Liga to Real Madrid after a frustrating 1-1 with Athletic Bilbao in San Mames. If the result was disappointing what is even more worrying is the injury to Leo Messi which will see him miss the game on Tuesday with Inter Milan and sees him doubtful for Sunday's clash with Madrid. Messi was substituted in the 76th minute and immediately put an ice pack on the inside of his left thigh, his face told the story that he is obviously concerned with the injury. Added to the injuries to Ibrahimovic and Abidal and the problems with swine flu we go into a vital week with plenty of problems, we have talked about the size of the squad before and we may pay heavily for the lack of reinforcements.
The game began with Athletic putting us under pressure but the first chance fell to Messi in the fifth minute when Xavi laid the ball back but Messi's shot from 25 yards was easily saved by the diving Iraizoz. After the first ten minutes we hit a good spell with first Pedro trying his luck dribbling into the area but after getting past two the third defender came across to put the ball out for a corner. Then in the 16th minute Xavi threaded a ball through to Messi who faced only with Iraizoz put a disappointing sidefoot shot too close to the goalkeeper. A minute later Messi sent in a good cross from the right but Keita stretching could only head the ball just wide.
Having failed to take advantage of our chances the tempo dropped a bit. Pedro had a shot well over before our next good chance came in the 29th minute when Messi showed great speed to take advantage of a defensive mistake and after being brought down by one challenge, quickly recovered to get up and flip the ball past Iraizoz and then from wide on the left he sent a great cross that Xavi at the far post could not force home. As the first half neared its end Athletic had a couple of long shots fly well wide, but as we entered injury time they came very close to taking an undeserved lead when Yeste's cross from the right found Javi Martinez unmarked four yards out but incredibly he muffed his header wide when he looked certain to score.
Our luck looked to have changed when we took the lead in the 54th minute, Xavi did well to hold off a challenge and at the same time sent an excellent ball through to Alves who coolly stroked the ball past Iraizoz into the far corner. Last season when we took the lead the gamesseemed to become easier as we took advantage of the opponents' need to come out and play. However, today we had little time to enjoy our lead, Toquero had just come on as a substitute and it seems our defence had not ajusted to Athletic's new formation. Llorente beat Chygrynskiy in the air to a long ball forward and flicked the ball on for Toquero who got away from Alves who was not concentrating, Piqué couldn't get across and Toquero smashed the ball past Valdés.
We tried to get forward to find the winner but our play became disjointed, there was too much urgency and passes began to go astray. Iniesta had one good run past three players but his shot went disappointingly over, and Xavi had a shot deflected just wide. Bojan and Henry came on near the end but had little time to make an impact, and to be honest I think if Athletic had shown a bit more ambition they could have stolen a victory.
The draw feels like a defeat as it allows Madrid to take a one-point lead at the top of the table and this is obviously a big boost to them going into next Sunday's clasico, and this really was a game we should have won. We generally had the better of the game but we did not play well and we will regret the first half misses from Messi and Xavi. It is difficult to take anything positive from this game, Xavi was probably our best player and it was a great assist to Alves, but he was still guilty of giving the ball away more than usual, and perhaps we saw a better game from Chygrynskiy who gave two very good passes to Pedro in the first half. However, the performance, especially in the second half, gave the impression that the players were worried about other things, whether they are worried about the swine flu or perhaps even beginning to suffer the effects I really don't know but the mentality today seemed a lot poorer than what we have come to expect from Guardiola's Barça.
The fact that Bojan started the game on the bench is a clear sign that Guardiola has little confidence in the striker. Of course Pedro has done a lot to earn his place, but with Ibrahimovic injured it seemed to be a good opportunity for Bojan to prove his worth. After today's decision I would not be surprised if Bojan begins to look around for a new club for next season. A year ago I wrote a piece on Bojan suggesting he had a lot to learn, it seems he has not developed as we all hoped and besides from the Copa del Rey I feel we will see very little of him.
Barça: Valdes 6.5; Alves 6, Pique 6, Chygrynskiy 6.5, Maxwell 6; Xavi 7 (Henry m84 --), Busquets 6.5, Keita 6; Pedro 5.5, Messi 6.5 (Bojan m76, 5.5), Iniesta 6.
Goals: m54 Alves 0-1, m63 Toquero 1-1
Barça yellow card: m65 Keita
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12 Comments · Add yours
Nick how can you say that Bojan has not developed as we hoped? We can talk about that when he plays at least 10 games, all 90 minutes and continuously week after week. Like this he does not look good for any team, which is not his fault.
About game I do not have any comment.
I CANT Believe it!!! I just wrote a comment that was pretty long and I was just about to finish it but it vanished off the screen!!!!
Anyway, basically what I tired to say in the one that vanished was that the lack of movement tonight was terrible, it was summed up by Chygrynskiy having to bring the ball up as far as the Bilbao box before he could find a pass and that even that pass was sideways.
Iniesta had a really poor game and he and Messi seemed to hold on to the ball far too long. Iniesta and Busquets seem to have more interest in drawing fouls on themselves than they do in playing the ball.
Pedro contributed nothing tonight, his touch and vision were non-existant and this was summed up in the second half when Barca ha d nice build up play which finished with him having the ball outside the box and not knowing what to do and he ended up passing it to a Bilbao player who was about five yards away.
I'm starting to loose faith in Bojan, he is like Pedro in that he can finish but not do much else. Everytime he gets the ball he is easily brushed off it or he just runs into an opponent. He needs to go out on loan and get some more game time I think.
I'm starting to get pessimistic about the upcoming week especially with all the injuries and now with Messi a doubt, I don't want to see a starting line up with Bojan and Pedro in it aginst Inter and Real.
We really need to beat Inter and get through the Champions league, thats a priority. If we lose or draw to Real we can always make up the difference but I don't want to Lose to those shower of dicks especially with the money they spent, It would be all over the news that Real won because of the money they spent and that they toppled Barca. It would make it alot sweeter if they had a full team out (nancy boy ronaldo and friends) and we bet them like last season.
Nic,
The comment on Bojan has been very unfair. He has been constantly overlooked for Pedro by Guardiola. How can you say he has not improved. He is not getting any playing time under Guardiola. His performance so far in Copa Del Rey for me was good. Moving Messi from right to middle destroyed Barca's entire game plan. The only reason for that looks like Guardiola's lack of trust in Bojan. Bojan should have started and Messi should have moved to the middle. You take the most creative player from his usual creative position and put in him a finisher's position with absolutely no service, what you expect? Draw was a good result. Bojan would have been a similiar disaster like Pedro but atleast we would have had the rest of the players in their usual position. Guardiola with his absolute stupidity is starting to amuse me. He sounds unconcerned with Barca's dip of form. When will he be concerned - when we are kicked out of CL?
Iniesta need to be dropped from the squad temporarily. That guy was the best player for Spain in the recent matches but looks very much disinterested in putting his full effort for Barca.
I have a feeling that we will be kicked out of CL this tuesday. Maybe after that people will start judging Guardiola for his tactics, rather than saying everytime that "This guy won us a treble last season, so he is the best".
well well well, here comes the doom and gloom. sorry boys, your about 1 month late to this realization. im not the most optimistic person, but all these past weeks ive been realistic and spitting the truth of our play, which has been nowhere near good enough. and i dont even mean as good as last year, i mean not good enough, period!
on the game, im really in two minds about it, like the game was very much a game of two halfs.
the 1st 30 minutes was probably the best we played all season. the movement and passing were very good and the speed of our play was much faster. maybe cause ibra was out? just to think about. anyhow, it was probably my favorite half an hour of barca this season. i began to feel very optimistic.
well then 2nd half it all went down hill. the defending pair of pique/chgy again showed to be awful. they dont compliment each other, maybe they cant properly communicate. i had a hunch i could prove this statistically, and even i was surprised by the results.
when pique/puyol play together, we have conceded 3 goals in 10 games (league/CL). when pique/chgy have started, we have conceded 6 goals in 4 games!!!!!!!!! how conclusive is that.
in the second half our passing got crap, the movement got crap.
individually, maxwell didnt impress me. he hasnt played regular football in 1.5 yrs, so i think his confidence is done. i know for a fact he has the ability, pep needs to get him believing in himself again. busquets was bad last night. gave away millions of balls, let people get around him, i wasnt happy. pedro, well, he continues to show us all he has awful ability on the ball. he has the first touch of a rapist, cant pass, no vision.
iniesta, well, i have great admiration and love for the boy so im going to put it nicely and say he struggled. shame, i hate to see him play at such a poor level.
messi, well, i simply couldnt believe he go injured and was out for tuesday. i felt like someone has just pissed in my cereal. barca have always been an unlucky team, and this week is proving it yet again. he actually had a really good first half. looked back to his usual self, besides not slotting in that one-on-one. his past to xavi was outstanding.
so here are my two minds. one, the rational side goes like this. a draw in san mames is not that bad of a result. they can be a very good team on their night in a very hostile stadium. we did it without our main striker, after an international break, with the squad worrying about and dealing with H1N1. it doesnt matter we are behind madrid. last season we were up like 15 points or so at one point then had a few bad results and let madrid get within 2. madrid can go on a similar bad run, the league is far from over, so that doesnt concern me.
the more emotional part of me says, i felt very frustrated and annoyed last night. im sick of us STRUGGLING to score and play our game. and im sick of excuses. international break, he's out of form, he's injured. he's new, this that, blah blah. enough. just win. just play your game, and convert your chances. enough now.
on bojan, i made my thoughts on him very clear last season and i havent changed them at all, in fact they seem truer than ever. i wish him to get to the level of superstar we all want, but i still have major major doubts over his professional future. i dont see how he fits into our system effectively. his size is a major problem too. in the reserves is ok, but at the top level its a hurdle.
so, that game is over, and frankly, im not even looking to el classico. the inter match is way WAY more important. we simply cannot follow up a treble year with an early exit in the CL. but sadly, it wouldnt be too surprising. i can see the inter match being very frustrating and maybe be the lowest point as a barca fan in quite a long time.
pessimism is actually quite a common barca trait. the vast majority of you here are new fans, so really you dont know. you've "supported" through the best 6 or 7 years since the dream team. barca teams disappointing and underachieving is something that unfortunately has happened too often. thats why i was in particular very upset at the beginning of the year when i saw things werent clicking. i could see the writing on the wall. im not going to get tooooooooooo into all that now, but if we dont make the CL group, you can be damn sure the people of catalonia are going to be pissed. and they absolutely should be. tuesday is a bit night. no yaya and no abidal for sure. they say no messi, but i wouldnt be too surprised if he pops up. im sure zlatan is gonna play. either way both wont be at 100%. iniesta is off form, henry has been garbage all season. hey, there is always a chance right?
We have to be realistic about our chances in advancing any further in the CL competition .
If both Messi and Ibrahimovic don't play against Inter I say we have NO chance in Hell in winning that game . Not because Inter is a great team but because of the fact that they will come to Camp Nou with one objective in mind : to get a draw .
Regardless of who is in the Barça line up , Mourinho will park his trusted BUS and rely on occasional counter attacks .
I am NOT too concerned about the Madrid game . They are just too crappy to worry about . I am sure they will start to fall apart once they hit a stretch of matches against quality opposition especially on the road !!
To be completely pessimistic I think Tuesday is going to be a sorry day for us Barca fans.
In a way I am more concerned about Madrid. Because with the way we have been playing this year there is no way we can win the Champions League. Mourinho will park the bus on tuesday you can bet your bottom dollar. Frankly we have not been all that successful at overcoming the so called bus this year anyway.
Embarrassing as it may be to fall out of the CL, I don't want us to surrender our chance to win the League as well. If we go down further next week against Madrid we will not get back on top again. We all know how bad Barca are when trailing. Real have been on us all the way so far this season. They are no way near top form also. If they have the chance to go clear above us they will push for it more than anything. Especially after last year.
Remember the head to head format as well. Not good if we loose at the Camp Nou.
Blaugranaboy.......
Very comical. Pedro has the first touch of a Rapist. Ha ha ha.
and not much else I might add.
I cannot believe how Lady luck has abandoned us again. This was going to be the game that marked the turning point for me. A sort of practice run for the two important games ahead. Lets hope this was an example of how not to play!!
I feel a little harsh on Pedro. But I need to vent my frustration somewhere, and sorry Pedro u just volunteered.
I am NOT a big Henry fan but I think by him starting as LW he will free up Iniesta to settle in his more natural position at midfield . Besides Henry can make a decent cross from time to time .
It is difficult to win games when two of our best players; Messi and Iniesta play out of position .
I would rather see Bojan subbing for Ibrahimovic than Messi playing CF .
Messi is more effective as a RW where he can cause the most headache to opposition .
The loss of Toure is a major blow . He is the ONLY Barça player who can stand his ground physically against any opponent including midfield THUGS from Serie A and the EPL .
The absence of both Abidal and Marquez is irrelevant. Both players can be replaced !!
I don't want to be conceived as callous here .
I wholeheartedly sympathize with Abidal and Marquez and their latest health predicament .
I feel though that the club will do fine even if they were out of the line up for any extended period of time !!
I'm not going to go into my favourite topic, the transfers and the squad size and composition, that can wait until January at least. In a worst case scenario, we'll get knocked out of CL and we'll lose the Classico. Yes that's the pessmist in me again.
However there could be a flip side to this.While this result is frustrating going into a critical set of fixtures, at least Barca are now far more aware of their deficiencies (before these crucial matches) and I'm sure Pep and Co. will try their best to work them out as best as they can.
True we have been unlucky with our injuries/illness and loss of form with various key players but hey you make your own luck like the saying 'Cometh the hour,Cometh the man'. If this treble winning squad still has the 'hunger' to be the best they'll ram their way through Inter's 'parked bus' and demolish Real Madrid's overpaid,overacheiving (so far at least) and overrated Galacticos II.