Barcelona 2-0 Porto: UEFA Supercup triumph makes it 3 for 3 (Yes I’m counting the Gamper…)

Cesc celebrates. Iniesta kind of wishes he was wearing shorts.

As Barcelona return from Monaco with yet another trophy slung in the back seat, one man sits alone in the dark, cold with fury and despair as he contemplates the work that must be done this season.

What? No, it’s not Jose Mourinho. What made you think that? Oh right…
No, the guy I think everybody is forgetting is the man in charge of Barcelona’s trophy cases. A time consuming, expensive extension looks likely this season. Last night’s win over reigning Europa League winners, Porto, resulted in our third trophy in as many matches. Poor guy’s going to have quite a job to do…

This UEFA Supercup marks Pep Guardiola’s 12th trophy in just his fourth year, well surpassing Cruyff’s 11 in eight. It also marks, as some have taken great glee in pointing out, Cesc Fabregas’ third trophy out of the first three games he has played for Barcelona, quite the contrast to six fruitless years at Arsenal. But every new arrival is in awe at the speed and success of Barcelona in adding to their trophy cabinet. David Villa, five trophies and only just beginning his second season, wrote on twitter this morning that he could never have dreamed of such a silverware haul in so short a space of time. By now, I think it’s probably rather clear to him that it comes with the territory.

The actual game last night again showed – like others this pre-season – that Barcelona are by no means in peak condition, both physically and psychologically. Injuries blighted the defence, with both CBs Puyol and Pique out, leaving the more dubious pairing of Mascherano and Abidal to give Valdes a helping (or hindering) hand. Possession stats are up, more to the levels we have greedily become used to, but there wasn’t quite that feeling of control and dominance that typify Barca. It is telling that for all the majority of possession, it was mostly in our own half. With the defence looking comparatively vulnerable, the midfield less assured than usual, and Villa seemingly, impossibly, more offside than usual, two goals and a clean sheet was a great result. (By the way, a shout out must go to our writer Kage, whose preview and predictions for this game were spot on).

There were no wild cards lining up in our starting XI, with Pep rolling out a reliable, rather than risky team:

Valdes
Alves Mascherano Abidal Adriano
Iniesta Keita Xavi
Pedro Messi Villa

Porto too has absences to deal with, although the transfer of Falcao to Atletico is, admittedly, rather more long term than Pique’s leg twinge. (On the other hand, Porto still have a player called Hulk. HULK! He could snap Iniesta in half. With one hand!)

Helton
Sapunaru Rolando Otamendi Fucile
Souza Guarin Moutinho
HULK Kleber Rodriguez

From the opening minutes, it was clear that Porto were going to do their utmost to exacerbate Barca’s relative lack of cohesion by a rapid and forceful pressing game. It certainly reaped initial success: Porto were dispossessing Barca in midfield and launching speedy counter attacks, largely on the wing through Hulk, and forcing Valdes into making the first few saves of the match. An early effort from Pedro could have been placed better, landing on the top netting: it was a strike which rather set the tone for his play over the course of the evening, unusual quietness alongside moments of poor decision making.

Barca began to ease their way into the game as the half continued, growing more comfortable on the ball and dealing better with the aggressive and high defending from Porto, and of course from The Hulk. The makeshift back four never put our minds at rest, however, with Abidal having a rather lack lustre evening. By contrast, Mascherano, aside from a later moment of confusion with Valdes, had a very good game. Crucial interceptions and fearless tackles were necessary to prevent a determined Porto front three from cutting through the back four, whose line was as wobbling as Porto’s was high. Oh, and Messi changed his boots. It gave an excuse for the cameraman to zoom in and linger on the images of Leo’s little ankles, but the closeup was extended for just that moment too long and it became a bit creepy.

A delightful interchange between Adriano, Villa and Xavi almost came to fruition in the closing stages of the half, but Xavi’s (relatively rare) shot glanced off the keeper’s gloves. However, just moments later in the 39th minute, a terribly misplaced backpass from Guerin gave the ball straight to a Messi, the pass playing him onside with no defenders within eight feet. Messi proceeds to do what he does best, and picks up a trophy grows a straggly ginger beard loses with Argentina and scores. Feinting past Helton, who having sprinted out of his goal is left scrabbling at the ground, Messi swerves round, recovers from a slight stumble and slides the ball from an acute angle into the net. 1-0 Barca, so group hug for Messi and probably a smack in the head for Guerin at half time. From every teammate. Including the physios.

Trudging back onto the bumpy pitch, through the gloomy fog, Barca began to dominate the second half, although it began with a rather peculiar yellow card for Iniesta, who appeared to be booked for wanting (strangely) to avoid a foul. Barca’s defence was again tested, and again seemed to be in actual fear of simply booting the ball up the pitch for a clearance, leading us to question the root of this hesitation. I think it must have something to do with the thought of Xavi’s face, looking soulful and sad as he chastises the Barca back four for ‘letting down football’. On the otherhand, Valdes appeared to have no worries on the front, with his distribution becoming increasingly, and unusually, wayward.

A moment of controversy reared its head for Porto in the 60th minute, with a (arguably legitimate) handball appeal regarding Abidal denied by the referee. As he waved on play, Barca broke with terrific speed, but when the ball was threaded to a rushing Pedro, unmarked and with only the keeper to beat, he proceeded to squander quite the opportunity. Clearly in two minds of whether to tee up or shoot, he proceeded to do neither successfully, although had Barca gained a goal from the play, Porto fury would have bee something to behold. Subs are soon made, Villa, having endured a frustrating evening, making way for Alexis Sanchez, and Adriano coming off for Busquets, who proceeds to slot in as CB pushing Abidal out wide.

A rather exciting fifteen minutes soon followed, complete with a (rightly) disallowed goal for Barca, an almost goal for Porto after a mix up between Masch and Valdes, and a red card for Rolando, for the understandable, if not excusable, offence of attempting to stop an oncoming Messi by any means possible. The climax of these closing minuted of the game was a beautifully taken goal by none other than resident prodigal son, Cesc Fabregas. Receiving a lovely weighted flick from Messi, who tracked the run, Cesc controlled the ball on his chest and volleyed it past the desperate keeper, bringing his total goal tally to 2 in 3 games. It was a moment from which one could take more, for it showcased the brilliant potential of a Messi and Fabregas interplay, cultivated in their early teenage years. Cesc is a midfielder who relishes a more attacking role than the likes of Xavi, although he can play a more holding role: talk is already beginning around the Nou Camp of possibly trying Cesc in a Messi-esque no.9 role. Something to think about perhaps…

The match ended 2-0, with Porto ending the game with only 9 men, after Guerin’s straight red for a very late tackle on Mascherano, born of frustration. It was a creditable performance from the reigning Portuguese champions, and by no means a confident win for Barcelona. Yet again, Messi was a difference maker, racking up one goal and one assist. What one takes away from this game, however, may well vary. Some will focus on the trophy itself, and the records broken for Pep and his team: others will concentrate on the promise shown by Fabregas and the attacking partnerships he may become involved in. Still more will contemplate the potential of this team as a whole. It’s been a ideal start in terms of reaching once again that once mythical six trophies, and whilst Barca have yet to reach their top gears, the need has not yet been great. La Liga starts for Barca this Monday, and it is from this point on that every point will count. With Real Madrid looking to follow more closely on Barca’s heels than last season, just one poor game may make that difference. Come Monday, the competition really begins.

Some Related Barcelona Posts:

• Hunger for History: Supercup Preview, Porto vs. Barcelona, Friday 8/25/11
• Gamper Trophy: FC Barcelona 5, Napoli 0, Or, Goals, Goals, Goals Everywhere!

Category: Barcelona, Review