Barça vs. Inter postgame aka: What happened?

By: Iggy | September 17th, 2009

No really, what happened, I missed the 2nd half because I had to go to lab…oh wait 0-0 draw, Italy wins. So I’ll be doing the analysis of the first half and Shadows (present at the liveblogs) has kindly volunteered to help me with the postgame for the 2nd half (which I subsequently edited).

This would probably be a good time to say that I need a 2nd writer to help me out here. If you’re interested, send Daryl a message with a writing sample and some basic info. (name, team affiliation).

LordPep brought out a starting XI of:
—————Valdes—————
Alves—-ElCapitan—Piquenbauer—Abidal
——Xavi—–BigYa——Keita—–
—Messi—–Ibracadabra—-Henry—

Well the best thing that can be said about the first half is that it ended. Okay that’s not completely true, but really there’s only so many times you can say “we outplayed them”. For those of you who didn’t see the game…it was BORING. So I’ll say it “we outplayed them” but it didn’t translate into goals. Messi was strong at the outset, but the rest of the team seemed content to dominate midfield without creating scoring opportunities. Maybe some credit should be given to Mourinho for that, but I’m not gonna give it to him…for the record I respect Inter as a club and an institution, but Mourinho is a t#&t. So that was essentially that and the first half passed like a gray storm cloud that doesn’t give rain.

Second half was typically Italian style. pack the defense and look for a counterattack to Milito. It didnt quite work for him but hey, if you had told him that Barca would be held goalless i am sure he would have accepted.

That being said, here are the individual ratings

Pep 4/10 I am not sure whether it was the right team put out.They didnt look upto the task at hand. I know Keita has given us decent performances this year and maybe Pep doesnt want Ghostface to be brought in so quickly after an injury. But did he miss a trick or two bringing on Iniesta so late with just 11 mins left?Kept Henry on for too much time when it was clear he was abysmal.Use your subs Pep.I know Pep is god but he could have tried Pedro. Maybe he wouldnt have made an impact but who knows right!

Team 4/10 didnt look sharp enough and didnt look fit enough.The free flowing football of last year seems to be missing.Maybe with time it will come and we all hope so.

Henry- 2/10 Was a disaster all game..Shocking performance from the french man.Would have given him a 0 if not for 1 or 2 good crosses here and there.Was more of a liability to the team.

Ibra- 4/10 was owned by Lucio all night. A person watching a Barca game for the first time might very well believe the commentators saying he suck(but in a nice way).Tried to be too smart on occasions and should have converted on 2 great chances.He’s still settling in so we will give him the benefit of the doubt.

Messi 6/10 Maybe i am expecting too much off him every game..I know its impossible but still…He was Ok but hey we have seen several better performances from him.

Xavi 6/10 The passmaster as usual. was’nt outstanding but efficient in his role. didnt see any killer final balls today. was a bit flat for my liking.he got better in the second half

Keita- 7/10 You never know this guy is on the pitch but does what is expected of him. Should have converted on that chance he got.Dont know he had such a bad right foot.

Yaya 6/10 Was ok.In the first half both yaya and keita looked to be playing the same role. Maybe Pep missed a trick in unleashing the Yaya(Read Attacking CM) on the poor Italians(humans).

VV 6/10 didnt have much to do in the game. had to make a routine save here and there which he did with ease.

Abidal 7/10 was good for most part of the game. Didnt go forward much but stuffed out any attack that came his way.

Puyol 8/10 was good. had a few nervy moments when Milito beat the offside trap but overall he looked quite comfortable as Milito didnt do much except for good movements and some long range efforts from him and Sneijder which is all down to the performances of the 2 CB’s

Pique 8/10 was good keeping Eto’o and milito at bay .Along with Puyol Pique was rock solid at the back and didnt have any glitches whatsoever. Far far better game than the shocking first half he had against Getafe.

Alves 6/10 Hey we have seen much better from Alves but he was Ok. Luckily he didnt get any FK’s which he would have rocketed it into a poor kid on the 16th row. Put in a few decent crosses but unfortunately it was the Samuel-Lucio show tonight . Both were outstanding.

Subs:

Iniesta NA Came on too late in the game. He could have made a difference if brought on earlier.

Next up we have Atleti visiting us on Saturday 22:00 Spanish time. Atleti have’nt been in great form since the start. But they love to screw us over, so lets not mess it up.

Hasta La Victoria! Barça!!