Almeria 2-Barca 2, a.k.a. the “Too Damned Many Set Pieces” edition

By: Isaiah | March 16th, 2008

My heart. My heart. I am absolutely gutted. Oh, yeah….this is Kevin, not Isaiah, who I’m sure is just as gutted.

This was a brilliant, spectacular chance to get within 5 points of the Evil Empire, who is reeling. Instead, we give up set piece after set piece to a side who works on them for hours and hours, knowing that scoring from them is often easier than from the run of play. And the last, killer blow. That the corner came off the boot of Puyol is particularly cruel, as he played a lion’s match. The man was everywhere, deflecting, defending, scrambling and being a flat-out deity. Then Abidal gets snookered by Uche, and blammo, a man’s soul gets ripped out.

And it was such a good day today. Great 60-mile bicycle ride this morning, Tiger Woods continues his streak of excellence, brunch/lunch with friends, then a crazy Australian Grand Prix to kick off a new Formula One season. The sun was out, and all was right in the world.

Then came the starting lineup: Valdes, Puyol, Thuram, Milito, Abidal, Xavi, Edmilson (no!), Gudjohnsen (double no!), Iniesta, Krkic, Eto’o.

The great, yes, Messi-esque move by Iniesta that led to the goal had me up off the sofa, screaming. It was beautiful, even if we needed a spill by keeper Diego Alves to make it happen. Krkic was in the right spot, and off we go to the races, right? Right?

Wrong.

Those who have suffered with this side know what was coming next: laconia. “Boy, we got that goal. Chill time.”

Set piece after set piece finally led to the equaliser, as Gudjohnsen stood there and let his man have a clear header. Between he and Edmilson, we were playing 9 on 11 even before we were playing 10 on 11. More on that later.

Almeria had the run of play to an extent that eventually defined the match. Their energy and drive coupled with our dicking around with the ball to keep our defense on the back foot. Then the yellow cards started piling up, innocently enough it seemed, but still, the makeshift lineup was getting it done with last-minute stabs at the ball and great keeping from Valdes. The first half ended 1-1 but I was feeling great about our chances, and then it happened:

At about 10 minutes into the second half, Frank Rijkaard showed some stones, and my lauded 4-2-4 happened! Thierry Henry was subbed for Edmilson the Statue and immediately, the team got spark, life, and a beautiful goal served up on a silver platter by Henry for Eto’o, who did the business. It was spectacular, and giddy vindication. Crazy, right? I’ll show YOU crazy. 4-2-4 all day, baby! And then it happened….well, the other thing that happened, the next in the series of “then it happened” moments:

Milito’s foul. There are ways to foul a player. We knew what we were getting with Milito, and I am a big, giant fan, even when he gets out the hatchet. We need more of that, but more thoughtful, as in you don’t club a guy down all by yourself, at the edge of the box. But he did, and there we were, 10 on 11. Yes, I thought that both his cards were a little harsh, but that’s the game that Perez was calling, and players should play to the ref. So out he went, and the Sylvinho for Krkic sub @75″, killed my glorious 4-2-4.

We were stalwart in defense, and right up until Puyol stabbed that lead pass out, I thought we were home free, that it would happen, until that corner. That evil, fateful corner.

So. The upside? I can see that my guts are clean, since they’re on the floor, available for easy inspection. My 4-2-4 ain’t so crazy, after all. We gained a point on the Evil Empire. Starting Krkic was a great move, I thought. Hats off to all who called for it. And the world goes on, I think.

It’s easy to pick on players such as Xavi, who was a mess, or the aforementioned Icelandic/Brazilian monument known as Gudjmilson. But this was a team loss. So we take it and move on, hoping that we can continue to gain points before we put the spank on at the Bernabeu, to seal the title on the pentultimate match day of La Liga.

Finally, big, giant props to Almeria, particularly their keeper, Alves. He made two stops, on Krkic and Henry, that were, as we now see, match savers. It’s easy to say in retrospect that Krkic should have dribbled clear and Henry should have bent the shot more, but take your Blaugrana hats off to a killer keeper performance. And now, player ratings:

Valdes: 9. Hard to see how he could have played any better. Both goals were unstoppable.
Puyol: 7. Man-sized match. Sideline instead of end line would have saved that corner, but hey.
Thuram: 5. Good plays, solid defense, usually in the right place at the right time.
Milito: 3. The hatchet was out more than his skill today, and it cost us.
Abidal: 3. In full wanderer mode, seemed lost too often, and his man scored the equaliser.
Xavi: 3. In the first ten minutes: two bad free kicks, two giveaways. You’re killing me!
Edmilson: 2. He was there? I’m doing a healing dance for Yaya’s back. Our middle was so open.
Gudjohnsen: 3. Shouldn’t this match have served to bury him on the bench, once and for all?
Iniesta: 5. Exceptional early play, but took his foot off the offensive gas….not all his fault.
Krkic: 6. Movement and very good passing. He’s really getting there.
Eto’o: 5. Aside from the goal, he wasn’t particularly effective. He misses Messidinho.

Subs:
Henry: 8. This insertion lifted the team. And that butt pass to clear? Awesome.
Sylvinho: 5. He didn’t have much, if any effect.
Sanchez: incomplete. Who?