Barca 5, UD Almeria 0, a.k.a. “It’s time to shut it.”

By: Kevin | October 25th, 2008

The goals came hot and heavy in pre-season and it was “Well, they didn’t score all those goals against real competition.”

–Against Sporting it was “Well, it was Sporting, after all.”
–Against Atletico it was “Well, Atletico had a crappy match.”
–Against Basel it was “Well, it was Basel, after all.”
–What will they say after today?

This was about as monstrous a can of whip-ass as a team can break out against another one, in a match that again, was over less than 20 minutes into the first half. Almeria is not a dog shite side, folks, and they were destroyed in a match that wasn’t subtle, and should go a long way toward silencing doubters of our lads, even among fans.

Guardiola has done something magical with this side, which rolled out an all-business starting lineup of: Valdes, Alves, Marquez, Puyol, Abidal, Yaya, Xavi, Iniesta, Henry, Eto’o, Messi.

It was clear that the objective was goals, and lots of them, right now. No life for Almeria, no letting them hang around only to gain confidence and pull out a point or something. As Almeria’s coach said prior to the match, we are pretty much unplayable right now. Almeria tried, and to their credit, didn’t pull on the shell and park the bus in front of the goal. But if you come out to play, you die. It’s just that simple.

And less than 5 minutes in it was 1-0 us. What’s fascinating is that in all of the accolades for various players, what isn’t going to come out is the sheer majesty of Yaya, who laid on a perfect pass that opened up the Almeria defense like a can of sardines. Someone else will get the assist, but that goal started with Yaya, and even earlier with a great defensive play by Abidal, and his pass to start the attack.

Now, we didn’t sense that it was over after that first goal. Almeria, bless their plucky hearts, were still playing footy. The critical nature of an early goal is that it makes the other team have to play, in the hope of equalizing. No team will go a goal down and remain in a defensive posture, right? So Messi began squirreling around with the ball illegally glued to his feet–it had to be, right? Because what he was doing was simply absurd.

It is also worth noting that the second goal also started with a great Yaya pass that began a display of one-touch football that resulted in an Henry tap-in. Sure it was easy, but remember that against Basel, Krkic was about as close, and shanked it wide. This was my favorite goal, because the one-touch interplay was exquisite. Anybody who thinks that bullet of a pass from Messi was easy to control is crazy.

The third goal came from more exquisite interplay and again, a perfect pass that scythed apart the defense, leaving Xavi clear to do what he does: be smart. As the Almeria keeper, Alves, dove at him, he sensed that a shot for him just wasn’t in the cards. Yes, he might have scored, but the keeper might have thrown out a leg, crowbar or lock of hair or something, to stop the goal. Far better to slide it over to Eto’o, for the wide-open sitter.

And just like that, it was 3-0, but the best was yet to come.

Messi makes one of his crazy, slaloming, verging-on-impossible runs to squeeze the ball through to Eto’o, who, realizing that the sole option is audacity, chooses wisely and slides a backheel ball into the net. The Almeria faces said what we all knew already….put this one in the books.

The fifth goal was a sign of things to come, I think, as Dani Alves unleashed a rocket of a free kick from way out, aimed at the precise spot that it had to be to beat the keeper. Hudson/Schoen can call on the wet field all they want, but Alves (the keeper) was beaten. That man needs to take all of the free kicks. With Messi, Henry and Eto’o, there will be a lot of them.

This goal was the capper to a stunning game for Alves, who at long last made any and everyone say “Hey, this is our 35 million euro right back!” Welcome, and keep up the good work.

Again, the work rate for this game was off the charts. Hudson commented on the freshness of the players after the Wednesday match, but remember that they have all been getting rest during the season, thanks to rotation. Guardiola sensed that this was a message match.

Message sent.

The constant harrying of Almeria players forced ball after ball loose. Everybody was moving off the ball, constantly supplying angles, willing feet and examples of exquisite ball skill. Make no mistake, this match could have been 10-0, but we shifted from 5th to 2nd gear, just running around and playing, trying not to get hurt and making it clear to Almeria that we considered the match over and done with. And so it was.

I am floored by this team. I’ve been watching a long time, and I have never seen a side with this kind of work rate. Everybody wants to contest every ball, and every face was all focus and intensity, many of them even when the match was effectively over. There will be setbacks, and it will be important to keep perspective. But make no mistake about it, this team is the business. It won’t, can’t keep scoring goals in bunches as it has been. But these boys are serious as heart attacks, and I’m loving it.

I also like, as with the Basel match, how we could have run it up against a side, and didn’t. That just leads to hard feelings and angry players, which means hard fouls and ill will. The destruction of the first half made it very clear that we could have absolutely killed Almeria. But why? Might need some of those goals later.

And with that, player ratings:

Valdes: 8. Another exceptionally strong match. The clean sheet was all on him, as he just gets that ball from the Almeria attacker. Again, he was quick and sharp, playing the angles and guarding his box like a lion.

Alves: 9. Holyfreakingcrap, what a match. His defense was spectacular today, as was his pace, passing and sense of where the ball was about to be. He and Messi are like twin put bulls over on that side when a team is on the attack, battling for the ball with aggression and feet that can work the ball loose and control it. What a match, and it’s about time. He gives up too many corners, which is something for him to work on, turning the ball to the sideline instead of the endline.

Marquez: 5. He was good, but made two critical errors, the sloppy play to Alves that could have broken Almeria loose in our end, and sleeping on the Puyol pass in the box, which made Valdes have to save the day. Marquez usually controls and clears that one, or bangs it upfield directly off the volley. He was a bit off today, though nice and solid.

Puyol: 10. Give it up for the captain, who was everywhere he needed to be, and unlike one V. Sanchez, he was everywhere and exactly where he needed to be, shutting down attacks, heading away balls and marshalling his back line. It was great to see him on the screen, grim-faced, yelling at his mates. This is the Puyol I want to see. Great play isn’t enough without aggressive, vocal leadership. Awesome match.

Abidal: 10. I’d give him an 11, but that would seem excessive. He was just brilliant today, and is enjoying a run of form that I am beginning to think is his normal. This is how he was at Lyon, but he’s even better for us, learning that he can’t outrun everyone. That sometimes he can use his pace to get to the right spot on the pitch, closing down an attack calmly and smoothly. He didn’t put a foot wrong the entire match.

Yaya: 9. He got caught out of position a couple of times, which is the only thing keeping him away from a 10. But again, two perfect passes that initiated goals, attacks destroyed and a constant physical presence in the midfield. After watching that match, Busquets should be ready to sign for whatever we offer him. Yaya was extraordinary, combining the ball control and passing ability of Busquets, with the smashability that is Yaya.

Iniesta: 8. Very good match today, but just a little off. He was invisible for a while. I so wanted him to score that goal in the second half, thinking of that crazy angled goal that he scored for Spain. But it wasn’t to be. He should be on the left, all the time, period the end.

Xavi: 10. If anyone has this match on a DVR, watch it again, with eyes only for Xavi. He is never, ever in the wrong spot, and he almost always does the right thing with the ball. Witness the aformentioned flailing dive from Alves. Xavi just knew that yes, he probably scores that goal, but Eto’o was a surer thing. He isn’t selfish or overly aggressive, just brilliant. What a player.

Henry: 7. This is probably better than a lot of folks think that he deserved, but if you look at his play from a non-scoring aspect, the space he creates and passes he completes are remarkable. Too bad we didn’t buy him to screw around on the left wing! Unfortunately for that second-half shot of his, with two defenders on him, he didn’t have time to let the ball drop to the ideal strike spot. Still, an exceptional match. The fans cheered more loudly for Krkic coming on than Henry’s effort, and he deserved better.

Eto’o: 9. His passes are still a little too hard and flat, which costs goal chances. But man, around the net this dude is a killer. That first goal, the volley, is a LOT harder than he made it look. More importantly, he is a constant threat, running around as if he and Abidal are having a meters covered contest. He harasses the keeper, makes dummy runs and spins. I still think that he’s auditioning for his next club, but let’s cross that unhappy bridge when it gets built.

Messi: 9. He holds the damn ball too long. Yes, he had a great match, and was all intensity, promise and constant attacking. But he does a lot of highlight reel stuff that doesn’t amount to anything, a lot like the previous wearer of the No. 10. He’s spectacular, and his controlled run to set up Eto’o for the goal was a thing of absolute beauty. If he can fix the few flaws in his game, he’d be one of the greatest of all time.

Substitutes

Hleb: 6. Great control, lots of effort. His strong run of play is continuing since returning from his injury. He’s starting to get the hang of what to do, playing with such a talented bunch.

Krkic: 6. Again, plenty of energy, and he came in at the perfect time for him. Our little colt can stretch his legs and caper about a bit.

V. Sanchez: incomplete. The evaluation of the future continues. He was a little more grounded this match, though.

Guardiola: 9. Right lineup, right coaching plan, good substitutions, except for leaving Messi out there. Two full games in a row that he didn’t have to play. But note the complete instructions that every sub is sent out there with, rather than just a warmup, a pat on the butt and hearty “Go get ‘em!”

P.S. What the hell was up with all of the empty seats in the Camp Nou? This team should be celebrated every last time it plays, because I’m starting to get a feeling that these displays are rare and spectacular.