Valencia CF 1 – 1 FC Barcelona: A Battered & Bleary Barca Squad Settles for a Tie

Cesc personifying the battered Barca squad

With one eye toward the seemingly endless number of upcoming fixtures, Pep clearly wanted to give some of his key players a rest. Both Xavi and Dani Alves watched from the sidelines as Pinto, Puyol, Piqué, Mascherano, Abidal, Busquets, Thiago, Cesc, Messi, Alexis and Cuenca got the start. Valdés, Adriano, Sergi Roberto, dos Santos, and Tello kept them company on the bench. On the other end, Valencia fielded Alves; Miguel, Rami, V. Ruiz, Mathieu; Albelda, Éver; Piatti, Jonas, J.Alba and Soldado.

Barca Bench: Vets & Newbies Watch On

Barcelona controlled possession at the outset and Valencia quickly made it known they intended to hold onto Barca jerseys for dear life all night. Messi, who did not appreciate the body wrap, had the first good chance of the night off a free kick he won outside the area. Like most Messi free kicks, the ball sailed agonizingly close, but just wide.

Thiago gets one of many hugs from Alba

The next 15 minutes brought back nightmares from the end of the last Clasico as Valencia cut through Barca’s defense like a knife through butter.  In a rare lapse, Busquets sent a bad pass back and Valencia easily took the ball on a fast break. Luckily the shot was poor and Pinto made a fairly easy save. Valencia got another shot a few minutes later when Cesc fouled outside the box though Barca was again able to keep the ball out of the net.

The onslaught continued and in his most grievous of errors in an error ridden night, Pinto rushed out of the net to ward off a fast break and clearly handled the ball outside of the box. Somehow the ref missed it though it is unlikely anyone else in the stadium did. So whistling Pinto was extremely lucky to not be sent off less than 20 minutes in. He and Barca were also fortunate his next two errors didn’t end up on the Valencia side of the scoresheet as Pinto, for unknown reasons, raced far outside the box to try to clear a Valencia header leaving the net unattended. Less than two minutes later, he mishandled the ball on the back line resulting in a Valencia corner that Soldado nearly put into the net.

No doubt Puyol is as scared as we are seeing Pinto this close to the ball

Cesc's New Do

Valencia, however, was able to capitalize on their chances. Off another fast break, a winger sent a nice ball into the box. He turned and passed back to Jonas who was unmarked near the top of the box. Pinto stood no chance as the shot sailed into the corner. 1-0 Valencia less than 30 minutes in.

 Barcelona again turned it on. Though not his best night, Messi created a number of chances both for himself and others. He created space at the top of the box for a shot that went wide. Then beautifully set up Alexis who could get his shot in the net though el Capita could on the ensuing corner. Cesc sent a nice corner cross to Puyol at the far post and he made no mistake bouncing ball the off the dirt and into the back of the net. Even calm, normally self contained Pep, went wild over the majestic header.

Puyol!!!

End of the half both sides have decent chances though no shots on target. Masch stepped up and got a card for preventing a Soldado fast break, a good decision given there was no one behind him. Messi went on a fast break on the other end and should’ve passed it off in a 3 on 3 situation, but got stripped of the ball. Cesc was seemingly everywhere at once and Pique made a good interception showcasing defensive skills that have laid seemingly dormant the last few games. Half ended in a one all tie.

 At the start of the second, it looked like Barca had pulled ahead when Alexis found the back of the net off a nice Messi assist, but the referee called him offside. Minutes later, it seemed as though Soldado would get a good chance on net when Pique slipped, but Masch was there to shut it down. Messi created more chances on the other end but frustratingly could not find the back of the net.

It's okay, buddy, you can't always be perfect.

Cuenca helped redeem himself for an otherwise unimpressive night in Barca’s next great chance of the match. After some nice passing around the box, Cuenca sent a nice ball to Thiago who would’ve had a good chance on net, but was fouled as he was shooting. Penalty Barca. Messi lined up to take the shot and it was almost as if you could tell the keeper had read his mind as the shot was easily saved. Controversially, it appeared as though the keeper was well off his line before Messi shot, but again no call from the official.

 Alexis, still fighting injury, was subbed out for Alves with 30 minutes left. He had been playing better than Cuenca, who was repeatedly bodied off the ball or otherwise largely uninvolved, but given the injury concern the change made sense. For his part, Alves made an almost immediate impact as the Dani – Messi kinship on and off the field created a number of good chances.

Wasn't always the most graceful on the pitch, but got the job done.

Both sides saw decent changes in last thirty minutes of the game though Barca appeared more likely to put the game away. With Xavi-like beauty, Puyol pirouetted twice in the center of the pitch getting around two defenders. Ensuing play saw Abi take a nice shot on target after a good pass from Messi to set up a corner. Pique wasted his chance though sending his header well over the net.

 Otherwise Pique had a great half clearing balls out of harm’s (Pinto’s) way. To be fair, Pinto did make a few decent saves in the second half, but I bet the team would’ve given a lot to have VV back in net. Barca continued to press with Dani hitting the post and Messi finding himself open with the ball off a late corner, but hungry as he was for the winning goal, it was not to be, and the final whistle sounded.

Let’s all hold on to each other so no one else gets injured before the next game.

THOUGHTS:

Defense improved drastically after the shaky first 20 minutes, but the offense is clearly weary and depleted. When Puyol and Abidal have been on the scoresheet more recently than some of our forwards, there’s a bit of a problem.  Also, the team has got to start putting away more of the great chances they create. We need goals. That being said, we’re in a decent position for the return leg so the squad can return home content if not ecstatic.

Moc Moc Trio – Joint MOTM! All three played good games and now they can go out and celebrate Geri’s birthday!

RATINGS

Pinto – 3. He was downright frightening to watch in the first 25min committing multiple errors and was very lucky to not be sent off. Saved a few shots, but players and fans alike were scared pretty much every time he was near the ball.

Puyol – 8.5. Great game, scored the equalizer, and was very active all over the pitch. Beaten on defense some, but overall very strong.

Pique – 8.5. Wonderful second half especially intercepting balls, clearing out crosses, and generally ensuring Pinto never touched the ball. Could’ve done better on the header and had a few early mistakes, but otherwise very good.  

Masch – 8. Very solid performance after the shaky first 20 minutes. Warded off a number of good Valencia counters and looked good on the Barca attack dribbling forward more than usual and doing it well.

Abidal – 7. Not his best performance, but certainly not poor either. Defensively Abi did well though he turned the ball over more than usual. Offensively he was good as an outlet and obviously has speed, but his dribbling betrayed him a few times.

Busquets – 7.5. Good performance, not flashy, but generally did his job well as the pivot in the midfield.

Thiago – 7. Did well filling in for Xavi, drew the penalty and was involved throughout, but did turn over the ball a few times.

Cesc – 8.5. Best Barca player on the pitch in the first half by far and played well all game. Seemingly everywhere, Cesc was involved in most Barca plays and created and number of very good chances. Well done.

Alexis – 5.5. Wasted two great chances, and wasn’t looking up when passing in the beginning of the game so he gave the ball away a lot more than he should’ve. That being said, Alexis looked better toward the end of the first half and what he played of the second.

Cuenca – 4. Really needs to beef up a bit. Was bodied off the ball repeatedly, was not really involved in the offense and played too high to be much help on defense. Largely just absent tonight.

Messi – 7.5. Good, dangerous creating chances but kept the ball when he should’ve passed a few times and could not put the ball in the back of the net no matter how much he wanted it.

SUBS

Dani – 7. Though his shots were off, Dani had an immediate impact on the attack and played well.

Dos Santos – 5. Came on late, no real impact.  

Tello – 6.5. Came on very late, and did well to set up the last Barca corner of the game.

Some Related Barcelona Posts:

• Valencia-Barca Preview: Scraping up against the Emery Board
• Valencia 2 – Barcelona 2: Escaping The Alcatraz, or The Mestalla
• Seven Reasons Why the Barca Era is Not Over. Yet.

Category: Barcelona, Copa del Rey, Lineups, Review, Team News