Barca’s back! After the run of disappointing results and poor performance in Barca’s last five matches, finally, against Bilbao, it was the old Barca again. And not just because of the result, and not just because we won, but because the boys were playing so wonderfully, and truly are backing to their old ways!Everyone, from keeper to defense to midfield to attack, was playing beautifully. Barca maintained ball possession, barely letting Bilbao near the ball and barely letting them attack. The attack was all ours—attack after attack, chance after chance, so many goals that should have been, but weren’t! This is one game in which the score does not reflect the performance, for while the lads secured a 2-0 victory, it really should have been 6-0 at the least.
They lost a lot of chances, yes, but the important thing is that the chances were actually created, and Barca are back in the game. Xavi has shaken off the exhaustion that seemed to possess him through Barca’s last few games, and he was all over the place for this match, attacking, defending, and linking the play. Our leftback Sylvinho was somewhat off form, but over on the right Puyol more than made up for the absence of Dani Alves. He was all over the place, commanding the team and getting everything going, a true Captain; he played a spectacular match and it’s just too bad that he got injured and will be out for three weeks after this.
Iniesta is always consistently strong, and never stopped being strong, even when Barca went through the tough time. And this match was no exception. Marquez was wonderful as always, but our best center back was actually Pique, who came out and proved just how amazing he can be. Messi is Messi, and he’s always on top, though his finishing was wanting in this match; likewise Eto’o and Henry, who managed to waste some lovely chances for inexplicable reasons.
Like we said, the score ought to have been higher. Eto’o in particular was a bit slow through the first half, but as the match progressed his performance picked up, and he’s getting there, back to his incredible goal-scoring self.
And Pep is really flaunting his trust in Victor Valdes, starting him for this match after second keeper Pinto showed how amazing he can be last time, and Vic did not disappoint. He made some great and decisive saves, and for the first time in a long time, Barca kept a clean sheet.
The first goal came from a free kick, beautifully executed by Xavi and beautifully finished off by Sergio Busquets from a wondrous header. Sergio’s performance was wanting in this match, and of course he had to get booked, but his goal was superb; it’s also a good thing that these tall players on Barca are proving to be an advantage for us in the air.
The second goal was a penalty, scored by Leo Messi with ease, taking the score to 2-0, but we repeat: so many more goals could have been scored, it’s just ridiculous the way the score ended up. The lads really need to work on finishing!
And as the cherry on top, over at the Bernebau Athletico managed a draw against a not-so-hot Real in the Madrid derby, snatching two points from them and widening our lead from four points to six. Sweet, sweet, sweet.
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