Match Report: Barcelona 6-1 Zaragoza

Was that Barca out there last night? Because all we saw was a blue and red steamroller which, engineered by perfection in the form of Seydou Keita, charged onto the pitch full speed ahead and flattened the quaking opposition. Zaragoza never stood a chance against a Barca side that came out last night with more hunger than we’ve probably seen in them this season. They were radiating strength from the get-go, with increased speed, better passing, and complete domination of play.

And Keita, the unarguable Man of the Match, was simply mind-blowing. He’s really taken great leaps since he first joined Barca a little over a year ago, this season being better than ever, a rumbling volcano gradually getting louder and stronger until finally erupting with sheer power last night, peaking at the greatest we’ve ever seen him. Finding the back of the net no less than three times, assisting Zlatan to score and being in the middle of various other potential chances, he was simply flawless.

Speaking of Zlatan, how awesome was he? Full of energy, he played an amazing match with his positioning much improved. He’s really falling into place with Barca, gaining a fuller understanding of his teammates and how to work with them.

All the players were generally moving much better without the ball, something they’d been having trouble before as we’ve previously pointed out. Teamwork was dominant, things just seemed to click as they all were all working together so smoothly, beautifully.

We were up 3-0 at the half, courtesy of Keita, Zlatan, Keita, with two of the goals scored off set pieces. It’s brilliant that the team is scoring more and more off set pieces lately, really taking advantage of them, but, the team was attacking very well and there were a lot of chances, so it felt a bit strange that they couldn’t find the net except from the set pieces.

Although we must stop at Zlatan’s freekick goal, it was just insane, pure power. That keeper’s hands must still be stinging from it – and everyone caught the look on Dani’s face from where he was watching in the stands, right? Direct freekicks from afar have so far been his own specialty, and after that piece of work from Zla, he’s realizing he’s got some competition.

So yeah, chances didn’t really go through in the first half, but the second half kicked in and Barca were relentless, pressuring the goal even further and hitting the net three more times – and no set pieces this time – with Zlatan scoring his second followed by a great chip from Leo Messi, and finally Keita’s third.

Six spectacular goals, something had to give for poor Zaragoza – and Maxwell was the one who gave it, letting the ball slip to the opposition for them to grab a lonely goal. The ball came at Vic with seemingly more speed than he had the power to control, bouncing off his hand and into the net. But It’s nothing to fret over, Barca were brilliant last night and the result is spectacular, we’re back up to a three-point lead in the Liga and the team is in high spirits – all’s well in the world of Blaugrana.