A review of Barcelona's 1-1 draw with Bayer Leverkusen.
With Barça having already qualified for the knockout stages, Luis Enrique had the opportunity to give some less-than-familiar names a start which was helpful considering the injury list Enrique currently has to deal with.
| Bayer Leverkusen |
Barcelona | |
| Possession | 49% | 51% |
| Total Shots | 26 | 6 |
| Shots on Target | 10 | 2 |
| Corners | 6 | 1 |
| Fouls | 10 | 13 |
| Offsides | 3 | 4 |
| Yellow Cards | 1 | 3 |
| Red Cards | 0 |
0 |
On the other side, this was a must win game for Bayer and even then their fate wasn't in their own hands. Roger Schmidt's side started strongly, pressing high and looking to hurry Barça into mistakes. Thomas Vermaelen was one player who seemed to be buckling under the pressure in the opening stages, twice giving the ball away in a dangerous position. Leverkusen's precise passing coupled with their well timed runs meant they were having good sights of Marc-André Ter Stegen's goal.
The home side's closest chance came when referee Mark Clattenburg awarded Bayer a free kick just outside the area. Hakan Çalhanoğlu, who was already proving to be a menace, stepped up and tried to whip it towards the far post however Ter Stegen got down well to palm it away.
Uncharacteristically, Barcelona weren't having a sniff of the ball and therefore weren't creating any clear chances. Their first attempt on goal came in the 16th minute when Sandro Ramírez managed to dispossess a Bayer defender and fire away a shot but it was tame effort that never really troubled Bernd Leno.
Luis Enrique was looking animated on the touchline, instructing his players of what they could be doing better and it wasn't long before his side were ahead. Ivan Rakitić had the ball in the centre of the field, plotting his next move. A couple of steps forward and he released a through ball into the path of Lionel Messi. Messi, whose brilliantly timed run had given him a one-on-one with the keeper, took the ball to the feet of Leno before dinking it past him. He cooly finished with his right foot as the Catalans took the lead.
The goal wasn't what Leverkusen wanted but Barça's lead didn't last long. Admir Mehmedi cut the ball in from the left flank and a good dummy from Çalhanoğlu allowed the ball to find the feet of Javier Hernández. Chicarito calmly slotted the ball past Ter Stegen to continue his impressive goalscoring run.
One of the debutants for Barça was 19 year old Wilfrid Kaptoum. The youngster was making a good account of himself, providing defensive cover whilst also being an attacking option. He almost marked his debut with a goal but he had the ball nicked off his toe by Messi.
Bayer continued to press and were looking the more likely to score as the sides went in for half time.
The second half continued in the same vain with Bayer pressing forward looking to get that crucial goal while Barça were content to soak up the pressure and hit on the counterattack. The forward players of Mehmedi, Hernández, Çalhanoğlu and Karim Bellarabi were all proving to be a effective for Bayer and it was Çalhanoğlu who came close after the restart. Hernandez picked up the ball in the box and elected to try and chip the ball back across the six yard line. A defensive flick meant it found its way to Çalhanoğlu who steadied himself but could only curl the ball past the far post.
With the hour mark on the clock, Kaptoum was to be withdrawn. The teenager had played well in his Champions League debut and was replaced by another youngster in Gerard Gumbau.
The Bayer pressure was building and it was coming from many different channels. A couple of corners looked dangerous while the threat of a quick passing move was always there. With the other game in Group E still goalless, any one of the other three teams could still qualify if they got a goal. Barça, meanwhile, were sitting pretty at the top of the table and looking to get control of the game. Enrique elected for another injection of youth as Jordi Alba made way for Cámara. For the hosts, Çalhanoğlu had seemingly run himself into the ground and was replaced in the 78th minute.
As we approached the final ten minutes of the game, Barcelona finally got a chance at Bayer's defence. Sandro had managed to break in behind but couldn't do much with his cross before the byline arrived. However, Bayer were still bombing forward in the hope of getting the goal that would see them through. The home side were having to risk the possibility of a quick counterattack from Barça as they poured tired bodies forward.
One final chance fell for Hernández. Substitute Stefan Kießling fizzed in a ball from the right wing and Hernández got a striker's flick on the ball. The Mexican seemed to have done everything right but a brilliant instinctive save from Ter Stegen denied Bayer.
The game finished 1-1 as Leverkusen headed out despite deserving the win.
| Roll Call Info | |
|---|---|
| Total comments | 464 |
| Total commenters | 49 |
| Commenter list | Anders Thomassen, Ashraf Arefin, BDBarca, BarcaBoy10, BarcaLifer, Barcano1, Benja88, CriRo7, ElasticFan, Epicurean007, FCB4Lyfe, FCBMSN, Geniussssssss, Himanshu96, Iniesta08, KiwiBarca, Lapulga, LeGoatJames, LeoMessy, Mufti Yoga, Muluberhan Y, My Name Is Dennis, NamesTroyResideInTheDMV, R19, Rajesh1101s, Ruy Diaz, Som-i-Serem, Steven Cordero, StoichkovTheDagger, TheGodfather21, UnderConstructionCule, VarmaFCB, Yuro_Doosh, avyator, craig00000, footballfordoze, godnkls, iamacule, istiaque, justjonathan90, khaboor, knorkinator, kyle.johansen.336, messism, no.imagination90, purpleheart81, semperty, syredeathtrooper, turtletrader |
| Story URLs | |
| # | Commenter | # Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | purpleheart81 | 53 |
| 2 | Yuro_Doosh | 50 |
| 3 | semperty | 37 |
| 4 | NamesTroyResideInTheDMV | 34 |
| 5 | Lapulga | 28 |
| 6 | Som-i-Serem | 23 |
| 7 | KiwiBarca | 20 |
| 8 | My Name Is Dennis | 19 |
| 9 | Barcano1 | 19 |
| 10 | Anders Thomassen | 17 |
| 11 | justjonathan90 | 15 |
| 12 | Ruy Diaz | 12 |
| 13 | TheGodfather21 | 11 |
| 14 | syredeathtrooper | 11 |
| 15 | CriRo7 | 10 |
| 16 | Steven Cordero | 9 |
| 17 | footballfordoze | 8 |
| 18 | Ashraf Arefin | 7 |
| 19 | knorkinator | 6 |
| 20 | LeGoatJames | 6 |
| 21 | no.imagination90 | 6 |
| 22 | iamacule | 5 |
| 23 | turtletrader | 5 |
| 24 | BarcaBoy10 | 5 |
| 25 | Muluberhan Y | 5 |
| 26 | StoichkovTheDagger | 4 |
| 27 | kyle.johansen.336 | 4 |
| 28 | FCBMSN | 3 |
| 29 | ElasticFan | 3 |
| 30 | UnderConstructionCule | 2 |
| 31 | VarmaFCB | 2 |
| 32 | Epicurean007 | 2 |
| 33 | LeoMessy | 2 |
| 34 | Himanshu96 | 2 |
| 35 | R19 | 2 |
| 36 | godnkls | 2 |
| 37 | khaboor | 2 |
| 38 | Rajesh1101s | 2 |
| 39 | istiaque | 1 |
| 40 | Mufti Yoga | 1 |
| 41 | messism | 1 |
| 42 | BarcaLifer | 1 |
| 43 | Benja88 | 1 |
| 44 | Iniesta08 | 1 |
| 45 | Geniussssssss | 1 |
| 46 | avyator | 1 |
| 47 | BDBarca | 1 |
| 48 | FCB4Lyfe | 1 |
| 49 | craig00000 | 1 |
from Barca Blaugranes - All Posts http://ift.tt/1XXaGjx
0 التعليقات:
إرسال تعليق