A review of Barcelona's frustrating 1-1 draw with Valencia.
There aren't many games where the pre-match build up isn't focused on Barcelona. This time, Valencia were the main talking point after the appointment of Gary Neville as their new manager. The ex-Manchester United player wasn't in charge for this game but was watching on from the stands as his brother Phil and Voro sat in the dugout.
| Valencia |
Barcelona | |
| Possession | 28% | 72% |
| Total Shots | 10 |
16 |
| Shots on Target | 3 | 5 |
| Corners | 1 | 6 |
| Fouls | 13 | 15 |
| Offsides | 0 | 3 |
| Yellow Cards | 3 | 1 |
| Red Cards | 0 |
0 |
The game kicked off and it was Barça who were controlling the ball and much to the home fans' discontent, Valencia weren't looking to press Barcelona. Instead they were opting to sit deep and defend when Barça came close.
It wasn't long before that defence was under pressure. The first chance fell to Lionel Messi who volleyed wide and a minute later it was Neymar's turn for an effort on goal. The ball fell to him in the centre of the area but he ballooned his volley over.
The pressure was building on Valencia and it was looking like if the home side were going to score it would be on the counter. Javier Mascherano picked up a yellow in stopping one of these breakaways.
Barça continued to probe and the next chance fell to Messi. Neymar coming in from the left flank, chipped a ball into Messi's path and the Argentine got a shot away but it was a tame effort into the gloves of the keeper.
Just past the half hour mark and Valencia were shouting for a penalty. Enzo Pérez ran ahead of Gerard Piqué before falling to the ground claiming he was dragged but the referee saw nothing wrong with it and the replays showed it was a clear dive.
With half time approaching it was Luis Suárez's turn to miss a chance. Again, Neymar coming in from the left side dinked the ball to the far post were the Barça number 9 was waiting. The Uruguayan got good contact on his volley but it flew over. A minute later, Suárez was set away by Messi. With Neymar approaching at the back post, Suárez seemed stuck in two minds as he chipped the ball away from the goal and Neymar.
The sides went in level and Luis Enrique was a visible presence on the touchline at the start of the second. He was looking for more precision from his side having seen a flurry of chances missed. The second half did start with a clash between Suárez and Jaume Domènech. After an exchange of words, Suárez appeared to tread on the defender's foot. A dramatic fall ensued and an attempt to get a reaction out of Suárez, but both players then got on with the game.
Just after the hour mark, it was in fact Suárez who did get the opening goal. A quick one-two with Messi found Suárez bearing down the right flank towards goal. Domènech came across but Suárez was too strong as he wrestled him off before firing the ball into the goal at the near post. There was question of offside but the linesmen didn't flag and the visitors found themselves 1-0 up.
The goal forced Valencia to come out of their defensive shell and attempt to move further afield. But Barça's possession meant it was difficult to get an real foothold in the game especially with the threat of Messi, Suárez and Neymar on the break.
It was Neymar who got one of Barça's best chances as the game drew to its close. He dribbled his way past four Valencia defenders and shaped up to side foot the ball into the corner of the net. However he got just a bit too much bend on it and it sailed wide.
A disappointing display from Valencia was highlighted by the fact there first shot on target came in the 79th minute and it was looking like Barcelona were heading to the three points. But with four minutes on the clock, a long punt forward was well taken by Paco Alcácer. The Spain forward turned and then fed it to Santi Mina. Mina rifled it past Bravo and the goalkeeper stood helpless as Valencia got an undeserved equaliser.
A few chances from Messi were saved before the final whistle blew. Giving Valencia a lucky point and a harsh taking away of two from Barça.
| Roll Call Info | |
|---|---|
| Total comments | 635 |
| Total commenters | 48 |
| Commenter list | AJKhan, Abhiforbarca, Anders Thomassen, AngusLB, Anirudh_Kul, Ayush Tiwari, BarcaBarca, BarcaBoy10, Barcano1, Bingiboy, Chatchai Chotiput, Delano Heerkens, DevilWithin, DudeBV, KiwiBarca, LaSenyera, Messidependencia!!!, My Name Is Dennis, NamesTroyResideInTheDMV, Navjot Kasukurthy, Neymadinho, Piyush_, Renato Goncalves, Ruy Diaz, Skand_08, Som-i-Serem, Steven Cordero, Swn.Culé, Trifitology, Yuro_Doosh, ade fox, avyator, craig00000, dewoul, feeya7, footballfordoze, justjonathan90, kuntakintae, kyle.johansen.336, ledhe, magical_messi, no.imagination90, somunequip, syredeathtrooper, turtletrader, une see, vince.chezo.1, vireyda |
| Story URLs | |
| # | Commenter | # Comments |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | BarcaBarca | 103 |
| 2 | ade fox | 86 |
| 3 | Delano Heerkens | 75 |
| 4 | NamesTroyResideInTheDMV | 41 |
| 5 | Yuro_Doosh | 30 |
| 6 | Trifitology | 29 |
| 7 | no.imagination90 | 27 |
| 8 | KiwiBarca | 22 |
| 9 | Abhiforbarca | 18 |
| 10 | Som-i-Serem | 17 |
| 11 | vireyda | 15 |
| 12 | ledhe | 14 |
| 13 | avyator | 14 |
| 14 | Anders Thomassen | 13 |
| 15 | dewoul | 13 |
| 16 | une see | 13 |
| 17 | footballfordoze | 12 |
| 18 | syredeathtrooper | 11 |
| 19 | Steven Cordero | 9 |
| 20 | feeya7 | 8 |
| 21 | craig00000 | 7 |
| 22 | Messidependencia!!! | 7 |
| 23 | justjonathan90 | 5 |
| 24 | Ayush Tiwari | 5 |
| 25 | AJKhan | 4 |
| 26 | BarcaBoy10 | 4 |
| 27 | somunequip | 3 |
| 28 | Bingiboy | 3 |
| 29 | Anirudh_Kul | 3 |
| 30 | My Name Is Dennis | 2 |
| 31 | LaSenyera | 2 |
| 32 | Ruy Diaz | 2 |
| 33 | DevilWithin | 2 |
| 34 | Skand_08 | 2 |
| 35 | turtletrader | 1 |
| 36 | Barcano1 | 1 |
| 37 | Piyush_ | 1 |
| 38 | kuntakintae | 1 |
| 39 | Chatchai Chotiput | 1 |
| 40 | kyle.johansen.336 | 1 |
| 41 | Navjot Kasukurthy | 1 |
| 42 | vince.chezo.1 | 1 |
| 43 | Neymadinho | 1 |
| 44 | Renato Goncalves | 1 |
| 45 | DudeBV | 1 |
| 46 | magical_messi | 1 |
| 47 | AngusLB | 1 |
| 48 | Swn.Culé | 1 |
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