In this competitive world, there's always somebody looking to out-compete you.
This one was a strange one. It began in the worst possible way for us Blaugranas, as we lost Jordi Alba very early on and had to burn a sub without having had played almost no match at all. Regrettably, it would not be the last time in this game were we lost a player to apparent injury. Piqué also needed to be substituted after a harsh tackle from his national team teammate David Silva. As the only defensive option on the bench, Mathieu came on to relieve Piqué.
Despite the ominous beginning, and the fact that Manchester City were moving the ball very well, Barcelona scored first after what seemed like a broken play ended in Messi's first tally of the evening. The first half ended with the good guys ahead on the scoreboard, but without much else having had happened. In the second half, however, good guy Claudio Bravo made a terrific pass and assist to his teammate Luisito Suárez. Unfortunately, Luisito played the ball back to Claudio, who handled it in clear violation of the Back Pass rule. This resulted in everybody remembering what team they played for, and the referee giving Claudio Bravo a red card for his efforts. This numerical advantage proved to be impossible to overcome for the visiting team, and Barcelona went on to score three more goals. Mathieu felt the advantage of an extra man was unjust, and being a firm believer of the principles of "Liberté, Égalité, Fraternité" decided to take himself out of the game.
And now, the moment we've all been waiting for... Irish Goat's Three Gamboling Goleadores!
1st Goleador: Lionel Andrés Messi.
Three goals, an assist, countless dangerous attacking chances, AND the graciousness to give Neymar the penalty that would've given him the poker in a Champions League game? 'Nuff said.
2nd Goleador: Andrés Iniesta.
Don Andrés had two assists in this game and was a crucial piece in Barcelona's victory. He looks younger and stronger than ever, and has already had a blistering start to the season. The best start I can remember in recent years. I don't know if it's the coaching, Lucho's rotations, or simply the best second wind anybody has ever had in the history of the world. All I can hope for is that all the people responsible keep doing what they're doing so that we can keep enjoying beast Andrés for a long, long time.
3rd Goleador: Marc-André ter Stegen.
Terrific game from the German youngster. All we can hope for is that he builds on the success from a game such as this, and continues improving. He turned away numerous shots and shut the door on any possibility of a comeback for Guardiola's side. An aspect I would like to see him improve is possibly not giving so many second chances on the bounce. I understand there's certain shots you can only turn away in certain ways, but sometimes some of those bounces can turn into very dangerous opportunities. In this game there was one such opportunity which Umtiti, magically, turned away.
Thanks for reading, folks! I hope you enjoyed the game and I'll see you for the next one. As always Visca Barça!
from Barca Blaugranes - All Posts http://ift.tt/2e6vv8Z
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