Match Centre: Barcelona v. Villarreal

Full-time.

Well with Barcelona’s six trophies of 2009 on show at Camp Nou tonight, everyone Barcelona except the Villarreal players will go home disappointed tonight. Barcelona played well, and probably should have notched a couple more goals if it wasn’t for some poor finishing by Ibrahimovic and Henry. Barcelona’s best player, Lionel Messi, was given a rest tonight, but he definitely could have made a difference. Pedro, Messi’s replacement, did play very well, giving Barcelona an early lead. David Fuster grabbed the equalizer for Villarreal, capitalizing on one of the Yellow Submarines’ few chances.

90+3º Zlatan wastes a good chance with an audacious left-footed effort from 30 yards out. Not even close. He looks incredibly frustrated.

90º David Fuster comes off Egueran. Fuster made the difference for Villarreal today.

89º Ibrahimovic is shown a yellow card for a late tackle on Godin. The replay shows that the Swede stomped on the Villarreal defender.

87º Puyol saves Barcelona from defeat as Giuseppe Rossi beats Valdés with a little deft touch. Puyol deflects it out for a corner.

86º Bojan is subbed on for Pedro. Barcelona faithful urging their team to go on and win it.

84º Puyol gives Villarreal a free-kick, but Marcos Senna goes high and wide.

82º Ibrahimovic lost his footing at the crucial moment! He could have won this game for Barcelona. His effort just goes wide of the Villarreal goal after great passing between Dani Alves and Iniesta.

80º Chaos in Barcelona at the moment, the game is on fire at the moment. Both teams passionate and pushing for the win, and the home side look more likely to do so.

79º Marcano puts the ball out for a corner.

78º Marcano is given the yellow for an elbow on Ibrahimovic. Xavi to take the free-kick.

76º Giuseppe Rossi is now coming on for Nilmar. Nilmar, being the lone striker, has done very well today. Now the American-born Italian will have a chance to seize the last 15 minutes.

73º Pedro is bulldozed by Marcano. Pedro struggles to get up, he’ll carry on though.

71º Henry wins a corner for Barcelona. Open play results, but then Dani Alves forces another Barcelona corner. Nothing comes of it though.

69º Rain now coming down at Camp Nou, and the intensity of this game has just risen a few notches.

68º Santi Cazorla is being subbed off for Escudero.

67º Villarreal counter and win a corner for themselves. Cani connects, but his header goes straight into Valdés’ arms.

66º Andres Iniesta with a great effort, but Diego Lopez with an equally great save. Iniesta went for the far corner from 20 yards out, but Lopez was at full stretch to push it away for a Barcelona corner.

65º Dani Alves makes a scintillating run into the Villarreal box, and seems to be knocked down. Nothing given.

62º Villarreal have a free-kick from 30 yards out. Senna curls it but Puyol nods it away.

60º Great interplay between Iniesta and Pedro. Iniesta’s shot is easily collected by Diego Lopez.

58º Jonathan Dos Santos is coming off for Andres Iniesta.

56º Zlatan does well to win a corner for Barcelona. Pique is called for a foul on the ensuing corner.

51º GOAL!!! Villarreal equalize, 1-1. Nilmar’s deflected shot falls to Cani to the right of the Barça net. The Villarreal number ten crosses for Fuster who slots the ball past Valdés at the far post.

49º Xavi’s free-kick from 30 yards out is well held by Diego Lopez.

46º Great Barcelona passing to start the second half. Dani Alves and his shaved head have been causing Villarreal quite a few problems.

Half-time: Barcelona 1 - 0 Villarreal

Well Barcelona do deserve their lead as we go into the break, but Villarreal have threatened at times. Thierry Henry looks in top form as he creates chance after chance for the Barcelona attack. Pedro and Jonathan are also playing great football, it’s amazing how Pep Guardiola can replace players like Lionel Messi and Andres Iniesta and still produce the same level of play. Pedro’s goal was top class. Expect a few more goals in the second half.

45+2º Henry was played through by Pique, but Javi Venta’s tackle was perfectly timed.

45º Henry has deserved a goal from this half, and he should have gotten it from Dani Alves’ wonder-cross. Henry’s header went just over Diego Lopez’s bar.

43º Fuster is given a yellow for tugging Busquets’ shirt.

41º Amazing creative play from Barca. Every player showed their class in that sequence. Pique did well to create space, then Sergio did incredibly well to dribble past Marcos Senna, then Pedro did well to push down the right flank and lay it for Zlatan. Zlatan gave it back to Pedro, who appeared to be knocked over.

39º Marcos Senna’s free-kick goes far post, and the Villarreal players are claiming Dani Alves pulled Marcano down. Close call as Alves did seem to have a grasp on the defender’s jersey.

38º A great passing sequence by Villarreal, and Xavi gives away another free-kick from 35 yards.

36º Puyol is booked for late tackle.

32º Theirry Henry does well down the left flank once again. Jonathan Dos Santos led Henry down the wing, and Henry evaded Javi Venta’s tackle, but his cross was too far for Pedro. The ref calls the play back though, and shows Venta a yellow card for his rash tackle.

28º Cani with a perfect cross that falls for Fuster six yards out. Fuster nods it down, and the ball just barely bounces over the crossbar. Villarreal are getting chances, they just aren’t taking them.

25º Thierry Henry gets off the end of Xavi’s curling cross, but the Frenchman’s header lacks enough power to beat Diego Lopez.

24º Nilmar wins a corner after swiftly breaking into Barcelona’s box.

22º Xavi commits a foul from 35 yards out. Santi swings in the free-kick that nearly meets Marcano at the far post.

21º Henry does well to win a ball in the air, and lays it off for Zlatan. But wait, the ref says Henry commits a foul. Not sure about that one.

19º Puyol showing his class with a last-second tackle on Bruno from 6 yards out after Santi played in a wonderful little chip.

14º Marcos Senna and Sergio Busquets go hard into a tackle. Sergio wins the ball, but Senna leaves him on the ground.

12º Golden chance falls to Nilmar, but he was just a half step offside. Valdes made a great save anyway.

10º A tall task for Villarreal now. The Yellow Submarines came out with a defensive formation, but have been broken down by an excellent Barcelona attack.

7º GOAL!!! Barcelona 1 - 0 Villarreal!!! Dani Alves cross meets Henry, who superbly volleys an effort that strikes the crossbar violently. The bounce off the bar meets Pedro, who chests it and strikes in low to the far post past Diego Lopez. Well finished by Pedro, but Henry deserves to be on the scoresheet with an effort like that.

6º Messi is shown in a sweatshirt in the stands.

4º Barcelona on top with good possession of the ball.

1º And we’re off! Will Barcelona continue to dominate in La Liga in 2010? This game could be a very telling sign.

Pregame Analysis: Well Pep Guardiola is giving Lionel Messi a rest as Barcelona have a busy few weeks coming up. Still the classic 4-3-3 from the Blaugrana. Villarreal are fielding a 4-5-1, with Brazilian Nilmar the lone striker. Giuseppe Rossi is on the bench to start this game.

Starting XI’s:

Pregame Coverage: Dani Alves has no intention of allowing the side to let-up, stating earlier this week, “There is too much experience in the squad to relax. We are attentive and we will try to improve even more. If we continue to work, we will stay on the same path.”

Though victory in Barcelona is a tough objective, midfield talisman Marcos Senna has predicted that the club’s strong run can continue. “Things are going well after the last results,“ he noted to AS. “We have a lot of confidence for the future. It was important to win the last game of the year since we had two wins in a row, and it was our opportunity to escape from the relegation zone.”

Meanwhile, Cani wants to see Villarreal drawn upon strong past performances in the Catalan capital in order to achieve a strong result this time around. 

“We have played well on the road against Barca in recent years but that does not mean we are assured of a positive result this time around. We have scored at the Nou Camp two years in a row so we hope to do the same again on Saturday,” he said, doubtless considering last term’s thrilling 3-3 draw.