Arsenal Grab 2 Late Goals to Square the Tie

Barcelona and Arsenal played to a 2-2 draw in the first leg of the Champion's League Quarterfinal. Barcelona came out from the start pressing hard and nearly scoring within the first minute. Almunia had four great reaction saves to keep Barcelona out. Barcelona had 70% of the possession in the first half and should have been 3 up at half. However, the half ended nil-nil. William Gallas and Andrey Arshavin were both forced out in the second half thru injury and Gallas definitely looks like he had the more serious one and wont be playing in the second leg. The other big story was Cesc picking up a yellow for a silly challenge though it was a harsh yellow which will see him miss the next leg.

The second half start brilliantly for Barcelona with Xavi finding Zlatan Ibrahimavic in acres of space and Ibra cooly floating the ball over Almunia into the net. Almunia can definitely be blamed for this one as he started to come out then decided to stay in and was caught in between but it was a brilliant finish from the Swede. Barcelona continued to control and Xavi found Ibra in space again in a nearly identical play with Ibra finishing in the top netting for his double and a Barcelona 2-0 lead. The game and entire tie seemed over as Barcelona had the 2 away goals. However, Theo Walcott was introduced and had an immediate impact causing problems down the right and finally finishing to get Arsenal back in the game. Arsenal started to gain confidence and took control and leveled the game at two after Cesc was brought down in the box by Puyol. The cross came in from Walcott and was deflected to Bedtner who headed to Cesc who was then impeded by Puyol. Puyol received a straight red for this and will miss the return leg as well. Pique will also miss the next leg due to his yellow which also looked harsh. Cesc finished the penalty and looked to hurt his knee. He hobbled on the rest of the way but will be out for a while it looks like.

Personally I would have to say Barca deserved better but in the end didn't finish well enough to get the win. This tie could have been over 20 minutes into the game if not for Almunia. Arsenal took their chances well and finished them.

The return leg will be on Tuesday at the Camp Nou. I fully expect Barcelona to move on since Arsenal have to win or score at least 2 in the Nou Camp which is difficult to do. However, both Pique and Puyol will miss out and Iniesta looks to miss the next match as well. Cesc and Gallas will both be missing for Arsenal and Arshavin may miss as well. Seeing how much Barcelona dominated the game and controlled the game I expect more of the same.

I do want to say that I am disappointed in Messi. He looked uninterested most of the game and only had 2 good chances both in the first 20 minutes. After that he had touches but nothing that looked dangerous. I expect better from him in the second leg. I also have to say that Barcelona would have much preferred this game to end 2-0 for more reasons than advancing but also because they play Real Madrid on the 11th. Winning 2-0 at the Emirates would have allowed Barcelona to possibly rest some players before that clash.

In other news, Wayne Rooney has a sprained ankle and will with next weeks game against Bayern Munich

Surprise!

Well I wasn't expecting to have anything to talk about today but I turned on my TV and surprise surprise Barcelona were on ESPN2. Unfortunately, I missed the first half but from the sounds of it I didn't miss much (at least as a Barca fan). Needless to say I saw the much more exciting half and got to see exactly why Messi is with out a doubt, unquestionably the best player in the world! Virtuoso performance, great finishing, amazing control, unequaled exuberance. A natural hat-trick.

Now, not all can be attributed alone to Messi. His first goal was largely a solo effort (and quite the effort if i do say so) but his second and third had a helping hand from Thierry Henry. Henry has been out of form and out of favor of late and he was actually a second half sub coming on for a, as I'm told, ineffective Bojan Krkic. It is wonderful to see Henry play so well and make the most of his opportunity (Zlatan Ibrahimavic suspended). Henry played his more natural role of central forward which he rarely gets to play at Barca but with this game he is making a case for more playing time and I wont be surprised to see him mid week vs. Stuttgart.

I was told that Valencia played Barca very tight in the first half and pressured high to give Barca little time or space with the ball. The second half was not the same case. Barca had time and space and got into their natural rhythm quickly with Iniesta, Xavi, and Busquets working well in the midfield together and controlling possession. And then came the first goal. Messi taking the ball on the right, dribbling toward the left between two as he cut to his right then just stops on a dime as a defender moves right past him and then Messi tricks the keeper and looks far post before slotting it home near post. Absolutely brilliant individual work and goal. He was then showing off his undershirt which I can only assume said something but I was unable to see.

Barcelona controlled most of the rest of the game except for one instance when Zigic got behind the defense and looked primed to level the match but was superbly denied by Victor Valdes. It seemed to me a chip over Valdes was obvious but Zigic chose to try to slot it far post on the ground and Valdes was able to deflect it.

While Barca were in a comfortable position with possession and control the game was still in doubt at only 1-0. There were a few chances from Henry, Xavi, Pedro, and Maxwell (hit the net but was offside). Then a Valencia defender was shown his second yellow and Barca completely took over. Henry crossed to the right side and Messi took the ball down perfectly with his first touch. He ran at the defense then cut inside (as he always does, force him outside you morons) and curled past the keeper into the far netting to make it 2-0. Then 2 minutes later a poor clearance landed to Henry who pushed the ball into space for Messi. He picked it up took a couple dribbles the finished with his right foot (holy shit he can use that one?!?!?!) just over the keepers outstretched foot.

I was very excited to see the game actually on TV as ESPN2 usually shows crap games, but was pleasantly surprised. And, of course, as a Barcelona fan I was very happy to see the team playing well and grabbing the 3 points. Also, Messi's hat-trick puts him five clear of the next highest scorer in la liga this year!!!