Skip to main content

Tello keeps Barça in the title race

FC Barcelona - Reial Societat 04/02/2012 / FOTO: MIGUEL RUIZ - FCBYoungster Cristian Tello produced a fine performance on his first league start for Barcelona as he helped his side to a 2-1 win over Real Sociedad.

Both Tello and Messi were on target for Barcelona while Carlos Vela scored for Sociedad. The win ensures Barcelona remain seven points behind Madrid and still with a hope of reclaiming top spot.

Barcelona went into the game ten points behind as Madrid sneaked past Getafe earlier in the day with a 1-0 win. Pressure was high but Guardiola, with the midweek cup game in mind, kept faith in his youngsters and fielded a very inexperienced side.

Within nine minutes it was one of the B-team players that scored the game's first goal. Cristian Tello made a blistering run down the left flank and was duly picked out by Lionel Messi. The 20 year old did not need a controlling touch and calmly placed the ball past Bravo.

After the opening goal, the first half then proved to be very frustrating for Barcelona. The Catalans had plenty of chances but failed to kill the game off and heaped pressure on themselves.

On any other night Lionel Messi could have hit a hat-trick but the Argentine lacked his usual composure in front of goal. Free-scoring Cesc Fàbregas also missed good chances, in particular a one-on-one with the keeper that resulted in the Spaniard lifting the ball over the bar.

Real Sociedad remained a threat but the half time whistle came with Barcelona ahead. Guardiola was eager to seal the three points as early as possible but it was Sociedad who started the second half the strongest.

Greizmann brushed past Mascherano and Barcelona were saved by a great reaction save from Victor Valdés. The attacker seemed to lose his head and should've done better.

In the 63rd minute, Messi had his best chance of the game. A trademark run saw him trick his way past the Sociedad keeper, but produced an out-of-character shot and it was blocked.

2012-02-04 FCB-R
Messi scores Barça's second
Cristian Tello, who looked impressive all night, was unlucky not to double his goal tally in the 69th minute. Dani Alves broke into the area and Cuenca saw his shot collide with the bar. The ball dropped kindly for Tello who blasted his shot towards the goal. It looked a certain goal but hit Dani Alves, who was attempting to get out of the way of the goal line. The right back was clearly offside and the goal was ruled out.

The three time Ballon d'Or winner finally had his goal in the 72nd minute. Arguably his hardest chance of the night, Messi sprinted clear of the defence and connected well with a chipped through ball from Alves. His left hook flew past Bravo and Barcelona looked to have killed the game off.

Real Sociedad didn't follow the script though. Thiago lost possession early from the restart and Greizmann found himself in a great position. The midfielder played a beautiful ball into the path of substitute Carlos Vela. The loanee from Arsenal calmly slotted the ball past Victor Valdés and set up a very nervy fifthteen minutes.

The Catalans held on though and can now switch their attention to the Copa del Rey as they look to seal their place in this year's final.

Full time result: Barcelona 2-1 Real Sociedad

Goal scorers: Barcelona: Tello (9) Messi (72) Real Sociedad: Vela (73)

Team lineup:
Víctor Valdés, Dani Alves, Mascherano, Puyol (Abidal 76), Adriano, Thiago, Jonathan dos Santos (Busquets 76, Piqué 83), Fábregas, Cuenca, Messi, Tello Subs: Xavi, Alexis, Pinto, Sergi Roberto
Formation: 4-3-3

Bravo, Carlos Martínez, Mikel González, Iñigo Martínez, Cadamuro, Bergara, Aranburu, Xabi Prieto (Agirretxe 84), Rubén Pardo (Joseba Llorente 78), Griezmann, Ifrán (Carlos Vela 58) Subs: Demidov, Estrada, Toño, Javi Ros
Formation: 4-2-3-1

Stadium: Camp Nou

Referee: Clos Gómez

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

The Title Race

As we pass the halfway stage of this Liga BBVA season, a team not many would have guessed sits on top of the table. After the success of a league title and a Champions League, many would've predicted Barcelona would be the dominant force in the two horse race that is La Liga. But after a series of shock results, that saw them drop points to Getafe, Athletico Bilbao, Sevilla, Real Sociedad and Valencia, they are currently three points behind leaders Real Madrid. This may not seem like a huge gap but La Liga is not like other leagues such as the Premier League, where there seems to be an upset every week, and the reality is Real Madrid face little concern about dropping points. Especially with the strength in the depth they have. Mourinho knows this, but he is also very wary that the gap has been reduced to three points. So when Madrid face the daunting task of going to the Camp Nou and coming away with a result, Mourinho will be hoping the gap has increased in case Barcelona take ...
2 comments
Read more

Brazillian wonder-kid arriving at Barça?

Neymar's future has been uncertain for a long time now. Clubs from every top European league seem to be queuing up for his signature. But the speculation is drawing to a close and the fight for Neymar's signature has turned into a two horse race between the Spanish giants. This will all have to wait until 2014 as Neymar recently snubbed the transfer talk and extended his contract with current club Santos. That doesn't mean Real and Barça can't fight for the first chance to sign the 19 year old. It was recently reported that Barcelona have agreed a fee with Santos for first dibs at Neymar. But any deal that Barça would try to carve out will be met by competition from Real Madrid as well as a hefty price tag. Neymar is currently on £90,000 a week wages in an attempt to see off the European clubs but Barça will try to combat that by offering a deal worth €7 million euros a year. This would put him in the same wage bracket as World Cup winners David Villa and Xavi. Ne...
Post a Comment
Read more

Barça concede late and place advantage firmly with Madrid

Barcelona conceded late on as they slumped to a 1-1 draw away at Espanyol. The Catalan Derby provided a shock as Barça did not enjoy their usual high levels of possession. But instead had to settle for 63% in comparison to their usual 80+%. The Spanish giants started brightly after surviving a scare from Verdú which required a world class save from Valdés and a follow up off-the-line block from Piqué. Barça then began to find their rhythm and if not for a poor first touch from Sánchez, they would've surely taken the lead in the 11th minute. A minute later the ball was in the net. Messi snatched onto a misplaced back pass from keeper Álvarez then squared the ball for Fàbregas to tap in. Only for referee Turienzo Álvarez to disallow it citing a Messi handball as the reason. Replays showed the eagle eyed referee was right but the yellow card to follow did seem harsh. Barcelona grit their teeth and began to play their game. Pass, pass, pass eventually lead to a goal. Fàbregas tim...
Post a Comment
Read more