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Messi Magic Again To The Rescue of Barcelona : Match Review

By Nikhil Kulkarni

Jun 21, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Argentina midfielder Lionel Messi (10) in action during the match against the United States in the semifinals of the 2016 Copa America Centenario soccer tournament at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Jun 21, 2016; Houston, TX, USA; Argentina midfielder Lionel Messi (10) in action during the match against the United States in the semifinals of the 2016 Copa America Centenario soccer tournament at NRG Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports /
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Barcelona was unable to kick-start their 2017 league campaign on winning note as they would have wished for. And they needed their Argentine magician to save them from an embarrassing defeat. They managed to draw 1-1 with Villarreal at Estadio de la Ceramica.

This league game was quite important for Barcelona to keep a check on Real. Zizou’s side is on unbeaten run sitting pretty well at the top with 1 game advantage to FCB. FCB had an uphill task to win a game against the host, with whom they have managed to draw 2-2 last year.

As it can be seen, the game didn’t quite pan out well for Barcelona. They went with 3 changes from the match against Athletic Bilbao in Masche, Digne and Gomes but Rakitic’s exclusion of squad came as surprise for most. The home side recalled Jaume Costa, Bruno and Victor Ruiz to starting Xl for this very game.

The game was played with high intensity from start itself. FCB tried to pull triggers from start unlike the previous matches, but Villarreal was proving to be a threat on the counters. It was a quite open game and as expected, FCB dominated from the start itself. The first real attempt was from home side when Costa found Dos Santos with a wonderful cross but he fired well over the crossbar to some respite of Barca. For FCB, Neymar tried to curl one in but it was just wide of the post. The first half saw a fine save from home keeper Asenjo as he saved a superb header from Messi. Both sides were goalless at half-time with some fine display of football.

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The second half started from where both teams left in the first. Many were fancying chances for FCB goal. But amidst all this, just 4 minutes in half home side drew the first blood with Sansone finding the bottom corner of the net. On the well-worked counter attack, always lively Pato slid super pass to his teammate. This triggered strong reactions in the FCB attack but that final finish was still missing. To add fuel to the fire, the referee didn’t spot the deserving spot kick for the away side when Bruno put his hand on the ball.

The last 30 minutes saw FCB continue to probe into final third and Villarreal content to soak in the pressure. Adding insult to injury, Messi curled one beautifully just to see it deflecting from inside the post. It looked like the match is well over and so does league hopes for Barca. But the little magician from South America had some different plan. He showed absolute class to curl the free-kick to pick out the top corner of the post. The liveliest player on the pitch for away side stunned everyone under such pressure. That equalizer at least kept hope for Barcelona in the league for title contention where FCB can find themselves in deep water now.

Next: FC Barcelona’s right-back search – January transfer window update

The last minutes of the game saw Costa being sent off but it was too late for the away side to grab the winner. Both teams ended with a point each which surely shook Barcelona’s title defense. The league might be out of their reach but who knows what’s in store? Luis Enrique and team need to go back to the board and will hope to repeat 2014-15 history. So does the fans.

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