A win is a win !

Hey everyone,

It was not the kind of rout I was expecting to watch from FC Barcelona in their game against Real Sociedad played at the Camp Nou today. The 1st half was all one-way traffic with Barca dominating the proceedings and looking to take the lead. But the Sociedad defense and their keeper withstood every Barca attack and ended the half 0-0. They were defending well and managed to frustrate Barca for the majority of the half. Sociedad managed to defeat Barca when they hosted them at the beginning of 2015; and that was probably making them play well against Barca today.

Barca Manager Luis Enrique made key changes to the side that won against Bayern Munich on Wednesday. The reasons being obvious that Barca will be facing Bayern Munich on Tuesday and will then travel to Madrid to face Atletico. Xavi, Rafinha and Adriano started for Barca in place of Busquets, Iniesta and Alba, respectively. Barca lacked their usual swagger as a result of those changes, but the result was never under real threat. The Barca front-line of Messi, Neymar, Suarez could not find the back of the net despite trying all their tricks. The 1st goal took a lot of time coming, but it did come eventually in the 51st minute courtesy of a Neymar header from close range. Even after the 1st goal, the intensity didn't pick up by much and Barca had to wait until the the 85th minute to double their lead and seal the points for the match. A well taken overhead kick by Pedro was easily the highlight of the game and ensured the win. 

The regular starters in the line-up seemed a notch down from their usual level, but quite frankly they did not have to be at full throttle for the entire game in order to win it. In the end, it was a win and 3 points for Barca which is all that matters with 2 games to go. I must say that I'm disappointed with the Rafinha and Adriano since they did not make the most of this rare start in the game offered to them by Coach Luis Enrique. Given the level of the opposition, they should have done a lot better than that to prove that they deserve to be considered for other games as well. But both of them, especially Adriano offered very little service to the team's cause today. And after Real Madrid drew their game against Valencia FC at the Bernebau, the gap between the Clasico rivals is now 4 points with just 2 more games to be played in this 2014/15 La Liga season. That means Barca have to win either of their last 2 games for them to be crowned the Spanish League champions. I seriously hope that the current row between the Spanish Government and the RFEF gets settled in time for the next weekend, so that the remaining 2 games are played out without any suspension.

But first, FC Barcelona now have all their attention focused on the CL semifinals' 2nd leg game against Bayern munich at the Allianz Arena. Barca are very much in control of their progression from this tie, but have to be cautious in not giving Bayern even a sniff of a chance to beat them. I'm sure that Barca will definitely go for the win in the 2nd leg too and will not just look to defend their advantage in that game. Barca will want to seal their place in the CL showpiece event in Berlin on June 6th. Forca Barca!

Thanks for reading & cheers! See you soon!!    -- yps05