Total command from Barca !

Hey everyone,

There was intense heat at the start of the game at Cordoba; and then there was intense pressure from FC Barcelona to find the opening goal during the majority of the 1st half. Barca looked better prepared to face both the heat and their opponent for the evening as they looked to go for the kill right from the referee's whistle. But it the opening goal wasn't easy to come by. The Cordoba defense looked solid at the back making crucial interceptions to the Barca passing juggernaut and barely allowing any build up play to really threaten them. The opportunities were sparse and few for Barca during the 1st half and there was one half chance for Cordoba as well. 

Leo Messi, after brilliantly dribbling past 4-5 Cordoba players, had innocuously fired a shot too close Cordoba keeper. Then Neymar hit the post after receiving a lobbed pass from Leo Messi. It seemed that the 1st half would end with a 0-0 scoreline, but Barca persevered and continued to put pressure winning a series of corners in their favor. That pressure paid off when Leo Messi found Rakitic free on the left with a peach of a ball and Rakitic controlled the ball well and fired a shot into the roof of the net to make it 1-0 for Barca in the 42nd minute. Barca looked hungry for more right before the half time whistle and deservedly doubled their lead to make it 2-0 just before the break. Barca knocked the ball around the Cordoba defense for a while before Don Iniesta found Suarez with a glorious ball over the defense and the Uruguayan made no mistake to guide it into the goal.

Barca ran riot in the 2nd half though after a tight first one. Leo Messi scored his first goal of the match when he ghosted past all the Cordoba defenders to meet a superb Dani Alves cross into the box. Messi was no where in the picture when the cross was struck, but was in the right spot at the precise time to head the ball past the diving keeper. He later missed a header though in what would have been a carbon copy of his first goal after he received a brilliant cross this time from Pedro. A little later, Dani Alves provided another excellent assist to Suarez, who struck with the back of his head to place the ball perfectly into the far corner giving the keeper no chance to stop it. That was Dani Alves' 2nd assist of the game and he's just showing how important he is to the Barca side. Although Barca have Marc Bartra and Martin Motoya to fill he shoes should he leave Camp Nou at the end of this season, I feel Alves is quite a character to let go at this stage, especially since he's just 31 and has a lot of influence on and off the pitch. 

Barca scored the 5th goal of the night courtesy of Gerard Pique. It was another headed goal, this time from a set piece. Leo Messi scored the 6th goal for Barca and his 2nd of the match after playing a delightful one-two with Pedro and won the ball to tap into an empty net. It was probably the easiest tap-in of his entire career. Suarez could have had a 3rd when he had created time and space from himself with an unbelievable touch and then fire just wide of the post. Barca keeper Claudio Bravo made a tremendous save to deny Cordoba a consolation goal. It was a difficult one to handle, but Bravo again maintained his clean sheet on the night and he looked always in control. Neymar then won a penalty for Barca after being tackled in the 18-yard box by a Cordoba defender. 

Leo Messi, who is in a close battle with Cristiano Ronaldo for the Pichichi award this season, handed the penalty shooting chance to Neymar. Leo Messi moved one clear of Cristiano in the top scorer race for the meantime and the lead could have easily been two goals had he chosen to take that penalty himself. This was the 2nd time this season when Messi has handed the penalty taking opportunity to Neymar; but unlike the last time, Neymar showed composure to slot home Barca's 7th of game. Suarez scored from a rebound to complete his fully deserved hat-trick; and Barca duly maintained pressure for the rest of the game till the final whistle to end the game with a resounding 8-0 scoreline. 

This was the perfect preparation ahead of the Champions League clash with FC Bayern Munich. That will be the 1st leg of the Semifinal match up between the two European giants and will be played at Camp Nou. 

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