Matchday 10 La Liga: FC Barcelona vs Celta de Vigo

Date: Saturday, 11/03/2012 18:00

Competition: League

Stadium: Camp Nou

City: Barcelona

Capacity: 99786

Television: GolT / Canal Plus Liga

Referee: Fernández Borbalán

Messi missed today's training session. Question is whether he is going to start tomorrow. Tito has said that its just one training session though knowing him, he could still place him on the bench.

--------------Valdes---------------
Alves--Barta--Mascherano--Adriano--
--------Xavi-----Busi------Iniesta----
----Pedro-----Cesc/Messi---Tello----

3-1 IMO the final score

------alexis----------cesc---------pedro--
---------iniesta----------------xavi---------
-------------------busquets----------------
alba------masche--------------song--------alves

Hope Messi sits this one out and spend time with his new family.

Good to have Celta back in the top flight. The first match I ever witnessed in Camp Nou was against Celta in 1998. They were very good back then but I don't see a problem for Barcelona tonight considering the match is at home.

Messi should play. Other players would be expected to play in his position, he's no different. Tito has said that he will play.

Messi trying a bit too much! But i understand he wants to score for his boy

Do not like Buscuit in the back, should play Barta.
Instead of bringing in Dani Alves should have brought in Montoya.
Messi will score tonight he looks determined.

ofside goal by alba... nice movement though

by the way team looks much more steady with Brtra back.
And Vill is coming back to his previous lethal levels

I'd wager that has more to do with Busquets being in the midfield than Barta in the back billy.

very true... it's actually a combination of both IMO

Dani alves was a bad sub, not only was he completely invisible but might as-well bring in Montoya.

please report on messis injury, im in a wedding and cant pay attention to news.

He ran into another player in the box. Didn't look that bad. It's probably just a bruise. He had a swollen knee but was able to walk fine and stayed the remaining 4 minutes after the injury on the field. Might be out for 1-2 days but didn't look more serious than that.

free_cat wrote:please report on messis injury, im in a wedding and cant pay attention to news.

Hope its not your wedding dude

LOL.

OK, thank god its nothing.

Not my wedding hehe, a friends.

I don't know much about Adriano but every time I watch Barcelona he gets injured...

danyjr wrote:I don't know much about Adriano but every time I watch Barcelona he gets injured...

Then stop watching dude, I think it might be u causing it

hehehe!

3-4-3.So the experiment hasnt been compltely abandoned.Though Tito picked the wrong game and players to try it.
With Masch as the CB and Alba and Adriano flanking him,it was always asking for trouble.
Both Alba and Adriano pushed way too high and with Masch too prone to come out looking for the ball,Celta were bound to get in behind.All they had to do was play a simple ball betwen the huge gap between Masch and Alba
(a ship could have driven through the gap) and they were in behind.
After their goal,I think it was Busquets who decided that it wasnt working and he made the change on the field.He dropped back to CB and we went back to 4-3-3 with Xavi as DM.Thereafter we were much more secure.

I thought all our players played well,bar Fab,Messi and Masch.These are the kinds of games from Messi that I dont like.His play was poor which is acceptable as he is only human and is bound to have a bad game once in a while.But when he has these stinkers,he is also a defensive liability.Was walking around as if he owned the pitch and didnt even try to win the ball back after he lost it numerous times.Our pressing game was non existent because of him.
Villa was probably the MOM.I said after his first game back that he had the eye of the tiger look and he is really showing that.Looked really sharp and his linkup with Iniesta and Alba was brilliant.The buildup for his goal was simply brilliant.
The Don had a great game too.In this sort form of he is almost unplayable.
Bartra had a good 45 min.He seems to have all the tools to become a good CB for us.Calm and assured on the ball,good positioning and anticipation, covers the fullback well.Looks good so far.
And it seems that free has made Alves bashing some sort of norm.He had a solid game and yet we have calls for Montoya over Alves
Overall a not so great performance but the 3 points are all that count.

ohhh......that counter goal......awesome, i have to admit...lolz

and thanks to VV to save us from the first counter that left him one on one with a long yard ahead just before we scored. So basically we did not have any defense. but i am happy with the goals we conceded if that can encourage the management to change CBs.

Messi was not playing at all and i doubt he was even match fit. He pretty much did not move other than the few runs on through. Buit i was wondering may be even tito want him on pitch because he always drags extra attention from opponents, i mean when he is in centre few people must be around no matter how he is playing. that gives us plus. i even noticed Xavi and others were not playing him too much, so i assume everyone knew he was not match fit--- just my thought.

calling for montoya over alves is overbias!!! i mean when you are a coach and have two players like that in rank what you guys would do??? I like the way we integrate young players slowly, youth players with lot of promise come out of the ranks from many clubs but we are the most successful to flourish them correctly. this is one reason i guess.

I say play Montoya over dani alves TODAY in that substitute, Alves just came back from an injury and was being rested for Celtic, a game where we need good defence.

I couldn't watch the match, but I watched extended highlights, and it seems that Mascherano sucked big time agian. My god, he is in rock bottom form. Hope we get Pique and Puyol back and he hits the bench. If he wasn't Messi's argentinian pal, he should be sold at the end of the season if he can't get his old form back by then (it would be 1,5 seasons in terrible form as CB).

free_cat wrote:I couldn't watch the match, but I watched extended highlights, and it seems that Mascherano sucked big time agian. My god, he is in rock bottom form. Hope we get Pique and Puyol back and he hits the bench. If he wasn't Messi's argentinian pal, he should be sold at the end of the season if he can't get his old form back by then (it would be 1,5 seasons in terrible form as CB).

Yeah, imagine if we had sold him, we could have now played Bartra and Song in every match, when Puyol and Pique are having their seasonal vacations and Adriano has now joined them, again.

Messi didnt sleep that night what you expect. he was not ready for the game he just played to dedicate a goal

free_cat wrote:I couldn't watch the match, but I watched extended highlights, and it seems that Mascherano sucked big time agian. My god, he is in rock bottom form. Hope we get Pique and Puyol back and he hits the bench. If he wasn't Messi's argentinian pal, he should be sold at the end of the season if he can't get his old form back by then (it would be 1,5 seasons in terrible form as CB).

Was actually coming on to say something along these lines. Annoying that he's our first choice defender... We need our rocks back already.

Sell him? Well lets sort our defence problems out before we think about that but ideally I would sell him at some point in next 2 years and bring in a proper centreback and trust Bartra/Muniesa.