FC Barcelona 1-2 RCD Espanyol
By: Armando | February 22nd, 2009
Sometimes in football, like in this match, the most incomprehensible things occur; the littlest player on the field (Ivan de la Pena) comes through with an unlikely header, unmarked and unchallenged, and then he adds to the tally with a monumental gift by Victor Valdez chipping it over the keeper after receving a wayward clearance from the same character. Bottom beats top, left is right, and suddenly we’re back into the mix, an escape from relegation a certainty?
Now, people on the other side of town (mostly cules) are going to downplay the loss, blame the ref or a subpar performance before a Champions League match midweek against Lyon looming. Xavi himself said that the ref took over the game, listened to the protestations of the Espanyol players, pulling out the red card, and awarded the “pessimism” of Espanyol to get in the way of the beautiful football that they were “dominating” with. What a load of rubbish.
They have no inherant right to beat all comers just because they can play neat pretty triangles on the pitch. Sometimes they need to fight. It was a chippy game from the get-go, a true derby match (emotional and heated) and Barca were giving just as much as they were getting. The cards were even throughout on the field (6 apiece) with one weird yellow going to the Barcelona bench for dissent. The red card didn’t look all that bad at first glance, but in slow motion you could see studs up in the lead foot for Keita and the trailing foot hitting the Espanyol player. There’ll be complaints, but it was a fair call, especially considering we lost a similar call in the corresponding fixture at the beginning of the year at the Montjuic; a game that threw us into a death spiral and humiliated us in front of the league. Karma. ‘Nuff Said.
I said we’d be lucky to get 3 points out of the matches against Sevilla, Barca, Real Madrid and Villareal, anything else in the next two is gravy I think.
Category: Espanyol Team News
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Comments
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I dont mean to start anything here, but by saying that the Cules will complain, are you not making a self fulfilling prophecy?
Most fans on the receiving end of a loss will wallow a bit, but when the accusations that they will be sore losers come out, that is only inviting one thing.
Congrats on a VERY hard faught game, and a great effort from your team.
-Jason, Barcelona fan.
Posted from
United States
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Jason, I’m not an Espanyol fan by any means but I think he means the way Xavi and co. went about it blaming the loss on a million and one things but it was clear the better team won. Sure Barça were a man down but like you said, it was a hard fought game and the result showed that.
Posted from
Canada -
I think Barcelona will beat Lyon easy,which is a shame because 2/3 years ago I would have predicted probably the opposite,a lyon win but sadly for OL They have gone down and barca have gone up. On ethings for sure is that Lyon are not the team they were when they had some great players like,Essien,Diarra,Abidal,Squillaci,Carew,Nilmar etc as well as Juninho and Govou in there primes
Posted from
United Kingdom -
I think there biggest threat to us is there manager Claude puel who is the Jose Mourinho of french football,who really can be as astute young tactitianol manger as anyone,turning a relegation battling team with out any money for transfers or without any former history at the club and a 10000 seater stadium into runners up in the league and reaching the KO stage of the champions league,only to be beaten narrowly by a jubious goal from Man united is not at all easy,not to mention his titel winning season with Monaco-his first season as a manager and having a good time of it in europe,and he has already turned Lyon a team which has Boumsong(worst defender in this compitition),Gassama,a youth team product and Kallstrom a midfielder,into a solid defence-that speaks for itself.
Posted from
United Kingdom
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