Saturday November 17, 2012 Day 12 Finished Camp Nou
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Liga - Messi nets another brace as Barca win
Leaders Barcelona pulled six points clear as Lionel Messi netted his seventh double of the campaign in a 3-1 La Liga win at home to Real Zaragoza. More
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Live Commentary
Time:90'- FC Barcelona
- Real Zaragoza
90+4 Right that’s it from the Camp Nou. A pretty rudimentary win for Barca that makes it 11 wins from 12 games in the league with Alex Song scoring his first for the club and Messi confirming the win with a sumptuous second-half strike.- 90+2 Messi exchanges passes with Iniesta but the return ball just doesn’t reach its intended target.
- 90' Main positive from this game has to be the return of Puyol – they look far more solid with him in the side.
- 89' Barca have by no means been dominant this evening but once again they get the job done and open up a six point gap over Atlético Madrid, who play tomorrow against Granada.
87' Piqué gets the better of Hélder Postiga on the edge of the box as the forward looks to work a yard of space, and then starts another Barca attack.- 85' Montoya looks for Cesc in behind but the ball has too much on it and the visitors clear.
- 84' Messi finds Tello in space down the left. He decides to come inside again when there was ample space down the outside. He really should trust that left foot a little more.
- 82' Barca keeping the ball with ease now but the hosts have been a little porous at the back this season and one feels that they need a fourth.
- 80' What an effort. Messi finds Iniesta out wide and he curls a wonderful effort on to the bar from outside the box. Very unlucky there.
77' And almost immediately Cesc is on for Pedro.- 76' Puyol is replaced by Bartra.
- 75' Hélder Postiga gets an early touch and draws a block from Puyol for a corner. That’s Puyol's last action of the half.
- 74' Víctor Rodríguez off for Hélder Postiga as the visitors retain two men up front.
- 73' Aranda is found down the Barca left and in a one-on-one situation with Puyol he wins a corner. The delivery is above Goni, though.
- 71' Tello is in behind but he elects to cut back inside and, in doing so, gives Goni the chance to clear for a throw.
- 69' Barca are in complete control now.
- 67' Aranda reacts quickest to a rebound in the Barca box but his hooked volley is easily claimed. The hosts break at pace and Iniesta wins a corner.
- 65' Alba overlaps Tello but his excellent cross is cleared by Pinter.
- 63' Montoya has looked very good today – he has a nice balance between attack and defence.
- 61' Tello comes on for Villa in the wake of that third goal.
60' GOAL!! Messi receives the ball from Iniesta, plays it out wide to Montoya. Montoya moves forward at pace but Messi holds his run and Montoya finds him on the edge of the box. The diminutive genius opens his body and cajoles the ball into the far corner. What a goal.- 59' Roberto punches clear and sub Wilchez leads the break. He comes back on himself and the ball is switched to Montañés but the move breaks down.
- 58' Change for Zaragoza. Wilchez comes on for the bright Zuculini.
- 57' Zaragoza keeps the ball well again to a chorus of boos from the home crowd. Messi again with a loose ball but he wins it back and plays it in behind the Zaragoza defence but Goni gets a foot to it and Roberto hoists it up the field.
- 55' Villa hustles well up front but Goni eventually gets the better of him before lashing a ball forward. Puyol meets it with his head and Barca move forward again.
- 54' Pique looks to exchange passes with Messi but the return ball is behind the defender - that's the second or third loose pass from Messi, which is unusal. To be fair, this hasn't been a fantastic performance from Barca.
- 52' Song rides a few challenges before finding Iniesta but his attempted through ball for Villa is cut out.
- 50' Zuculini again finds space down the Barca left but his cross is claimed by Valdés.
48' Zuculini is on the book for handling a ball over the top.- 47' It is a bit of a procession in the early part of the second half as Barca easily retain the ball. It is almost a response to Zaragoza's bright finish to the first half.
46' We are back underway at the Camp Nou.- 45' Great spell of possession from the visitors brings the half to an end - they have played confidently and will be a threat come the second half.
- 43' Aranda makes a decent run down the left but spoils it with a poor pass. Opportunities like that need to be exploited if Zaragoza are to get anything from the game.
- 42' Montañés leads a break for the visitors but Pique gallops back to intervene.
- 41' The impressive Zuculini collects the ball on the edge of the box and connects wonderfully well and Valdes is beaten. It just whistles past the post.
- 40' It is a risky game playing the offside trap against Messi. He has been caught twice but if he gets away he will more than likely score.
39' Messi goes a fraction too soon.- 38' They press well and force Barca all the way back to Valdes. Iniesta’s pass to Villa is easily read.
- 36' Zaragoza are sticking to their game plan and are very much in this one.
- 34' Barca retain the ball with ease but a Zaragoza foot intervenes and Víctor Rodríguez looks to break. Song cynically blocks him off but doesn’t receive what would have been a deserved yellow.
- 32' Great stuff from Iniesta. Messi finds him in space inside the box, Roberto is out sharply and Iniesta looks to score a cheeky one from an acute angle but the keeper had his angles right. Audacious attempt.
- 30' Víctor Rodríguez breaks in behind the Barca defence but his effort is just wide of the post.
- 28' GOAL!! Great play from Messi. He collects the ball inside the box, beats two men and then finds Song on the edge of the box with a wonderful cut-back. The former Arsenal man strikes the ball through the legs of the defender Pinter to restore the hosts adavantage.
- 27' Messi almost immediately restores the advantage following a quick though ball from Xavi but Roberto is alert to clear.
- 26' Iniesta was on the edge of the box there but a moment’s lapse in concentration costs the hosts.
- 25' Nothing less than they deserved.
- 24' GOAL!! 1-1. The second corner is half cleared by Montoya. Montañés collects on the edge and steadies himself before firing through the legs of Puyol to restore parity.
- 22' That corner is cleared for another corner, as Barca look shaky at the back.
- 21' Zaragoza have been in this game and move the ball forward at pace. Zuculini with a great delivery from the right but Montoya manages to clear for a corner.
- 19' Much of Barca's good play is coming down their left and Alba looks to make a break but he is obstructed. No whistle from the referee, though.
- 17' Messi exchanges passes with Pedro but the return ball is just behind the Argentine.
- 16' GOAL!!! Some exquisite footwork from Xavi in the middle of midfield before he moves the ball forward to Messi, who exchanges passes with Jordi Alba, drops his shoulder to beat Álvaro and slot past Roberto. 1-0.
- 14' Villa looks to latch on to a long ball over the top from Pique but he goes a second too soon.
- 13' Barca have been frustrated by the discipline of Zaragoza. Messi over-hits a ball for Villa.
- 11' Víctor Rodríguez drops deep and links the play as the visitors move the ball back to front. Aranda claims a foul from Puyol but gets nothing.
- 9' Former Zaragoza man Villa is finding lots of space down the left.
- 8' Villa plays a ball in behind Zaragoza looking for Iniesta but he has too much on it and the visitors clear.
- 7' Rodríguez goes a fraction too soon. Decent run from deep but the Barca line is so high that timing has to be perfect.
- 6' Song is starting very deep. He is splitting the centre-back two and is the fulcrum for the hosts at the moment. Another stray pass from Messi brings a move to a halt.
- 4' Huge cheers as Puyol takes his first touch.
- 3' Messi should have scored. Villa is in behind and finds Messi in space in the box but he curls it just wide of the post.
- 2' Despite their best start to a league campaign, Barca have conceded far more goals than excpected this season but they always look solid with Puyol in the team.
1' Underway at Camp Nou.- 18:55 The Blanquillos’ 15 point haul leaves them 11th and just four points adrift of Malaga in fourth and the final Champions League spot.
- 18:50 Pacesetters Barcelona have earned an incredible 31 from a possible 33 points so far this season as they sit three points ahead of Atletico Madrid. Atletico’s neighbours Real are a further five points back.
- 18:45 Zaragoza are without suspended defenders Cristian Sapunaru and Abraham while Maurizio Lanzaro and Ivan Obradovic are still injured.
- 18:40 Barcelona forward Alexis Sanchez picked up an ankle injury while on international duty with Chile and misses out but Carles Puyol is back in the starting XI having recovered from a dislocated elbow.
- 18:35 TEAMS NEWS: FC Barcelona: Valdés, Montoya, Puyol, Piqué, Alba, Song, Xavi, Iniesta, Pedro, Messi, Villa. Subs: Pinto, Alves, Mascherano, Bartra, Cesc, Dos Santos, Tello. /// Real Zaragoza: Roberto, Movilla, Paredes, Álvaro, Goni, Aranda, Apoño, Montañés, Zuculini, Pinter, Víctor Rodríguez. Subs: Franco, Hélder Postiga, S. Babovic, L. Wilchez, Romaric, Edu Oriol.
- 18:30 Hello and welcome to our LIVE coverage from the Camp Nou where FC Barcelona entertain Real Zaragoza in La Liga.
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Summary
- 87' Piqué gets the better of Hélder Postiga on the edge of the box as the forward looks to work a yard of space, and then starts another Barca attack.
- 80' What an effort. Messi finds Iniesta out wide and he curls a wonderful effort on to the bar from outside the box. Very unlucky there.
- 75' Hélder Postiga gets an early touch and draws a block from Puyol for a corner. That’s Puyol's last action of the half.
- 67' Aranda reacts quickest to a rebound in the Barca box but his hooked volley is easily claimed. The hosts break at pace and Iniesta wins a corner.
- 60' GOAL!! Messi receives the ball from Iniesta, plays it out wide to Montoya. Montoya moves forward at pace but Messi holds his run and Montoya finds him on the edge of the box. The diminutive genius opens his body and cajoles the ball into the far corner. What a goal.
- 41' The impressive Zuculini collects the ball on the edge of the box and connects wonderfully well and Valdes is beaten. It just whistles past the post.
- 32' Great stuff from Iniesta. Messi finds him in space inside the box, Roberto is out sharply and Iniesta looks to score a cheeky one from an acute angle but the keeper had his angles right. Audacious attempt.
- 28' GOAL!! Great play from Messi. He collects the ball inside the box, beats two men and then finds Song on the edge of the box with a wonderful cut-back. The former Arsenal man strikes the ball through the legs of the defender Pinter to restore the hosts adavantage.
- 26' Iniesta was on the edge of the box there but a moment’s lapse in concentration costs the hosts.
- 24' GOAL!! 1-1. The second corner is half cleared by Montoya. Montañés collects on the edge and steadies himself before firing through the legs of Puyol to restore parity.
- 16' GOAL!!! Some exquisite footwork from Xavi in the middle of midfield before he moves the ball forward to Messi, who exchanges passes with Jordi Alba, drops his shoulder to beat Álvaro and slot past Roberto. 1-0.
- 3' Messi should have scored. Villa is in behind and finds Messi in space in the box but he curls it just wide of the post.
- 18:35 TEAMS NEWS: FC Barcelona: Valdés, Montoya, Puyol, Piqué, Alba, Song, Xavi, Iniesta, Pedro, Messi, Villa. Subs: Pinto, Alves, Mascherano, Bartra, Cesc, Dos Santos, Tello. /// Real Zaragoza: Roberto, Movilla, Paredes, Álvaro, Goni, Aranda, Apoño, Montañés, Zuculini, Pinter, Víctor Rodríguez. Subs: Franco, Hélder Postiga, S. Babovic, L. Wilchez, Romaric, Edu Oriol.
Team Line-up & Ratings
FC BarcelonaManager: Tito Vilanova
Real ZaragozaManager: Manolo Jiménez
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Line-up
Live Team Line-Up
Starting line-up
- Víctor Valdés
- M. Montoya
- G. Piqué
- C. Puyol
- J. Alba
- A. Song
- Xavi
- A. Iniesta
- Pedro
- D. Villa
- L. Messi ×2
Subs
- J. Pinto
- C. Fàbregas
78′ - J. Mascherano
- Dani Alves
- Jonathan
- M. Bartra 75′
- Tello 61′
Starting line-up
- Roberto
- R. Goni
- Á. Pintér
- Á. González
- J. Paredes
- J. Movilla
- Apoño
- F. Zuculini
- P. Montañés
- Aranda
- V. Rodriguez Romero
Subs
- L. Franco
- Hélder Postiga 73′
- S. Babovic 81′
- L. Wilchez 58′
- Romaric
- Edu Oriol
- H. Litri
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Rate Players
if i may say , why can;t Barcelona change their goalkeeper, b/c some ball that we all know that keeper can keep, barca keeper can; t , and they still keep him there , why ? why ? why can;t they change there keeper and look for another good one from England ?//??????
Visca mighty ,mighty BARCA!.Welome back inspirational Skipper Carles Puyol .Only the sky is the limit 4 King LIONEL MESSI !
very impressive play made by Messi
Song is too slow to fit in Barca. He is done for the brutal EFL not for la Liga
11th not 10th..........
line up confirmed:Valdés, Montoya, Puyol, Piqué, Jordi Alba, Song, Xavi, Iniesta, Pedro, Messi and Villa
FCB 3-1 RZG Messi ×2, Villa ×1 - Postiga ×1 Go barca go... Visca Barca!!!!! ♥LM10
4-0 barcelona pedro 16 tello 29 fabregas 54 messi 74
messi hattrick i don't know? but it would make me happy and him that much closer to the calender year record. VIVA BARCA VIVA MESSI
barce are going to win messi to score 3 goal. COME ON BARCELONA
Real Zaragoza u can do it! go jor!
Lets go Barca lets go.
this is going to be a hard match but i still belive barca can win it with ease
