Barcelona Sails Smoothly to the Copa del Rey Final

FC Barcelona 2 - 0 Valencia CF

It was a chilly day at the Camp Nou, where FC Barcelona hosted Valencia for the second leg of the Copa del Rey semi-finals. Previously in the first leg, the match ended with a 1-1 draw. Jonas and Puyol scored goals, respectively.

The second leg proved to be a vivacious and brilliant display of football. Pep Guardiola's starting 11 included the usual first team players, in addition to the youngsters Cuenca and Thiago.

From the beginning, it was essential for Barça's defense to remain strong and hold off any goals on their home turf. Throughout the match, the likes of Eric Abidal and Carles Puyol held the defense down with support from Gerard Pique. The game quickly gained pace and Valencia seemed to have the upper hand, as Barça's defense was certainly caught snoozing from time to time.

Pep Guardiola's line-up proved to be quite effective. There was undeniable chemistry between Cuenca, Messi and Fabregas. The youngster Thiago played bravely and proved to be a strong asset in Barcelona’s midfield next to Xavi. The chemistry in the offense led to a superb pass from near midfield to Cesc, as he gracefully put one past the Diego Alves. In the minutes after the goal, Barcelona picked up the pace and created more and more chances. Creativity in the midfield gifted Messi and Sanchez with countless opportunities to move around Valencia’s defense and score. The score remained Barça 1 - 0 Valencia at the end of the first half.

The second half was characterized by Valencia coming out in full force. For the first time in the game, Jose Manuel Pinto had to stay consistently on his feet and alert as he stopped multiple shots from Valencia’s offense. Aduriz, Mathieu, and Ruiz were successful in holding off Messi and covering Sanchez, in addition to keeping consistent pressure on Isaac Cuenca. Credit is due to Carles Puyol for denying Jordi Alba any chance at scoring.

As both teams were eager to score, the speed quickened and presented counterattack after counterattack. Both teams get close to scoring, yet didn't have what it took to execute. Messi's chip over Diego Alves was sure to secure the Blaugrana to a 2 to nil scoreline, when Messi's stunning break was halted by a deflection by Ruiz. Likewise, Pinto was caught off his post and far into the box when a shot sailed over him, bound for the goal. Lucky for Culés, Javier Mascherano sailed to head the ball away, saving Barça from a goal that could have easily cost them the game.

As players became frustrated in the pursuit to score, the referee, Fernández Borbalán, was not hesitant to provide players with bookings, with a total of 7 yellow cards at the end of the match – two of which from Feghouli, dismissing him from the game with a red card and leaving Valencia with only 10 men. Barcelona was quick to capitalize, and after much patience, it was Xavi who scored in the 81st minute, much to Unai Elmer and Diego Alves's dismay.

The match came to a close at the final score of 2 - 0, a home win for FC Barcelona. Although there is much to celebrate for Culés, many tasks are still at hand before facing Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey final. Firstly, the alertness of the defense must be addressed. It was in matches like these and the Copa del Rey quarterfinals against Real Madrid, where simple mistakes in the defense led to goal scoring opportunities for the opponent. Secondly, the execution on Barcelona’s behalf needs major work. Despite the efforts of Lionel Messi, Cesc Fabregas, and Alexis Sanchez, the team simply could not execute the runs to get the ball in the net. We saw a game with 15 goal attempts, yet only two goals. Despite injuries, Barcelona must maintain a solid defense and find the back of the net to defeat Athletic Bilbao in the final. As for Valencia, Diego Alves proved to be a miracle worker, stopping 10 shots on target. The entire team worked together to form a strong defense against Barcelona.

The Blaugrana have until May 25th to learn from the match and perfect their squad and tactics to defeat a very strong Bilbao.

Next Match:

La Liga, Barcelona vs. Osasuna - 02/11/2012
Copa del Rey Final vs. Athletic Bilbao - 05/25/2012

written by Madena Sharef