A Shaky Barça Prevails Against Sporting de Gijon

It was a mild Saturday evening when FC Barcelona hosted Real Sporting de Gijón at the Camp Nou. A clash between the team in second place against the team second last. FC Barcelona already having to play without Thiago, Messi, Villa, Afellay, Abidal, and Busquets faced even more challenges against Gijón. A predicted easy win for the blaugrana did not go as planned, as Clemente’s boys brought skill, speed, and determination to the pitch.

The first half was a relatively slow paced half with a disallowed goal from Pedro in the 9^th minute, followed by another disallowed offside goal from Cesc Fàbregas. The Catalan giants dominated possession at around 80% and they were rewarded for their patience in the 42^nd minute, with a easy give and go from Alves and Iniesta, and a goal from Illusionista himself.

Pep’s boys looked confident coming into the 2^nd half, until a challenge by Gerard Piqué was ruled a foul by referee Velasco Carballo, and given a straight red card, a sure setback for Barça. Shortly after, Adriano’s poor defending let Barral slip in front of Valdes to score the equalizer in the 48^th minute. With frustration growing, Clemente’s side took full advantage of their counter attacks, and Barça in turn failed to finish their attacks. They desperately needed a sense of direction in the midfield, and lacked the quickness of pace in their signature tiki-taka style. This clashed with Clemente’s preferred style of quick attacks and few transitions in the midfield. The aggressive, quick, and intense effort put on the pitch by the Asturians held Barça off for almost all of the 2^nd half, until a curved shot by Seydou Keita made its way into the net in the 79^th minute. As Sporting de Gijón scrambled for an equalizer, the blaugrana were successful in staying calm under pressure and maintained possession. The maestro whizzed past the Gijón defense in the 87^th minute, and Xavi Hernandez sealed the deal for Barça with a chip over the goalkeeper Juan Pablo to win the game 3-1. 

The 3 points are invaluable for the blaugrana, but the outcome of the match did nothing to mask the growing problems for the Catalan side. The inability to finish has left them with several draws this season, only causing them to further trail Real Madrid. The midfield has no support in the shaky defense, particularly Gerard Piqué, whose form has been in question for the last several games. The slew of injuries has majorly disadvantaged the Catalan giants in the fierce title race between Real Madrid. The real question lies in whether Guardiola’s side can turn things around and prevail as Liga winners, despite trailing Real Madrid, who have played consistently impressive football. Football fans everywhere are presented with the most nail-biting season yet. 

Next match:

FC Barcelona vs. Bayer Leverkusen (Champions’ League 1/8 final) Wednesday, March 7th 2012, 20:45 

written by Madena Sharef