All Bar�a�s football

Match

Marcador del partit

Date: Sunday, 29 Apr
Competition: ???label.competicio0???
Stadium: Camp Nou, Barcelona

Resultat:

FC Barcelona: 1
Levante UD: 0

Match report

Match Report
Pre-Match

Match Report

The goal

1-0, Eto'o (min.27)

A win by the minimum

Roger Boguny�

FC Barcelona beat Levante by 1-0 thanks to Samuel Eto�o in the 27th minute. The second half saw the blaugrana squander opportunities to bury the game on many occasions, however, the win sees them stay top.

Bar�a stay top with seven games left. The result did not reflect the game at Camp Nou, which saw the blaugrana dominate the play and walk away with the three points. Eto’o got the goal in the 27th minute, however he, Ronaldinho and Messi could have extended their advantage, especially in the second half.

Contemplation and goal

The first 20 minutes saw both teams weighing up their options against each other. The only chance falling to Deco, who shot wide following a break down the right with Zambrottta. The goal came soon after the first phase in minute 27, when the game seemed to be settling down. Messi started it off with a diagonal run from the right, a pass to Xavi then followed what could have been an assist to Ronaldinho had it not been for the hands of Molina, however, the ball then fell to Eto’o in space, who made no mistake of finding the back of the net.

The goal brought the game to life and it was Bar�a who put the visiting team on the back foot until the break, despite not many chances coming along.

Looking for the second

Bar�a came out looking for the second after the restart. Ronaldinho found space outside the area in the 49th minute and unleashed a long range effort, which brought about a good save from Molina. Eto’o and Ronaldinho had one on one chances soon after, however, could not convert. Ronaldinho moved into the centre following the break and was finding more space than he did playing down the left in the first half. Levante appeared less secure at the back, despite this, they were still able to pressure Bar�a with their counterattacks.

Messi

Messi began to find his touch, and between the 65th and 70th minutes, Messi showed Camp Nou his qualities once again. Up to three times, Messi broke down the right and undid the Levante defence with his mesmerizing runs. The stadium on their feet, demonstrated their disappointment at the Levante defence for stopping Messi the only way they could; by fouling him.

Tense final

The final minutes of the game saw wave after wave of attack, with the clearest chance coming to Messi from Eto’o; Messi wide open in the area smashed his shot against the crossbar. The visitors were far from finished either, as they looked to come away with something from the match, and they came very close had N’diaye been able to connect with the ball metres from the net. In the end, Bar�a won by the minimum, however, it allows them to stay top of the Liga for another week.

Preview

The Referee

The referee for the game will be Carlos Clos Gomez. The ref from Aragon has been in charge of 14 games this season, none of which with Bar�a. His record so far is three home wins, two draws and nine visiting team victories.

To stay top

Roger Boguny�

With only 21 points left to play for in the Liga, Frank Rijkaard�s team continue to hold off their closest rivals. It has been nearly two months now since Bar�a were knocked off top spot.

Coming into the final stages of the Liga, Bar�a find themselves in a strong position due to their dominant home performances. 39 points from a possible 45, is the best record in the Liga. These statistics are the best Frank Rijkaard has achieved since taking on the coach’s role; if Bar�a win or draw this afternoon, they will beat the Dutch coach’s previous record. Despite losing a few away from home, Bar�a have certainly played like champions at home and as Xavi and Deco pointed out in a recent press conference, the chasing pack of Sevilla, Real Madrid and Valencia, can only hope for Bar�a to trip up in order to give them a chance.

Ronaldinho at Camp Nou: In order to maintain their home record, Bar�a will have to overcome Levante. In order to achieve this, Bar�a can count on all their players less the injured three Brazilians of Motta, Edmilson and Belletti, plus Ezquerro due to technical reasons. Marquez comes back into the squad after being given a rest last week. Ronaldinho also comes back to play his first game at Camp Nou since Bar�a’s win against Deportivo (2-1) on the 31st of March. The number ‘10’ missed the previous two games through illness, now the Brazilian returns to action fit and ready.

Levante with a lot to do: Levante are the team with the third worst attacking record in the Liga, they have yet to secure their stay in the Liga and certainly have their work cut out in the last seven games of the season. The team from Valencia has only won twice away from home; one of which, however, was the prestigious (0-1) victory in the Bernabeu.

Dehu returns: Today’s game will also be a key fixture for Levante and ex Barcelona midfielder, Frederic Dehu. The French player returns to the Camp Nou for the first time after having plied his trade with the blaugrana during the season of 1999 – 2000. He also played with Ronaldinho during his time with Paris St Germain during the seasons of 2000 – 2004.

The game: The Brazilian ace played against Levante two years ago, on that occasion, Bar�a won (2-1) with a late goal from Eto’o in the 86th minute. Looking at the history between the clubs, Bar�a appear the favourites for the encounter, especially when taking into account the victories of 1963-64 (6-2) and 1964-65 (4-2). The first round game, it was Deco’s goal which helped Bar�a draw (1-1), however, missing in this game were Eto’o, Messi and Ronaldinho.

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