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Match
Marcador del partit
- Date: Tuesday, 26 Jul
- Competition: ???label.competicio24???
- Stadium: Allianz Arena, Munich
Resultat:
- FC Barcelona: 2
- Internacional: 2
Match report
Match Report
Penalties
1-0 Villa, 1-1 Kleber, 2-1 Dos Santos, 2-1 Leandro (wide), 3-1 Carmona, 3-2 Andrezinho, 3-2 Jeffren (saved Muriel), 3-2 Zé Maria (wide), 4-2 Armando
Barça win in Munich (2-2; 4-2)
David Saura (special correspondent)
Barça needed a penalty shootout to beat Inter of Porto Alegre after the 90 minutes of their Audi Cup semi final ended 2-2. On the basis of chances and control of play, Guardiola’s side deserved to win by a large margin.
A great first half, along with the intense discipline of the B team players and a bit of luck in
the shootout, were enough to ensure the first win of the preseason. Barça were up against a
Brazilian side that is more into the rhythm of playing matches, which added additional virtue to
the impressive image offered in the Allianz Arena, the same venue that will be used for the next
Champions League final. In the end, poor shooting from the Brazilians in the penalties, with Zé
Maria and Leandro both missing the target, handed Barça a victory in the Audi Cup that really
should have been settled far earlier.
Barça looking great
Only three members of the team that won the Champions League title at Wembley
(Valdés, Busquets and Iniesta) started the game, but the Barça game was the same as ever. Thiago
showed that he is quite capable of leading the midfield and also revealed his skill in front of
goal when the opener came from a brilliantly rehearsed set piece. Iniesta took a free kick on the
edge of the area, which he passed short to Busquets who then slipped the ball through to Thiago,
who appeared from nowhere to be one-on-one on goalkeeper Muriel. The midfielder scored
Barça’s first goal of the preseason with a precision finish to be proud of.
The goal was just what Barça deserved after playing the kind of beautiful football that went
unrewarded in Split. But today they seemed to have stepped up a gear, and their possession play
meant Inter barely got a look in in the first half. At times it looked like Inter was the team in
its preseason and Barça was the side that had been together for six months. Frankly, the Catalans
had their South American opponents outclassed both physically and tactically.
They were attacking down the wings and down the middle. Iniesta and Thiago produced some
delightful combination plays, with Afellay also getting very involved with some long range shots on
goal, including one that struck the post after 17 minutes.
Many changes and less pace
The second half wasn’t quite as intense. Guardiola opted to change the
forward line completely by sending on Villa, Jeffren and Pedro. Jonathan Dos Santos was sent on in
midfield, and he also changed the full backs (Balliu and Abidal) and goalkeeper (Pinto). So many
changes caused a certain imbalance and Inter pounced on the chance to exploit a Barcelona side that
was still readjusting to tie the game after Nei latched onto the end of a Pinto clearance. That had
been the first real chance of the match for the side from Porto Alegre, and they had found the net.
The first team players started leaving the pitch (Thiago, Busquets and Keita), but Barça
never lost control of the game and continued looking for the win. The second finally came thanks to
Jonathan Dos Santos in the 63rd minute, with a great finish from the edge of the area following a
Carmona assist. It looked like it was all going to end 2-1.
Unfair equaliser and penalties
There were six Barça B players on the field by this point, and Inter weren’t
going to lie down and be beaten quite so easily and managed to equalise the game from a corner.
Leandro was waiting at the far post to convert an 85th minute goal that meant we were heading for
penalties.
Luck was on the Catalans’ side in the shootout. Leandro and Andrezinho both missed the
target. Although Jeffren also missed his spot kick, Armando scored Barça’s fourth which was
enough to secure passage to the final, although this was not a game that they should have allowed
to be decided this way.
Preview
Second tests of the preseason
Anna Segura
Barça play this evening (18.15, TV3 and Gol T) against Internacional Porto Alegre in the first semi final of the Audi Cup at the Allianz Arena in Munich.
A week after work commenced for Barça 2011/12, the first team has another match to contend with.
Munich is the venue, where their semi final opponent in the Audi Cup is Brazilian side
Internacional, who are not having the best of times after coach Paulo Roberto Falcão was sacked
after three consecutive defeats that have seen them fall to sixth in the Brazilian championship.
First meeting since Clubs World Cup
This might be a friendly, but the ‘colorados’ will be looking to repeat
their Clubs World Cup success in Tokyo in 2006, when they beat Rijkaard’s Barcelona 1-0 in
the final. It won’t be easy for Barça against an Inter side that is much more into the rhythm
of competitive football. Both sides will be looking to reach the final of the Audi Cup on Wednesday
at 20.30, where they will face the winners of the other semi final between AC Milan and Bayern
Munich.
Guardiola has taken 28 players with him, of which 12 are from the reserves. Piqué and Pedro,
who were back training with the team this week, and Puyol and Xavi, who are still recovering from
injuries, were not in the team that travelled to Split, but will travel this time. As soon as the
Audi Cup is over, Barça will be flying directly to the United States to start their tour.
Champions League Final at Allianz Arena
The venue is the Allianz Arena, home to Bayern Munich, the very place where
Barcelona will be hoping to return at the end of the season for the Champions League Final. That
game will be on May 19, 2012.
Barça have played here before. The last time was in the quarter finals of the Champions
League of 2008/09 when Guardiola’s side went into the last four. They had already won 4-0 at
the Camp Nou, and a draw in Bavaria was enough to ensure they went into the semi finals.
Last friendly at Allianz
Barça also played a friendly at the Allianz Arena in 2007. That was the Franz
Beckenbauer Trophy between Rijkaard’s Barça team and Bayern Munich, which doubled as a
testimonial for Mehmet Scholl, and was decided by an absolute peach of a goal from Leo Messi.
Next match
Competition: Champions League
Home team:
FC Barcelona
Visiting team:
FC Bate
Date: 06-12-11 Time: 20:45
Stadium: Camp Nou
Match Links
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Squad list
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FCB coach: pre-match press conference
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FCB coach: Post-match comments
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FCB players: Post-match comments
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