FCBARCELONA.CAT

25.04.2010 18:32

Camp Nou record invites optimism

Roger Bogunyà

If repeated against Inter in the second leg, the score line in 16 of the 25 matches played this season in the Camp Nou would be good enough to send Barca through to the final of the Champions League.

Barca have played five matches in the Champions League this season in the Camp Nou and the results in four of them would be sufficient to classify Barca for the Madrid final. The same optimistic slant can be put on the results obtained in the league – more than 50% of the score lines would also do the job against Inter.

League form encouraging

In the Spanish league there are plenty of good omens, such as the results against Sporting Gijon (3-0), Atletico Madrid (5-2), Zaragoza (6-1), Sevilla (4-0), Racing (4-0), Valencia (3-0), Osasuna (2-0) and Athletic Club (4-1), all of which if repeated against Inter would mean an aggregate victory for Barca. However, the future looks even brighter if we just consider the last five home matches, where four of the score lines would send Barca straight through to the final while one (the 3-1 win against Jerez) would send the tie to extra time.

16 out of 25

The situation is much the same in the Champions League. The results obtained against Dynamo Kiev (2-0), Inter - in the group stage - (2-0), Stuttgart (4-0) and Arsenal (4-1) would be good enough to knock out Inter while only a repetition of the result against Rubin Kazan (1-2) would send Barca crashing out of the competition. A repeat of the home legs of the Cup and Spanish Super Cup matches against Cultural Leonesa (5-0) and Athletic Club (3-0) would also do the trick though not the other Cup match against Sevilla that Barca lost 1-2

In short, a repeat of the score line in 16 of the 25 matches played this season in the Camp Nou would send Barca through to Madrid. The stage is set for an epic battle!