20.09.2010 10:39

The day De Gea was not enough

Roger Bogunyà

Barça’s 1-2 win at the Calderon could have been much bigger given the great performance they put in and only De Gea’s brilliance in goal managed to keep the score down, but even he couldn’t stop Barça taking the points.

► De Gea came close to a perfect game, making seven great saves. Barça had seven shots on goal against four from Atletico, with 15 shots against 7 in all.

► Villa was especially unlucky, with three shots on goal, including one against the post – Barça’s fourth in a week after the tree strikes against the woodwork in the Panathinaikos game. No goals, but a great show of movement and skill from the Spanish striker.

► Atletico also failed to make a single pass in the Barça area, compared to eight combinations from the visitors.

► The game saw the most cards in a Barça game so far this season – nine yellows, five for Barça and one red.

► Guardiola’s only change from Tuesday’s team was the inclusion of Maxwell for Abidal.

► Piqué again scored in Madrid, but not at the Bernabeu this time. The Barça defender has now scored eight times for the club.

► Of Messi’s seven goals this season, six have come in the first half.