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Match

Marcador del partit

Date: Saturday, 22 Sep
Competition: ???label.competicio0???
Stadium: Camp Nou, Barcelona

Resultat:

FC Barcelona: 2
Sevilla CF: 1

Match report

Match Report
Pre-Match

Match Report

The goals

1-0, Messi (min.73)
2-0, Messi (pen., min.77)
2-1, Kanouté (min.90)

Messi shines at Nou Camp anniversary (2-1)

Roger Bogunyà

Barca marked the 50th anniversary of the Nou Camp by beating Seville 2-1 tonight with two goals from Leo Messi, who again had the crowd on their feet with a brilliant performance.

The Nou Camp enjoyed a convincing display from Barca on its 50th anniversary, though their superiority wasn’t rewarded with a score till the73rd minute when man of the match Leo Messi volleyed home from inside the box, before adding a second from the penalty spot four minutes later following a foul on Giovanni. Seville grabbed a consolation goal in injury time through Kanoute, but by then Messi had guaranteed the points for Barca.

Messi sharp from the start

Messi put down a marker right from the start, tormenting the Seville back line, as Barca put the pressure on early on with Iniesta playing in place of the injured Ronaldinho alongside Messi and Deco probing away to find a crack in the Seville defence. Barca also cut off any supply to the visitor’s front men by pressing in the midfield.

Barca dominate

It was, however, Seville who came closest, with virtually their only chance of the first half when Renato met a Dragutinovic cross at the near post, only for his header to hit the outside of the post. Barca weren’t put off their stride though and continued to dominate possession and territory. Touré Yaya brought out a fine save from Palop on 30 minutes with a long range shot and Deco also came close with a shot on 43, which went just wide of the post, but it was still goalless at the break.

Barca up the pace

Rijkaard’s men upped the pace even more at the start of the second half and Seville were forced into some heavy tackling that saw both Dragutinovic and Poulsen pick up yellow cards. The team’s speedy first touch passing and intricate triangles were getting them into the danger areas, but the end product just wasn’t coming easy.

Henry hits woodwork again

Màrquez came close with a header from a corner on 57 minutes, but his effort shaved the same post that Renato had in the first half. Then on 70 minutes, the Mexican set up Henry for a one on one with Palop. The Frenchman’s first touch control was excellent, but his effort was just deflected onto the post by the keeper – Henry’s third post in the league so far.

Messi strikes

Finally though, Barca got their just reward when Henry threaded a pass through to Messi who controlled the ball and then volleyed past Palop for the Nou Camp crowd to erupt in celebration. That wasn’t all Messi had to offer though and less than five minutes later he slotted home a penalty for his second after Giovanni had been dragged down at a corner by Poulson and it could have been a hat trick a few minutes later, when he rounded off a wonderful flowing move, only for Palop to beat away his effort.

Consolation goal

A bit of confusion in the Barca defence in injury time gave Kanoute his chance to cut the lead, but there was no tie left to threaten what was a well deserved win to mark the Nou Camp’s 50 years of spectacle.

Preview

50 years in numbers

Including tonight’s match, Barça have played 1,229 competitive matches in the Camp Nou since it was built 50 years ago: 873 in the league, 203 in Europe, 28 in the Cup, 13 in the Spanish Super Cup and 12 in the League Cup.

Of the 872 league matches, Barça have won 645, drawn 147 and lost 80, scoring 2,124 goals and conceding 695. Taking all competitions together, Barça have scored 3,041 and conceded 999.

A great way to celebrate the 50th anniversary

Roger Bogunyà

Barça v Sevilla is one of the best matches you can see anywhere in Europe at the moment. What better way to celebrate the Camp Nou’s 50th birthday.

Apart from the 50th anniversary of the Camp Nou, the match arrives at a moment marked by a number of special circumstances – the recent tragic death of Sevilla star Antonio Puerta, Barça’s comfortable 3-0 win over Lyon in the Champions League and Sevilla crushing 0-3 defeat at the hands of Premier League leaders Arsenal.

Ronaldinho, sidelined by injury

Rijkaard has called up all of his fit players with the exception of Ezquerro. Gudjohnsen is the only new face compared to the squad that beat Lyon. With Samuel Eto’o still sidelined by injury and the last minute blow to Ronaldinho, Fran Rijkaard may count on the attacking threesome of Henry-Messi-Giovani to break down the Sevilla defence.

Five Cups

Although FC Barcelona will be able to call on most of their star players, Sevilla will be no easy nut to crack. They’ve gained respect around Europe over the last two seasons with their brand of solid and exciting football that has brought them back to back UEFA Cups, the Spanish Cup, the European Super Cup and the Spanish Super Cup.

However, Sevilla are by no means invincible, as the European Super Cup defeat against AC Milan at the end of August (1-3) and the 0-3 collapse away to Arsenal clearly demonstrate.

Four new faces

Sevilla have made a number of changes to the squad that lost to Arsenal. In come Mosquera, De Mul, Adriano and Koné, who made his league debut six days ago against Recreativo (4-1), while Fazio, Diego Capel, Maresca and Hinkel are all out. Luis Fabiano will also be missing due to injury as will Javi Navarro, who has yet to take any part in the league this season.

It’s hard to predict which of the two Sevillas we’ll see tonight – the side that has won five competitions in two seasons or the team that were crushed by Arsenal in midweek. However, one thing is sure - Barça are unbeaten at home since the 2005-06 season and have scored 11 goals, conceding just one, in the last three matches in the Camp Nou.

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