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Match

Marcador del partit

Date: Sunday, 16 Nov
Competition: ???label.competicio0???
Stadium: Nuevo Colombino, Huelva

Resultat:

Recreativo: 0
FC Barcelona: 2

Match report

Match Report
Pre-Match

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THE GOALS

0-1, Messi (min 51)
0-2, Keita (min 85)

More leaders than ever (0-2)

Roger Bogunyà

Barça mainly had fine strategy to thank for the three points they collected from their trip to Huelva. It was thanks to a set play that Messi opened the scoring in what was Barça’s ninth consecutive league win, while Keita added the second.

It was anything but an easy victory, but Barça slowly got the job done thanks to patience and expert teamwork. The first half had seen Barcelona dominate the possession and create plenty of chances, but they were only able to finally turn that superiority into goals after the half time break.

The second half saw some splendidly intelligent football from the visiting side, with Xavi and Messi showing to perfection just how the strategic elements in this team are really starting to click into place. Barça also found time to hit the woodwork three times as Keita finally secured the win with his first ever goal in a Barça shirt.

Riesgo on stunning form

After the usual early moments of both sides sizing each other up, Barça threw everything into attack after the first quarter of an hour. Messi led the forward line and came close to scoring in both the 19th and 21st minutes. The Argentinian was causing the most trouble for the Andalusians hosts, but Busquets and Eto'o were also taking an active role, and both had chances of their own to put their side in command. But home keeper Riesgo was on stunning form, and dealt brilliantly with everything that was sent his way.

Recre were patient at the back, keeping things tight and well organised, and preferring to limit their attacking moves to the counter attack. But they only managed to get anywhere truly close to troubling Victor Valdés on two occasions, and neither were those moments any major cause for alarm among the Barça back four.

Messi once again

Messi continued his dangerman role in the second half, which was just three minutes old when he had already had a couple of clear-cut chances. Every eye in the ground seemed to be on him, and as if the only way he could avoid such close attention was to hide, he sneaked behind the home wall in a free kick situation, and it was from that the first goal developed.

Only Xavi, who took the kick, seemed to be aware of what Messi was up to, and played a terrific pass through to the Argentinian, who collected it brilliantly and drove home an unstoppable shot. It was a veritable work of art, and a move that Guardiola had already used before. Last season when coaching in the third division, his Barça B had scored against Cassà with Jeffren and Pedro doing exactly what Xavi and Messi had done at Huelva.

Three times onto the woodwork

Recre reacted to the goal with plenty of pressure and just as much heart, but only very rarely creating real danger. Akalé came close in the 61st minute, and then Bouzón diverted a corner onto the Barça post. And that was not the only time we’d see the woodwork denying goal attempts before the game was out. Henry could have scored from two powerful strikes, the first of which hit the Recre woodwork in the 71st minute, and 12 minutes later another effort struck the post. It was turning into a frustrating night for the Frenchman, who deserved a goal in return for his efforts.

Keita sentences

The game was creeping to an end when Barça finally put things out of reach of the home side, with a goal from Keita just minutes after the Malian had come on in place of Touré Yaya. The substitute had little more to do than stroke the ball home after a magnificent assist from Eto'o in the 85th minute.

And there was still time for Barça to hit to woodwork for the third time in the half when a Bojan header struck the post after he had expertly latched onto the end of an injury time free kick.

Preview

2-2 last time out

Barça and Recreativo last met on April 12 in the league and the game ended in a 2-2 draw. The Blaugrana saw the lead slip through their grasp after Samuel Eto'o put them in front of two occasions.

Increasing the lead

Roger Bogunyà

FC Barcelona can increase their lead at the top of the table when they visit Recreativo (21:00, live on B@rça Radio) on Sunday evening and also want to extend their run of eight consecutive victories in the league.

After Real Madrid’s 1-0 defeat at Real Valladolid and Valencia’s 2-3 reverse against Sporting on Saturday evening, the Blaugrana can now increase their advantage over the pair at the summit of the division in their encounter in the Nuevo Colombino.

Opposing views

While Barça will be playing to move further clear at the top, Recreativo have a very different reason to want three points as a win could move them out of the relegation places. Lucas Álcaraz's team have won just one match this season and that came on the opening day away at Real Betis and they have only seven points to their name, in comparison with to Barcelona's tally of 25.

Everyone available

Going into the game, Guardiola has named an 18-man squad and has had to leave our Andrés Iniesta, Éric Abidal and Gabriel Milito through injury while Albert Jorquera, Pedro and Víctor Sánchez have all been rested. That means that Samuel Eto'o has the chance to extend his goals tally at the top of the Pichichi charts and Lionel Messi will also look to add to his impressive goal record this season.

Not an easy game

The Blaugrana cannot expect an easy time of things though as several teams have been to Huelva this season and not come away with maximum points, including Valencia. Recre have not had a great start to the season though and have managed to garner seven points from their opening ten games of the campaign. Now they will be hoping for a morale-boosting performance against the Catalan visitors and will have to be at their best to take something from the encounter.

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