FC Barcelona Fan Olivia, 14 years, send us her photos of the match FC Barcelona vs. Deportivo when she visited Camp Nou on Saturday night. She took many photos and caught some great moments. Here is a small selection of her photo shots during the game:
Deportivo and FC Barcelona warm up before the match
Before Kick-Off
The Kick-Off
Ronaldinho preparing for first-half freekick
Estoyanoff´s "theater show piece".
Barca´s 1-0 goal celebration
Ronnie starts the fantastic combination that lead´s to Eto´o scoring the 2-0
Barca´s 2-0 goal celebration
Camp Nou scoreboard: 2:0 Messi & Eto´o
Iniesta in action, dribbling into Deportivo´s penalty box
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Match Report:
Leaders FC Barcelona beat Deportivo by two wonderful goals of Leo Messi (45´) and Samuel Eto´o (50´). 19-year old Adrian brought Depor back into the game but finally it was not enough to gain a point at Camp Nou.
Barca made sure that they will stay at the top of the table for at least another week, not depending on the Sevilla result and still being in the driving seat for the title.
The victory was hard work as Deportivo showed a good performance against the Champions FC Barcelona. Expecting that the Galacians would settle for an away point and defending with 11 men, Deportivo came out to play, wanting more than just a draw.
Barca midfielder Xavi had the first shot at goal in the second minute.
Depor´s physical approach and counter-attacking tactics caused problems for Barca, but without threatening Víctor Valdés seriously. Deportivo´s Jorge Andrade had a low shot saved by Victor Valdes.
After 20 minutes Barca started with their exciting fast-flowing, short-passing game. On minute 21, Ronaldinho lifted on of his trademark free-kicks over the wall but the shot was not strong enough to surprise Deportivo goalkeeper Aouate.
The referee took some odd decisions and the Camp Nou faithfuls made very clear to the ref what they thought of it all. The Barca stadium started boiling over when the referee booked Ronaldinho for blocking a free-kick, while Ronnie never had a change to keep the distance. During the discussions with the ref, Depor´s Estoyanoff went down theatralicly holding his face, after Eto´o had touched the player´s cheek.
While the spectators were furious and on fire, Ronaldinho & Co. kept their cool. Just a minute from the halftime break, Dinho produced a moment of pure class and magic as he lifted the ball over Argentine international Fabricio Coloccini before loping the entire Deportivo defence to pick out Leo Messi perfectly. The Argentinian wizzard, completed the move in great style. One touch to control and the second to fire the ball into the top of the net past Depor keeper Dudu Aouate.
The crowd was delighted but still did not approve the match officials performance and whistling accompanied the ref and his two assistance into the changing rooms at halftime.
Just 5 minutes after the break, the match looked as been finished off, after a fantastic team effort and fast passing. A superb combination of one-touch-football between Ronaldinho, Xavi and Leo Messi left the Depor defence simply stunned and Eto´o sending one-on-one with the goalkeeper. The Cameroon striker cooly finished the effort by calmly putting the ball past Aouate.
With a secure 2-0 lead, the Barca show started and some tantalizing football was on display. Main character in this show starring, of course, "El Magico" himself: Ronaldinho!
Despite creating enough chances to go up 3-0 or 4-0, suddenly La Coruna was back in the game. The first warning came when substitute Adrian (for Riki) took advantage of a defence error but Valdes was able to deny him. But just moments later, on minute 68 it was again impressive 19-year old Adrian who took advantage of Gio´s loose header. Thuram was not able to reach the ball and Adrian easily went past him and clipped the ball over the approaching Valdes into the net.
In the last 20 minutes of the game Barca looked more tired than Deportivo and the midweek internationals took their toll. Suddenly it was an open game again and both sides created chances to either extend the lead or equalize. The finest chance came from Barca, when Eto´o and Ronaldinho combined superbly and Dinho sent Eto´o with a classy backheel pass towards the Deportivo goal. This time, keeper Aouate could stop the ball.
In fact, the final whistle was a relief for all Barca fans, because Deportivo looked fresher at the end. Still, the Barca fans did not forget about the poor refereeing performance and expressed their opinion in their special way.
My Comment:
The victory was hard fought as Deportivo showed a courageous performance against the the league leaders. I expected the Galacians would like to settle for an away point and defending with 11 men. But Deportivo came out to play, wanting more than just to add up numbers. Former Barca youngster Cristian, had a very good game and produced the most threads, initiated from his left.
Barca was generally controlling the game and we have seen some tantalizing football but also defence errors that produce goosepimpels to most (and nearly heart attacks to other) Camp Nou faithfuls. At least I felt like it.
We saw some of this incredible skilled, fast-flowing attacking football with that special bit of magic (mostly from Ronaldinho) that we all love so much and delights us a lot. But then actually Barca provides also their opponents with the best scoring opportunities through simple mistakes.
Anyway, the positive thing is, we saw some of the exciting "Barca-Football" that won us the League title and the European Cup. Ronaldinho did not look like, as if he does not enjoy Camp Nou anymore. I would say the opposite, it looked clearly that this is his home where he enjoys playing football the most. Ronaldinho produced some of his magic to entertain the crowd.
The victory was deserved. Barca has shown clearly to the chasing pack that they have to maintain a high level and keep the pace, if they want to be able to follow the leader. No dropping behind allowed.
Great evening and 3 more points for defending the title.
On this Friday´s official press conference prior to the match against Deportivo, Frank Rijkaard expressed his confidence to defend the title this season. Rijkaard is satisfied with the way the team is working and also believes it would be right for Saviola to stay at the club.
Here is a selection of his pre-match comments:
The most important thing is for us to keep working as we go into the final stages of the season. The players are here to achieve something big. That is our motivation. There will always be news and rumours but the squad is working hard and the dynamics are positive.
Ronaldinho always makes an effort on the pitch and that is very important. We want our players to stay with us and for them to be happy here at Barca. I don’t think I have any players that need to work harder, they always do their best on the pitch and that has always been very important for us, and always will be.
Ronaldinho has always said that he is happy at Barça and he is under contract. The club does all it can to make sure players feel good here, and once again, the most important thing is for us to fight hard to achieve something big for the club and its members. There is nothing else to be said on the matter.
I think, Saviola deserves to stay. He is a very effective footballer. He is working hard but we’ll just have to wait and see what comes out the negotiations.
The decision not to select Saviola has nothing to do with what he said this week. I spoke to him after training. I have seven forwards to choose from and I have picked five. You always have to choose. That does not mean he will not be playing in other games. He will get his chances.
This game can’t be compared to the one we played earlier this season. Playing Barca at the Camp Nou is a motivation for any team, and that means Deportivo too. But we just have to worry about ourselves. We’ll soon see whether they have come to play defensively or offensively. But we are aware of our own strengths.
Joan Verdú is a player that doesn’t get to start much but he is very creative. He has that special something that can turn a game. He’s very promising, he has that little bit extra. Playing at Deportivo, all he can do is get better.
I am delighted at how well things are going for Cristian, because he’s a very generous person. Coaches love him because he does all the dirty work. He’s coming on very well.
In tonight´s La Liga match leaders FC Barcelona (1st/53 points) faces Galician out fit Deportivo La Coruña (12th/36 points) at Camp Nou.
FC Barcelona look to set the pace by bagging 3 points in this evening´s match and move clear at the top of the table. Barca is still on course for the double and have it all in their own hands.
La Coruna missed out to qualify for a European competition two year ago, reason enough for extrovert president Augusto Lendoiro to sack coach Irureta. The new coach Joaquin Caparros worked on a small budget but brought in several new players at the start of this season and Deportivo started well into the campaign. Barca was the first team that took a point from Riazor on match day 9. Hopes to return to European football were justified. But a slump in form in the last 2 month of the year, even brought Depor close to the relegation zone but a win over Real Madrid saved Caparros the job. Since then, the performance improved slightly. 7 points behind position 6 in the table that qualifies for the UEFA Cup is probably too much of a distance but Depor has still the chance to qualify via the Copa del Rey.
FC Barcelona will miss Deco through suspension, but the Barca midfielder would have missed the match anyway as he continues his recovery from surgery on his right hand finger. Rafael Marquez has been given a rest after his tiring travel to play for Mexico. Javier Saviola and Santiago Ezquerro are the other 2 players missing the match due to Rijkaard´s rotation policy.
Caparros will probably start with a 4-2-3-1 formation, fielding Riki as the lonely striker at Camp Nou. Top scorer (5 goals this season) Arizmendi is out due to suspension. Former Barca youngster, Cristian Hidalgo, will probably play on the left of central midfield and another Barca youngster, Joan Verdu, might also get a run out in Camp Nou. Uruguyan Fabian Estoyanoff is back after suspenstion and Canadian Julien de Guzman is set to replace Sergio in the defensive midfield position.
My Prediction:
3 points against Deprotivo is a must. Barca have to set the pace in the title race and have to put their rival contenders under pressure. Deportivo is a difficult squad to play and will apply a very defensive tactics. The Galicians will come to defend in numbers and will be happy to settle for a draw.
If Barca can reproduce their performance against Recreativo de Huelva, then Deportivo will face a tough evening. I do expect a difficult match, but Barca will manage to unlock Depor´s defense line twice!
The most important thing is for us to keep working as we go into the final stages of the season. The players are here to achieve something big. That is our motivation. There will always be news and rumours but the squad is working hard and the dynamics are positive.