A Messi Symphony at the Catalan Derby - Barcelona vs Girona - 24-2-2018

Barcelona vs Girona – Laliga Match Report – 24-2-2018

A Messi Symphony at the Catalan Derby

The Catalan Derby between League leaders FC Barcelona and impressive new entrants Girona started off with a shocker and ended like a carnival. It was a game where Messi and Co turned up in style to unleash a mesmeric and happy night for the Barca fans. 

Valverde gave a start to Semedo, Dembele and Countinho while he benched Iniesta, Sergi Roberto and Paulinho.  For once instead of the usual 4-4-2 approach, he chose to use the 4-3-3 format.  Barca started on the front foot attacking from the word go. But while pressing high up Busquets lost the ball. Girona were quick to pounce on the opportunity as Lozano latched on to the loose ball. Umtiti couldn’t stop him and he passed it to Portu, their leading scorer, who finished it with a superb strike from an tight angle. Girona were up 1-0 within 3 minutes of the start much to the shock of the Camp Nou crowd and the delight of the Girona supporters.

Within the next minute Busquets made amends as he found Messi with a neat pass and the little guy ( I think Messi had an invisible magic hat on, that night) in turn set it up for Luis Suárez who didn’t make any mistake and finished it off well. 1-1!  Barcelona were back on equal terms. It was also a record breaking 148^th assist by Messi , making him the player with the  highest number of assists in the Spanish League.

Barca had the ball and Girona by the scruff of their neck most of the times. But the brave Girona team tried to break free whenever there was the slightest opportunity.  At the same time the entire  Barca team were also trying their best to integrate the out of form Dembele who was returning from his long layoff and whose role in the coming days would be key for the team. Dembele was totally out of sorts and had difficulty making the right decisions when it came to the final finish. But the team just kept feeding it to him and in the first half a number of attacks were played out from the right flank involving Semedo and Dembele, without much success.

A free kick earned and taken by Messi was on target but was tipped over by the goalkeeper Bounou. Again Messi provided a lovely looping pass to Alba who tried to chest to Suárez instead of shooting it himself. Luis Suárez, keen to return the favour, found Messi with a fabulous pass. Messi’s perfect lob beat the goalkeeper and was going in but was headed over by the alert Bernardo, Girona’s last man standing. In the meantime, Ter Stegen was also forced into action by the relentless Lozano. 

Around the 30th minute Rakitic managed to give a long pass to Luis Suárez who with his sweet touch set up Messi perfectly for a goal. But Messi seem to lose it as he tried to switch the ball to his left foot. But then, with a couple of touches he dribbled past the crowd of Girona defenders and unfurled a fierce shot past the flaying hands of the goalkeeper to make it 2-1. Messi scored his first goal against Girona – the 36^th La Liga team he had scored against, which was a new record.

In another 7 minutes Messi was standing over another free kick. This time he looked around,  rubbing his beard, and as the Girona wall jumped, cheekily, sent his powerful kick into the gap below the wall to get his 2^nd of the night.  He was mighty pleased with his neat little trick as his teammates surrounded him in a warm hug. The Girona players looked bewildered while Valverde couldn’t help a smile. 3-1 to Barca.

As the half time was nearing, the marauding Messi raced past the Girona midfield with Coutinho and Suárez upfront. He then passed it on to Coutinho who was in a great position to take the shot. But instead, he gave a fantastic cross to Suárez who just tapped it in. It was Coutinho’s first assist in La Liga and Barcelona were 4-1 up at half time. The game was done and dusted for Girona who looked downcast.

Second half started off slowly. As play progressed, the team ploy to involve Dembele was starting to pay off as the youngster started to gain in confidence in the 2^nd half. He was also starting to read his teammates’ movements well. Rakitic and Dembele combined together well to provide Luis Suárez with a chance, but his formidable shot came off the crossbar. 

Pique, after a collision, looked uncomfortable and was substituted by Vermaelen, who was making a comeback from injury. The talented Belgian looked good and played with confidence which was great news for Barca. Barcelona looked relaxed as they didn’t press too much in the early 2^nd half. Paulinho came in for Busquets later. 

Soon Messi managed to find Jordi Alba and Suárez again with two incredibly weighted passes, but they failed to capitalize from it again. Coutinho received a ball outside the D and the little, smiling assassin came up with a startling screamer to make it 5-0 for Barcelona. With about 15 minutes to go, Rakitic found Dembele on the right who provided an immaculate cross for Suárez to tap it in and get his hattrick.  It was heartening to see Dembele making the right decisions and getting more involved in the game.

Finally Sergi Roberto was brought in for Rakitic. The energetic Semedo, with about 10 minutes to go, pulled up with a hamstring strain and had to be taken off. (Sadly he is out injured for a couple of months). Barca was reduced to 10 men for the final few minutes but they saw it off without any problems.

In the final 10 minutes came the hilarious part of the match. Jordi Alba who was on 4 yellow cards, got booked for a cynical challenge and, he would miss the next game.  Luis Suárez who was also on 4 yellow cards worked his heart out to earn his 5^th yellow card. He tackled, he argued, he fouled and almost begged for a booking – but the smart referee saw through the Uruguayan’s little plan and was having none of it. 

Overall it was a momentous performance from Barca. Everyone impressed with their play. Coutinho and Dembele are settling in beautifully and it looks like the start of a “fearsome four” upfront for Barcelona. While Semedo’s injury is a big blow,  Vermaelen’s solid return is a huge positive for Barca. Luis Suárez is becoming more lethal by the day. He got everything right including a well-deserved hat trick (except for that 5^th yellow card LOL!). Under Valverda Barcelona are undefeated in 32 games which is a new club record in La Liga.

Girona didn’t deserve to lose this badly as they put up a notable performance on all fronts. Unluckily for them, they woke up a monster in Barca with their early goal. The score line could have been even worse, but they did their best to minimize the damages.  On a day when Lionel Messi turned up as an astounding combination of Beethoven, Bach and Mozart and decided to play a breathtaking symphony in front of his adoring fans at the majestic Camp Nou, Girona could do little to stop the spectacular show put up by the maestro and his alluring orchestra.

Image Credits - Google Images