Real Betis versus FC Barcelona - 16-3-2019 - Views on the La Liga Match
For
the past 4-5 weeks FC Barcelona has had a tremendous workload to deal with,
including the league matches, the two legs of Copa del Rey Semi finals against
Real Madrid and two rounds of the UCL last 16 games against Lyon.
It
was that time of the season that could make or break the title races. At the
end of it all – Barca have managed to
stay alive in all competitions. It was
an extremely commendable and consistent effort from the team and the
coach. Barcelona presented me my
happiest hours of last month (between 1.00 am and 3.30 am in the mornings, when
their matches were mostly played).
I had not written anything about Barca or Messi since they won the UCL game against Lyon in fantastic fashion, except for a few, spontaneous tweets. I was so spellbound by Barcelona’s performance that I couldn’t find the right words to justify that game. When it came to Messi, it was totally indescribable for me. My favourite pass time, last week, was re-watching the Lyon match as many times as possible. It gave me immense joy and satisfaction, every time I saw it.
But after last weekend, Messi and FC Barcelona forced me to write about the match against Betis because it was too special, too spectacular and too inspiring. I know I would never be able to do justice to the team’s display with my words. But like Barcelona, I decided to go ahead and not give up. Hope I could do some justice to what I witnessed.
The Match:
After
a fantastic show against Lyon, Barca came up against one of their troublesome
league opponents - Real Betis, at home, who had always given them a tough time.
Their last meeting ended in a 4-3 win for Betis. It was a match up between the kings of possession football as both teams liked to hold on to the ball.
Keeping it in mind, Valverde fielded a full strength team. One of the major changes
that he brought in, was to field a 4 men midfield comprising of Busquets (nervy
to start with but grew more confident with time), Vidal (solid as a rock),
Rakitic (carried on despite being worn out) and Arthur Melo (pretty cool under
pressure).
Pique,
Lenglet, Roberto and Alba were the back four protecting Ter Stegen. Messi and
Suarez formed the attacking duo.
Betis
were off the blocks from the start while Barcelona were happy to defend and counter occassionally. Joaquin, Guardado, Jese and Tello constantly threatened from attacking moves. Tello forced Te Stegen to come up with the first save of the
game, though his shot was weak. Betis also defended with brawn,
Obviously Barcelona looked a tired and worn-out
lot as they tried to handle the Betis pressure. Rakitic,
Busquets & Vidal had an awful time, connecting with each other in the
earlier games, when they were fielded together. But the presence of the stabilizing factor called Arthur Melo made a huge difference as the four formed an effective diamond in
the middle and tackled the aggressive Betis.
The diligent duo Lenglet
& Pique (who carried on despite a clash of heads) stood strong and never let anyone threaten Ter Stegen much. Alba
was effective in both attack and defense. Poor Roberto had a tough time.
He was at the receiving end of some
extremely rough tackles in the previous game against Lyon in UCL. Yet Valverde
chose to start with him and he put on a manly effort.
Even
with only two attackers, Barca looked extremely dangerous on counters and were
effective in slicing open the Betis defense from time to time. During one such
counter, Messi teed Arthur Melo and he was brought down in a dangerous area near the box. Barca
were awarded a free kick. Messi
stepped up and unleashed a curving rocket that was impossible to stop even as
goalkeeper Lopez anticipated correctly. With that stunner, Barcelona were up
1-0.
While
Betis continued to attack without threatening, the attacks of Barcelona carried
more venom. Despite the aggression and
possession of Betis, it was Barcelona who looked most likely to score. Soon
another chance fell Barca’s way as Vidal set up Roberto, who had only the
goalkeeper to beat . But Sergi’s first touch failed him and he was unable to
grab the opportunity. The
relentless Vidal earned another free kick near the box. But Messi’s on-target
shot was saved by the goalkeeper. Luis Saurez missed a couple of sitters in quick
succession, as usual.
In
the last minute of play of the first half, Messi passed to Suarez who magically managed to hold on to the ball
despite being in a crowd of defenders and then with a delicate, back-heel pass, returned
it to the unmarked Messi. Messi, who was in the box, did not make any mistake and
made it 2-0 for Barcelona. It was an unbelievable effort from the tireless
Uruguayan that resulted in the Messi goal.
In
the 2nd half, Betis had more of the possession and continued in the same vein
as the first. So did Suarez who missed two sitters that came his way, through
Messi and Ter Stegen’s wonderful passes. He should have scored 4 goals, by
then, but unsurprisingly, missed each one of them. But that did not deter him as Suarez tried the audacious
reverse pass to Messi once more. But this time it was well defended by Betis.
After
a slew of close misses, Suarez went slaloming past the baffled Betis
defenders with the ball at his feet. Surprisingly Messi and the rest did not follow him. Suarez amazingly continued his run into the box
and finally to everyone’s surprise he fired it on target to put Barcelona on top.
It looked like Messi was playing in Suarez's body.
The
third goal broke the will of the tiring Betis players. Betis
managed to get a consolation goal through substitute Loren Moron, even though
there was little hope of a comeback. The ever alert Vidal had a fierce shot
saved by the goalkeeper, after Messi teed him up.
Then
came the moment when something even more special unveiled at the Benito Villamarin
stadium. After receiving the ball from Messi, Raktic managed to find Messi in the box with a perfect pass. Then time stood still as the Barca Captain casually lobbed it over the goalkeeper (the live action was almost in slow motion) to make it 4-1 for FC Barcelona.
It was ridiculous and totally jaw-dropping skill on display.
It
brought the entire stadium to its feet as the home crowd, generously cheered the unique and amazing feat of their
chief tormentor, with applause and bowed to him with chants of Messi Messi ringing all
around. Suddenly it felt like the Camp Nou, for a few minutes as a thankful
Messi acknowledged the rare appreciation from an opposition's home crowd.
Towards the fag end of the game, Suarez had to come off with an ankle injury and Coutinho took his place. But there was still time for Messi to try one more spectacular shot on goal, afte Roberto gave him a fantastic through ball. Unfortunately it came off the goal post. (May be God did not want it because it would have been too much of cherry on top ).
The match ended at 4-1 in favour of
Barcelona, who deserved to win.
It
was a night when Valverde got his starting line up spot-on to match the tactics
and playing style of Betis. His faith in
Vidal paid off as the Chilean was absolutely scintillating in the
midfield. He pressed tirelessly from the word go till the last whistle.
Every one
of the players, despite being overworked, put in their best foot forward and saw
off the tricky encounter. The injury scare to Suarez is a major worry for
Valverde. Every Barca player badly needs to rest and recuperate
after this strenuous month.
Creating
a Beautiful Canvas with Football:
Michelangelo
was a fantastic sculptor and architect. He was not a painter, but he was made
into one. His sculptures had an extraordinary touch that was incomparable. Though
a reluctant painter, he managed to create some of the most famous paintings
ever and today we are all thankful that he was forced to do it.
It felt like Luis Saurez did not want to score from any chances that came to him easily in this match. When he finally scored, it was from the most difficult of chances which he created all by
himself. His solo, wonder goal was phenomenal. His assist to Messi that resulted in Barca's second goal
was sensational.
Suarez's game reminded me so much of the Sistine Chapel Ceiling paintings
of Michelangelo because when you look at one awesomeness, you tend to forget the
rest, till your gaze shifted to the next one. Each one was an extraordinary piece
of work, from someone who did not consider himself a painter. Saurez's wonderful touches and fine finish were exceptional on a night when he was badly misfiring and missed way too many chances. He was the best and the worst of himself on the same day
Finally
to the little guy who left everyone mesmerized. It was a day (rather night) when Messi
decided to make the Benito Villamarin his magical canvas as he conjured his creations
extraordinaire.
Leo's first goal was like Van Gogh’s Starry Night. There was nothing new about it. But
it was absolutely stunning.
When Messi took free kicks, everyone knew what was going to happen. The
opposition expected it and planned accordingly. The goal keeper went the right
way. Yet there was no stopping it. Everyone could only watch and adore in
wonder. He lit up the night sky with his
fiery free kick. making it starry and joyous to watch.
His
second goal was like the alluring Water Lillies and the Bridge of Claude Monet
– which was beautiful yet looked very simple, at first sight.
You got to look closely to
realize the complexity of the creation - like the bits of magic woven intricately by both Messi & Suarez. First Messi passed it to Saurez
perfectly. Astoundingly a determined Saurez held on to it, for what looked like eternity,
with the entire opposition humming around him. An unmarked Messi sprinted
forward. Anticipating his dear friend’s run to perfection, Saurez gave the most
sublime of reverse passes. Messi finished it off with a deft touch. Before
anyone could realize what had happened, the two had created pure magic with the
ball.
The maestro Da Vinci had painted many immortal works, but there was something about Mona Lisa that made it the most famous of them all. Compared to many of his works, Mona Lisa looked pretty straightforward and uncomplicated. But in reality it was a work in progress as Da Vinci aspired to make it perfect, till his death. No wonder it got universal appreciation and is considered the most famous painting in the world.
Messi’s
final creation was like Da Vinci’s Mona Lisa. It was casually incredible
in its simplicity yet incomparable in creativity. It was an inspired piece of skill and it
left everyone in shock and awe. (Mind you - A younger Messi had scored for Barca with a similar audacious chip, but then he was a bit outside the box. He had now improvised it from inside the box. So we can expect more improvisations on this front. His multi-skills are a work in progress forever.)
Experts were delirious; fans, in every corner of the world, were in ecstasy; team mates were left stunned; the opposition was in disbelief, the goalkeeper Lopez was seeing stars and the Social Media exploded all over the world.
Experts were delirious; fans, in every corner of the world, were in ecstasy; team mates were left stunned; the opposition was in disbelief, the goalkeeper Lopez was seeing stars and the Social Media exploded all over the world.
As
everyone went crazy, the most beautiful form of appreciation came from inside
the Benito Villamarin where Messi chose to exhibit his craft in full glory. The ardent fans of Betis were on their
feet applauding and chanting his name generously because it was a rare night with a unique player casting his special
spell on them.
The little magician himself never realized that he was fashioning something
miraculous, till it actually happened.
It
was an enchanting canvas that Barcelona unfolded against Real Betis with
everyone contributing in their own little or big ways. Ter Stegen's alertness, Pique's resolve, Lenglet's tenacity, Vidal's grit, Busquets' quiet effectiveness, Rakitic's determination, Alba's energy, Roberto's optimism, Arthur's calmness, Suarez's obstinacy and Messi's inventiveness - everything combined together to create a spectacular and unforgettable game full of incredible moments.
I feel blessed to have seen a rare thing
of true beauty and it was a complete joy to behold, for now. Cherish
the beauty of their latest magic, till Messi & Co decide to come along and
create something even more beautiful and make us forget this one. (Generally it
doesn’t take all that long and I have no idea how I would put it in words though I am sure Barca would inspire me somehow.)
Thank
you God for FC Barcelona and Messi.
Image Credits - Google Images and Wikipedia
Comments
Post a Comment