FC Barcelona vs Getafe, 4-1 :D
Not gonna lie, I was really anxious about this match. Not only did last season take a turn for the worse after our loss to Getafe in November, but most of our first string players just returned from FIFA world cup qualifiers, Iniesta and Alexis came back with injuries, and Jordi Alba had to have his tonsils out. I had prepared myself to be grateful for a draw, especially given that Getafe beat our arch rivals Real Madrid last month.
Boy was I pleasantly surprised.
First off, Tito blew my line-up predictions to hell by starting Victor Valdes, Martin Montoya, Gerard Pique, Carles Puyol, Adriano Correia, Sergio Busquets, Xavi Hernandez, Thiago Alcantara, Cristian Tello, Cesc Fabregas, and Pedro Rodriguez. That's right - he actually managed to put jet-lagged superstar Lionel Messi on the bench, something that should have happened far more often last season when he obviously needed the rest. In another surprising turn of events, leftback Adriano scored the first goal off an assist from Cesc, apparently continuing to pursue his dream of being this season's Pichichi ;).
The second half did not go so smoothly. Poor Puyol, already in a protective mask after fracturing his cheekbone (for the FOURTH TIME), twisted his knee in a tackle. When this iron man goes down, you know it's serious. Sure enough, he tried to play through the pain for a bit but had to be replaced by Javier Mascherano in the 57th minute. (At last report he is expected to be out for 4 to 6 weeks :P.)
Shortly afterwards, Messi came on for Thiago, who had been doing well but needs to be eased back into play after spending the summer out with an injury. Immediately and predictably, the Getafe players began targeting him. He nonetheless came very close to scoring a goal off a trademark dribbling run before he was taken down in the box. The penalty was not given, an outcome so ridiculous that Messi couldn't stop laughing even once he had gotten up off the ground. A few minutes later, though, Pedro was brought down in the box, and this time the ref decided to do the right thing by Barcelona: Messi took the penalty shot for his first goal of the game. Four minutes later, he tapped in Montoya's cross for a second one. 3-0.
By this point Getafe had become almost frantic. Some scrambling near the Barcelona box resulted in a goal for... Mascherano, with an assist from Adriano. Whoops. 3-1. Emboldened, the home team continued to press, but to no avail. David Villa, who had replaced Tello shortly before the own goal, had the last laugh - a devastatingly clinical shot in the 89th minute that nutmegged the Getafe keeper and skidded into the back of the net. What a relief to have a genuine striker in form again, so we can still have hope on the days when Messi is unable to work his miracles.
Anyway, very proud of the boys today, a great result in an historically difficult stadium. And thanks to Sevilla's narrow defeat of Real Madrid shortly afterwards, we are currently 8 points ahead of them in the Spanish League :D. (Actually, given the recent hoopla over Cristiano Ronaldo's "sadness" and Mourinho's disgusted remarks after today's game, I'm beginning to wonder whether they are not-so-quietly imploding...)
I leave you with a lovely little snapshot of my man Xavi, courtesy of his little brother eventual successor teammate Thiago:
The master and his apprentice