FC Barcelona vs. Espanyol, 4-0
Tito Vilanova approves
It was a great relief to see Tito Vilanova back on the bench following his surgery last month, and hopefully he was pleased with his players' performance. FC Barcelona is sometimes not at its best following the Christmas break, given that several key players spend it in South America and can return jet-lagged and out of condition. That seemed to be the case today - Leo Messi gave the ball away a lot and only scored one goal, off a penalty kick, Adriano and Mascherano didn't play, and Dani Alves was all right but didn't really create any chances on the right. However, the rest of the team stepped up, particularly the winning combination of Jordi Alba, Cesc Fabregas, and Andres Iniesta on the left.
The first goal of the match was crossed in by Iniesta and slammed past keeper Casilla by Xavi Hernandez in the ninth minute. Five minutes later, Cesc indulged in a lovely bit of dribbling and fakery near the endline before passing the ball back to Messi in the center. His shot might have gone in unassisted, but it deflected off the knee of Pedro Rodriguez, giving him the goal credit. Ten minutes after that, Pedro earned a much more legitimate goal, a perfect chip over the keeper from a sweet, sweet pass by Sergio Busquets. And shortly afterwards, Casilla took Cesc down in the box, and Messi got his goal from the resulting penalty shot. That made four goals in the first thirty minutes for Barcelona, in which time Espanyol had created only one opportunity and shot high.
Although they didn't manage to add to their score in the second half, Barcelona hardly diminished in attacking intensity. Pedro should have had a hat trick but was ruled offside repeatedly, at least once incorrectly. Substitute David Villa also had a clear opportunity, but play was stopped for a foul even though Barcelona should have had the advantage. But perhaps it's just as well that Espanyol weren't humiliated too badly, given that many members of each team had just played together for Catalonia in a friendly earlier in the week.
In other news, I missed the Real Madrid match, which apparently was chock-full of drama with a capital M. Jose Mourinho selected Adan over Casillas again, but the back-up keeper was ejected for a clumsy tackle five minutes in, so Casillas got to play anyway - only without the captain's armband. (Cristiano Ronaldo, wearing the armband for the first time in an official match, apparently attempted to offer it to him, but the overture was rebuffed.)
How far can Mourinho's provocations go? Can't the club suspend him or something? Are they only refraining from firing him because of his hefty severance package? This situation has gotten ridiculous imo.
Dani and Thiago think so too.