Barcelona vs. Real Sociedad, 2-1
The good:
1) We won. At this point in the season, this is a much bigger deal than it should be. We can't lose any more points in the League.
2) Pep finally let Tello start. This kid is super fast, very talented, and seems to have good judgment. He made our first goal off a great assist from Messi, earned us multiple corner kicks, and looked dangerous for a good part of the game. I hope that we promote him up from the B squad pronto.
3) Messi made a lot of nice assists and scored our second goal. (It's been painful to watch him trying so hard to score one for several games now and just botching it over and over. Like I've been saying, the guy needs to be benched for a bit. He has been showing a lot of heart, and we know he wants to play every time, but he's obviously lost his edge.)
4) Beautiful tiki-taka, which is the rapid-fire passing style that Barcelona players are known for using to dominate possession.
5) ) We made lots of opportunities to score. Which brings me to...
The bad:
1) We missed most of our opportunities. Cesc was good in the midfield but once again the wrong guy to pass to. Messi just didn't have the strength behind his shots that he needed to get by the keeper. Dani Alves shot wide twice. Very frustrating for all concerned.
2) Cesc and Messi, because it bears saying twice. So many chances squandered. Pep mentioned recently that he was hoping to rest both of you. I really hope he manages to do it now that he's given some of the other senior players a break.
The ugly:
1) Busquets came on late in the second half, almost immediately collided with an attacking RS player, and had to be carried off on a stretcher. Cesc looked like he was about to be sick. Luckily it seems like it was a nasty-looking deep laceration but nothing more serious. We really can't afford to lose any more players to long-term injuries!
2) Srsly Leo, just shave it off already! Who do you think you are, Xabi Alonso? P.S. Facial hair looks terrible on him, too.
And let's not forget the pretty:
#1 Keeper Victor Valdes and Man of the Match Cristian Tello
Victor Valdes on WhoSay
1) We won. At this point in the season, this is a much bigger deal than it should be. We can't lose any more points in the League.
2) Pep finally let Tello start. This kid is super fast, very talented, and seems to have good judgment. He made our first goal off a great assist from Messi, earned us multiple corner kicks, and looked dangerous for a good part of the game. I hope that we promote him up from the B squad pronto.
3) Messi made a lot of nice assists and scored our second goal. (It's been painful to watch him trying so hard to score one for several games now and just botching it over and over. Like I've been saying, the guy needs to be benched for a bit. He has been showing a lot of heart, and we know he wants to play every time, but he's obviously lost his edge.)
4) Beautiful tiki-taka, which is the rapid-fire passing style that Barcelona players are known for using to dominate possession.
5) ) We made lots of opportunities to score. Which brings me to...
The bad:
1) We missed most of our opportunities. Cesc was good in the midfield but once again the wrong guy to pass to. Messi just didn't have the strength behind his shots that he needed to get by the keeper. Dani Alves shot wide twice. Very frustrating for all concerned.
2) Cesc and Messi, because it bears saying twice. So many chances squandered. Pep mentioned recently that he was hoping to rest both of you. I really hope he manages to do it now that he's given some of the other senior players a break.
The ugly:
1) Busquets came on late in the second half, almost immediately collided with an attacking RS player, and had to be carried off on a stretcher. Cesc looked like he was about to be sick. Luckily it seems like it was a nasty-looking deep laceration but nothing more serious. We really can't afford to lose any more players to long-term injuries!
2) Srsly Leo, just shave it off already! Who do you think you are, Xabi Alonso? P.S. Facial hair looks terrible on him, too.
And let's not forget the pretty:
#1 Keeper Victor Valdes and Man of the Match Cristian Tello
Victor Valdes on WhoSay