What a match that was yesterday. I'm not a supporter of Arsenal or Barcelona, but one really must marvel at the way these sides play football. The opening goal for Barcelona was sensational, as David Villa tiptoed in line with the last defender before coolly slotting home past the hopeless Arsenal 'keeper.
After being unable to add to their lead, it looked as though Barcelona were getting a bit frustrated. They seemed to collapse after that calamitous error by Victor Valdes in the Barcelona goal. He showed far too much of his near post, and the bang-in-form Robin van Persie finished from a near-impossible angle. Arsenal looked well rejuvenated after this, with Barcelona looking as though they should have killed the game off ages ago.
Arsenal maintained the pressure throughout the second half, and on a beautiful ball from Samir Nasri, Andrey Arshavin scored a beautiful one-touch goal that left the likes of Valdes and Gerard Piqué bewildered. Arsenal went 2-1 up at the Emirates, much to the jubilation of the home supporters. Barcelona looked stunned, because this is not a situation in which this team often finds itself. The Gunners defended majestically in the final moments of the game, and held on to take a lead into the return fixture at the Camp Nou. They were annihilated by four Messi goals last time round, but this could be Arsenal's year to beat the side they are most often compared to.
Fábregas, Wilshire, and Nasri all stood out in the Arsenal midfield - something difficult to do against the likes of Iniesta, Xavi, Pedro, and Messi. I'm not sure an Arsenal win was the right result on the day, but they played well enough and took their chances - something Barcelona did not do in London.
cool blog im following!
ReplyDeletei cant believe i missed it, i was awake at the time too. i dont exactly follow either of those teams but i love watching big games.
ReplyDeleteoh football... as in soccer ;-) j/k
ReplyDeletebarca is´nt the team it was they could have palyed better
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