Here's the video, I hope you know Russian.
This was the definition of a trap game for Barcelona. Coming just days before El Classico, and while no titles are on the line, it is the last chance to look at the four candidates for the Balon D'or go head to head, as well as a chance (perhaps slightly prematurely) for Barcelona to take an insurmountable 11 point lead in La Liga, sealing the title in October, or at least knocking Madrid out of the running. No team has ever come back from more than 8 points to win the La Liga title, and the last team to do it was Rafa Benitez's Valencia side in 2004.
Barcelona sealed the 3 points with a 6th minute Sanchez goal, and a 56th minute strike from Cesc Fabregas, both of whom are in excellent form. In an attacking sense, Sanchez was brilliant, with a number of excellent chances, only to have his finishing let him down.
Unfortunately the game was marred by two separate instances. First came off a Barcelona corner in the second half as Carles Puyol, just coming off an injury flew through the air for the header and came down hard on his arm, separating his left elbow. When told of the diagnosis, he asked the physician if that meant he was out for Sundays Classico. He will not only miss the Classico, but recovery is expected to last 8 weeks. As the game wound down, a seemingly harmless 50/50 ball was challenged by Busquets and the referee deemed that his elbow was up and he made contact with the Benfica player, resulting in the softest straight red i've seen in a long time. Busquets was essentially penalized for being too tall, as he pulled his arm into his chest to protect his body from a collision. With a decimated back line with the loss of Puyol and Pique, the last thing Barcelona needs is a game without Busquets. He will not play the next CL game, which is at home against Celtic.
SUNDAY! íEl Classico! The eternal rivals clash once more, this time in the Camp Nou, with a chance to see the Blaugrana go 11 points ahead in the standings (with only 32 to play!). Unfortunately since I live in Wisconsin, instead of hearing the orgasmic play by play of Ray Hudson and Phil Schoen, I get to listen to the Packers game, called probably by Troy Aikman and Joe Buck. Can't wait for that.
íAnims Puyol!
