Preview Match and Live Stream The Copa del Rey : Real Madrid vs Sevilla, February 2, 2011

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Preview Match : Jose Mourinho (pic) can ease some of the pressure building up against him should Real Madrid clinch their place in the Kings Cup final by beating Sevilla on Wednesday in the second leg semi-final match.

Real lost 1-0 at Osasuna on Sunday to fall seven points behind Barcelona in the league and Mourinho hopes to forget that setback by defeating holders Sevilla as Madrid try to win the competition for the first time since 1993.

Real hold a 1-0 lead from the first leg, courtesy of Karim Benzema's goal, and hope to make home advantage count as they bid to end a run of two years without a trophy.

Sevilla know they will have to score at the Santiago Bernabeu to progress and will take heart from their 3-3 draw with Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday when they came from 2-0 down to almost win the game.

Cristiano Ronaldo admitted Real were frustrated to lose 1-0 at Osasuna on Sunday but is confident of reaching the final and already seems to be thinking of a possible final match-up against arch rivals Barcelona, who hold a 5-0 first leg lead over Almeria in the other semi-final.

"The two best teams in Spain should be in the final although it wouldn't be revenge (for the 5-0 league defeat at Camp Nou)," said Ronaldo.

"What had happened against Osasuna (being kicked and fouled) is not good for children or people who enjoy this game. I hate it. The other day at Sevilla they were about to break Iker's (Casillas) head."

A water bottle thrown from the Seville crowd hit Real captain Casillas in the head in the first leg of the semi-final tie and Sevilla players can expect a hostile reception at the Bernabeu.

Mourinho gave Emmanuel Adebayor, on loan from Manchester City, his debut as a substitute at Osasuna and may be tempted to start the Togo striker after his side fired blanks in the 1-0 loss in Pamplona.

Sevilla will be without first choice goalkeeper Andres Palop, who is suspended after being sent off in the Deportivo La Coruna draw, so reserve goalkeeper Javi Varas is set to start the biggest game of his career.

Barcelona put one foot in the final with the drubbing of Almeria at Camp Nou in the first leg and could rest key players for Wednesday's second leg.

Almeria, who have never reached the semi-final stage before, are going to need a remarkable comeback to reach the final but Barcelona star Pedro Rodriguez said his side would not be taking anything for granted.

"What happened at (Real) Betis is still fresh in our minds and we can't get carried away," said Pedro.

Barca lost 3-1 to second division Betis in the second leg of the quarter-final after Pep Guardiola's side had won the first leg 5-0.

Barcelona, who made it a record-equalling 15 consecutive league wins with a 3-0 victory over Hercules on Saturday, won the cup in 2009 as part of their historic treble.

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Preview Match and Live Stream The Copa del Rey : Almeria vs Barcelona, February 2, 2011

Watch free Online Almeria vs Barcelona live stream online free February 2, 2011 The Copa del Rey - Information of the match between Almeria vs Barcelona will be play at February 2, 2011, 20.00 GMT - The Copa del Rey. We hope The fans of both team can enjoy with the live score, Almeria vs Barcelona preview, recaps and highlights here.

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Barca boss Pep Guardiola

Preview Match : In two fixtures against Barcelona this season, Almeria have an unimpressive aggregated score of 13-0 weight against them. With five of those goals having arrived in last week’s semi-final first leg at Camp Nou, the prospects of the southern club progressing to the final would appear to be microscopic at best.

Coach Jose Luis Oltra was left exceptionally disappointed by the dispirited and disjointed performance his team produced in Catalonya last Wednesday night. His goal would have been to keep the match competitive for as long as possible, but Almeria trailed 3-0 within 15 minutes, and had Barca not eased up a little, a real massacre could have been on the cards.

The Copa has been a useful tool for installing confidence in an Almeria side battling the drop, but there is nothing like an energy-sapping tie against la Blaugrana to suck it all back. Having chased the ball for 90 minutes at Camp Nou, the Andalucians would ultimately go down 2-0 against Real Sociedad at the weekend, leaving them firmly in the drop zone.

With no prospect of reaching the Copa final, pride is all that is left to play for at the Estadio del Mediterraneo for the hosts on Wednesday. With a tricky looking fixture against Espanyol forthcoming at the weekend, Almeria are a club with bigger problems to cope with, however.

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FC Barcelona thrashes Almeria in the Fisrt Leg of Copa Del Rey Semi-Final

FC Barcelona - 5, Almeria - 0

FC Barcelona has almost booked a place in the final of Copa Del Rey with a 5-0 thrashing of Almeria. The last time these two teams met, Almeria ended the match losing 8-0. This time around also there was not much change in the result. Messi, Pedro, Villa all got into the scoresheet for Barca. GUardiola understood the need of finishing the tie at home and he put out a very strong line-up for this match. Pinto was back as the goalkeeper as usual. Adriano, Pique, Abidal and Maxwell formed the defense infront of him. Xavi, Iniesta and Mascerano formed the midfield. Messi, Villa and Pedro fromed the front line.

Guardiola put out a very string side and the intension from the start was clear - finish the tie in this match. In the 6th mninute Messi was played through by a great ball from xavi, his first touch was brilliant but he put the finish wide of post. In the 9th minute Lionel Messi opened the scoring with a shot from outside the box, it was a regulation stop but the keeper made a mess of it. In the 11th minute Villa made it 2-0, yet again it was another mistake from teh second choice keeper, Esteban. In the 16th minute Messi scored again, once again from a speedy counter attack. Iniesta played the ball to Messi wide on right, he cut inside and curl a low shot to the far post. Luckily this time the keeper had nothing to do with the goal. Pique has been a bit complacent in the early exchanges and almost gifted Almeria a goal with a stupid back pass.

In the 25th minute Xavi had one shot saved and the very next minute Pedro had his curling shot saved by the keeper. In the 31st minute pedro got into the scoresheet to take the lead to 4-0. Adriano won us a free kick on the right of box, Xavi's free kick was perfect but Pedro's header was brilliant looping it into the far corner. The referee was allowing a lot of physical contact and the Almeria players were getting a lot of our players. Adriano was the regular recepient along with Messi and Xavi. Iniesta nowadays looks like unconquerable even with these kind of challeneges. In the 44th minute Messi set off on his trademark mazy run but the keeper, Esteban produced a brilliant save to deny his hat-trick. Xavi and Messi both were recepient of some dirty challeneges. With 4-0 up everyone expected Guardiola to make some changes in the start of ssecond half.

Guardiola made no change at the start of second half. Bith Messi and Xavi were there and that should have eased any injury concern for Barca fans. In the 52nd minute Maxwell had a shot hit the post but he had better options in the centre. In the 62nd minute Almeira Keeper was forced to make two brilliant saves to deny first Adriano and then from Mascherano.In the 66th minute Almeria had a great chance to score a goal but the striker made a mess of it. Guardiola took off Villa and brought in Afellay the very next minute.In the 68th minute Afellay played a good ball to Pedro in the box but the keeper did well to keep his shot away. In the 74th minute Keita replaced Xavi Hernandez.In the 82nd minute Milito came in for Maxwell and that meant Abidal moving into left back position. In the 88th minute a brilliant chipped ball by Messi found Keita in the box who finished it with pretty ease.

The prospect of a dream final against Real Madrid is very much on the cards after the team from the Spanish Capoital won away from home. Once again Messi was the star of the night considering his scoring. But like in recent times he looked brilliant at times and sometimes very lose with possession. Xavi and Iniesta were absolutely brilliant throughout the match. Villa may have gone missing at times but everytime we counter attacked he was very much present. Pedro for me had a much quite night than the other two forwards. Mascherano once again was average. The biggest problem with him is that he does not offer teh centre backs with necessary cushion everytime. Adriano was once again very poor, the biggest worry is seeing him blasting the ball at goal at every opurtunity. I did expect Milito to start in this game, but this should seriously signal the end of his hopes with Barca. Afellay did really impress with the few minutes he had. In the end the early mistakes from the Almeria keeper killed the game pretty early on and after that it was no way back for Almeria. This big win should give Guardiola the chance to rest many major players next week for the return leg.

Real Betis - 3, Barca - 1

Real Betis gave Barca their first defeat in long time

FC Barcelona lost their undefeated streak against the most unlikely of all opponents - Real Betis. We went in to this match on the back of our 28 consecutive undefeated match and was expecting to add one more to the list. But Real Betis had some other plans. When Guardiola said in the pre-match conference that he is going for the win, everybody thought that he was extending his usual niceties in the match. But the team he put on the field showed that victory was all he had in mind. Pique and Milito formed the centre of defense. Maxwell and Adriano occupied the flanks. The midfield had Xavi, Mascherano and Keita. The front trio had Afellay, Messi and Bojan formed an unusual front trio. The earlier match ended with Almeria winning against Deportivo and has now booked a semi-final clash against Barcelona. Almeria was thrashed 8-0 last time when we played them, but they should consider themselves in a much better form following this result and the Real Madrid result.

Real Betis had a great start to the match scoring in the 2nd minute from a free kick conceded by Milito. The marking was absolutely poor marking allowing Molino to find all the time and speed in the midfield. In the 7th minute another brilliant move once again found us wanted with Molino scoring again taking Real Betis 2-0 ahead. When the first goal came nobody bothered but the second did put us some problem. The biggest worry was Betis had two attacks and they scored from both. We were in serious trouble of losing our undefeated streak tonight in the city of Sevilla. We were struggling to impose ourselevs in the mathc, it looked more like we were not interested. In the 13th minute Keita had our first shot on target with a regulation strike from outside the box, which was too easy for the keeper to hold on. In the 15th minute Molino was once again played on and Pique had to go for a desperate challenge to prevent the third. Our central defenders were getting rocked by every Real Betis attack.

In the 19th minute Afellay saw his shot from outside of the box being svaed by keeper. In the 38th minute Messi restored a bit of order when he outmuscled the last defender to latch onto a not so great aerial ball and finished it through the keeper's legs. That goal gave us more comfortas Real betis has to win the game now by 7-1 to progress. In the njury time our defense made another mess defending an aerial ball conceding the thrid of the night. That goal was all of Pinto's fault, what the bloody hell he was thinking coming out for a ball which was easily won by Milito. I have never seen a match where we were chasing the ball this much. Even in our worst matches we used to easily dominate possession. We had only 55% possession in the first half and that was way past usual. Milito looked completely lost in the first fifteen minutes and the lack of playing time really showed with him having no sync with Pique.The Lionel Messi goal had bailed out easily in the first half with his goal which actually showed his strengh, pace and persistence.

We started pressing really well in the start of second half and was seeing more of the ball than in first half. In the 53rd minute Barca won a crucial penalty for a handball inside the box off a Messi shot on goal. There was no doubt that he unintentionally prevented the ball from going into the net with keeper completely beaten. But Messi lobbed the penalty over the bar, have to admit that was one of the worst penalties you will see. we holding onto the ball better in the second half and that cut down any Real Betis chances. In the 66th minute Betis hit the post from their first real threat of the half. Once again Milito slipped in the build up and after that we were completely exposed. In the 78th minute Guardiola brought in Busquets and Abidal for Xavi and Afellay. The idea was not to concede anymore.

I have to admit that this was the worst performanec by a Barcelona side for sometime. I don't think that we played this badly even in the later parts of Rijkaard era. The first half performance was simply put nonsense. Milito undoubtedly was our worst player of the night. Playing a big part in all three goals conceded is an awful take home for anyone. Milito lacked any kind of match fitness and Guardiola have to think of giving him more playing time to get him back to match fitness. Guardiola have been recently preferring Abidal and even Busquets ahead of him, but that has to be stopped. With more playing time Milito should come back to full match fitness soon. For me the worst player on the pitch was Mascherano. I now wonder why we had to pay this much for him. he was never shielding the centre back, never winning any challenges and was not at all distributing the ball properly. He is either too away from the attacker or too away from the defenders all the time. Another ridiculous performance was from keita. He did bring in some desperate challenges at times to save us, but going forward he was ridiculous. There were n number of times when Xavi was crowded in the midfield and Keita was nowhere near to bail him out.

It would be a big disgrace if I don't recognise the excellent performance put up by Real Betis. There was a banner in the crowd which read "Yes, we can" with a 6-0 scoreline given, they may noot have achieved it but they did achieve something which has been very rare this season - defeat Barcelona, and that too pretty convincingly. It was really sad to see we lose the unbeaten streak and that too with such ridiculous performance. But this had to come to an end one day and now its time to go for the next one. Its a pretty good wake up call ahead of the Hercules match, and also ahead of a very gruelling second part of the season. Even though we were completely outplayed and outrun by Betis, we could say that its better it came in a match like this nor at any later stages in the season. WEell played Betis, time to buckle up Barca

FC Barcelona - 5, Real Betis - 0

FC Barcelona Beat Real betis 5-0 in Copa Del Rey Quarter Final first Leg

The newly crowned FIFA-Balon D'Or World Player of Year, Lionel Messi celebrated his scuccess in grand style scoring a hat-trick in the first leg of Copa Del Rey quarter final clash against Real Betis. The scoreline would give us an impression of a very easy outing, but it wasn't that easy. Real Betis should consider themselves unlucky to have lost by a 5-0 margin. Apart from Messi Pedro and Keita scored the rest for Barca. Lionel Messi displayed his FIFA-Balon D'Or to the Camp Nou crowd in a night where three of them - Iniesta, Messi and Xavi all were honoured. We lined up with a very strong eleven with Pinto on goal, Alves, Puyol, Pique and Maxwell and in defense. Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets were in the midfield. The front trio had the usual formation of Pedro, Messi and Villa. It was clear from the line-up that Guardiola wanted the tie to end tonight and that was what his team did.

It was going to a herculean task for the Second division leaders and FC Barcelona from the start were dominating major chunk of possession. Real Betis was looking to attack at every oppurtunity and have to say was getting forward more than many of the first division team does against us. In the 14th minute David Villa had it shot clip the outside of post. The build up was really great - Xavi played the ball to Villa, who stepped over and left it for Maxwell on the left and moved into the centre, Maxwell sent in a great cross but Villa could only hit the post, that build up deserved a goal. In the 21st minute Betis showed a glimpse of the real danger they pose us with a fast counter attackk which almost caught us napping. In the 24th minute Messi had his first shot on target and boy oh boy that was some skill. Messi received a cross from Maxwell, chested and turned inside the defender and blasted the ball at the goal but the keeper was really alert. In the 29th minute David Villa's free kick from 25 yards outside of box was saved by the keeper. In the 33rd minute David Villa was played on by a great ball by Xavi but once again the shot was saved by the keeper. In the 36th minute Pinto has to stretch full length to keep a Betis header after Dani Alves gave away the ball. In the 43rd minute Iniesta send in a great ball putting Villa through and he finished calmly, but was ruled offside and had to admit was a very tight call. But Barca made it 1-0 when Messi beautifully dinked the ball above an on rushing keeper in the very next minute. Iniesta played the ball to Messi on the right and the finish showed why he is the best player in the world. The first half ended with Real Betis' Castro almost destroying the bar with a thunderous strike. Betis was giving us quiet some headache with some heavy pressing and Dani Alves was a mess throughout the first half.

The second half started with us once again being very complacent. In the 48th minute Pinto was forced to make yet another save. Pedro and Alves were having a nightmare of night and I was surprised to see Guardiola not bringing on Bojan. In the 60th minute Pinto had to make yet another save after Pique this time gave away the ball. In the 62nd minute Messi scored the second of the night after stunning quickfeet skills inside the box. Villa played tha pass to Messi whose first shot was blocked by keeper but picked the rebound and slotted it into the far corner. In the 69th minute Xavi played a great ball to Put Alves on, he had two players in centre but went to shoot at goal and ended shooting wide. In the 73rd minute Messi completed his hat-trick with a great finish after being played on by Xavi for some 30 yards away from goal. Guardiola immediately took off Villa and brought in Keita. In the 76th minute a below par Pedro made the score 4-0 after some excellent work from Alves on the right. In the 80th minute Afellay was brought in for Pedro. In the 82nd minute Xavi Played Alves on, once again Messi was available in the centre but again he went for goal. But the very next minute Keita made it 5-0, all courtesy of a great ball from Iniesta. Iniesta claimed the ball in the toughcline and scooped the ball into centre to find Keita. In the 86th minute Messi was taken off to be replaced by Jeffren.

A number of players were too complacent throughout the match. Pedro, Alves and Busquets were all the culprit there and that put too much pressure on Iniesta and Xavi. We have to appreciate the work done by Betis. They were pressing really hard and whenever Iniesta or Xavi had the ball they did press hard. This big vistory has already killed off the tie and gives Guardiola the chance to rest most of his star players for the second leg. Man of the Match was once again Lione Messi but the most consistent players for me were Puyol and once again Iniesta. We have once again started scoring loads of goal and weekend match against Malaga is a good place ton continue the form.

FC Barcelona held to Goaless Draw by Athletic in Copa Del Rey

FC Barcelona failed to break a tough Athletic defense

FC Barcelona non-stop winning streak has been ended by the Basque club, Athletic Bilbao in the first leg of the Copa Del Rey tie. FC Barcelona tried everything to break a determined defense, but had to settle with a goaless draw in the end. The second leg of the tie will be held in the first week of the new year. Guardiola rested five players from the one which started against Espanyol, still the side was a very good one. Jose Pinto was back in goal as he is the chosen one for the King's cup. The defense had Pique and Abidal at the centre with Alves and Maxwell on the flanks. The midfield has Xavi, Mascherano and Keita. Iniesta was back in the front along with Bojan and Pedro.

Bojan got the proceedings going in the 7th minute with a curling effort from outside of box which was comfortably saved by the keeper. We were having most of the possession but failed to create anything meaningful for the next twenty minutes. In the 25th minute Iniesta forced a great save from the keeper from just outside the box. In the 29th minute Iniesta once again forced another save from another shot from outside the box. Athletic Bilbao werevery well organised in the box and we were finding it difficult to penetrate into the box. Athletic main threat came from aerial deliveries and set pieces and they did trouble us occasionally in first 40 minutes. The first half ended with us struggling to create any chance inside the box. All our chances in the first half came from outside the box.

Athletic came out in the second half to take home a 0-0 draw. In the 52nd minute Dani Alves almost picked up Xavi in the box but Xavi couldn't get a sizeable contact. In the 54th minute Guardiola brought in Messi for Keita. With Messi in we were finding much more easier to regain and hold on to possession. In the 63rd minute Guardiola brought in Villa to find that goal taking Bojan off. Bojan started well but have struggled to make any impression against a compact Athletic defense. In the 68th minute Villa saw his shot blocked by the defense after good work by Dani Alves. In the 79th minute Villa had a shot gone high. Guardiola replaced Mascerano with Adriano to give more attacking threat to the side. In the 88th minute Messi spotted the great run by Pique, but he shot it wide. It was the best chnace with an open goal infront of him.

Athletic came out with a great plan to stiffle Barcelona from creating any clear cut chances. They formed a very tight compact in the middle of the goal and none of our balls were finding any of the intended target. Our crosses from both the wings were very poor throughout the match. A goalless draw is not a bad thing for Barcelona, but we would have loved to have a victory to take to Basque country side. Everything is still left to play in the second leg but it is going to be a very tough job away from home. We have won there already this season and a repeat of the same should comfortably see us through. Guardiola may have erred in not selecting a much more stronger starting eleven. That allowed the Basque club to settle down to their game plan.

AD Ceuta - 0 , Barca - 2

A young looking FC Barcelona side strolled to a 2-0 victory against third division side AD Ceuta in their opening match of this season's Copa Del Rey tournament. Goals from Maxwell and Pedro in the first half sealed a valuable away victory, which almost see us through to the next round. In the absence of a host of first team players, Bojan Krkic captained the team. Pinto has been our choice of keeper for this competition and that continued in this match also. We had a new central defense pairing with Fontas and Batra flanked on each side by the experienced Maxwell and Adriano. The midfield was much more experienced compared to defense with Thiago, Mascherano and Keita. Jeffren, Bojan and Pedro formed the attacking trio as expected.

FC Barcelona Dominates the Match from the start

Once again our rival Ceuta lined up in a defensive 4-5-1 formation and the early exchnages made it very clear that we have to work really hard to break it. We had our first shot on target in the 10th minute when Adriano skipped past two players and took a shot from outside the box, which didn't trouble the keeper. We were settling into our neat passing playing style. In the 16th minute Maxwell put Barca ahead in a move started by himself. Maxwell gave the ball to Bojan and continued his run into the box, Bojan neatly slipped the ball through and Maxwell did really well to finish from such a tight angle. Meanwhile our opponents were looking to exploit our aerial weaknes by floating in long balls into the box. In the 25th minute Pedro ended the match as a contest when he slided onto a Maxwell cross to score his first goal of the season. In the 27th minute Bojan Krkic missed an easy chance when he hit the bar from a Pedro cross. In the 29th minute Barca were awarded a free kick after Jeffren been brough down. Jeffren fell awkardly and dislocated his shoulder. I feel really sad for the youngster, who just now came from a long injury layoff. Nolito replaced Jeffren in attack.

Second Half saw very little action from Barca

The second goal has already killed the mathc and the second half saw very less action.In the 63rd minute Bojan saw his shot deflected wide after some excellent piece of play by Nolito in the box. AD Ceuta were trying to impose themselves a little bit than in first half and did force Pinto to make his first save in the 66th minute. In the 72nd minute Bojan's shot from outside box was deflected for a corner but we couldn't make anything out of that. In the 79th minte Bojan wasted another golden chance when he was played through by Mascherano but it was really sad to see the striker struggling to round off the keeper in such a one on one situation. Guardiola brought in Dos Santos for teh final minutes of the match, he should have done that earlier.

This was indeed a very comfortable victory for a weakened Barca side. The fans were really cherishing the chance of seeing some of the star players playing. Sometime you feel that it is pretty unfair to deny these fans their chance to see the biggest stars of the game. The presence of Iniesta or Messi could have driven them crazy. Puyol warming up almost drove them crazy. The youngsters in the side gave a good account of themselves and the early signs are that the experience in the second division is helping them a lot. The central defensive pairing of Fontas and Batra looked very comfortable. Thiago did well in controlling the pace of the game, but we did expect him to impose a bit more offensively. Keita was in his usual hard-working role but yet again he failed to instill any much of attacking option. Bojan, the Captain of the night had an average game. He was really good in dropping back and linking with midfield butr what was missing is the confidence to take on the defense, something Nolito attempts everytime. As a striker you would want your player to do that more often. Adriano was average throughout the match and would need more time to settle in, but Maxwell was sensational throughout the match.

Barca Knocked out of King's Cup on Away Goals; Sevilla - 0, Barca - 1

A solitary goal victory was not good enough for Barca as the two home goals they conceded proved crucial. Xavi's strike in the second half had given Barca a deserving lead, but some poor finishing from strikers and some great goal keeping by Sevilla custodian Palop made sure that Barca never got the all important second goal. This lose is the first of its kind after Guardiola took over as coach. Guardiola started his impressive campaign of 100 percent success with six trophies with the Copa Del Rey and it is ironic that it ended at the same competition. Guardiola made his intention clear with selcecting the best eleven available to him. Pinto was the only non-regualr. The defense had Alves, Pique, Puyol and Abidal. The midfield did saw Iniesta and Xavi partnering Busquets. The attack line was back to its normal formation of Messi, Ibra and Henry.

As expected Sevilla started the match better than Barca. In the 3rd minute Sevilla had their first shot on target with Pinto pulling out a save to deny Romaric header from a corner. In the 13th minute Renato saw his header going high over the bar. Barca's first shot on target came with Henry trying a long shot but it never had the power to trouble Palop. In the 28th minute Barca had their first real chance of the match. Messi chipped the ball into the box, the defense tried to clear but the rebound feel to Ibra who hit it wide. He could have played it back to Xavi who moved into a great position. In the 30th minute Messi saw his shot from outsie box comfortably blocked by Palop.

Barca Came Out More Determined in Second Half

Barca looked more determined in the second half. In the 46th minute Messi slips in a great pass to Iniesta butr Palop rushed off his line to claim it. In the 52nd minute Palop produced a magnificient save to deny Ibra's header from a Messi free kick. In the 53rd minute Navas put the ball past Pinto but he was incorrectly judged offside. In the 64th minute Barca went ahead with Xavi's great strike. Xavi played the ball to Iniesta on the left, Iniesta was crowded out and tried to return the ball back to Xavi; the defender intervened by the clearance hit Xavi and fell in a good position for him just outside the box and he then sent in a great shot onto the far corner of the goal. In the 67th minute Messi sets off on the left and scooped the ball over Palop but it went wide. Then in the 69th minute Messi received the ball on the right and sets off into the box , dummies to creat the space and sends in a curling shot but it hit the post. Any other day both these chances would have gone in. In the 85th minute Palop produced another blinder to deny Messi from close range.

Barca has to put the dissappointment of this exit behind them as soon as possible. The tie was lost in the first leg. We will be facing Sevilla again in this weekend in La Liga. The performance of the team was average overall. The three little giants - Messi, Iniesta and Xavi had a good match. Especially Messi and Iniesta. Iniesta has been good in last three matches and that is a great news. Xavi was below his normal brilliance was stll good. The dissappointment were bot Henry and Ibrahmovic. They both put in a lot of effort but was poor overall especially with their finishing and crosses. Guardiola should have replace Henry with Bojan or Pedro earlier than he did. Busquets for me was poor. He may not have made any mistake, but there is no doubt that he failed to take charge of the midfield they way Toure used to do. That would have given more room for Iniesta and Xavi.

Barca Humbled by Sevilla; FC Barcelona - 1, Sevilla - 2

FC Barcelona surpirisingly lost the first leg of Copa Del Rey quarterfinals at home to an under strength Sevilla side. FC Barcelona now face a near impossible task of winning the second leg away from home with atleast two goals clear to proceed to the next game. Two matches into the new year, Barca is still looking for their first win of the year. Diego Capel always has been a head-ache for Barca and he opened the scoring for Sevilla. Ibrahmovic equalised but Sevilla restored the lead from an Alvaro Negredo penalty shortly. Guardiola brought in a number of fringe players and they failed big time to gel together. The only silver lining was the return of Gabi Milito into action and he looked quite comfortable in his position. Guardiola as expected gave Pinto the start in the Copa Del Rey match. The defense had Alves, Chygrynskiy, Milito and Maxwell made up the defense. The midfield had Thiago Alcantara, Marquez and Iniesta. The forward line-up saw Messi, Bojan and Pedro joining hand together.

In the 7th minute Pinto reacted with a diving save to deny Romaric from a free kick; (Pinto saw the ball late and his position also looked a bit suspicious). Barca responded immediately with Messi cutting inside and forcing a good save from Palop. In the 21st minute Palop failed to hold onto an Alves free kick but Marquez was somehow beaten to the rebound by a defender. From the resulting corner Iniesta sent in a great cross but it was just high for Bojan; Messi took the ball on the sideline and curled in a shot(god know how) but was unlucky to see it hit the cross bar. Sevilla thought they scored in the 34th minute when Capel put the ball in the net but was judged offside.

For the second match in succession our performance started to go down in the second half. Ibra was brought in for Pedro in the start of the half. Sevilla started exterting more pressure. In then 51st minute Pinto did well to deny Renato with his legs. Then in the 60th minute Perotti skipped past Alves on the right and his cross was well directed by Renato to Capel who was unmarked and made no mistake with the finish. In the 71st minute Alves made a great run on the right and sent in a high cross; Bojan's shot got deflected off Ibra into the goal but the referee disallowed the goal for some non-existent foul by Ibra. In the 74th mimute Marquez played a great ball over the defense releasing Ibra free; Ibra controlled the ball well and got past the advancing goal keeper to put the ball into the net. But the celebrations were short lived as Sevilla went ahead the next minute. Chygrynskiy fouled Capel on the edge of the box but the Madrid based referee Perez pointed to the spot which Negredo duly converted. Messi had a great chance to equalise but he couldn't convert.

Barca has a very difficult task now ahead. Sevilla will be a tough place to visit and win and we have to win by two goals. We have done it earlier, our last visit to Sevilla it an example. But we are no where near that form and will require a near miracle not to get thrown out of this competition. Referee Perez once again proved his loyalty to Madrid throughout the match but that cannot be only pointed as the reason for defeat. We were below par for most of the game. The defense looked vulnerable against the pace of Capel and company. The offense with Bojan especially struggling faile dto create any serious phase of threat. Guardiola has got a week's time get his act together. Our visit to Tenerife should used to instill confidence back in the team.

Finally The Wait Is Over, FC Barcelona wins The Copa Del Rey

FC Barcelona - 4, Bilbao - 1

FC Barcelona ended their two year droght of silverware with an emphatic win against Athletic Bilbao at the Mestalla. Yesterday's triump also ends a eleven year wait for the "Copa Del Rey" title. The last time FC Barcelona won the cup Guardiola was a team member and it might be destiny that this has to be his first title as FC Barcelona coach. FC Barcelona almost won the La Liga title last week but only to throw away the match against Villareal. May be this explains why we didn't win it last week, but we surely will win it this week. Now only Manchester United stands in Barca's way of an unprecedented treble. Athletic Bilbao went ahead in the ninth minute but FC Barcelona equalled through Toure in the first half. Then Messi, Bojan and Xavi all scored for Barca in the second half to get hold of their first silverware of this season. Guardiola started with a very strong side dor the final. As is the case in King's cup, Pinto kept the goal. Puyol and Alves played the full backs role whereas Toure and Pique formed the central defense. Xavi, Keita and Busquets formed an ultra slow midfield. Messi, Eto and Bojan formed the front trio.

FC Barcelona started the match slowly. Actually the midfield of Keita and Busquets were contributing to it. Athletic showed more aggression in the opening phase and was rewarded by a goal when Toquero headed home from a corner in teh 8th minute. Barca's response took some time, again Keita and Busqutes were slowing down the pace and creativity from the middle. Bojan and Eto both had decent chances in the first 25 minutes but held on to the ball for more than necessary and gave the defense chances to close down. Barca were going nowhere when an inspirational Toure ran with the ball getting past some defenders and then shot low from 30 yards out beating the goal keeper in the 22nd minute. That equaliser suddenly woke up Barca and But Barca cannot convert their dominance into goal in the rest of first half.

FC Barcelona started excellently in the second half. Messi particularly troubled the defense with his silky runs. In the 55th minute Eto's shot was blocked by goal keeper, but Messi fired the rebound through the defense. Then in the 58th minute Messi placed the ball to Bojan; Bojan continued his run and produced an exquisite finish to put Barca 3-1 ahead. Then in the 64th minute Xavi, who has been Barca's best player on the pitch, finished the match as a contest with a well taken free kick. Barca reduced their intensity after the fourth goal but still saw Eto, Hleb and Alves going close to scoring the fifth.

In the end Barca, it has to be said that Barca deserved the title for the spectacular showing they put up on the pitch. They were well ahead of their rivals, especially in the second half. Guardiola might have given up how his central defense will look in the Champions League final. BUt what worries me most is his persistence of putting Keita and Busquets together in the midfield. Bojan had a good game and as I said in the preview should be given the start in Rome if Henry is not available. Messi had a good game and should now be primed to gather all the individual awards next year. Champions League is a big task but for the time being that can be in the back seet. This is a moment for all Barca fans to celebrate as this is our first trophy is two years. Let's all hope this Cop Del Rey victory is only a sample of good thing that are going to come next in thise and coming seasons.

Lacklustre Barca Book a Place in Copa Del Rey Final; Mallorca-1, Barca-1

FC Barcelona produced another lacklustre display but still were successful in booking a place in the final against Athletic Bilbao. Strangely Bilbao is their next opponent in the league. The final will be held on the 13th of May at Valencia. FC Barcelona went to this game with a 2 goal advantage but Castro's stunnig goal in the first half saw that reduced to a single goal lead. Shortly after restart Caceres was sent off for a foul on Castro inside the box but Marti's resulting penalty kick was well saved by Pinto. Lionel Messi then levelled the score in the 81st minute to guarantee Barca of a place in final. Surprisingly this is FC Barcelona's first appearance in Copa Del Rey final in the last eleven years. Guardiola started with Pinto at the Goal. Alves, Pique, Caceres and Puyol formed the defensive line. The midfield was made up of Toure, Busquets and Keita, this made sure that no creativity will be available from the midfield. But then it was not at all a bad decision as we already had a two goal advantage and we just had to protect it. The front three was made up of Bojan, Iniesta nd Hleb.

The match started wellfor Barca. In the 2nd minute Iniesta sprunged into the game when he dribbled past defenders into the box from left and forced a good save from GoalKeeper Lux. But soon Barca began to slow down, it seemed that was their plan. There weren't any more chances in the rest of the half. But just before half time the match was brought back to life by a tremendous goal from Castro from well outside the box. After the restart it went bad to worse for Barca; Caceres was sent off for a challenge on Castro but luckily Pinto unsettled Marti with his antics and pulled of a save with his legs. That was the turning point of the match and Guardiola immediately brought in Marquez and then Messi. Messi's introduction resulted in Josemi being expelled for a foul which resulted in a second yellow card. That expulsion settled Barca and resulted in the Messi goal when Messi clipped the ball past Lux after the defnder's pass to Goal Keeper from a long pass from Pique fell to Messi. That effectively sealed off the match.

Hleb once again had a bad night. Busquets continued his dreadful performance in the last match. But I still don't understand the logic in Guardiola's decision to replace Bojan instead of Hleb to bring on Messi. Bojan had a decent game and was seriously affected by the lack of service to him.

Firm Step Towards Copa Del Rey Final; FC Barcelona-2, Real Mallorca-0

FC Barcelona took a strong step towards their first Cup final of this season with a 2-0 victory over Real Mallorca at Camp Nou. The performance may not be a scincilating one like our previous performance; but the goals from Henry and Marquez were enough to see off a struggling Real Mallorca side in this first leg. The second leg will be held on March 4. Two seasons ago we won the first leg against Getafe 5-2, with that wonder goal from Messi; but in the return leg we lost 4-0 and was eventually knocked out. So the semi-final is not yet over and FC Barcelona players should be reminded of that. They did seemed a bit complacent in the match but could be excused as these weeks are too much packed. I expected GUardiola to rest Henry and Alves for this match, as I mentioned in the preview - FC Barcelona vs Mallorca Preview but he had different plans. He chose to rest Messi instead of Henry. Alves, Marquez, Pique and Sylvinho formed the defense ahead of Pinto. GUdjohnsen, Iniesta and Toure formed the midfield. Henry, Bojan and Hleb formed the front trio.

As expected Mallorca went in for a very defensive 4-5-1 formation and it was tough for Barca to braek them down. FC Barcelona did not create much in the first half. But Bojan was making his presence felt in the game. In the 8th minute Bojan set off a Messi like run skipping past two defenders, but his low shot was wonderfully saved by Mallorca goal keeper, Lux with his legs. Then he tested Lux again with another low shot but this time the goal keeper got his hands to it. But the best oppurtunity of the half fell to Iniesta who played the ball to Henry; Henry's clever backheel found Iniesta but Iniesta shot the ball wide of the goal. In the 35th minute Bojan received the ball on the right and send in an excellent cross to the head of Hnery in the middle, who made no mistake. In the second half Iniesta started imposing himself and the quality of the game started to improve. Guardiola took off Henry and brought in Messi. Messi and Iniesta combined well to almost produce a magical moment, but the Argentinian's shot was saved by Lux. Messi had another shot saved by Lux this time with his feet. Bojan mean time has faded away and was becoming less effective at the centre. Then in the 75th minute Marquez sealed off the match with a sublime free kick into the right corner.

The team looked more than complacent in the match. With Caceres destined to play on sunday, why didn't Guardiola chose him puzzles me. Iniesta did show positive signs of getting back to his best and that is so important for the team. For sunday's match I expect both Xavi and Iniesta to start in the midfield. Toure was below his standard throughout the match. Bojan played well in the first half and faded away when moved to the centre of a 4-3-3 formation. He looks more comfortable in the second striker role. Hleb had another dissappointing outing.

FC Barcelona Survives Scare to AdVance to Copa Semi Final; FC Barcelona-3, Espanyol-2

FC Barcelona kept their dream of an unprecedented treble well alive with a 3-2 victory against Espanyol, not before being scared out of their skin by a resurgent Espanyol side. FC Barcelona put themselves in the spot of trouble with reckless defending and time wasting which affected their tempo. Bojan struk in either half and Pique added the the third to give Barca a comfortable three goal lead. But Espantol always play tough against their City rivals, and they pulled two goals back through Coro and Callejon. Now FC Barcelona faces Mallorca in the semi finals. The first leg of the same will be held next week at the Camp Nou and the return leg will be on 4th of March. Guardiola chose to field a very strong side; the side may have missed the likes of Eto, Iniesta and Henry in the starting eleven but stil was a very competitive side. Pinto did took over from Valdes in the goal. Alves, Puyol, Pique and Sylvinho formed the defense. Busquets played the holding midfielder role and along with Xavi and Gudjohnsen formed the midfield. Messi, Bojan and Hleb formed the front troika.

FC Barcelona started the game well but a determined Espanyol defense held them back. The first real chance came in the 18th minute when Gudjohnsen headed the ball into the net from a Xavi delivery; but he was ruled offside. Xavi had the next best oppurtunity in the 27th minute withn another header from an Alves cross, but Espanyol keeper pulled out a good save. But in the 35th minute the Espanyol goal keeper was at the receiving end when Bojan tapped the ball in to goal after Cristian fumbled a seemingly harmless shot from Sylvinho. Just before the break Barca should have gone two nil ahead with another Gudjohnsen header from a Xavi delivery; but this time again Cristian pulled out a much better save. After the restart Bojan put FC barcelona 2-0 up with an excellent finish. Xavi played a lovely ball to Bojan on the left side of the box, Bojan chipped the ball past an advancing goal keeper to show his talent. Then in the 56th minute Pique added one more with a header from an Alves cross to take FC Barcelona 3-0 up. After that we relaxed a bit and that resulted in Espanyol scoring twice. The first goal had a bit of luck associated with it, Coro's shot took an unfortunate deflection of Busquets and landed in the goal. But the second from Callejon was due to the mistakle from Pinto, he looked like covered Callejon's powerful shot but somehow let it go through his hand. Iniesta and Eto was brought in, Iniesta made sure that Barca finished off the game without much of a scare.

Pinto's performance in the match was a bit off colour. The biggest dissappointment would be Hleb who wasted another chance to cement his place. Bojan looked getting back to normal, the second goal would have done him a world of good. Busquets was majestic throughout the match and I feel the Defensive midfielder role is the best covered position in Barca at this moment with Toure and Busquets matching each other.

A Boring Copa Del Rey Draw; Espanyol-0, Barca-0

Once again FC Barcelona struggled at the Olympic Stadium in Montjuic. FC Barcelona were held for a goal less draw by Espanyol in the first leg of Copa Del Rey Quarter Final. Guardiola earlier have suggested that he would field the best available side but he dissappointed so does the team. Guardiola brought in nine changes to the team which started last week against Deportivo. As expected Pinto took charge of the Goal. Puyol replaced Alves as right back, Caceres and Marquez held the cenral defense and Sylvinho replaced Abidal as Left Back. Guardiola opted for a defensive minded midfield with Gudjonsen, Keita and Busquets partnering in the middle. Hleb, Bojan and Iniesta formed the front trio. In my opinion Guardiola made the big mistake of not slotting Iniesta in the middle. With the absence of Xavi, placing Iniesta in the front effectively cut off any service from the middle to the front.

Espanyol inspired their new coach Mauricio Pochettino and the home fans did have the better of the first half. Actually FC Barcelona effectively had no attack against Espanyol in the first half. On the contrary Pinto was called in more than one occasion to avert the danger. Andres Iniesta was the only player who had a goal on target when he shot staright at Kameni. BUt the best chance of the first half fell to Luis Garcia but Pinto did get enough touch on the ball to take it wide off the goal. The second half also saw the game being played in the same tempo. FC Barcelona looked a bit more settled in defense and that resulted in Pinto not getting troubled much. The addition of Xavi and Messi towards the end also did nothing interms of the match. FC Barcelona was giving away possession too cheaply throughout the match.

A draw away from home is a good result. But now this result makes the return leg somewhat like a real knock-out match. Espanyol only needs a goal scoring draw to proceed to the next stage. Now Guardiola has to field his best side in the second leg. Bojan tried too hard to impress but was effectively shut down by the defense. Iniesta was not getting any service and should have switched his position with Gudjohnsen. Hleb was too wasteful and it is sad to see these guys not trying their best to compete for the position in starting eleven. Then it is difficult for the team to gel together when there are changes in whole position. That is the only reason why I feel Gudjohnsen and Hleb struggle when they are slotted in team like yesterdays' and seem to do well when slotten in the regular line-up.

FC Barcelona Reaches Quarter Final; FC Barcelona-2, A.Madrid-1

FC Barcelona made another come-back from behind victory to oversome a determined Atletico Madrid side and coast comfortably into the Quarter Finals of the Copa Del Rey. Gudjohnsen's second half strike won Barca the match after Bojan's header cancelled out Sinama Pongolle early goal. It is good to see FC Barcelona coming from behind, but the regularity with which this is occuring is alarming and this shows a lack of intent early on in the match. Guardiola have picked mostly non-regular players for this 2nd leg encounter and them conjouring up a 2-1 victory is quite appreciable. Now FC Barcelona will be facing city rivals Espanyol in the Quarter finals. Guardiola once again put faith in Pinto ahead of Jorquerra in the goal. The defense was made up of Alves, Marquez, Caceres and Sylvinho. Toure, Busquets and Gudjohnsen formed the midfield. The front three were made up of Hleb, Bojan and Iniesta.

FC barcelona expectedly dominated the early proceedings with a disallowed Marquez goal for offside in the sixth minute. In the 20th minute Hleb played the ball to Bojan who shot staright at the Goal Keeper. Slowly Atletico was coming into the game. They took the lead in the 23rd minute when Pinto failed to clear a Simao free kick and Sinama-Pongolle headed the ball into the net. In the 29th minute Barca equalised with Bojan heading past Coupet from an excellent Sylvinho cross. We were fortunate not to have conceded once again after two Caceres mistakes. In the second half Bojan missed an easy chance from a Hleb cross. The game was finished off in the 76th minute when Gudjonsen put the ball in the net after BUsquets initial shot was blocked. Iniesta wonderfully dribbled past three defenders and squared the ball to BUsquets whose shot was blocked.

Messi takes Atletico for a Ride; Atletico-1, Barca-3

FC Barcelona took a firm step forward in moving to the next round of Copa Del Rey with a 3-1 victory at Vicente Calderon against Athletico Madrid. It was the astonishing talent of Lionel Messi, who scored all goals Barca of the night which became the difference between the two sides. The crowd who was expecting their side seek revenge for the 6-1 drubbing by Barca the last time when the sides met was very hostile from the word go, but then you can't blame them for that. But they deservedly gave Lionnel Messi a standing ovation when he was finally replaced by Pedro in the 80th minute. Little Lionnel has described the standing ovation as a very special moment in his playing career. Guardiola chose Pinto ahead of Jorquerra in the goal. The defense was made up of Alves, Caceres, Pique and Sylvinho. In a rather defensive looking midfield Toure played the defensive midfielder's role. On his eitherb side Busquets and Keita were chosen. Henry was given a rest; that means Iniesta, Bojan and Messi formed the attacking trio.

The first attack of the night came from the home team with Pinto rushing off his line to clear the danger possessed by Sinama. Next it was Maniche's chance to test the Barca keeper but his shot was easily dealt by Pinto. On the other hand Keita got Barca's challenge forward with a great attempt at goal but only for Coupet to deny it. In the 12th minute Barca went ahead with a neat finish by Messi after a delightful one two with Messi and Alves. Maniches had one shot saved by Pinto in the 28th minute. In the 36th minute Keita wasted a great oppurtunity to go two up from a delightful Alves cross. The second half also had the same pace as the first. In the 55th minute Heitinga was given a straight red card for a foul on Messi when he looked to score from another Alves cross. The resulting penalty was converted by Messi to take Barca 2-0 up. In the 69th minute Athletico pulled one back when Ujfalusi headed from a corner. Barca retained the two goal lead in the 80th minute when Messi slotted past Coupet from a Iniesta pass. FC Barcelona will be playing the reverse leg at home in two weeks time. They already looked to set to proceed for the next round. But complacency could be the biggest enemy.

FC Barcelona to meet Athletico Madrid

FC Barcelona has been given the tough task of dealing with Athletico Madrid in the pre-quarter stage of Copa Del Rey. The draw was made yesterday and the ther matches are Poli Ejido v Espanyol , Racing Santander v Valencia , Sporting Gijón v Valladolid , Real Unión v Betis , Sevilla v Deportivo , Osasuna v Athletic Bilbao and Mallorca v Almería. FC Barcelona have already met Athletico Madrid once this season and that ended in a 6-0 thrashing of the visitors at Camp Nou. FC Barcelona is scheduled to play the first leg at Vicente Calderon stadium on January 7th with the return game at Camp Nou on January 14th. The second leg being at home should seriously put Barca in the driver seat.

The quarter-final and semi-final draw has also been made and if Barca proceed they would meat the winner of the match between Poli Ejido and Espanyol. The winner of that match would be facing anyone of Real Union, Betis, Mallorca and Almeria.

Highlights Of Barce vs Zaragoza - Copa Del Rey QF 2nd Leg