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by Philipina A. Marcelo
UEFA Champions League
Viktoria Plzeň vs. FC Barcelona as it happens
It's been a while since the last time I went to bed at 9:00 PM (Manila time) while my whole household was still having a great time at videoke, and got up at 2:00 AM (Manila time) to watch a football match - live! :) And, oh, boy, does it feel great! :)
Who's playing? Well, since I made a great effort to watch the match live, you could probably tell, it's the fantastic men from Barcelona. :) FC Barcelona traveled to Prague for the second leg of their tie with Viktoria Plzen at the UEFA Champions League.
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Alright, here we go... fans are in an excited frenzy at the Eden Stadium.
And the men walk to the pitch now....
Hmmm... No Xavi Hernandez and no Andrés Iniesta in the first 11. A confident-looking Thiago Alacantara and an almost ugly-looking Cesc Fàbregras (seriously, Cesc, what's with the hair?) are starting instead. No David Villa either, but the fierce-looking "kiddo", Isaac Cuenca, is starting instead. Gerard Piqué is on the pitch (uhm-hmm, nice!)... and he isn't smiling his fab smile. I wonder why....
Formalities... and it's game on!
Ah, VP started an early attack and Barça are still trying to get their game together and gel to a cohesive force - doesn't look easy for now. Hmmm... Gerard P. is looking like he needs time to get
Yeah, some things are worth being sleepless for.accustomed to defending the Barça goal there after a long injury-induced absence.
OK, looking like he wants to set the pace of the game there, Lionel Messi unleashing a kicker... just to remind Barça what they came to Prague for. Alright, that seems to work. Barça, taking the cue from Messi, are starting to "volt-in" to pack fire power. Alright, here we go....
Uh-oh, ugly defending from Piqué et al. there... but the ever-reliable Victor Valdes did great, sealing the gaps. Teamwork, that's what Barça are about, and Valdes is a great teamworker. So, things are fine for Barça.
Thiago unleashed something "almost beautiful" to the VP goal... but he couldn't control the pace of the ball, went over the net. But that's a threat alright, and he's doing a fine job keeping things under control in the midfield.
Piqué on the move... aggressive, too, but kinda clumsy dribbling the ball there - by his Barça's #3 superb defending standard, that is. Hmmm... looks like we need to wait a little bit before he gets back into the swing of things.
First yellow card - to VP. They are playing a bit too aggressive, methinks. But then, it's the only way to play Europe's Best!
Big, big threat to Barça there... brilliant save from Victor Valdes as usual. Dang, the Barca defense is getting slashed open... another threat - unlucky miscalculation from VP against a shaky Barça defense. It's Barça's lucky night, I think. But then, lucky are those who are brilliant and give their best, too, isn't it? So, yeah, it's going to be another "lucky night" for Barça! :)
Lionel Messi recognized the big threats... knew he had to reply to keep Barça on top of things. Nice hook-up with Adriano there, but the VP defense is superb, too, Barça's efforts didn't come to fruition. Patience.
Messi brought down by a reckless tackle in the area.... More scrambling for the ball. And.... Red card??? For VP's Marian Cisovsky... whoa, not sure about that, I need to see it
Hmmm... a boy no more? Oy!again. This will send Barça haters ballistic again. :)
It's the 24th minute... Messi, with his new boots - in flashy colors - takes to the spot, and takes the shot... GOAL! It's his 200th goal for Barça - AWESOME!! I am so glad that I stayed awake and saw that historic goal! Woohoo!! Uhm, but I'm still kinda shocked over that red card though, too early into the game. Uhm, but I gotta say, Messi is looking a lot sexier than usual - a hint of facial hair and all... what is it about him today? Yeah, I know, I know, out of topic! But, hey, what's a woman supposed to do when a beautiful man like Messi makes history like that, huh? Ugh, it's too hard to stay all-business when Messi does his stuff, ya know! :)
Lots of "falling bodies" - in black shirts, mostly. Fàbregas down, but him down is getting old at this point - to be honest! It's happened to him a number of times now since the starting whistle, I think. C'mon now, Cesc... so, you're not a racist, that's good. But will ya please please stop being a wimp!. *sigh*
Alright, another nice try from the fantastic "kiddo" on the pitch, Cuenca. Always keeping the ball in play, always hustling - nice attitude.
VP on the run now... Piqué foiling their run - he's getting into the defending task there now - nice!
Adriano, running with the ball... very graceful and decisive - beautiful to watch. Nice pass to Messi... four VP shirts on alert, a header from the VP defense, and the Barça effort got foiled. Dang! Alright, patience.
OK, here we go, nice touches from Cuenca and Messi... and a great save from the VP goalie. No dice there for Barça... You just gotta give it to these VP men - fighting to their last kick.
Fàbregas is looking lost, I think! What's the matter with him? He can't get the midfield organized there. And when the Barça midfield is messy like that, nothing going for them. Aaargh, Cesc, dude, for the love of everything round that's leather, I really think you should slow down on tweeting and mind your football more!
Oh, oh, oh, great moment unfolding right here!!! Messi running, lots of defenders in the
Messi and Adriano, celebrating a superb goal.
(Photo: Filip Singer/EPA)way, detoured the ball to Adriano as he zooms to penetrate the defense without the ball. Adriano keeping the ball in play, waited for Messi to position, and returns the ball to Messi with a beautifully decesive pass, perfect timing, too! And Messi scores (45" +2")!!! AWESOME GOAL! :) Ahh, and dang, does he look sexy with that serious face! Did he lose the boyish "uncertain-in-glory, just-having-fun-here look" about him and gained a "I'm-owning-up-to-this-greatness look" now? Alright, sorry... once again, what's a woman supposed to do??? It's too hard not to react silly! Whew! :)
Half-time now.
Alright, here we go... in the news: AC Milan drew their match against BATE Borisov. Nice. That gives Barça the chance to book a spot in the Round of 16 - tonight. It's 0-2, and VP are down to 10 men, so that should be doable.
Hmm... nice play being set-up by Messi for Fàbregas... but Fàbregas hesitated in front of the goalie and sent the ball wide. Aargh... that should've been a clinical finish, Cesc! I don't know why I'm yelling at you... it's probably your freakin' hair! Cut it, dammit!
Ah, Dani Alves with a late contact there - yellow card! Tsk! But he's amused... and now free kick for VP. But no consolation for the hosts.
OK, here we go... Thiago to Fàbregas, Fàbregas to Messi - all on a fast run... A VP defender running just a bit ahead of Messi, and ruined the Barça fun. Oh, well, but fantastic play just the same.
Another foul on Messi... free kick over a tall wall... and, whoa, fantastic save!
OK, while Barça is winning, apart from the Messi goal #2, some beautiful moves from Adriano, and Cuenca's do-or-die attitude on the pitch, so far nothing spectacular going. I think it's because of the lack of creativity and adventure in the midfield there. Ah, Cesc, are you really on the pitch today, dude?
Aw, Messi is even taking some defending duties there. The defense and the midfield are all over the place right now. Surprisingly though, there doesn't seem to be anything that VP can do to pose the tiniest of threat. Oh, well... I guess we Barça fans have become so spoiled... anything less than "smashingly brilliant" is a "messy game" for us. :)
A-ha, a superb pass from Cuenca, finding Fàbregas! Barça's #4 headed the nice pass to completion (72nd minute) - GOAL!! And he saved himself from a messy run with a goal - the 3rd for Barça tonight, and nothing from VP - thanks to that awesome Cuenca assist. It's Cesc's first goal for Barça in the Champions League, too. Well done, I must say... and that goes to Cuenca, too.
Ah, there's a vintage Piqué defensive play right there against two VP players at the corner... and he kept the ball. Nice one, Geri! :) Please get back to your fabulous shape soon. We're missing the impeccable defensive moves that you do for Barça on your in-shape days.
Speaking of impeccable defense... there's another Piqué hard-won ball there, which he keeps and puts in play - nice! :) So, when Cesc makes a goal, Gerri is compelled to defend well? You guys, are insane - in the cutest way! Uhm, except Cesc's hair tonight.
Aah, beautiful run from Alexis there who came on just a moment ago... finding Messi, and Messi trying to finish with a header... but the pace of the ball was too much, he couldn't control it. Nice try
Celebrating Messi's 14th hat-trick, and Barça's
entry to the UEFA Champions League Round of 16.nevertheless... but I'm sure, that won't silence the "Old Great from Brazil" who turned himself to an insecure "has-been". :) But does Messi care? Uhm, no... and neither do we! :)
Hey, hey, hey, what have we got here? A tough scramble for the ball won by Piqué - nice, nice! He fakes and then backheels the ball to Messi - beautiful! Oh, and Messi took it without missing a beat... He's on a superb run now - we can all imagine what he (and the VP defense) is thinking, I'm sure... and he slots a beautiful one for his 14th hat-trick as Barça pick up their ticket to the Round of 16 - GOAL!!! Woohoo!!!
And so, just like that, they finished their run in Prague with a 0-4 win! Not as brilliant as we're used to - by Barça's sky-high standard - but a superb win nevertheless! And Pep Guardiola wrapped up his 200th match as Barça manager, with his squad picking up their 500th goal under his leadership. Awesome feat, Pep!
Visca El Barça!! Visca La Pulga!! :)
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