La Liga
FC Barcelona Rally To Rescue Draw Against Valencia
FC Barcelona fought back from two goals down at the Camp Nou to salvage a point against a resilient Valencia side. Ernesto Valverde fielded a rather heavily rotated side on Saturday. Sergi Roberto moved to an unusual left-back position as Jordi Alba got a vital rest. Other notable absentees included Clement Lenglet, Arthur and Sergio Busquets. Marcelino Garcia fielded a very strong lineup for this tough fixture. Both sides had come off the back of terrific performances in the Copa Del Rey midweek. The spirit showed as they battled it out in a terrific game from start to finish.
Blistering Valencia Start
Valencia displayed their intent from the very beginning of the game as they pressed high up the field. They also looked to constantly get in behind the makeshift Barça backline. Not only did they hold their positions very well, they also threatened on the counter. The holding mids did a terrific job of organizing the midfield lines as well as covering for the defense. They pushed forward and also tracked back very efficiently. They hit FC Barcelona on the counter numerous times. Valencia could have had the opener as early as in the 5th minute. Dani Parejo’s shot was superbly saved by Ter Stegen and the rebound cannoned off the post from Denis Cheryshev.
Barça were rattled and eventually Valencia did take the lead. Another lightning counter saw Rodrigo thread the ball to Kevin Gameiro who finished emphatically. Moments later, Roberto clumsily pushed Wass in the box and conceded a penalty. Parejo duly obliged and hammered the ball home. The Valencia captain was superb all evening for the visitors.
Messi Magic
Conceding the 2 goals woke Barcelona up from their daze and they started to play a lot better. Lionel Messi was at the center of everything as he typically is. The constant pressure paid off as Barcelona also got a penalty. Nelson Semedo went down after slight contact in the box and Messi slotted the penalty home. After the halftime interval Barça kept on coming. The introduction of Jordi Alba massively changed the way the game flowed. The Catalans created good chances but had nothing to show for it. Breaking down Valencia’s tight 4-4-2 was very hard.
That was until the 64th minute however, when Messi recieved the ball at the edge of the box. He took a touch outside and curled a glorious strike through the mass of Valencia bodies to make it 2-2. Barça kept pushing for the winner but Marcelino’s men hung on
Injury Scares
FC Barcelona and Valencia both had injury scares for key players. Pique and Gameiro’s clash of heads in the first half was worrying. Pique had to get stitches because of bleeding at the top of his head. Gameiro however, seemingly came off the worse of the 2. He had a nasty lump near his eye which forced him to eventually come off in the 40th minute. There were fears of a concussion but it seems to be fine now.
There was another scare that caused the Camp Nou to go silent. Messi was on the sidelines after scoring the equalizer receiving treatment near his groin muscle. He gradually eased all fears and entered the pitch again. After the game there was speculation about the thigh adductor muscle being injured. However, later news came in saying all is well.
All in all, it was a thrilling game where both teams shared the spoils. FC Barcelona have a grueling month ahead of them. They will have to shrug off the draw and continue improving. Valencia will take a lot of positives from the game as well. But now Atletico Madrid have the chance to close the gap at the top.
Photo credit to FC Barcelona via Twitter
