Rampant Real Madrid are gaining more confidence lately but does it mean that Barcelona are losing some of their shining light?
“What Madrid can do, Barca can do better,” pro-Catalans believe. “Barca play very well and win titles,” Cruyff said this week “but Real Madrid play well and crash in El Clasico” added football fans.
On Tuesday, Los Blancos made things so easy against French giants Olympique Lyon to maintain their perfect record in the UEFA Champions League. At the delight of the home crowd, Real Madrid scored 4 goals and kept a clean sheet to steal the show on the night.
Considering the size and inexperience of Viktoria Plzen, Los Blancos’ rivals Barcelona were expected to do "better" by banging a flurry of goals in the net of Viktoria Plzen on Wednesday night. The Catalans did not respond to this expectation. Still, they ran away with 3 massive points to keep pace with Group H leaders AC Milan.
A goal in each half, from Andres Iniesta and David Villa, settled the score line in favor of Barcelona. However, like numerous viewers, Javier Mascherano branded the result as “deceiving” and added:
“I believe we deserved to score more goals because we created the chances. Viktoria Plzen did not even take a shot on goal.”
Reflecting on Barcelona’s wastefulness during the game, a more grateful Iniesta told UEFA.com:
“Perhaps it's the result more than the score line we should be happy with.”
But Pep Guardiola noted nothing wrong in Barcelona’s win over Plzen. A win is a win and the coach fervently defended both his players and the result in the post-match press conference.
“We put on an exhibition and played in a resounding manner. The news tonight is we have achieved it without Lionel Messi scoring. In general I thought we played well,” Guardiola stated in reply to the criticism.
“The fact that we didn't concede means that the whole team was involved. I congratulate my players for taking the game with the seriousness it deserved.
“I do not like the feeling that exists that suggests because we did not win by a bigger score we have not had a good game.”
The fact remains that Barcelona haven’t lost any match this season in all competitions. The same cannot be said about Real Madrid who suffered a shocking loss away to Levante in La Liga last month.
This weekend, the Spanish Primera Division will resume with Barcelona vs Sevilla set to captivate followers on Saturday night. Both Barca and Sevilla are unbeaten in the league but the Catalans have a 2-point edge at the top of the table over their upcoming opponents.
It’s likely that Pep Guardiola’s team will put their latest critics to bed with an emphatic result at the Camp Nou. Well, putting critics to bed is what Barcelona do best under the leadership of Pep, isn't it?
On Tuesday, Los Blancos made things so easy against French giants Olympique Lyon to maintain their perfect record in the UEFA Champions League. At the delight of the home crowd, Real Madrid scored 4 goals and kept a clean sheet to steal the show on the night.
Considering the size and inexperience of Viktoria Plzen, Los Blancos’ rivals Barcelona were expected to do "better" by banging a flurry of goals in the net of Viktoria Plzen on Wednesday night. The Catalans did not respond to this expectation. Still, they ran away with 3 massive points to keep pace with Group H leaders AC Milan.
A goal in each half, from Andres Iniesta and David Villa, settled the score line in favor of Barcelona. However, like numerous viewers, Javier Mascherano branded the result as “deceiving” and added:
“I believe we deserved to score more goals because we created the chances. Viktoria Plzen did not even take a shot on goal.”
Reflecting on Barcelona’s wastefulness during the game, a more grateful Iniesta told UEFA.com:
“Perhaps it's the result more than the score line we should be happy with.”
But Pep Guardiola noted nothing wrong in Barcelona’s win over Plzen. A win is a win and the coach fervently defended both his players and the result in the post-match press conference.
“We put on an exhibition and played in a resounding manner. The news tonight is we have achieved it without Lionel Messi scoring. In general I thought we played well,” Guardiola stated in reply to the criticism.
“The fact that we didn't concede means that the whole team was involved. I congratulate my players for taking the game with the seriousness it deserved.
“I do not like the feeling that exists that suggests because we did not win by a bigger score we have not had a good game.”
The fact remains that Barcelona haven’t lost any match this season in all competitions. The same cannot be said about Real Madrid who suffered a shocking loss away to Levante in La Liga last month.
This weekend, the Spanish Primera Division will resume with Barcelona vs Sevilla set to captivate followers on Saturday night. Both Barca and Sevilla are unbeaten in the league but the Catalans have a 2-point edge at the top of the table over their upcoming opponents.
It’s likely that Pep Guardiola’s team will put their latest critics to bed with an emphatic result at the Camp Nou. Well, putting critics to bed is what Barcelona do best under the leadership of Pep, isn't it?
