A
first-half Leo Messi hat-trick proved enough to earn Barça a nervous
victory over Valencia at Mestalla tonight. Messi’s goals gave Barça a
commanding 0-3 lead in a brilliant opening 41 minutes from Barça but two
late first-half strikes from Helder Postiga put Valencia back in the
game. After the explosive end to the first half neither side could find
the net in the second period. There were chances for both sides with the
closest attempt coming in the 86th minute when Victor Valdés got his
fingertips to Jonas Gonçalves’s shot before the ball bounced out off the
post.
With Xavi and Alexis rested, Tata Martino made the logical decision
to bring Pedro back on the right wing while restoring Iniesta to
midfield to form a trio with Sergio Busquets and Cesc Fabregas. There
had been interest to see whether Iniesta or Fabregas would play the Xavi
role of organising the team and from the kick off it seemed clear that
Iniesta was in his normal position on the left of midfield with Fabregas
on the right. However, Iniesta played a more reserved game which
allowed Fabregas to excel in a varied role, dropping back sometimes but
more often surging forward to support Messi through the middle while
also impressing with an array of passes.
Both
teams played a high pressing game from the start but there was little
penetration until the 8th minute when Messi fired wide after Fabregas
slipped a pass into the area. After this, for a splendid twenty-minute
spell, Barça began to find space behind Valencia’s high defence with
remarkable regularity. Iniesta sent Neymar haring for goal but after
entering the penalty area the Brazilian tried to turn only to find the
Valencia defence closing him down. Thirty seconds later and Messi played
a superb pass through to Neymar who this time managed to shoot past
Diego Alves only to have the goal disallowed for offside. The replay
suggested that Guardado had played Neymar onside but in less than a
minute Barça had the ball in the net and this time it counted. Busquets
found Fabregas who threaded a ball through for Messi to chase, Diego
Alves came running out of his goal but Messi resisted the goalkeeper’s
challenge, sprinting on to beat Ricardo Costa to the ball and force it
over the line.
HIGHLIGHTS
A familiar pattern followed of Barça pinning an opponent back in its
own half. Neymar curled one wide after Messi’s neat pass and Iniesta
drove over from 25 yards. The nervousness in the Valencia defence was
demonstrated by Diego Alves sending a loose pass towards Iniesta who was
just impeded from shooting by an excellent intervention from Michel
Herrera. Then in the 27th minute Messi set Fabregas up with a shooting
chance and Diego Alves had to be alert to save the awkward bouncing
sidefooter from 25 yards.
Valencia had hardly been seen in attack until Pabon fired in a
30-yarder from the left that went straight at Valdés in the 31st minute,
then three minutes later Pabon shot again from a bit closer but the
effort lacked power and Valdés dived comfortably to gather. There was
nothing easy about Valdés’s next save, Ever Banega found Pabon inside
the area and the Barça keeper sprang magnificently to his left to parry
the Columbian striker’s shot.
The
game had been intense and entertaining up until this point but the
final minutes of the first half were breathtaking. In the 39th minute
Busquets robbed Canales midway inside the Valencia half, knocking the
ball on to Fabregas who played Messi into the right of the area to beat
Diego Alves with a right-footed finish into the far corner. Messi
completed his hat-trick two minutes later and Fabregas was again
involved. Messi started the move, finding the ex-Arsenal man in the
inside left position, Fabregas then sent Neymar into the left of the
area and the Brazilian slipped a neat pass through to Messi who had
continued his run through the middle to steer the ball low past Diego
Alves from eight yards.
Three-nil up and Barça should have been home and dry. Things started
to go awry in the 44th minute when Pedro underhit a back-pass to Valdés,
allowing Postiga a chance which Valdés managed to deflect out for a
corner. A minute later the ball came out to João Pereira on the right,
Neymar didn’t drop back to cover, allowing Pereira the chance to cross
to the near post where Postiga met the ball with hooked shot that flew
past Valdés just inside the near post.
The game then entered first half injury time which had been signalled
to be just one minute. Inexplicably the referee, Jose Antonio Teixeira
Vitienes, allowed play to run on for more than two minutes in which time
first Valdés had to tip over from Banega’s 20-yard drive, then from the
resulting corner Postiga rose above Alves and Iniesta at the near post
to power a header across Valdés inside the far post. Two-three, and
finally Teixeira Vitienes blew for half time.
Both
sides began the second half more cautiously but as Valencia gradually
pushed further forward the chances started coming at both ends. Guardado
had Valencia’s first attempt after the break, blasting wide after
Pabon’s assist, then soon after, Messi let fly from 25 yards, forcing
Diego Alves to tip the ball over. Then in the 64th minute, Iniesta, who
had a relatively quiet game, delivered a fine cross from the left but
Pedro misplaced his header from eight yards. Pedro’s misfortune
continued a couple of minutes later when he hesitated after Messi’s
chested pass and missed a possible shooting opportunity. Valencia’s
coach Miroslav Djukic reacted by bringing on Feghouli and Jonas, and
soon after Martino sent on Tello in Pedro’s place.
As the game neared its end the tension mounted with the Mestalla
public trying to roar their team on to an equalizer. One very good
Valencia build-up in the 79th minute led to Jonas firing a shot that was
deflected for a corner. Then from the resulting kick Ricardo Costa
headed over the Barça crossbar.
Martino brought on Johnathan dos Santos in place of the tiring
Fabregas, a signal to the critics that the Barça coach has faith in his
youngsters to perform in important moments. Fabregas wasn’t the only one
showing signs of fatigue as the heat and humidity took effect which led
to the game remaining open to the end. In the 83rd minute Messi came
agonizingly close to his fourth goal, his shot grazing the post after a
splendid flick from Neymar and a quick exchange of passes with Alba. A
minute later Neymar headed the ball into Messi’s path but the
Argentinian couldn’t force the ball past Diego Alves.
Then came the heart-stopping moment for Barça fans, Piqué failed to
make a good clearance, sending the ball to Jonas who turned Piqué and
Mascherano this way and that before cracking in a low shot that Valdés
just managed to touch with the tips of his fingers and the ball bounced
out off the base of the post.
There was still time for a double chance for Alba and Messi but Diego
Alves completed a fine game by stopping both efforts. Both goalkeepers,
despite the goals conceded, had very good game which should help to
demonstrate the quality of the entertainment. In one final push from
Valencia Valdés first gathered Feghouli’s weak header, then in the final
action of the game the Barça keeper punched clear a Valencia corner.
Nine points out of nine for Martino’s Barça but the pressure is on with
Atlético, Villarreal and Madrid all winning their first three games too.
Valencia: Diego Alves; João Pereira, Rami, Ricardo Costa, Guardado;
Michel Herrera (Dani Parejo m82), Javi Fuego; Pabón, Banega (Feghouli
m68), Canales (Jonas m68); Postiga.
Barça: Valdés 8; Dani Alves 6.5, Piqué 6, Mascherano 7, Alba 6.5;
Fabregas 9 (Dos Santos m80, 6.5), Busquets 8, Iniesta 7; Pedro 6 (Tello
m72, 6.5), Messi 8.5, Neymar 7 (Sergi Roberto m91, –).
Goals: m11 Messi 0-1, m39 Messi 0-2, m41 Messi, m45 Postiga 1-3, m45+3 Postiga 2-3.
Yellow cards: m17 Pereira, m29 Alba, m65 Dani Alves, m74 Neymar.
