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Barça started the match with regular starters Messi, Alves, Alexis, Mascherano, and Adriano. Pinto, Bartra, Dos Santos, Sergi Roberto, Rafinha, and Afellay made it 11.
It didn't take long for Messi and Barça to get started today. There was also a little (unnecessary) help from the referee. In the 13th minute a great combination between Messi, Alves, and Alexis ended with the ball in the back of the net and 0-1 on the scoreboard. There was a clear offsides on the first pass that the referee missed, then Alves found Alexis, who converted a goal he couldn't miss. It was already looking like Alves and Alexis were going to have another great game, and adding Messi to the mix is a dangerous combination.
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| A great combination, image from Sport.es |
In the 35th minute Barça found the goal again and didn't slow down until the referee blew the whistle for halftime. The second goal came from a great through ball from Ibrahim Afellay to a running Leo Messi who easily beat the keeper and made it 0-2, scoring his first of many goals to come in the 2012/2013 season. It was beautiful to see Messi as the most active player on the pitch once again, and in the 39th minute he hit his second goal with a great give and go combination from Alexis Sanchez. The festival continued just two minutes later when Messi found Afellay, who took a shot which was blocked by the Raja keeper. There was another clear offsides missed by the referee here and the rebound came straight back to Alexis, who easily converted his second goal of the night, making it 0-4.
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| Alexis Sanchez, Image from ElMundodeportivo.com |
Once again proving why he is the greatest player in football, Messi completed his first hat-trick of the season in the 45th minute. This one came from a great pass from Messi to a wide open Alexis Sanchez, who probably should have shot, but very unselfishly gave the ball back to Messi for his third goal of the night. The first half finished 0-5. Long live Leo Messi!
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| Image from Sport.es |
The second half started with no changes in the lineup or Barça's pace. In the 49th minute Afellay had a great opportunity to score but he couldn't get it past the keeper. One minute later Dani Alves made a great steal and found Leo Messi, who chipped the ball over the keeper and bounced it off the crossbar, missing his 4th goal of the night by a few centimeters. A few minutes later Leo broke away from the defense once again in another great individual play. This time he tried another chip shot but nobody's perfect and this one didn't get over the keeper's head.
In the 57th minute Alexis Sanchez took the ball into the area and made a quick cut to his right, got tripped up by a defender, and set Barça up for an opportunity from the penalty spot. Surprisingly, Dani Alves lined up to shoot the penalty instead of Messi. Alves' aim was true and Barça went up 0-6.
Over the next few minutes Barça substituted every player on the pitch except Pinto. First Espinosa, Deulofeu, Femenia, Planas, and Gustavo came on. Then Balliu, Sergi Gomez, Lombán, Patric, and Lobato completed the new eleven and made it look more like a Barça B match as all the regular first team players left and took a seat on the sideline. The young guys who started the match and left the pitch at this point hadn't really done much with the exception of Marc Bartra. Bartra is quickly making most Barça fans forget about Javi Martinez, the young defender Barça has shown interest in signing from Bilbao. Bartra had two excellent steals in the first half, played great defense, and looked as comfortable as any veteran player on the pitch (watch out Gerard Pique). Sergi Roberto was also quite active in the midfield during the first half, looking like he may be able to help the team during difficult moments throughout the season. The other two young players, Dos Santos and Rafinha, didn't contribute much. Dos Santos made two terrible passes which were lost in the midfield and could have led to goals if Barça had been playing against a better team, and Rafinha was completely invisible.
After all the substitutions, the match looked like it was going to be similar to the second half of the last match against Hamburg, lacking the spark provided by the star players. This all changed in the 42nd minute when Barça lined up to take a free kick from a few meters outside the area. Sergi Gomez took a great shot which should have been stopped by the keeper, but it slipped past him, making it 0-7. Gerard Deulofeu was definitely the most active player on the pitch during the last part of the second half, and he made a beautiful run in the 89th minute which led to Barça's 9th goal of the night. Gustavo put a great pass through the defensive lines to Deulofeu, who took a very precise shot from the right side and beat the keeper. Once again, keep an eye on Deulofeu, we're going to see a lot more of this kid in the future.
That wrapped up an impressive win against a rather weak Raja Club Athletic. Messi was definitely the star of the game, but Alexis, Alves, Bartra, and Deulofeu also looked very impressive. Great game boys! The next match will take place next Saturday and should be more exciting as we take on Paris Saint-Germain. It should be interesting to see our boys go up against ex-Barça players Maxwell and Ibrahimovic!
