Barcelona Malaga

EDIT: Shit, i didn't realise Messi was sick during the night. it might've affected his performance and I feel like I've insulted his play way too much in this post. So just... yeah... Either that or he was so angry that he didn't do well and got a fever from that.

this is the life.
am sitting on the sofa just about to start my pre-recorded barcelona game, knowing that we win and real madrid had drawn earlier. am also eating a ham and cheese sandwich and just got back from an hour and a half of a rather relaxed football training. today was a good day.

0' kick off!
1' after a few attacking threats from barca a free kick is given to malaga as iniesta commits a handball.
3' already I am feeling a bit annoyed at the defensive style that malaga are playing. but of couse to play barca it's probably the only way to go.
3' Abidal takes a shot and it goes wide! it hits the side netting. It's good he's got the confidence to come up the field and take a few shots since he'd recently scored the goal that put barca through the quater final of the Copa del rey.
7' INIESTA GOAL! beautiful. powerful shot from outside the box, dani alves with a simple touch of an assist. just brillant.
8' Malaga threatening to score.the cross goes off to no one.

Messi in his new adizero f50s that he released earlier this week, bright orange. i like them.

10' david villa take a cross from xavi but goes down. probably his own fault. no foul.
11' busquets is down. basically got hit in the face and the malaga guy falls on him.
12' Villa passes to Abidal who makes the run for a cross. It's blocked off by the malaga defence.
13' Messi passes to iniesta to try for a goal but he's run out of space and it's a goal kick. shaame.

camp nou firing up with the chants. loving the spirit.

16' Xavi's shot hits the crossbar! from outside the box and it clashes with the frame of the goal. SO CLOSE.
17' DAVID VILLA GOAL! brillant timing with collective effort from busquets recoving the ball, xavi to pass, messi to run through the defense, and villa to finish.
since when did sergio busquets have a beard...
19' Ball from Messi is offside from Dani Alves.
20' Pedro is offside... here we go again.
23' Dani Alves is down. He walks off the pitch, being unable to continue. Adriano is warming up on the sidelines.
26' Busquets commits a foul. there was NO attempt to get the ball. he just pushes him down. Free kick goes nowhere.
26' Adriano comes on for Dani Alves.
27' David Villa is down, kicked in the ankle. Demichelis is carded. Villa looks like he's in severe pain.
28' Pep is seen talking to Puyol who has gone to the sidelines.
30' Malaga goes for a run but is offside.
31' Messi fail. I seldom say this but it was a fail. In a one-two with iniesta he runs out of space and is unable to score. I would like to point out it's a bit of iniesta's fualt considering he put the pass too long.
31' Messi is taken down by the back of Duda's heel. nothing is given.
33' David Villa is offside. this... this is really his first time.
34' Messi is taken down again. He says nothing but Puyol appeals for a card. nothing is given. What i like about messi is that he doesn't make a fuss.
35' PEDRO GOAL! Iniesta makes a mess of Messi's perfect pass through to him but Pedro scores it.
36' Apono looses his temper with Puyol. He pushes him a bit but Puyol tells him to calm down and he does.
37' Messi makes a mess of a chance. He was literally inches away from finishing it. I am so annoyed. He's still 4 goals behind Ronaldo for the Pichichi.
41' >:( ANGRY FACE. Messi misses a shot again! He takes a shot but it's blocked off by the keeper. He could really have finished it properly. I don't think i've ever seen him this unfocused.
41' Busquets diving in the box as the corner is taken.
44' Messi takes a relatively shit shot and it's blocked by the keeper again. He literally jumps onto the barrier of the pitch. In anger or frustration... or just had too much momentum. am not sure.

45+1' HALF TIME.
Lionel Messi needs to focus. and do what he's best at. being amazing. but everything else was outstanding.

45' the commentator just called Messi, Villa and Pedro the "holy trinity"
48' Guardiola shouting frantically in Catalan. What if Ibrahim Afellay was on the pitch? Would he be shouting in english? some players don't understand English.
48' Messi's run is cleared by the Malaga defence. this must be SO frustrating for him.
50' I just wanted to demonstrate how defensively Malaga are playing. They have 9 players in defence. 9! and 7 in the 18 yard box!
50' "Xavi gives the ball away, you only get to say that about five times in the whole season" - I think the commentator for the world cup said pretty much the same thing.
50' Barca win the ball back and Villa fires a shot wide.
53' Haha, Messi is contesting for a header. That never ends well...
54' Pedro is taken down and wins a free kick about 10 yards out and wide, it's cleared for a corner.
55' I hate it when the score sheet pops out at the bottom of the screen and blocks the visual of the game.
56' PIQUE IS DOWN! :'( His ankle is caught but he seems okay and gets up. phew! ...oh dear he's wincing...
61' Adriano tries a cross in for Messi but it's too high for the number 10 to get it (unsurprisingly)
62' Commentator is already assuming that Barca have won this, he just said that the first half of the season ended with 52 points for Barca.
65' Malaga player somewhat diving, as Busquets runs pass him he wriths on the floor. No foul.
66' Batista from Malaga dives. Busquets touches him round the waist and he's down. Puyol complains about the free kick given to Malaga.
67' DUDA (Malaga) SCORES! Free kick from 22 yards out goes straight to the back of Victor Valdes' net. He's furious. 3 -1.
69' Messi tries to make a break by Barca but is disposessed, the fans are complaining even though he's fairly tackled and he himself isn't making a fuss about it. Oh in the replay it shows a bit of shoving, Messi gets pushed a bit in the head.
71' ER. WHAT!? THE COMMENTATOR JUST CALLED VICTOR VALDES "IKER CASILLAS" IDIOT. HE DOESN'T EVEN REALISE IT. WHAT. A. FAIL.
72' Pedro being too selfless and gives the ball away in the box in search of a pass, when he could've finished it himself.
73' DAVID VILLA GOAL No 2! Xavi with an excellent cross. It initially looked like it was offside but the replay shows it's not.
75' Pedro puts a ball through to Messi but he is unable to finish it.
75' OUTRAGE! Malaga player goes down shouting in "pain" when Abidal barely touches him, and the French left back is carded. injustice.
78' Messi and Iniesta attempt to excecute a one-two but is blocked off by welington.
78' Villa is offside again. again.
80' Bojan and Afellay about to come on.
81' Pedro is off for Bojan, and Iniesta recieves yet another standing ovation as he comes off for Afellay.
83' Bojan VERY close to getting a cross in for David Villa but is blocked off.
84' Messi tries to put one through for Bojan but there's a scramble in the area and free kick is given to Malaga.
85' After a pass from Afellay, Bojan tries to wriggle through the defense, mate, you can't do that. You're not Leo Messi.
86' Adriano's shot is wide... it looked a bit ambitions to start with anyway.
87' Busquets is actually taken down and not diving for once. Free kick to Barca.
89' Malaga stop diving! it's getting old!
89' FUCK! BOJAN COMES IN, PASSES TO AFELLAY, WHO CROSSES TO MESSI, WHOSE SHOT IS SAVED. SO MERELY. AND REBOUNDS TO PEDRO. WHO FAILS TO SCORE.
90 +1' Victor Valdes is some 40 yards away from his goal, taking a kick.
90 +2' Leo Messi Fail! After making a Jedi run he fails to get the cross in.
And that's the last play of the match!

Bojan looks completely shattered after playing for 10 minutes. he's 20. uh...

So as a whole it was a good game, but Messi really, really needed to focus a bit more... Honestly this was his chance on catching up to Ronaldo in the Pichichi, and yet he failed to score on about 6 different occasions.
I have now, great respect for Almeria, who drew with Real Madrid, and really pulled their socks up despite loosing 8 - 0 to Barca earlier this season. So right now the scores stand at 52 Barcelona, 48 Real Madrid! YES!
(Left: Messi frustrated by missing yet another goal oppertunity)