Champions Leauge First leg - El Clasico 3/4

Barca are: Valdes, Alves, Pique, Mascherano, Puyol, Busquets, Xabi, Keita, Messi, Villa, Pedro.

Real Madrid are: Casillas, Arbeloa, Ramos, Albiol, Marcelo, Lass, Pepe, Xabi Alonso, Di Maria, Ozil and Ronaldo.

PUYOL IS ON.... ohhhh captainnn!!! he and Casillas shake hands.
Tis the ref who made crucial decisions that affected Barca's elimination off the semi final last year.
0' Kick off!
0' 20 seconds in and we've already lost possession twice.
0' Arbeloa is down following a push off Pedro. Foul given.
1' God the bernabau. fired up when cristiano was within 30 yards of the goal. he wasn't even breaking through.
2' Lass is diving off a push from Keita.
3' several header volleys and madrid lose posession. Iniesta goes for a shot from range.
3' Ronaldo gets the ball and it's straight into a shot but Valdes makes a save.
4' Ref is being a shitface. as is Ramos. who dived. free kick given. Puyol flips out.
5' Pedro running like a manic at Casillas who has the ball. jeez.
6' Sergio Ramos down again. Late challenge by Keita. watch out for the yellow...
7' Pedro being a bit too persistant in trying to get the ball of Arbeloa. in all fairness the lineman is completely blind. they were holding on to each other's shirts without even going for the ball in the first place.
9' Not so sure if Puyol getting in the left back position is such a great idea. Being normally at centre back he comes back to the back more often than any other barca left back. Xavi's had to come back a few times to bring it back to the front.
10' oh villa. what a run, running through 3 defenders. it goes just wide. from distance too!
12' Ah, villa trying to go for another one of those runs. gets cut out by arbeloa.
12' Lass with an arm around Xavi's neck. foul given.
13' One two between Xavi and Messi gets it through the defence and Xavi gets it to Pedro who's shot is cut out by Albiol.
14' Villa and Pedro being extra aggressive. even more so than other Clasicos. lets hope they can keep it up.
15' Messi cut out by Pepe and a combination of the rest of the Madrid defense and midfield.
16' Barca doing the usual "taking a chill pill" method. Madrid fans are getting really worked up by this passing around. well. that's how we do it.
18' Xabi Alonso already looking knackered. really?
18' lol cristiano sends the ball back to victor valdes. i think it was meant to be a shot.
18' Pepe diving for a throw in. it is not working ha.
20' Marcelo taking a short corner but it's cut out when he hesitates too much.
22' A quarter of the game gone. minutes and minutes of barca posession. nothing to it though. my limbs are shaking.
23' Marcelo and Villa going for the ball in the air. Marcelo pushes Villa. Free kick.
24' Xavi! saved by iker casillas. oh so close. so so close. first shot on target for the night.
25' Oh Lass, stop diving. it doesn't work all the time. Pique clears it. Madrid throw in.
25' Arbeloa offside for Madrid.
26' Ozil diving. right infront of the ref. so clever..... really....
27' Messi with the ball, gets grabbed by the neck by Ramos right in front of the linesman. NOTHING GIVEN.
28' Dani Alves taken down by Pepe. Pepe chucks the ball in frustration.
29' Xavi takes a shot from about 40 yards out. it goes wide. we'll get there...
31' grrrr messi with a ball to villa who can't control it. grrrr it was actually onside too.
32' hahahaaa Arbeloa trips behind Pedro and Pedro goes between his legs. like he's giving birth backwards. ew.
33' What a mess. everyone with high kicks and Busquets ends up on the floor. Free kick for Barca.
34' ooh dear. Madrid with a free kick and it's headed towards Valdes but he gets a hold on it.
34' Marcelo...diving? GR stop doing replays i want to see the kick. oh it's straight to the wall.
35' Villa tries for a shot but it's completely cut out.
36' Oh di Maria. WHAT A DIVE. it's given though. come on Barca. defend! Cristiano taking it. he's gonna take a shot. Mascherano talking to Alonso. Liverpool :')
37' Straight into the wall but madrid have it again. Barca asking for a card, a bit of a mess here. Pedro goes down and he was no where near the ball... Ramos was the first one to shout at Pique. Pedro looks like he's just run into Arbeloa. Arbeloa is booked. but he isn't on the list of possible suspensions for next week.
41' Marcelo sitting on the ball... his arm touches it but it's behind his body so the linesman can't see. Villa still takes the ball off him. Deflected shot for a corner. Madrid get hold of the ball.
42' Messi and Villa trying to break through the defense again. it's no use.
43' Sergio Ramos being gaster than Messi. what?
44' Dani Alves booked.... for pushing Di Maria. Busquets going to ground for with a dive. Free kick. 20 yards out ish.
45' Cristiano going for a shot. blocked off by Barca's two man wall.
46' Jesus, Ronaldo with a shot, another shot from Ozil who is offside, plus finally a one from Ramos who is way off.
46' Pedro's shot into Iker Casillas' safe hands.

right before they cut to commercials there was a bit of fighting. someone grabbed pinto by the neck. LOL Pinto got red carded! well it would be less of a LOL moment if Valdes can't play next week and we have no keeper. but it is LOL because he is not even on.
Adebayor is on. bollocks. oh wait. for ozil. alright.

45' Messi goes for a shot but it gets blocked by Madrid's wall of defense. Barca get on the end of it but it goes nowhere.
47' Xabi alonso going for one of his ridiculous shots from his own half. no xabi. that was liverpool. ahhh good times. :')
59' what the fuck. ronadlo getting 3 shots being blocked 3 times by Puyol who can't clear it. come on!
51' god pepe. pushing on dani alves in a late challenge. and tehn gets annoyed and kicks the ball away.
52' Keita is down. messi takes the free kick. messi is taken down by sergio ramos. ramos gets booked! oh he's missing the return.
53' Puyol doing a classic screaming at his teammates. Cristiano turns around to look at him like he's surprised or something.
54' Dani Alves ruled offside. I personally did not see it. what? oh, it's a free kick for a foul.... not offside.
56' Oh dear. Mascherano accidently trips pepe over. he's booked too. careful.... free kick not far away.
57' Victor Valdes lunges out to get the ball. Trips over Busquets. fail. but still has the ball!
57' Mascherano unable to clear Adebayor and Valdes has to kick it out. Madrid get a throw in but make nothing of it.
58' Villa running too fast for his own good, has to track back for the pass.
59' Pedro accused of diving and it's a free kick for Madrid. He wasn't diving, but it wasn't a foul either.
60' Ronaldo who IS diving gets ignored by the ref.
60' Dani Alves is down! OH JESUS. PEPE IS RED CARDED. oh my god. oh my god. Mourinho talking to Puyol. Alves brings his foot up and Pepe comes in with his studs striaght at alves' legs. Mourinho's face when he putss the card out. Dani Alves being carried off in a stretcher. This referee. is so strange.
63' Mourinho taking away from the sidelines! holy shit! he's put in the stands with a frence in!
Looks like Marca are gonna be ALL over this tomorrow.
63' Ronaldo diving! again! free kick given. Mourinho writing notes faster and angrier than before. Alves is on again.
65' Free kick finally taken by Xabi alonso but Ronaldo's header is a bit weak.
66' Dani Alves offside. Mourinho writing notes and giving it to his runner to give to the coaching team for Madrid.
67' Shit! Villa going for a shot, deflects off Casillas, Pedro tries to twist around for a header in but it looks like he's twisted his knee in doing so. Replay shows Marcelo stepped on him. my bad.
70' Tiki Taka in and near the area, but no one going for it.
70' Afellay! on for Pedro. Lets see what he can do tonight.
71' Cross comes in too long for Messi and Casillas hold on to it.
71' Handball by Busquets.
72' Villa taken down.
72' The ref's blown up against Barca. did not see what for.
72' Throw in for Madrid when it was really barca's.
73' God. Cristiano! keep on your feet! in all fairness there was contact with Pique.
74' 33m out. Cristiano takes it and it was really wide and really really high.
75' Adebayor's hand in Puyol's face.... just the throw in given.
75' HOLY FUCKBALLS. LIONEL MESSI! LIONEL MESSI GOAL! AFELLAY COMES IN WITH A GREAT CROSS IN AND MESSI JUST LEAPS INTO IT! OH WOW. WITH 15 MINUTES TO GO! MADRID WITH 10 MEN! MOURINHO IN THE STANDS! WOW.
77' Madrid on the attack. Keita down.... Xabi down but gets back up.... what a messi. Cleared by Pique.
79' Puyol chasing to clear Di Maria's ball and runs into the corner. In his attempts to balance himself he's pulled out the corner flag!
80' Messi pushing Arbeloa in an arial challenge! he's smart and doesn't argue, just nods, and gives the ref a thumbs up to let him know that he knows he's cautioned. no card :)
81' A mess at the area. Messi goes down with a challenge from Lass, and tries to get on his feet but handballs, and then Sergio Ramos' arse ends up on his back.
82' Adebayor booked for a challenge on Sergio Busquets.
83' 71% posession for barca with over 400 passes.
84' Mascherano trying to get the ball up field but instead smacks the ball into Xabi Alonso, who goes down, but striaght back up again. He almost never makes a fuss.
86' LIONEL MESSI OHHHHHH! GOAL! 2 - 0! always runs to Milito first. Solo run for Messi, through 5 defenders, sweeps the ball into the corner of the net before going down. wow.
88' Messi taken down by xabi and gets a free kick. iker is angryyyyy.
89' David Villa for Sergi Roberto! with 1 minute of normal time left pep is looking for more defense rather than attack. comes on, makes a clearence. nice.
91' 3 minutes of added time.
92' Messi goes for another but is cut off by Xabi.
FULL TIME
2 - 0 away win! NICEEEE
thank you barca. you have given us hope again.
mourinho doesn't stay to shake hands with pep. obviously.
so Pepe and Ramos out for the next tie.
alright. Calvaho is back though.
apparently Xabi went to "speak" to the ref after the game, and almost got red carded. LOL.

Copa Del Rey Final! El Clasico 2/4

Ahhhh it's starting!! Madrid panning across the screen.....
Ohhhh Pinto is starting!
Adriano - Mascherano - Pique - Alves are our backline tonight. Puyol isn't starting :(
This could be good. Madrid has a pretty standard line-up. Without Benzema.
0' KICK OFF! Barca looking to continue the record of having most Copa Del Rey titles.
0' We have the first seconds of posession until Busquets gives away posession
1' Maschernao is booked ALREADY. it's a free kick for Madrid. Ronaldo dived. sigh. The kick goes nowhere.
2' Alves is now booked. what the fuck. Di Maria is diving. This is really, really shit. The ref is incredibly gulible.
4' Free kick comes in for Ramos and he can't bring it under control. It's out for a goal kick.
5' Ramos fouls Messi by an obstruction and not going for the ball either.
6' Xavi goes for goal after a few passes from barca and it's wide. very wide. ahhhh why xavi, he was far.....
7' Khedira comes up with a cross into the area but Mascherano is there to intercetp
8' An arial battle sees Villa with Ramos competeing for the ball and Ramos is over him, Villa instinctively stuck his arm out to defend himself and it looks like a challenge. Foul given.
9' Alves tries to put it through for Messi but cannot get it anywhere so it's out for a goal kick.
11' Cristiano comes in for a goal but the Barcelona defense are there to block it out. It is very, very close though.
13' Xabi Alonso is kicked and there's no card given but it's a free kick for Madrid.
15' The past few minutes is just a few attempts to break through the Madrid defense. It's gotten nowhere. It's already getting slightly frustrating.
16' Pedro is offside.
16' Di Maria handballs and the free kick is for Barca.
17' Messi is down, the free kick is taken quickly by Xavi and barca try for a goal but it doesn't go through, as Marcelo is there to intercept it.
18' Pedro is down, it's another free kick and Xavi swings it in for Busquets but he can't get there.
20' Real Madrid have a corner and Ozil comes in with a shot but it's off target.
21' Ozil has gone for a shot again but it's offside.
22' David Villa is offside. ah. okay. as expected.
23' Khedira fouls Adriano with a push and having no intent of going for the ball. at all.
24' Madrid with like 5 header vollys and i reckon that's the only way their only way of dominating posession over Barca.
25' Pepe picks up a card and Mourinho is actually going mad.
26' Busquets goes down (eh), Alonso is going in the book. Actually i'm sure busquets did actually dive. Xabi is rightly annoyed.
27' it's another clasico fight. Villa feels like he's being fouled and arbeloa is claiming he fouled, Arbeloa picks him up. Villa is furious, he's shouting and pushing arbeloa, messi is shouting, iniesta is shouting, everyone is in this now. replay. oh son of a bitch, what a fucking brutal challenge on villa that was. madrid.
29' Ronaldo goes for a goal after a good ball in from Ozil but his shot is weak, very weak. Pinto comfortablely holds it in his hands.
31' Xabi Alonso puts the ball through for Cristiano but it is way offside.
32' Yet another attempt from Cristiano, it's debatable whether it's offside or not, but it's certainly given.
33' Everyone is complaing . Pedro is booked for a challenge... or what he said to carvalho after.
35' Forced perspective just gave me a heart attack. Ronaldo is going for goal and it looks like it was behind the line but it's not, Pinto makes a save, it comes back out and madrid take another shot. Barca get hold of it.
34' Barca are going for the counter attack, Pedro's cross in is completely shit and Casillas picks it up.
37' Busquets is diving very obviously and the foul is still given.
38' Messi is taken down, but the referee is waving play on, Villa can't put the ball through to the goal.
40' thats the third corner in like a minute. None of them have really been put to good use though.
40' Iniesta and Sergio Ramos fight for the ball but it goes out for a madrid throw, while ramos pats iniesta on the head.
41' Iniesta falls on Xabi Alonso and it's given as a free kick. Am not so sure if Xabi had to fall so easily.
42' Alonso fouls Villa when he pratically picks him up off the ground. Free kick given to Barca.
42' Pinto comes out some 20 yards to clear a ball. It's a good clearence though.
43' Pepe gets a header in and it hits the post! AHHHHHH.
45' AH THIS IS A SHIT HALF. COME ON BARCA.
all these Madrid shots are too close a call. We need Puyol in defense!
Puyol just slapped Xavi's ass in the tunnel. Didn't Adriano do that last week?
omg the queen tripped over... lol.
45' Match restart!
46' Xavi is either injured or cramping up.... doesnt look good...
47' Villa puts the ball through beautifully for Iniesta but Iniesta is caught...
48' Keita is warming up... as is granero and adebayor.
49' Dani Alves makes a run down the wing and is cleared out, its a barca throw.
49' Khedira goes down with a tap on the neck off Alves. ahhhh divers.
50' Pedro goes for goal just inside the 18 yard box and it just hits the side netting. SO close.
51' Pedro goes for a shot again and Sergio Ramos comes in for a clearence and its out for a corner. It goes nowhere, madrid throw in.
53' Messi looking for David Villa and it goes forward.... corner, taken short.
54' Messi Into the area and cannot go through the madrid defence in the box.
56' Villa makes a long run and it hits the side netting. GRAAHHHHH.
58' what the fuck. Carvalho is just lying on the ground. how is that not an obstruction. near the box as well. sigh, villa would've gone through.
59' Alonso makes a challenge on Messi and he kicks him between the legs. Foul given, free kick is taken by messi and it's straight into the wall.
61' Iniesta is taken down by Arbeloa but he gets the throw in.
62' Pedro pulls it in and it's another clearence, and another Barca corner. It just goes straight to iker.
63' Messi tried to block Xabi Alonso's free kick and gets booked.
63' Alonso takes a shot and it's pretty good but still doesn't break the deadlock.
64' Messi takes a shot from 20 yards out, it's struck quickly but straight over the bar.
66' Cristiano suddenly finding angst and running from pass to pass after Barca's spell of posession.
68' PEDRO FUCK PEDRO SCORES IT AND IT IS NOT GIVEN. IT IS OFFSIDE. IT IS VERY CLOSE. AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. SON OF A BITCH.
71' Xavi tries to clip it over to Messi but it's offside and Casillas catches it anyway.
71' Villa makes another long run but he can't finish it's cleared out.
73' Mascherano dives and Adebayor is booked! LOL!
74' Dani Alves makes a run, messi takes it in, it rebounds off casillas, villa can't control, ramos clears it, barca have posession again, pedro takes a shot, casillas tips it wide and it's a corner.
76' Dani Alves takes a free kick. not sure why he goes for a shot. time is running out.
80' Iniesta goes for goal and it is SO SO close. Casillas tipped it out and it's a corner. This looks like extra time to me.
81' Villa screws up the whole set up. grahhh his back heel flick in the area gets nowhere.
83' Messi tries to bring it under control but Marcelo had blocked it out.
85' Madrid gets all the way into the barca's defense, pinto comes 30 yards out like a defender, mascherano has to drop back into goal. Di Maria handballs and gets booked.
86' Di Maria falls on Alves and they both get hit in the balls. wow.
87' Cristiano with a great chance but Dani Alves clears it out. SO close.
87' Madrid with another chance, but Xavi is there to take it out of their posession.
88' the commentator is so excited it's making me nervous.
89' Di Maria goes for goal and Pinto just makes the save!
91' Madrid going for many many shots, although nervewrecking they haven't really made a difference.

SHIT. it is EXTRA TIME. I saw this coming. no joke.

Extra time:
91' Arbeloa kicks Adriano in the balls. he can't get up.... Arbeloa is trying to help but he's not keen on being helped.
93' Villa is offside. come on...
94' Khedira is poking iniesta in all directions and is rightly called on a foul.
95' Messi just got winded by Ramos but it's out for a corner anyway... no foul. Commentator just called messi sluggish... not sure why but i'm feeling personally insulted.
97' Ronaldo going for goal! shit! he sprints in and it's JUST wide! come on barca!
99' Alonso grabbing iniesta by the waist... iniesta doesn't have the ball. It's a free kick. everyone is flipping out.
101' pepe steps on villa and it's not called on. what the fuck.
102' REAL MADRID IN LEAD! CRISTIANO RONALDO SCORES THE GOAL! DI MARIA WITH A PERFECT CROSS IN, RONALDO WITH A HEADER.
103' Khedira is going off. Granero is on.
105' Villa goes for goal and Casillas is there to make the save.
HALF TIME!

Villa is off for Afellay! good.....
Busquets on for Keita.
Adriano nailed in the balls. this is the 5th time someone gets nailed in the balls tonight.
Di Maria gets a red card for a second yellow. whatever. they've won it anyway.

Madrid have the Copa Del Rey!
this is like, the first piece of silverware in a WHILE.
alright that is it. we have no treble. I reckon we might still win La Liga though.

Barcelona Villarreal

Oh dear, oh dear, we have so many injuries.
Messi, Pedro, Puyol, Xavi, Maxwell, Abidal
So Afellay and Thiago are starting.
I think we've also opted for a different formation.
MADRID LOST TO GIJON. it's irrelavant, but just saying.

i think if we were to lose anything before going to madrid, it would be this one.
But it is good! I love both their styles of play, it's going to be one hell of a match.
2' Afellay's cross hits the Villarreall defence.
3' Villarreal take control of the ball and go through the barca defence but are ultimately taken down by Keita, it looks like a rough challenge but pla goes on.
5' Villarreal's Rossi takes the ball all the way through our defence and Valdes blocks him out. too close!
6' Dani Alves plays it long for iniesta but we keep posession. Then Thiago coming in once again with a good run but Villarreal manage to clear it out of danger.
8' Free kick is given as Afellay is taken down.
8' David Villa offside. No point in getting angry about this. every single game.
11' ROSSI COMES IN FOR A VERY CLOSE SHOT. victor valdes stops it well and Villarreal unable to get their second shot on target.
13' Valdes has the armband tonight. Interesting.
13' Villa is offside again. SO CLOSE.
14' Mascherano writhing in pain on the floor. Bruno is booked. it would NOT be good for another injury! Looks like a gash on his leg by the studs of Bruno's boots. He's gone off the sidelines for treatment.
17' Mascherano back on. Villarreal have been dominating for 2 minutes ish.
18' Keita is taken down.
20' Afellay's cross for Villa is blocked by the keeper. I wonder if Afellay's goal for the Netherlands in the Euros influenced Pep's decision in putting him on.
21' Villarreal appealing for a handball off Busquets but none given.
23' Iniesta's ball looking for Alves but ends up with the keeper. COME ON..... 23 minutes and can't break the deadlock.
25' Mascherano comes in with a late challenge. no booking though.
26' Alves collides with the Villarreal's keeper and he's on the ground clutching his knee.
29' Villarreal coming in from a dangerous position and Mascherano clears it out for a corner.
29' Corner is taken short and Villarreal get it to Rossi, whose shot goes over and wide.
30' craaaaaaaaaap the ball goes across the face of the goal and iniesta doesn't lunge for a goal. maybe it was for the best. no idea.
32' Afellay in pain. not sure why but his expression says it.
34' Barca have a corner but make nothing of it. how come we never take it short? surely we're better on the ground than in the air.
35' Pique once again denying his fouling. it's a funny mixture between cheekiness and anger.
38' Adriano goes for a long shot after a long run of posession but it's into the keeper's hands.
39' Pique is booked, even though he's the one in pain. It was a late challenge though.
40' Pique striking the ball forwards from far back. Not sure why, it wasnt to anyone. Perhaps going for a Xabi Alonso signature goal. it just goes to the keeper though.
41' David Villa in space but Catala blocks him out.
45' Whistle goes for the first half. the reason why there's nothing there in the last 4 minutes is because it's basically just both teams failing to get any shots in despite being in space.

MESSI IS WARMING UPPPPPP. my life is complete? hahaha Thiago is speaking to Afellay, HE SPEAKS ENGLISH! YES. i've also managed to blog the entire first half without swearing. congradulate me...

46' we're just constantly being outmuscled by villarreal.
47' Iniesta's shot is on target, having been set up by afellay, but the keeper just tips it over.
48' Afellay trying to unpick some of the defence but finally taken after 3 defenders.
48' Villa shoots! but it's wide. sigh.
49' Alves is down. Marchena is booked. why is alves clutching his arm.... need a replay on this. he's been stepped on the arm. right. that. is. foul.
51' Alves' shot is over and wide. it was from far. so it's forgivable.
52' MESSI IS ON FOR..... they say afellay, he starts walking off but they call him back! it's Keita that's coming off. that was weird...
54' Alves is booked for pushing in a challange.
55' Afellay makes a beast of a run with extreme speed but no one is there to catch his pass other than the keeper.
56' shit Nilmar is coming on. ooooooooooh. interesting.
57' Victor Valdes.... some 32 feet away from the goal comes out and.... heads the ball out of danger. so un-goalkeeper-like of him.
60' the last three minutes was some lose attacks without any real danger.... and me realise how incredibly short our team is. we look so tiny. and villarreal look massive in yellow.
61' aahrhghgiugaueuaef messi makes the run, pique was almost in to take the shot but he was offside and didn't bother going for it, would've been amazing though, pique so far up front.
just wanted to highlight the fact that gerard pique, the centre back, was offside.
64' Thiago was onside, but it was just, JUST an inch wide from the goal. come ooooooooonnnnnnnnnn!!!
65' Afellay takes a shot but the keeper manages to block it. it was good though.
65' sigh... messi's beard is so non-existence and non ginger
66' PIQUUUUEEEE PPPIIIIQQQUUUEEEEEEEE OMGGG!!! finally! broken the deadlock!!! Corner taken by Alves, Busquets heads it, pique controls with his chest and strikes it in! waka waka! he's in disbelief i think. amazing. crowd chanting "gerard, pique, pique, pique"
69' Villa is off for Bojan! i hope he does well.... it would be nice to get another. god they're both so short.
73' We've been holding posession for a bit now. Funny thing is, the minute Bojan sees a defender in front he flips out. granted he gets the ball but he was waving his arms all over the place.
75' the commentator needs to stop fucking talking. he's saying that pique's chest control might be a handball. firstly, the ref didn't call it, so shut the fuck up. he's just stirring shit up. and secondly, his job is to commentate the game, not what would happen if it was a handball and what the press would do with it.
78' Villarreal get a free kick for late challenge. it's outside the 18 yard box. so like 23 yards away. shot swerves away from the wall but goes wide.
79' Victor Valdes defending like a centre back and chesting the ball away.
81' oooh a free kick for messi, taken down just outside 18 yards. messi takes a shot and it's blocked out but the keeper.
82' looks like jonathan dos santos will come on.
83' Bojan going for a cross but pique and messi are both offside.
83' Dos Santos is on for Afellay.
84' Rossi comes in the corner and karate kicks the ball outto a goal kick.
85' Santi Cazorla less than 6 yards away strikes it out and valdes manages to save it! and once again when the ball comes in from a corner, when things just got messy right in front of the goal. Valdes catches it, and everyone is shaking his hand, Dani Alves even gives him a huge. that was an amazing moment.
87' Messi comes in with space but is blocked by gonzalo..... barca regain posession.
88' Villarreal suddenly coming in with lots of energy! All the barca players are on the ground trying for tackles!
88' Alves gets the ball on the right of the goal but loses control and gives it away. Villarreal on the counter attack!
88' It's a huge mess in front of the goal! Busquets is taken down and a free kick is given for barca!
89' 3 minutes added time!
90' Villarreal desperately trying to go for a goal!
91' Santi Cazorla goes for goal but it's high and wide and they finally breaks up the play. Someone's been booked.... or something. it's a bit of a mess. Busquets is booked. He's missing the Almeria game! not el clasico! deliberate time wasting. Looks like Valdes was booked earlier was time wasting as well, but he was saying he needed someone to kick the ball, since he's injured, and wasn't wasting time deliberately.

93' FULL TIME! WOAH! what a game! Valdes is ecstatic, having captained and done so well today.
WE'RE 8 POINTS AHEAD OF MADRID!!!!!
yes, i know i've missed out a few matches. They're on my DVR, i will catch up when i can.

Levante - Barcelona.

Messi is in the stands. oh i am angry now. why was he given special permission to stay on holiday! GAH!
dani alves has shaved his head.
Milito isn't playing even though he is fit.
Bojan is starting for the first time in the league for months.
and this game will be posted in 2 parts because i need to get up early tomorrow and shouldn't be watching his at all.

this first part is live.
5 minutes in: 0 - 0.

1.Bojan's size plays him down a bit as he's pushed around a little bit. For the first few minutes he still hasn't completely gotten control over the ball yet.
2. Villa takes the stranges pass which went about 15 metres up and only 2 metres across.
3. Iniesta takes a short and it is saved by the levante goal keeper.
4. Xavi takes a shot from distance and it is again saved.
5. now I am annoyed because the commentator is listing the absensces of Barcelona and didn't mention Leo Messi. GRAH.
6. Iniesta's cross to Bojan is overshot and is taken by the keeper.
7. David Villa's shot is wide after a great run.
8. Just wanted to point out that Levante's home kit is actually the same colours as the Barca home kit. how annoying. but obviously they're in their away kit at the moment.
9. what a horrible moment. on the counter attack levante forwards are tearing after the ball, but only to be beaten by abidal who passes it to goal keeper Valdes. Valdes passes it back but it was taken by Levante and they almost take a shot. Valdes redeems himself by making a save.
10. Pique, Puyol and Afellay are in the stands. Ibi is looking bored as fuck. I assume that until Afellay learns spanish or catalan he'll be pretty stuck to pique.
11. Commentator says that Lavente is on the tall side. no, Barcelona are on the short side.
12. Barca are asleep and Levante take advantage of the situation and are looking threatening. Abidal does well to clear. Levante are appealing for a penalty. None given. We literally have no central defense today anyway. With Pique on suspension, Puyol injured and Milito still not match fit.
13. Villa's free kick is sent over the crossbar.
14. Pique is on his blackberry in the stands. The commentator is wondering whether he's posting on twitter, saying that he is a pretty regular poster on social networking sites. I am now going to find out.
15. Bojan clashes with two Levante players in a
16. Iniesta is in the sidelines just having a bit of attention from the physios. Dear god i hope he isn't injured.
17. Shit, Bojan misses two chances when Iniesta's ball goes to him, onces when it rebounds off the keeper's save, and one off the defender. They do have a corner though.
18. After a series of fumbles iniesta's goes to ball to bojan and the shot is missed, dropping to Alves, who is literally about a quarter of a foot from the goal and shoots it WIDE. what a waste.
19. shit, everyone is failing. Valdes is forced to make a save because of the slack defense. We're missing the wall in defense that is Carles Puyol.
20. Alves is diving. he isn't even touched.
21. This is incredibly frustrating. at 32 minutes no one has scored.
22. In a replay it shows Bojan was fouled and completely ignored by the referee.
23. Again, missed chances again and again from Bojan and Pedro. In the replay it shows Bojan mouthing something that looked like "I AM SHORT" and looking very, very annoyed. Obviously it was in Catalan and i am a terrible lip reader and even if i wasn't I can't understand catalan.
24. Our attack is simply being completely SLACK. every pass and every cross is just completely off.

5 minutes left in this half.

25. Bojan's shot is deflected off Robuste, captain of Levante tonight, and he seems to have a concussion. He's up and okay now.
26. Why are Barca forcing all these corners? the ONLY tall player to take headers is pique and he's off. What needs to happen now is for Xavi and Mascherano to stop fucking around in the midfield and actually get some balls into the penalty area without Bojan and Villa fucking up.
27. I swear to God the commentator just said "best chance of the game, almost put pique off his penis" Oh, a replay shows he was referring to Pique dropping his peanut and picking it back up to eat it off the floor. nice. nice.
DAVID VILLA IS OFFSIDE.
28. some stuff is going on here. Bojan looks fouled or something. Not sure. Either he's booked for complaining to the ref, or the Levante player is booked for fouling him.

HALF TIME.
Commentator said Barcelona were suffering from a holiday hangover... HA.
Apparently it was Nano who got carded, not Bojan, before the half time.

PEDRO! SCORE! Alves was waiting... and waiting.... and waiting....and threaded the ball through 4 defenders, Pedro obviously thinking on his feet scored it. shit, i forgot i was writing in lists.

29. Thiago is on for Mascherano. cool. hope the Barca B player does well today.
30. Shit, Bojan went down and got kicked in the chest. He seems fine though, no foul given either.
31. Thiago instantly with a shot from distance. It's of course saved by the brilliant keeper Reina from Levante.
32. Pedro got whacked in the gut. Looks painful. Free kick is given. Xavi better not fuck this up. Shot taken and saved.
33. Close save by Victor Valdes. thank god they didn't equalise.
34. PEDRO GOAL! superb. That was from outside the box as well. Dani alves assist. Impressive to the maximum. I must say he's one of the most underated players in La Liga.
35. Levante are a loud side. Their shouts can be picked up beyond the crowd and commentator.
36. Bojan goes down. No foul.
37. AHH BOJAN IS OFF! no goal for krkic... what a shame. Keita is on for him. it was not a good game for Bojan today. Sorry.
38. Thiago with great control and speed there. It's a shame Pedro's shot hits the bar.
39. Milito is warming up! yes! the commentator lied to me, saying he wasn't match fit.
okay. first part out. sign off time 67.47.
first part will be posted first, and then later edited to finish the game off.

EDIT: sorry, i realise that i was meant to get back to this. but either way everyone knows it ended 2 - 1, Levante having scored in the last 5 minutes or so. I would say this victory is a bit of a stretch, too close for comefort, as well as Barca's cup quater final 0 - 0, 1 - 1, just barely pushing through with away goals. not sure what's going on lately...

Ibrahim Afellay. - among other things.

(Left: oh right yeah, they speak english! ...and pique is in new NIKEiD tiempo shoes)


So Ibi is training with the squad.
I think I do like him, but am not sure where his place will be. Hopefully he won't be one of those new signings glued to the bench (Adriano), and adding to the already burdening debt of FC Barcelona, which is now said to be 15M Euros, having reduced from 22M because of the new Qatar Foundation sponsors.

Having said that I think, (and if im wrong then, whoops, egg on my face), ibi will play into the roles of a combination of Andreas Iniesta and Xavi, and permanently benching keita. or not. Guardiola likes Keita, no matter how much he lacks shine when he's compared to Xavi. In that case, Afellay will get a lot less game time, because Iniesta barely needs to be substituted. And that would be a shame because he's such a star back at PSV, being captain and all, and at Barcelona he'll be like Mascherano, who's captain at the Argentina national team, and Sergio Busquets substitute at Barca.

Also intresting was the game between Cataluyna and Honduras. In that game, Bojan Krkic scored two goals and made two assists, and the final score was 4 - 0. which means Bojan contributed to every goal, and that maybe Guardiola should take the hint that he's actually leaving a very talented son of a bitch on the bench every weekend. I understand that Bojan has also just signed a new contract until 2015, hopefully he doesn't spend his youth benched in the shadows of David Villa or Leo Messi.

Speaking of Leo Messi, where is he? apparently Guardiola gave him special permission to stay on holiday until the 1st or 2nd of January. I swear to God if he's getting married and his marriage affects his footballing abilities then I will kill someone. Hopefully he'll be back for the fixture against Levente on January 2nd/3rd, because there is a dispute between the Footballing Federation and the players, who claim that the 2nd of Jan is still a holiday for them.

So we'll see on the 2nd/3rd of Jan how Barcelona will hold up against Levente without Puyol or Messi.