All Barça’s football
Match
Marcador del partit
- Date: Tuesday, 05 Jun
- Competition: ???label.competicio23???
- Stadium: Nova Creu Alta, Cornellà
Resultat:
- RCD Espanyol: 1
- FC Barcelona: 1
Match report
Match Report
The goals
0-1 Ezquerro (min.8)
1-1 Pedraza (min.24)
The penalties
Ángel, missed
Ezquerro, goal
Julian, goal
Giovani, goal
Palanca, goal
Belletti, goal
De Pablos, goal
Crosas, goal
Toni Lao, goal
Motta, goal
Barça win the Copa Catalunya (1-1)
Jordi Clos
Barça have won the Copa Catalunya for the sixth time after beating Espanyol on penalties. The ninety minutes were well-matched, but somewhat lacking in intensity.
The first of the two Barça v Espanyol derbies of the week has been won by the former thanks to a
penalty shoot-out after the sides could not be split during regulation time. Both sides opted to
field what were essentially their reserve sides, and despite a gripping first 25 minutes, most of
the match was a generally lethargic affair.
Early goal
Barça scored with their first real attack of the game. Belletti moved up the field and caught
the very deep Espanyol defence unawares with a through ball to Ezquerro who beat the offside goal
to slot the ball past Gorka (min.8). Espanyol had their own chances to replicate the action against
Jorquera, including a Coro effort that rebounded back off the bar.
From 0-2 to 1-1
Espanyol pushed forward, and Barça again caught their defence napping with a long ball to
Giovani, whose effort struck the post. And seconds after Barça could have stretched their lead, the
scores were levelled following a delightful three-man move involving Moha, Fede and Pedraza
(min.24).
Following the equaliser, both sides seemed to take their feet off the accelerator. Neither
side was dominating the proceedings, with the only talking point being an Espanyol goal that was
immediately disallowed for offside.
Continuous interruptions
Barça were more incisive in the second half, but their efforts led to little more than
speculative long shots. With Valverde and Rijkaard making a seemingly interminable number of
substitutions, it was very hard for any kind of rhythm to be created in what developed into an
untidily stop-start affair.
Two great chances
Moha enjoyed Espanyol’s finest chance to edge ahead in the 68th minute with a header
from inside the six-yard box. That was the wake up call Barcelona needed, and Motta was unfortunate
with a 77th minute strike. But although those two moves suggested the last ten minutes were going
to bring a bit of excitement at last, that did not turn out to be the case, and from then on both
sides seemed content to let the clock tick its way down to a penalty shoot out.
Penalty decider
FC Barcelona made no mistake with their spot kicks. Angel had missed Espanyol’s first
attempt, and although all of his team-mates delivered, so did all five of Barça’s penalty
takers. Ezquerro, Giovani, Belletti, Crosas and Motta converted impeccably to bring the Copa
Catalunya crown to FC Barcelona for a record sixth time, and at the same time then squad has
benefited from a major psychological boost ahead of the rematch between the sides in
Saturday’s league encounter.
Preview
A derby final
Sergi Nogueras
The first of back-to-back derbies this weeks sees Barça meet Espanyol in the final of the Copa Catalunya. Rijkaard will once again be fielding a side that includes several reserve players.
The venue is the Nova Creu Alta in Sabadell, and the game will be shown live on Barça TV and Barça
TV Online, kick off at 21:45. The game serves as an interesting prelude to the league match between
the two sides on Saturday evening.
Several reserve team players: Ten of the squad named for tonight’s match
normally play for Barça B, while Sergio Busquets plays for the youth team. Busquets was the only
player that didn’t get onto the pitch in the semi final against Nàstic. One of the main
attractions will be Mexican Giovanni, who scored a brace in that match.
Major absentee: The only change to the team that played last week is the absence
of Ludovic Giuly, who is having problems with his right thigh. Xavi did feature in the final
training session before the match, but Rijkaard has preferred to rest him.
Close semis: Both Barça and Espanyol come into the final after very tight matches
last week. Barça came back from two behind to beat Nàstic (4-3), while Espanyol’s game with
Lleida went to penalties after finishing goalless.
Official sponsors
Copyright - FCBarcelona | Legal Terms | Buy tickets FC Barcelona | This is the FC Barcelona official website