22.09.2008 14:43
Set-piece ploys on a roll
Berta Brau
Four out ten goals coming from headers show that Barça are getting the most out of their set-piece game. The team has seven strikes from three League encounters and that makes them second in the goal scoring list.
Sunday’s third League fixture brought a handsome win, three points and some pretty impressive
facts and figures.
Three set-piece goals
Barcelona may have had a poor record on converting set-pieces into goals last season, but
that’s changed this campaign. Four out of the team’s eight goals in the League and
Champions League have been headers that came out of set-pieces. In Sunday’s 6-1 win over
Sporting Gijon, for example, Xavi, Eto'o and Messi all headed home after moves that began with a
corner. Moreover, Barça’s third strike at El Molinón was an own-goal when Jorge accidentally
headed the ball into his own net at the near post from a corner.
Fourth in the Champions League
The fourth header this season resulted from a set-piece in
Barça’s CL debut against Sporting Lisbon (3-1) when Rafa Márquez headed in a Xavi corner to
make it 1-0 to the Catalans.
Six goals in 90 minutes
Barcelona always look to score and the final result at
Molinón showed just what can happen. However, scoring six goals in one game is not easy. Barça did
it in the 1992/93 season when Johann Cruyff’s side visited Zaragoza on matchday 11 and blew
away the Romadera outfit with a brace of goals each for Koeman, Begiristain and Stoichkov. The most
recent hammerings were 0-6 against Atlético de Madrid in the 2006/2007 season and a 6-0 result
against Valencia last term.
Messi is top goalscorer
The thrashing of Sporting Gijon leaves Barça joint second with Real Madrid in the most goals
scored table after three games: each has seven. Only Atlético de Madrid, with nine from three, is
above them. Plus Messi’s two strikes in Gijon put him level with Negredo, Bilic and
Sinama with three goals at the top of the goalscorers’ table.
Ten goals from five players
FC Barcelona’s ten strikes this season have come from five players: Rafa Márquez, Leo Messi,
Andrés Iniesta, Samuel Eto'o and Xavi Hernández. That means that the defence (Márquez), midfield
(Xavi and Iniesta) and attack (Eto'o and Messi) have all already found the back of the net so far
this campaign.