FCBARCELONA.CAT

07.10.2008 13:09

One goal every sixteen corners

Anna Segura

Josep Guardiola’s side considers corners to be goalscoring opportunities, for in the eight official matches played so far this season, no fewer than four goals have come from corner kicks.

Rafael Márquez, twice, Eto'o once and Sporting Gijón’s Jorge in his own net have scored Barça’s goals from corners. The new-look Barça have been working on strategies from this particular set piece, and the results are shining through.

Highly effective

Including the six league games played to date and the two Champions League fixtures, Barça have been awarded a total of 63 corners. That means that one in every 16 corners have led directly to goals. That’s a stunningly better average than last season, when Barça only scored from one out of every 189 corners. In fact, Barça only scored two goals from corners in the whole of last season. A truly remarkable difference that goes to show just how much things are improving in every department under Guardiola.

Opening accounts

The players that are making the biggest difference when it comes to corner kicks are the defenders, for this is one of the few times when they move up into the opposing area to put pressure on the rival goal.

There is no better case in point than Rafa Márquez, who has already scored twice from corners this season. On both occasions the Mexican scored from headers, and both those goals were Barça’s first of the night against Sporting Lisbon ( 3-1 ) and Atlético Madrid ( 6-1 ).

Eto'o on target too

Against Sporting Gijón ( 1-6 ), Barça were awarded an astounding eleven corners in just 32 minutes. And sure enough, one of those produced a goal, the second of the night against Manuel Preciado’s side, in which Puyol stroked the ball on to Eto'o, and the Cameroonian nodded home.

The other Barça goal from a corner came in the same match, but it was not one of our players that scored it, but Jorge of Sporting, who put the ball in his own net.