La Liga News: Getafe vs. Barcelona – Lionel Messi’s opener helps Barcelona secure the three points (Part 1)
The Catalan boss, Josep Guardiola simply told his players before the game that the game they are going to play is not going to be easy. It wasn’t totally easy for the tired Spanish side but they still managed to pull off a 3-1 win against Getafe, who looked
to be a very strong home side during the second half.
There was a lot of action and drama during the game and the referee actually gave out nine yellow cards and also two red cards which simply explains how physical the game became. There were many tackles flying around and Getafe tried their best to keep the
ball to themselves as they moved quickly towards the ball so that the Catalan giants cannot continue their “tiki taka” style of play. However, Barcelona were simply a menace in the midfield as Sergio Busquets was given a rest and it was the former Liverpool
man Javier Mascherano who took his position in the midfield.
Pep Guardiola decided to change a few things round as Barcelona took their position while wearing their pink kits. With Victor Valdes being the goal stopper for his side, it was Carles Puyol and Gerard Pique who helped him by being the central defenders.
Daniel Alves featured as a full back on the right flank while the out-of-form French full back Eric Abidal was not seen on the left as the Brazilian full back Maxwell took his place.
Mascherano was the one who played in the holding midfield position as Sergio Busquets was rested for the next match. However, Xavi Hernandez was the one playing in the centre of the midfield and Andres Iniesta was the one who played in the attacking midfield
position but he was often seen running forward from the left flank to aid the strikers.
The three strikers that Guardiola decided to play were David Villa, Lionel Messi and Pedro Rodriguez. The newly signed Villa was playing as a left winger as Lionel Messi featured as a centre forward. Pedro Rodriguez was playing as a right winger for the
Spanish Champions but all three of them kept on switching positions to confuse the oppositions’ defence.
On the other hand, the home side were playing their best men to contain Barcelona in order to win some points but they failed to do so. Getafe’s coach Michel played his number 1 goalkeeper Jordi Codina at the back and the Spaniard did a fine job while standing
guard between the two poles even though he conceded three goals. Pablo Pintos and Cata Diaz featured in the defensive line of Getafe along with Rafa and Mane who featured as full backs.
Two defensive midfielders were played in order to take an advantage in the midfield and Victor Sanchez Mata played in the holding midfield position along with Derek Boateng who simply did not have a good match at all. Francisco Casquero played in the centre
midfield and he was assisted by two midfielders on the flanks, Pedro Rios and the team’s captain Manu Del Moral. Miku featured as the only striker for the home side and he did a fine job trying to score a goal even though he barely got the ball during the
first half.
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