Spanish La Liga: Athletic Bilbao vs. Barcelona – Half Time Report (Part 2)
Barcelona conceded a free kick when Puyol fouled Martinez close to the half way line. Martinez had a good opportunity from the penalty area but the shot was well deflected by Pique and it was gifted to Bilbao for a corner.
The corner was well defended by the Catalan giants and it was David Villa who tried to counter attack but slipped to lose possession.
The 33rd minute challenge by Amorebieta caused a bit of concern for Barcelona as Iniesta was screaming with pain. The 61 times yellow card holder and 7 red cards holder was shown a straight red, however
the challenge did not deserve such a treating and the player only deserved a yellow card.
Barcelona were already leading in terms of shots on goal and in terms of possession and now the home side were a man down against the Spanish La Liga champions. In the last 9 games, Athletic Bilbao have only won a single
game against Barcelona and now Barcelona were not only on mental but also physical advantage.
Barcelona won a corner right after the booking and now Barcelona were trying to score a goal while the home side were only defending and playing for a draw. Pedro Rodriguez was fouled right outside the 18 yard box during
the 41st minute of the game. Dani Alves and Xavi Hernandez sprinted towards the dead ball to take a free kick while David Villa was also standing at the same place to score from the free kick. Xavi took the free kick from his stronger
right foot and only managed to hit the wall while the ball deflected out for a corner.
The corner was very well taken but the home side managed to counter attack and it was the striker Pedro who managed to fall back for his team and defend the threat the opposition were providing to Barcelona's defence.
Andres Iniesta was the player who was shining the brightest for his team and the Blaugrana players were relying a lot on the winning goal scorer of the FIFA World Cup 2010. Andres Iniesta was applauded by the Athletic Bilbao
supporters as well because he was the one who helped the Spanish team lift the trophy with the help of his "wonder goal" against Netherlands in the final match of the FIFA World Cup 2010.
The first half was about to end and Barcelona kept on trying to goal as they were still at a man's advantage. It was David Villa who managed to take the final shot on goal and it was curled well for the goal but it couldn't
find the target.
The final whistle was blown right after the shot from David Villa. The current Spanish La Liga winners, Barcelona were leading the match in terms of possession and shots on goal. After the red card, they were also winning
the match in terms of men on pitch. Barcelona were totally lucky as they were at a man's advantage while Lionel Messi's absence wasn't greatly felt as Andres Iniesta provided the team with some extremely fabulous moments.
However, the game was far from over as the home team was trying to capitalize over counter attacking football and that is the only way how Barcelona's defence can be broken. On the other hand, Barcelona have been able to
break the "greatest" of defences, but they did not manage to break Athletic Bilbao's yet. Will they be able to score another goal? We can only wait for the second half to end.
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