Spanish La Liga – Barcelona vs. Real Sociedad – First Half Report (Part 2)
The former Liverpool player Javier Mascherano was playing in the Barcelona first team and the Argentinean captain definitely had a point to prove. However, it was during the seventh minute that a reckless challenge from him saw him being booked. The Argentinean
holding midfielder simply slid in with his eyes closed and could not really tackle the ball as he found himself in the referee’s books and was shown a yellow card.
The very next minute, Xavi Hernandez was fouled in his own half but he took the advantage and passed the ball onto Pedro Rodriguez. The Spanish winger did not waste time to pass it on to Andres Iniesta who gave a wonderful pass back to Pedro Rodriguez. The
Barcelona number 17 showed great skill on the right flank and drove the ball in towards David Villa who found himself open on the far post and tapped the ball in to score the first goal of the game during the 8th minute. Barcelona were already on
their way towards victory as they scored the first goal early in the game.
The Spanish Giants were taking all the chances and the very next minute saw a cross from Andres Iniesta finding Pedro Rodriguez inside the danger zone. The Spaniard showed great skill on the ball and shot the ball at the goal but could not find the back
of the net, this would have been the goal which could probably seal the game off, but was sadly wasted. The visitors were feeling dumbfounded as the extreme possession holding football by Barcelona was just too brilliant to handle for the newly promoted Spanish
La Liga side.
Barcelona got a wonderful opportunity right before the half hour mark. While trying to make a move forward, the Catalan Giants passed their way through towards Real Sociedad’s danger zone. It was David Villa who played a superb pass towards Lionel Messi.
The Argentinean maestro was able to dribble it past the Real defender but his shot only found the defender. However, the ball was deflected back towards Lionel Messi and he decided to pass it back towards Xavi Hernandez. The midfield magician, Xavi Hernandez
gave a wonder ball to David Villa who gave a pass to the Brazilian full back Daniel Alves. Alves found himself alone in front of goal but even with an open goal in front of him, he could not tap the ball inside and a great chance was wasted by the Blaugrana
wearing side.
Despite the fact that the Spanish Giants wasted a chance, they did have another one after two minutes. During the 33rd minute, the right winger Pedro Rodriguez combined well with Daniel Alves on the right flank. The Brazilian full back decided
not to cross the ball as he dribbled past the Sociedad defender and passed the ball back to Andres Iniesta. The World Cup winning goal scorer moved on and passed the ball towards Pedro Rodriguez. Pedro did not waste any time and touched it back to Iniesta
who took the shot on goal and managed to score the second goal of the game.
Barcelona were at the top of their game as they kept 70% of the possession of the ball. They took 12 shots on goal compared to Real Sociedad’s only 2. It was simply remarkable to see how the Catalan Giants were combining well with each other and keeping
their extraordinary form.
With the first half ending and Barcelona leading the game in terms of everything, the Spanish Champions were definitely looking to be going at the top of the table as they totally dominated the game.
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