UEFA Champions League: Rubin Kazan vs. Barcelona – Full Time Report (Part 1)
As the first half ended, Rubin Kazan were leading the match 1-0 on their home ground while Barcelona were trailing behind them again and history was repeating itself. Only this time Barcelona were not at their home but were away
to Russia. The goal was given away by Daniel Alves after he made a reckless tackle on Noboa who scored the first goal of the game to shock the world as the Russian Champions were leading one of the greatest teams in Europe, Barcelona.
The second half began and there were no substitutions from either side. There were plenty of options for both the teams to change, as Barcelona had Keita on the bench and also the experienced French left back, Eric Abidal.
When the second half started, Barcelona were right back at attacking and it was Pedro who became a threat again during the second half as he went past two defenders after a lovely through ball from Xavi Hernandez. Despite the well-timed
run, he only managed to cross the ball to the defender and was left shouting for a hand ball; a hand ball which did not really happen.
Rubin Kazan were barely getting a touch on the ball while Barcelona were the ones who were confidently passing the ball around. The captain of the team Noboa was pretty much silent in the start of the second half and the only goal
scorer of the match was not even seen once.
On the other hand, Pedro managed to cross the ball from the right again which found Iniesta but he only managed to flick it to the Rubin Kazan defender. Two minutes later, Sergio Busquets found David Villa, who shot the ball towards
the goal but the defender came in the way and the ball was deflected outside for a corner. The corner was taken in by the goalkeeper and the "threat" was well evaded by the Russian champions.
All the Russian supporters were looking at the sidelines of the midfield during the 54th minute as Lionel Messi was the one who was warming up. Even though the doctors did not really give the pass to play for Barcelona,
he was still in Russia to perform for his team.
On the other hand, Barcelona were playing their usual passing game and during the 55th minute Xavi Hernandez was fouled outside the 18 yard box. The free kick was taken by the Spanish striker David Villa but he failed
to hit the target.
During the 58th minute of the game, Andres Iniesta managed to pass three defenders and he was fouled inside the penalty area just like Alves managed to foul Noboa early on. The penalty was given and David Villa was the
one who took it. He managed to squeeze it past the goalkeeper even though Ryzhikov got his hand on the ball, the ball still managed to crawl into the net.
At the hour mark, the first substitution was made as Mascherano was taken off and the world's best player Lionel Messi was the one who came on and took his favourite right wing position.
Right after Messi's introduction, Villa crossed the ball into the box and after a sloppy bag pass from the defence, Alves got the ball at his feet but he did not really manage to finish it perfectly. On the other hand the South
African player MacBeth Sibaya was the one who came on for the Russian Champions during the 62nd minute.
Barcelona got a wonderful chance during the 63rd minute when Villa managed to hit the goalkeeper after a wonderfully headed ball from Pedro Rodriguez. Another substitution took place for the Russian champions as Karadeniz
came off for the newly signed Martins.
Barcelona finally managed to make a breakthrough during the 58th
minute after completing more than 400 passes till the 66th minute of the game.
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