Goodbye to the Cup (3-2) 



Barça have said goodbye to the King’s Cup. For the 2nd year in a row they have been knocked out at the final hurdle. 2-0 down at half-time was too much, despite goals from Henry and Eto’o almost making for a remarkable comeback.


Defensive errors proved costly in this return leg of the semi-final. Barça were superior in possession and fought to the end; they controlled the pace of the game and just like the first leg, they created more chances than their opponents. However, they were poor in defence and it cost them dear. Three goals from Valencia, especially Mata’s brace, one before half time and the other just after Barça had got it back to 2-1 – left too much work to do, despite Henry (72 min) and Eto’o (80 min) grabbing the goals to make a comeback possible.

Barça dominate but lose

The start of the game was dominated by the azulgranas and Milito (3 min) and Iniesta (4 min) could have opened the scoring. Valencia played tight at the back and were happy to wait and hit on the counter. But it was a poor defensive clearance that led to the first goal. Baraja latched on to the lose ball and rifled home from the edge of the area.

A second just on half time

Things got a bit messy at 1-0. Barça started to lose a lot of possession in the centre and gave the home side come chances to counter. Koeman’s side then started to look more comfortable in defence without actually playing better. Things got better for the locals though when some quick football by Valencia finished with Mata slotting home on the stroke of half time. So a pretty negative 2-0 half-time scoreline and a real blow to morale for Barça.

Enter Henry

After the restart Barcelona continued pressing but they showed the same inaccuracies as the first half. Rijkaard saw that his side were not creating chances and brought on Henry for Touré, playing him in Iniesta’s position on the left of the attack. It proved a key switch as the French number 14 cut the deficit when he headed home Sylvinho’s left wing cross (Sylvinho had earlier replaced Abidal). Barça were still in it.

Mata, lethal

The 2-1, however, was short lived. Immediately afterwards, Silva put the ball in the Barca box and found Mata alone and he powered home. It was now 3-1 and once again the visitors need two goals to make the final, but now there were only 15 minutes remaining. Barça didn’t drop their heads and continued attacking Hildebrand’s goal with ever increasing intensity.

Eto'o makes it 3-2

Valencia were now putting everyone behind the ball but Eto’o still managed to get through to make it 3-2 in the 80th minute. Barça’s attacks were becoming constant and Valencia did what they could to waste as much time as posible. They did everything they could to win the game. Barça, on the other hand, despite their courageous effort, were once again knocked out at the final hurdle.

izvor:fc barcelona   

Laporta: “Eliminated with dignity” 



The president of FC Barcelona has recognised the effort of the team in Mestalla on Thursday and hopes the players can lift themselves for the remainder of the season.
After the game, Joan Laporta first congratulated Valencia on reaching the final. But secondly he said that “we have been eliminated but with dignity. We were within touching distance but in the end it wasn’t to be”. Both Laporta and the dressing room have resorted to continue fighting in the final stages of the season with the league and Champions League still to play for.

Lift the spirits

Joan Laporta believes that now is not the time to look back but “to look forward”. Therefore it’s necessary to “raise our spirits. We are all sad about what happened and how it happened. We have to lift our morale and get the right spirit to face the remainder of the season”, said the president. Apart from the league, Barça have the quarter-finals of the Champions League to play. Laporta believes that “today I have seen a team that can win the Champions League”.

Dressing room - sad

The captain Carles Puyol also spoke after the game and said he was sad at just missing out on the final again: “The team gave it everything, they fought hard, but that’s football. I understand the fans are hurt but I can only say that we will fight for the competitions that are left”.

For his part, Sylvinho said “it’s a difficult moment. It’s a very bad night but we have to move forward because there’s no other way”.

izvor:fc barcelona

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