February slip ups nothing new

The two points dropped in Gijon on Saturday night seem to confirm that February is always something of a tricky month for Guardiola’s Barça. Below we look at the stats that support that, as well as more facts and figures from the game.

Two records over

The draw put an end to two excellent records: 16 successive La Liga victories and 10 away wins on the run – both La Liga records.

► February can indeed be the cruellest month for this Barça team, with Saturday night’s draw against Sporting following on from last year’s single league defeat away to Atletico Madrid (14th February) and the three game run without a win against Betis, Espanyol and Atletico Madrid in the same month two seasons ago. On both occasions, of course, the team went on to take the title and in both cases carried on unbeaten until the title was theirs.

► The draw in Gijon could easily have been a Barça win – Guardiola’s men had six shots against Sporting’s single, successful, effort.

► Piqué (15) and Milito (14) won most possession and Xavi (126) made most passes.

► Valdés conceded his first away goal since the visit to Cornella in December.

► The yellow cards handed to Valdés and Mascherano were their fourths of the season and they are both now just a card away from suspension.

► Valdés and Iniesta continue to be the only players to have started every league game.

► The absences of Busquets (on the bench) and Puyol (injured) means that they both maintain their personal records of 22 and 21 wins on the trot respectively.

► It’s been four months since Barça have had to come from behind in a league game: that was on October 16th when they overturned a Valencia lead to win 2-1 at the Camp Nou.

Villa: “it was a thrilling game”

David Villa was naturally enough pretty happy with his goal on Saturday night, though he also explained: “Sporting managed to close down the players who create for us”.

Photos: Miguel Ruiz-FCB.

Day off on Sunday

The squad have Sunday off and will be back in training on Monday at 11.00 at the Ciutat Esportiva Joan Gamper .

After the game , Villa gave his take on the match: “Sporting managed to do what a lot of teams have been trying for some time – they closed down the players who create for us”. The Spain striker also made it clear that the midweek international games hadn’t affected the team: “there was no FIFA virus, it was very hard work for us because of Sporting, they played well and the draw was down to that rather than any failing on our part”.

Pleased with his goal
It was a special night in Gijon, for the Sporting fans as well as for the returning local hero himself and Villa explained: “it was a thrilling game and you have to give the home fans a 10 for the support they gave their team which made it much harder for us. I’ve got a lot of affection for the people here, but I’m a professional and I have to do the best for my team”. On an individual level, Villa admitted: “I’m pleased with my goal and that it gave us a point, but on the whole, we didn’t get what we came for and so that creates some mixed feelings”.

Below are the post match comments from some of the other players:
Dani Alves
“The game was difficult after they went ahead. They drew back and made it hard for us to play and to get through”.

“We improved in the second half. We got the goal and with a bit more luck we could have nicked it. On the whole we did a good job though and that’s what we have to continue to do”.

“Every game is hard and winning is always difficult, even though we are used to it with this run of wins we’ve had. We took another point and we have to be happy with that”.

“The team worked hard and made a great effort”.

“We are trying to reach a deal (with the club for his contract renewal) and I hope it’s sorted out as soon as possible”.

Víctor Valdés
“It’s a pity we dropped two points here – they were very important for us. Now we have to turn our attention to Europe”.

“We had our chances, but we didn’t take them”.

“Sporting did what they had to do very well and that’s what this league is about. We just have to take it one game at a time”.

Javier Mascherano
“It’s one point, it’s not what we wanted. We were better in the second half , but it didn’t feel good tonight”.

“The positives are that the team reacted and we made chances”.

“If you can’t win, it’s important not to lose and we’ll see at the end of the season how important that point was”.

“Now we have to focus on the Champions League”.

Xavi Hernández
“We go to bed eight points ahead of Real Madrid –let’s see what happens tomorrow!”

rooney is back

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - FEBRUARY 12: Wayne Rooney of Manchester United celebrates after he scores a goal from an overhead kick during the Barclays Premier League match between Manchester United and Manchester City at Old Trafford on February 12, 2011 in Manchester, England.




szólj hozzá: Mu2-1MaC


It’s taken about 10 months, but it looks as though Wayne Rooney has finally found his scoring boots.

The Manchester United striker scored the winning goal in the Manchester Derby Saturday from a fantastic overhead kick in what was only his fourth goal from open play all season. All of those goals have come since the new year. Before that, he had just two penalty scores to his name.

Rooney wasn’t fantastic during the whole game Saturday, but he showed he is still a world class striker and can prove it to you at any moment.

Before January rolled around, Rooney had had a rather terrible time since he was injured in a quarterfinal match against Bayern Munich in last season’s Champions League, and his poor form really stuck out for England in the World Cup.

Things didn’t get any better when he got back to Manchester. Strike partner Dimitar Berbatov started the season off flying while Rooney was still sputtering. Then came all those off-field issues that made him an even bigger target for other teams and their fans.

The worst stint in Rooney’s season came last October when Sir Alex Ferguson announced his star striker had stopped contract negotiations, and the next day, Rooney and his representatives announced that Rooney no longer believed United had the right ambitions, and he wished to leave.

This was possibly one of the dumbest PR moves in history as even if it was true, Rooney would still have to stay in a Red Devils uniform for a few months. Fans were livid, and some even gathered outside the player’s home one night.
107782714_original_crop_340x234 With Dimitar Berbatov bang on form all season long and Rooney finally joining him, Manchester United is a bit scary.
Ian Walton/Getty Images

But a few days later all was well; United was suddenly ambitious again, and Rooney signed a new contract that bumped him up to the team’s highest-paid player. He clearly doesn’t employ a PR advisor.

Unfortunately, the new contract did nothing to improve Rooney’s form as he continued to struggle, but the boos did subside some.

Now, finally it looks as though the old Wayne Rooney is back. What’s even better is Berbatov hasn’t slowed down, and while that’s all great for United, it’s pretty awful for just about everyone else.

United will take on Crawley Town in the FA Cup next weekend, then Marseille in the Last 16 of the Champions League, and now they’re eight points clear of City having played a game less and are four points clear of Arsenal.

They may not be favored over a side like Barcelona in the Champions League, but they’re looking very strong everywhere else, and if Rooney really is back, you can only expect Manchester United to keep marching on. Marching on to a record 19th Premier League title.

Liverpool fans, just tell yourselves that all of United’s titles have come in the Barclays Premier League era when money ruled the sport, and your champion teams of yesteryear would have no problems dispatching any of Ferguson's. Or just pray Arsenal can pull off some real magic.

Guardiola: “We can draw if that’s how it is”

Pep Guardiola was unhappy to have to settle for a point, but was pleased at the way his players had battled. The game has served to show Barça are not unbeatable and Guardiola was also impressed with the way Sporting had approached it.

Barça have dropped two points at El Molinón, but can still come away with their heads held high. Pep Guardiola described the 1-1 result as follows: “I am not satisfied with a point. If you don’t win it’s not a good result. I’d have been satisfied if things hadn’t gone as they did”. But the manager was happy with the way his team played, especially in the second half: “Just because we’re Barça doesn’t mean we should always win, we can lose or draw if that’s how it is. Insisting, insisting and insisting.”

Difficult opponent
The second half was a monologue of Barça pressure on a team enclosed in its own half. Guardiola was impressed by the tactics deployed by Preciado. “I think Sporting played perfect, Manolo approached the game well … We didn’t win but we did all we could to do so. It is not easy to attack against ten defenders”. The Barça manager said he had “expected a game like this … We knew they’d come out strong”.

No complaints
On the first half, when Barça were a goal down to Sporting, Pep Guardiola said “we can’t judge it as a question of aggressiveness, after three years we can’t go falling into that trap.” Neither did he feel the international break was to blame. “At Barça you have to go out and compete every three days and these players have shown they can do that millions of times”.

He then added that “I know why this game was much harder for us, it’s a question of movements and we were lacking depth … we’re not unbeatable.” He went on to say that “I have no complaints. We go all around Spain showing people who we are and that is already enough.”

The winning streak
The draw at Sporting has brought an end to the stunning run of sixteen consecutive league wins. Said Guardiola, “when a run like that comes to an end you value it even more, because we have won at grounds like this … We should have to play in more places like this where the team plays for their lives. It’s terribly tough to have to compete with them.”

City climb football's rich list

 

The rich list
1. Real Madrid £359.1m
2. Barcelona £325.9m
3. Man United £286.4m
4. Bayern Munich £264.5m
5. Arsenal £224.4m
6. Chelsea £209.5m
7. AC Milan £193.1m
8. Liverpool £184.5m
9. Inter Milan £184.1m
10. Juventus £167.8m
11. Manchester City £125.1m
12. Tottenham £119.8m
13. Hamburg £119.7 m
14. Lyon £119.6m
15. Marseille £115.5m
16. Schalke £114.5m
17. Atletico Madrid £101.9m
18. Roma £100.5m
19. Stuttgart £94m
20. Aston Villa £89.6m

Manchester City are the biggest movers in Deloitte's annual review of finance after the Premier League club climbed nine positions in European football's rich list.

The Eastlands outfit recorded a revenue increase of 44 per cent to £125million for the year ending 30th June 2010, but they still trail derby rivals and third-placed Manchester United, Arsenal (fifth), Chelsea (sixth), who are all non-movers.
City also sit behind Liverpool, despite the Merseysiders dropping a place to eighth due to their failure to qualify for the UEFA Champions League.
But from revenue figures calculated by British accountancy firm Deloitte, billionaire owner Sheikh Mansour's impact is evident at City.
Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona remain the world biggest money-makers as they sit first and second, respectively, and they are helped by the uneven distribution of broadcasting rights from domestic competitions.
Tottenham climbed three positions to 12th on the back of their successful season in 2009/10, when Harry Redknapp steered the Londoners to the Champions League, while Aston Villa sit in 20th place.