FC Barcelona takes the pitch against Málaga FC Wednesday, September 24, 2014, at La Rosaleda for round 5 of La Liga, watch times in the USA are 1 P.M. Pacific Daylight/4 P.M. Eastern. The away game will be the biggest test so far in the early season to see if Barça can continue their streak. The match falls in the middle of a tough week with three games in La Liga, and the second round of the Champions League next Tuesday, leaving little recovery for the players.
Speaking to the press after team training today, Team Manager Luis Enriquez is expecting a challenge Wednesday, but hopes Málaga doesn’t create too much danger for them. “They’re a team that play as a unit,” he said. “The way they play the long ball, the way they play from dead ball situations…is going to be a challenge for us to continue collecting points.” Still, Enriquez refuses to dwell on Barça’s success thus far, “We need to get to March/April, still involved in all competitions and still with a chance of winning,” he said. “I need to keep running the team on a day-to-day basis, aiming for that. Nobody wins leagues in September/October, not even in January/February.”
After a small scare Sunday where Neymar was tackled, taking him out of the game, the top scorer of the team practiced today alongside his team. He trained with no restrictions, confirming that the minor ankle injury Sunday was of no concern.
Naturally, with a winning streak such as theirs, the focus lies on the front line. Though they may get the glory, it was also due to the strength in the midfield Sunday where Rakitic shined. Key plays also by Sergio Busquets, created a lot of the opportunities that ended in goals. “I think that’s part of a teams’ repertoire.” Enriquez added, “It’s nice to have variety when it comes to attacking. When you’re playing as a team that likes to keep it defensive, then any shot from anywhere can be useful.”
However, nothing is guaranteed in football. Málaga believe they can put up a good fight. Midfielder for Málaga and former Barça’s B team reserve Luis Alberto, believes the home team will be tough to beat. In an interview posted by the team, he added, “We need to do our job well, and I’m sure the coach is preparing a difficult match. If it’s true we’ll have two chances to score, then we need to be successful as the rival won’t let us get away with anything.”
The last time Málaga were able to gain points against Barça was 2005/2006, which ended in a 0-0 draw. Team Manager Javi Garcia said they will treat it as just another game. In a pre-match press conference he added, “The preparations will be the same as any other, even though the rival has more strengths than weaknesses. I’m only concerned with my players and ensuring we play our best football.” He concluded, “If we lose, the fans will understand, but if we win, they’ll remember it for life.”
The minor faults in Barça currently lie in the defense. Having conceded zero goals thus far shows the strength of the midfield and front line, that the mistakes in the back have not cost them. “No doubt, there are things in defense that really need to be improved to continue keeping these clean sheets,” Enriquez admitted. “We’ve been working very hard to keep improving and to perfect different things, in a global context, where things seem to be making us stronger.”
If Mathieu is in the line-up tomorrow, which is a strong probability considering he has the most minutes on the pitch this season of any defender, Barça would have to hope he plays better than he did on Sunday. However, Enriquez dismissed any concerns, “These things happen. All the players make mistakes…if you’re playing center-back, there are mistakes that are more noticeable.”
Based on the cohesiveness of the team, and the flexibility of the midfield, Barcelona should come out on top once again. Line-ups are to be announced early Wednesday.
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
Barcelona Continues Streak Crushing Levante 5-0
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| Leo Messi celebrates with Ivan Rakitic Sunday, each scored a goal against Levante. Photo: Miguel Ruiz - FCB |
At a pre-match press conference Saturday, posted by SB Nation, Enriguez stated he is cautioning his squad from entering matches overconfident. Even though they faced Levante, who so far is winless for the season, Enriquez added, “Every away game is tough, and Levante is no different. Our priority and objective is to be better than the team we’re playing against…remember this is a sport where two teams play, not just Barça.”
The line-up Sunday had Bravo in goal, with Pedro, Messi, and Neymar up front. Alba was the most effective in the defensive line, with Mascherano, Alves, and Mathieu alongside. The team dominated the pitch from the start but took until the 34th minute to open the scoreboard. The goal by Neymar has made him the lead scorer of the team so far. Not long after the game’s second goal by Ivan Rakitic, Levante’s Loukas Vyntra was given a red card by fouling Messi, leaving them further exposed.
Neymar suffered a minor ankle injury, staying down long enough to have him pulled from the game. He was up and walking soon after and not very happy by the decision. Seems Enriquez is playing it safe, trying to maintain his players for several important games coming up.
Sandro Ramirez came in as a substitute and not long after, an assist by Messi lead him to score their third goal. Later on Messi scored a fourth, followed by Pedro with their final goal to win the game.
It seems Barça can do no wrong, which should be concerning to upcoming opponents considering Luis Suarez has yet to play. Suarez, the top goal-scorer in the Premier League last season, continues his suspension until later next month.
While Enriquez is very happy with how his players have done thus far, he maintains there remains room for improvement. “I will say the new players that have come have caught the ideas very, very quickly.” He has been criticized for playing B-team players before some A-team players who are waiting for minutes on the pitch.
“I know that we have a lot of games in very few days and I need to know how I’m going to manage my squad for that time.” He continued, “This is a journey that is always evolving. I think there are certain aspects of the game that we haven’t even been able to work on yet really. There are only so many things you can do in the time I have been at the club.” Seems to be working, as fans can be heard chanting Enriquez name at Camp Nao.
"We just have to go out there and compete as hard and as well as we possibly can." He concluded, "This is going to be evolving from here on. Judgment day is at the end of the season. And that’s when you can judge yourself on the level of our performances.” Next game is Wednesday in La Liga against Málaga.
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