The Result: RCD Espanyol 1-5 FC Barcelona
RESULT:
RCD Espanyol: 1
FC Barcelona: 5
GOALSCORERS:
RCD Espanyol: Osvaldo (63′)
FC Barcelona: Pedo (19′, 60′), Xavi (30′) and Villa (76′, 84′)
LINEUPS:
RCD Espanyol: Kameni, Forlin, Ruiz, Didac, Torres, Baena, Marquez, Verdu, Callejon, L. Garcia and Osvaldo
FC Barcelona: Valdes, Alves, Pique, Puyol, Abidal, Sergio, Xavi, Iniesta, Pedro, Messi and Villa
SUBSTITUTES:
RCD Espanyol: D. Garcia, S. Garcia, Datolo, Alonso, Alvarez, Amat and Vasquez
FC Barcelona: Pinto, Keita, Mascherano, Adriano, Maxwell, Thiago and Bojan
SUBSTITUTIONS:
RCD Espanyol: Datolo for L. Garcia (61′), Torres on for Amat (64′) and D. Garcia on for Didac (81′)
FC Barcelona: Mascherano on for Busquets (79′), Keita on for Iniesta (86′) and Bojan on for Pedro (88′)
CAUTIONS:
RCD Espanyol: Kameni (31′), Baena (36′), Osvaldo (37′), Marquez (41′) and Ruiz (67′)
FC Barcelona: Busquets (26′), Pique (54′) and Alves (70′)
yeah,agree with Max,it was clearly not Busi's best game,he couldnt handle the high pressure of Espanyol(just like he did vs Kopenhagen),not happy with Alves today either but its still a game,both have been quite consistent so far in this year
i keep thinking this team cannot impress me anymore, and then i watch another game.
wow. i'm seriously running out of things to say, haha!
thanks for the correction georgesk… ur absolutely right… there's no team that has all the necessary elements to play football the way barca does. because it's not just about a collection of superstars with good skills (hint hint real madrid!). it's about a culture of football that takes years to develop and must be delicately handled. it's about the power of a youth system. it's about absolute club loyalty. it's about love for the club and love for the game, as opposed to love for a high-value contract. these are things that u can't just create overnight, let alone create them at all! this club has no place for big egos. it has no place for arrogance. it has no place for cockiness. you can be a a highly skilled player, but without humility and modesty (hint hint ibra!), u will not be able to fit into the system. to belong to this culture you must, as a player, derive your happiness and sense of achievement from what the team achieves overall first, and from what you achieve individually second. not the other way around.
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By the way – new haircut from Xavi. ♥
Exactly — except it's also a downer that Pedro didn't get a hat trick
It's definitely a depressing time to be a Barca fan, but I'm going to keep supporting them, and hope things improve 
Visca Barca! Awesome performance. Brutally 'A' class. Philosophically impressive. F-ing ART! Hail all the Barca philosophers.
amazing game from Barca and I'm gonna say this even though most of you guys won't agree but i didn't like how Messi played today he is still the best out there but he didn't seem as hungry as he used to be whenever he finishes an attack he walks back and one time in this game he got caught outside cause of it, could have been a goal scoring opportunity for him and he seems less active now then he used to be… Dunno if its because i expect alot from Messi.
I can say we are much better since 08/09 season. Our offensive rotation is more fluid, Messi is probably in his best form ever, Villa and Pedro are awesome and we are winning matches that we had lost back in '09.
Maybe this will probably be our easiest CL domination so far, but its still early to make predictions.
Iniesta is a legend. Damn, i don't wanna this era to end….
I have been following Barca for 25 years and I honestly believe this is the most 'complete' team we have ever had. I say complete because our defence is excellent unlike other team were we were more vulnerable at the back. Abidal has had allot of criticism but this season he has been excellent. Our midfield is the best we have ever had and Bousquets is improving every game. Our attack with Pedro playing some incredible football, Villa is just brilliant and there are no words for Messi. Visca el' Barca.
Yeah.. I agree.. Its good we make so many chances… But if we have to be extra critical, which is something Isure Pep is doing, then those would be the points…
The way we are playing I doubt there ever will be a time when we dont make so many chances… but against teams which park the bus we cant make so many chances and then this becomes an issue
So basically i was just being super critical of our performance..
wow wow wee waa,very nice !
busi had to lay low from pep and everyone saw how pep told he had to play a lot less aggresive cuz hr had a yellow card and pep kbew a 10 team barca couldnt handle espanyol.
i c this a good move by pep and busi did what he was told brilliantly.
only thing was, he could have replaced him by masch a bit sooner.
"2- Pedro, is on an amazing form right now, i hope some of it rubs off on Bojan"
Pedro is on fire at the moment, but not much will rub off on Bojan, because Pedro is doing things on the pitch that Bojan is just not capable of. Speed, Skill, Strength – Pedro has everything that Bojan is lacking.
I don't think there will be many changes from today's line-up. Maybe Maxwell for Abidal or Mascherano for Busquets, but I bet that Pep and the team will try to put that tie out of Athletic's reach in the 1st leg. A win with two or three goals difference and he can start to incorporate Thiago, Jeffren or Bojan in the 2nd leg.
i felt the same way after we conceded the goal:/..midfield couldve had better possession but nontheless- amazing performance against a tough rival.
I wholeheartedly agree with you. We missed chance after chance and then Osvaldo scored. For the moment it doesn't much matter, but when the time comes and we face a team in Inter's defensive category we have to be clinical.
We shouldn't get carried away by these results–trophies are won in May, not in December.
Guys this is amazing, winning the hardest matches with 5 goals is OMG !!! This is the best of Barca, I am very proud on this team. Keep this going guys !!! Visca BARCA <3
You guys forgot Afellay, he will be part of the squad from next week.
I agree that Pedro has better skills than Bojan, but I think part of it is playing time. Pedro played 88 minutes this game, and Bojan played three, and even so, Bojan almost scored twice! He does lack the finishing ability that Pedro has, but its very difficult to really get in the swing of the game when you've only just come on, so I think, some credit to him.
Is anyone else starting to love Pedro more and more?
We like five, don't we? great game
yeezz I like!
I predict this line up.
pinto
adriano-pique-fontas-maxwell
thiago-mascherano-keita
pedro-messi-bojan
jeffren and milito both rusty at this time… this is a important game and the first leg at home/ and its crucial to build a healthy lead. Pique is suspended for the levante game, and he didn't play againsnt real sociedad. Im sure he will partner fontas.
I completely agree with vganguly above about the finishing. It also seems like there needs to be work done on set pieces — we're not as deadly with free kicks and corners as other teams at this level are. Otherwise, though, this game was a thing of beauty, as always. The attacking wingers especially shone.
I don't know about that. We'll see what happens when the going gets tougher starting from January. Right now we're playing well and getting the results to match what we do on the pitch. The 08/09 will never be repeated because that team took everyone by surprise, including yours truly, and that Real Madrid wasn't as strong as it is now.
Good game. Tougher games will come. If we relax now all the pretty football we've played thus far will count for nothing.
i just love this team those guys are wonderfull,a big hailling to puyol i love him…..
I would really like to see how we play against Chelsea, only after we got 'manita against that Chelsea then they will shut up about the 0809 CL semi.
All the more why you should be in awe of of this team. The fact that they beat a Real side thats probably one of their best teams in a while by FIVE GOALS tells me that this side has already surpassed 08/09 in terms of quality of play and is out to set a new standard.
But I agree we MUST continue into the second half of the season when things will be more difficult, what with the more meaningful matches coming all at once… It can take a game to slip up and end up with no trophies..
But I believe in this Barca team, always will!
Visca Barca!