La Liga Lowdown, Jornada 16: Barcelona hit five in emotional Catalan derby

El derbi Barceloní, as it’s referred to in Catalan – the meeting of FC Barcelona and Espanyol, one of Spain’s fiercest rivalries, took place at the Cornellà-El Prat stadium this weekend. However, this time round Espanyol were fighting for more than just their pride. They were fighting to stay in 4th place in the race for Champions League qualification.

Things had been going great for Mauricio Pochettino and his young Espanyol side. His team were unbeaten and had a 100% win record at home this season. That was, until Barcelona showed up on Saturday to ruin the party. But for a moment, it was about more than just a rivalry, more than a game of football. It was about one man: Andrés Iniesta. The Barça midfielder who scored the winning goal in the World Cup final was being cheered louder than anyone – by everyone – Espanyol fans included.

As millions saw during the World Cup final, Iniesta’s goal for Spain was celebrated and dedicated to his great friend Dani Jarque, the former Espanyol captain who died last year. ‘Dani Jarque siempre con nosotros’ – ‘Dani Jarque always with us’ read the shirt which Iniesta revealed to the world after scoring Spain’s 116th minute winner. Earlier this year Iniesta decided that the best place for the shirt was at Espanyol’s home, more precisely at gate 21 (Jarque’s old squad number) of the Cornellà-El Prat. “It’s hard to control my emotions. I didn’t want to give up this shirt, but I think this is the best place for it,” said Iniesta during the presentation to Espanyol president Daniel Sánchez Libre.

It was a wonderful gesture, and a great moment when appreciation was shown by all as Iniesta’s name was read out before the game kicked-off, and when he was later subbed off. There were even some kids in the stands holding up an Espanyol shirt with ‘Iniesta 21′ on the back, and also a banner reading “Iniesta siempre con nosotros”, which was really nice to see.

But back to the football, and back to the intense rivalry between the two teams. Espanyol lined up as usual, with their regular attacking quartet of Luís Garcia, Joan Verdú, José Callejón and top scorer Pablo Osvaldo. Barça also lined up as usual, with the line being led by Messi and co. The game also featured a whole host of young players, players that have been brought up through the academy of each club.

The teams were fairly evenly matched until Leo Messi sent Pedro clean through on goal who finished as clinically as ever to make it 1-0. Then, ten minutes later, Barça were two to the good thanks to a Xavi Hernández goal from a tight angle. Espanyol’s high defensive line was being exploited by the passing of Messi, but even more simply, by the pace of the Barça forwards.

It was 3-0 to Barça after an hour; Pedro grabbed his second of the night, reacting quickest to a Messi strike that was spilled by the goalkeeper. Just three minutes later Espanyol pulled one back, as Pablo Osvaldo burst into action; the striker ran clear of a helplessly outpaced Carles Puyol to drill the ball into the bottom corner past Víctor Valdés.

In truth, Espanyol weren’t playing badly. It was just a case of Barça being too good – again. “Barça are bordering on perfection,” said perico boss Pochettino after the game. The rout continued as David Villa scored another two, taking his goal tally to 11 in 15 league games. The game eventually finished 5-1, which seemed like a harsh scoreline considering Espanyol actually put in a decent performance. But once again Guardiola’s men were excellent, and some of their football nothing short of sublime. “This team never ceases to amaze me,” the manager remarked. Not just you, Pep.

Pochettino was also pleased with his team, noting that although they lost, they stayed true to their “philosophy”. And commenting on the fans’ reception for Andrés Iniesta, he said: “The people behaved wonderfully with Andrés and this speaks highly of the Espanyol supporters.”

However, what doesn’t reflect so well on Espanyol supporters is the horrible racist abuse that Dani Alves received all night from some. Alves was subject to boos and monkey chants whenever he touched the ball. Of course this isn’t the first time this kind of thing has happened at Espanyol; their own goalkeeper Carlos Kameni has been on the receiving end of similar abuse.

What I find even more saddening, though, is the response to the incident. This is what Guardiola had to say about it: “Racist abuse of Alves? There’s a lot of rivalry, these things can happen, we should forget it.” Sure it’s an intense rivalry, but there’s no excuse for it. We shouldn’t forget about it, but unfortunately, the sad, inevitable truth is that it will be ignored and forgotten about.

Lower down the Lowdown

• It was a dire game at the Santiago Bernabéu. It was also a dirty game, featuring nine yellow cards and two reds (a particularly ridiculous red for Ricardo Carvalho). Although Madrid won the game 1-0 thanks to Ángel di María, José Mourinho wasn’t happy. In true Mou style, he put on a show in the post-game press conference, bringing with him a club headed print-out highlighting “13 major refereeing errors” by Clos Gómez. “I’m not tired of doing things I like to do, like training and playing, but I do get tired when I get a list that points out 13 serious mistakes made by the referee and have to defend my team,” he moaned. He then went on to demand a meeting with club president Florentino Pérez. He wasn’t finished though; he ended with a quick pop at Rafa Benítez, before having one at his own supporters, saying: “I would prefer they cheered more.”
• A last-gasp goal saw Valencia take all three points against Real Sociedad. La Real went 1-0 up through Xabi Prieto, but Tino Costa’s thumping free-kick levelled things up on the stroke of half-time. Then, in the 92nd minute, Aritz Aduriz snatched the win for Los Che. Though not related to this game, Valencia coach Unai Emery did have something to say about José Mourinho’s antics this weekend. “We at Valencia have good reason to make a public complaint against all the mistakes that have led to us losing, but we do not. The position of Mourinho is that of a cry baby.”
• Villarreal wrapped up the year with a fine 3-1 victory over Mallorca at El Madrigal, ensuring they remain in 3rd. The game featured a couple of spectacular goals; one brilliant volley by Jonathan de Guzmán and a beautiful chip by Brazilian striker Nilmar. It was Nilmar’s 10th league goal of the season, making him the 4th highest scorer in the league. Giuseppe Rossi also scored, meaning they’ve now racked up a total of 19 between them so far.
• Getafe came from two goals down to win their fourth Primera game in a row for the first time ever. Almería were two up inside 25 minutes, but Míchel’s men showed great character to fight back and win the game 3-2. The goals came courtesy of Miku, Derek Boateng and captain Manu del Moral, who had a tremendous game, having a hand in all three goals.

Results

Deportivo 1-1 Sporting, Levante 1-2 Athletic, Villarreal 3-1 Mallorca, Espanyol 1-5 Barcelona, Real Sociedad 1-2 Valencia, Osasuna 0-0 Zaragoza, Almería 2-3 Getafe, Málaga 0-3 Atlético, Real Madrid 1-0 Sevilla, Racing 0-0 Hércules.

Goal of the Week

Nilmar (Villarreal 3-1 Mallorca)

(photo by Ryu Voelkel on Flickr)

Andres Iniesta, Espanyol, FC Barcelona, Jose Mourinho, Nilmar, Spanish Primera Division