FC Barcelona traveled to Madrid to face Atlético Madrid in the first leg of their Copa del Rey matchup at the Vicente Calderon Stadium on Tuesday evening. The ensuing game, a 3-1 Barcelona victory, can best be described as a battle between the brilliance of Barça (or perhaps the backheels of Barça, as they attempted at least 30 such passes) and the thuggery of Atlético Madrid.
While the game’s opening minutes saw Atlético threaten the Barcelona goal, this was a game that would be dominated by the style and quality of La Blaugrana. Despite taking the field without the likes of Xavi, Samuel Eto’o and captain Carlos Puyol, there was never a doubt as to Barcelona’s superiority on this day, as they unlocked the Atlético goal just 12 minutes into the game behind a brilliant give and go between Lionel Messi and Dani Alves, with Alves finding Messi in the Madrid box with a picture-perfect backheel pass, and Messi beating a helpless Gregory Coupet at the near post to give Barça a 1-0 lead.
Facing a deficit against arguably the top club in world football, Atlético Madrid chose to engage in a different type of battle against their opponents, taking advantage of every opportunity to brutally foul any Barcelona player within leg’s reach. At times, Atlético’s play became so cynical that their own fans began to turn on them, showering the team with whistles for their refusal to play a clean game. Dani Alves and Andres Iniesta were each victimized by excessively harsh fouls, but it was obvious that Madrid’s primary target was the brilliant Lionel Messi, who was hammered by numerous Atlético defenders throughout the match. As the first half drew to a close, Barça still held its 1-0 lead, and Atlético Madrid had already accumulated three yellow cards.
The second half would bring more of the same rough play from Madrid, as the home side racked up two more booking in the first ten minutes of the half, the second infraction winning Barcelona a penalty kick, as John Heitinga was shown a straight red card for tripping Messi directly in front of the Atlético net. Messi took the resulting penalty kick and, as expected, coolly sent Coupet flying in the wrong direction as buried the ball into the lower right corner of the net- 2-0 Barcelona.
Moments later, in the 58th minute, Atlético managed to cut the Barcelona lead in half (though it was hardly deserved), as a corner kick from Simao found Ujfalusi, who rose to meet the ball squarely and deposited it in the Barça net, making the score 2-1 in favor of the visitors.
Barça nearly managed an immediate answer when Bojan was able to find Iniesta, who found the back of the net, but was ruled offside. However, this proved only to be a momentary reprieve, as Barcelona continued to impose its will on the match in pursuit of a backbreaking third goal. In the game’s 79th minute, Lionel Messi, as he so often does, turned the pitch into his own personal playground. Taking the ball on the right wing, the Argentine wizard evaded two Atlético defenders, changing direction twice on his way into the box, and set his sights on Coupet’s net. Though he would beat the French keeper, Messi’s shot from near the top of the box grazed the crossbar and went out of play- an unjust ending to a sublime moment of skill. However, Messi was not finished! Seconds later, with the ball loose near the top of Madrid’s box, Andres Iniesta lifted a gorgeous pass into the box, where Messi was waiting to receive the ball, smoothly dribble past Coupet and bury the ball in the Atlético Madrid net, completing his hat trick and finishing off Madrid, 3-1.
Moments later, Pep Guardiola removed Messi from the game. As Lionel Messi made his way to the bench, having put the finishing touches on yet another masterpiece, the legions of Atlético Madrid fans in attendance showed their appreciation to 21 year-old genius, showering Messi with a thunderous standing ovation. Given the cynical, sometimes dirty, performance given by the home side, this reaction, even in defeat, to the transcendent performance turned in by Lionel Messi, was truly a credit to the Atlético Madrid fans.
Barcelona will take its presumably insurmountable 3-1 lead into the second leg of this fixture, to be played on January 14 at the Nou Camp.
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