“This Barça needs
a comeback,” Xavi said, and now they have one. Imperious for an hour albeit
nervy in the late stages, Barça ultimately showed concentration and hunger in advancing
to the Champions League quarterfinals with a 4-0
victory that cancelled a 2-0 away loss.
If ever there was
a stage for a comeback, this was it. Milan are not having a good domestic
season. They lie in 3rd place, 12 points off the pace, compared to last year
when they finished runners-up behind undefeated Juventus by just 4 points. And you could hardly say they had built up a head of
steam in the Champions League since this was the first knockout round.
In short, this
always looked like it would be easier than the Chelsea and Inter Milan deficits
Barça had previously failed to overturn. True, Milan are catenaccio experts but the present version is much more rickety
than the Maldini-led editions of the past.
On top of that,
Milan was shorn of attackers (Balotelli cup-tied, Robinho out of form, Pazzini injured) to leave 18-year-old M’Baye Niang to
lead the line. For large stretches of the game they looked hapless. They couldn’t
string together more than a few consecutive passes, their long balls
were imprecise, and their defenders looked somewhere between star-struck and
shell-shocked.
All this should serve to explain the victory but not to downplay it. Barça still had to work hard. Here are the key reasons they were
victorious.
Fast start: Barça played with urgency and verve from the
get-go, and within 5 minutes had already pulled back a goal while Milan had not
yet completed 10 passes. Barcelona were always going to take the initiative and
have loads of posession, but their early intensity overwhelmed Milan.
Tactics: The defensive back three, the abandoning of the False 9 Cesc-periment,
and the confidence shown in David Villa all paid off handsomely.
Hustle: Barça seemed to win most of the in-between balls they were nipping at
Milan’s heels in midfield whenever they lost the ball. Even though there was
some heart-in-mouth defending in the final stretch, committed lunges and blocks
prevented Milan from getting shots on goal (they had only 2 all match). Special
mention to Jordi Alba, who was still zipping up and down the field even when he
looked exhausted.
Messi: The man played the game of his life, conjuring two goals with defenders
right in front of him and playing out of tight spaces again and again to keep
possession. He also put in shifts in the defensive third. Take note, Cristiano
Ronaldo: this is why Messi has 4 Balon d’Ors and you have one.
Iniesta: Barcelona’s odessey for a second x-factor besides Messi has
brought Henry, Ibrahimovic, and Alexis over the years yet
they always seem overshadowed by Andres Iniesta. In his preferred central
midfield role, he showed up all over the pitch and consistently left defenders
dumbfounded.
There are those
who will say that Barcelona were fortunate, as Niang could have turned the tie
on its head by converting his first-half chance that rebounded off the post. This
is absolutely true – just as Barcelona could have had its second earlier if not
for a fingertip save on Xavi’s long-range missile. As Miquel Delaney pointed out,
the winners are usually lucky. In this case they were also deserving.
Note: I was at the Camp Nou for this match and
will be writing a second post about the experience.
