Barca’s youngsters seal the deal vs Valencia Copa Del Rey Semifinal second leg

Luis Enrique decided to make the most of his sides 7-0 first leg advantage last night by resting the majority of his usual starting eleven. He included 5 B team players in his 18 man squad along with under 19 player Carles Aleñà. Bravo, Piqué, Sergio, Alves, Arda, Iniesta, Suárez, Messi, Neymar, Mascherano and Alba were all excluded from the squad.

Sergi Roberto was a standout player last night.

Barcelona’s second strength team didn’t sit back and invite pressure from Valencia they took the game to them. Sergi Roberto, Munir and Rakitic all had opportunities to score but failed to do so. Luis Enrique decided to experiment his formation using a 3-5-2 formation which saw Vermaelen,Bartra and Mathieu protect Ter Stegen in goal. This gamble backfired when a long ball found Negredo unmarked in acres of space. The former Man City striker raced into the box followed by Bartra. Ter Stegen blocked the Spaniards first effort but could not keep hold of the ball which bounced fortunately back into the path of Negredo who coolly put Valencia ahead on the  night despite Bartra’s sliding attempt to prevent the goal.

Munir missed some great opportunities to level the sides.

Barcelona squandered many opportunities to level the score the closest chance coming from an Ivan Rakitic free kick. A mix up in communication saw both Bartra and Munir go for the cross resulting in a miss from just 6 yards. Enrique’s frustration could be seen with his sides performance as he threw a water bottle in anger. His side continued to search for an equalizer in the second half and Rakitic went agonizingly close when his run along the left wing and subsequent cut inside allowed him to have a shot on goal but it was saved well.

Hero on the night Wilfrid Kaptoum celebrates his first goal with the senior team in only his third appearance.

A draw would be enough to see Enrique beat Pep Guardiola’s record of 28 games unbeaten and in the 81st minute he decided to introduce B team regular Wilfrid Kaptoum.  Just three minutes later Camara another B team player delivered a perfect cross to Kaptoum who calmly slotted home the equalizer with is first touch of the game. Enrique’s men held on to deny Gary Neville a home victory in front of just 16,000 at the Mestalla. The 7 goal margin of victory over the two legs is the heaviest defeat in Valencia’s history.

Rakitic was deployed as a false 9 during the match.

With a place in the Copa del Rey final on May 21st now secured Luis Enrique looks ahead to a difficult home fixture on Sunday night against his former team Celta Vigo. Barcelona will hope to avoid a repeat of the scoreline from their last meeting which saw Vigo triumph 4-1.

FC Barcelona stumble to victory over Levante

Luis Enrique predicted a difficult game away to Levante and he wasn’t wrong. Managing his 100th game for Barcelona, Enrique witnessed an unusually poor display from his side who looked fatigued in the midday sun. He fielded most of his strongest eleven apart for the inclusion of birthday boy Sergi Roberto who replaced Busquets.

Roberto in an aerial battle.

Barcelona started the stronger with an almost immediate goal chance for Iniesta who’s long range effort found the stand. With just two minutes played Lionel Messi had the ball in the back of the net after a brilliant team move but was ruled to be offside a incorrect decision (have a look for yourself here). Levante started to find their feet as the match progressed and with 15 minutes gone they had the visitors under pressure. Barcelona took the lead in the most fortunate of ways. Iniesta’s layoff on the left side of the Levante box saw Jordi Alba square the ball for Luis Suárez only for this effort to deflect off the hip of Levante skipper Navarror and past Marnio in goal.

Barcelona celebrate the fortunate opener.

Levante did not let their heads drop. They had a handful of dangerous attacks and with 37 minutes played a long ball forward found Morales in space on the right hand side. He beat Dani Alves in the foot race and his curling shot could only be denied by the right post. Warning signs for the visitors that 20th Levante would not let them cruise to the three points. Former Barcelona backroom member Rubi sent out his Levante side in the second half with a new found belief. Levante constantly tormented the Barcelona defence who had to dig in an protect Bravo in goal. Despite their best efforts Levante’s final shot never troubled Bravo. Ivan Rakitic nearly gave Barcelona a second when his powerful header was saved well by Marnio.

Neymar takes on the Levante defence.

Levante continued to search for a equalizer and in the 91st minute a poor pass gifted Barcelona with possession. With numbers commited to their last gasp attack Levante faced a formidable task. Lionel Messi ran with the ball before looking up and playing a sublime pass to an unmarked Luis Suárez who didn’t need Neymar who was available out side him to enter the box before firing the ball past Marino.  That ended the home sides incredible effort that just fell short of producing a shock.

Luis Suárez celebrates yet another goal. 36 in 34 games this season.

There are plenty of talking points from today’s match. Barcelona fans will be concerned with their teams poor performance but in the end thy leave Valencia with all three points. Levante remain bottom of La Liga on 17 points 5 from safety. Luis Enrique has now equaled the record of Pep Guardiola’s side who went 28 games unbeaten during the 2010/11 season. He now has the opportunity to extend this record against Valencia midweek. He also marked his 100th game with a victory. Of those he won 80,drew 11 and lost 9.

Enrique marks his 100th game in charge with a victory.

FC Barcelona now prepare for their Copa Del Rey semi final second leg before facing Celta Vigo at home next Sunday. Levante travel to Eibar next week. This victory sees Barcelona maintain a three point lead ahead of Atletico Madrid in La Liga.