Barça bounce back in style (5-1)

Barça bounce back in style (5-1)

FC Barcelona have started their Champions League campaign with a more than convincing 5-1 win over Panathinaikos. Messi (2), who also missed a penalty, Villa, Pedro and Alves were on target.

On Tuesday night, Barcelona showed that they have regained everything that was missing at the weekend. Guardiola’s side played its characteristic passing game, using the wings effectively, displaying grit and determination, and also coping admirably with the adversity of going a goal behind. Ignoring that initial setback, Barça went on to steamroll their way past Panathinaikos on the basis of simply exquisite football. Messi was also back to his subliminal best, and could have completed a hat trick had he converted a second half penalty. Villa scored his first European goal for his new club, and Pedro and Alves rounded off a wonderful evening at the Camp Nou.

FC Barcelona go top of the group on goal difference ahead of Copenhagen, who also have three points after scoring a late winner against Barça’s next opponent, Rubin Kazan.

Govou puts Greeks ahead

Barça soon put the nightmare of Hercules behind, and took the game straight to a Panathinaikos side that seemed happy to speculate. Neither was the Greek outfit the tough-tackling kind of opponent Barça often have to deal with, for they didn’t even commit a foul in the first quarter hour. But just when it looked like the Catalans were in for an easy night, a long clearance from goalkeeper Tzorvas found Cissé, whose classy backheel put Govou in a wonderful position, and the French international made no mistake.

Immediate reaction

There was no way Barça deserved to be behind, and they knew it. Determined not to allow any repeat of Saturday’s debacle, the home side responded straight from the restart. Within a minute, Xavi had found Messi, and the Argentinian stroked home the equaliser. Twelve minutes later, Xavi was involved in another goal, this time sending in a corner that Busquets nodded on to Villa, who slotted home from the far post.

Messi shows his class

It was just before the break that we witnessed the goal of the night, and it was that man Messi again. Moments after inexplicably hitting the crossbar, an intricate series of one-twos with Xavi and Pedro left the Greek defence in total disarray. From going a goal down, it had taken Barça just 24 minutes to as good as assure themselves of victory.

Two more gifts

It was more of the same after the break – one way traffic heading towards Greek stopper Tzorvas, who despite conceding five goals was probably the best player in the visiting side. It was he who saved an uncharacteristically sloppy spotkick from Messi, but there was nothing he could to stop Barça’s fourth. Messi looked to have cheekily scored from an insanely narrow angle, but the ball bounced off one post and then the other before landing in the path of Pedro, who simply had to tap it home.

It looked like it was going to end 4-1, but Barça still had another ace up their sleeve. Three minutes into injury time, Messi placed the ball on Alves’ head, and the Brazilian sent the ball looping overt the flailing keeper and into the Panathinaikos net. An altogether extraordinary performance from Barcelona, which leaves them riding high at the top of Group D

SPAIN QUEEN OF THE WORLD

INIESTA WINNER CROWNS SPAIN WORLD CHAMPIONS

Netherlands 0-1 Spain (aet)
European titleholders Spain won the FIFA World Cup for the first time thanks to Andrés Iniesta's strike in the second period of extra time.

Andrés Iniesta scored a 116th-minute winner as Spain lifted the FIFA World Cup for the first time after defeating ten-man Netherlands 1-0 in Johannesburg.

Having been played in by substitute Cesc Fàbregas, Iniesta drilled across Maarten Stekelenburg with penalties looming at Soccer City. That came seven minutes after John Heitinga was dismissed for pulling down the FC Barcelona midfielder. Arjen Robben had earlier squandered the best chance of normal time for the Oranje when one on one with Iker Casillas, a miss which was ultimately to prove costly as the European champions condemned their opponents to a third World Cup final defeat and became the first nation to win the crown after losing their opening game.

Sergio Ramos almost headed Spain into the lead inside five minutes, forcing Stekelenburg into a diving save from Xavi Hernández's delivery. Spain were showing few signs of nerves in their first World Cup showpiece, with Ramos again to the fore soon after, skipping past Dirk Kuyt and driving in a shot which Heitinga scooped over his crossbar. From the resulting short corner, David Villa volleyed into the side netting.

The Oranje gradually found their feet but any attempts either side made at settling into a rhythm were hindered by a plethora of fouls in midfield, resulting in five bookings by the 28th minute. Save for Spain's early opportunities, neither team had functioned as an attacking force, though Casillas had to be alert on the cusp of half-time to turn away Robben's near-post shot.

Little had been seen of two of the players leading the tournament's scoring charts, five-goal duo Villa and Wesley Sneijder, until the latter's perfectly weighted pass fashioned the best chance of the match. However, Robben, with time to pick his spot, had his effort kept out by Casillas' outstretched right leg.

That was the cue for the game to open up, with Villa next to wonder how he failed to score midway through the half, Heitinga atoning for miscuing Jesús Navas's cross at the far post by somehow blocking the striker's shot. Like his team-mate, Ramos had his head in his hands moments later after nodding over Xavi's corner when unmarked eight metres out. With extra time approaching, Casillas was quick to smother at the feet of Robben after the winger outstripped Carles Puyol.

Fàbregas passed up the clearest chance of extra time when he was denied by the legs of Stekelenburg, who was then thankful for Giovanni van Bronckhorst deflecting Navas’s shot wide. Heitinga was dismissed in the 109th minute but just as it seemed penalties would be required, up popped Iniesta to win it for the European champions

SIMPLY THE BEST! CONGRATULATIONS SPAIN! FOR THE NEXT 4 YEARS,SPANISH WILL BE THE MOST SPOKEN LANGUAGE !