Strong comeback

Barça have won three more points against Deportivo de La Coruña. Rijkaard’s men grew stronger during the game and came back thanks to Ronaldinho and Xavi after being a one down after Cristian’s early goal.

The strong wind and Cristian’s early goal were about to leave Barça in the cold, but they managed to come back and win three more valuable points at Nou Camp. Firstly Ronaldinho, back in the starting 11 and menacing on the left wing, brought it to a draw with a penalty, then, in the second half, Xavi produced the deciding goal.


Both Eto'o and Deco had good games, and Barça came back from being a goal down for the first time this season.

Early shock
In the 2nd minute, ex-“blaugrana” Cristian surprised Valdés with a shot from 25 metres out that crossed the penalty area and dipped into the top left-hand of the goal. An opposing team hadn’t scored in Nou Camp since September 26th. This wasn’t in the script, and Barça were slow to react. They had possession, but they weren’t able to move the ball around quickly enough due to Deportivo’s strong pressure.



Ronaldinho equalises
Barça first real chance came in the 22nd minute, when a deflected Ronaldinho free-kick resulted in a goal-mouth scramble that nearly ended in a goal with Puyol and Eto’o coming close. Deportivo quickly responded when Xisco had a clear chance, but headed just over the crossbar. Lotina’s men imposed a slow pace on the game which affected Barça until the 40th minute, when Cristian committed a clear foul on Iniesta inside the area for a penalty, and Ronaldinho dummied the keeper, slipping the ball into the right of the net.



Insistent domination
Deco came on for Zambrotta in the second half, and the Portuguese player brought more depth to Barça’s game, and nearly scored in the first minute after a one-two with Eto’o ended in a corner. Depor slowly began to lose strength after their first-half effort, and Barça began to gain territory.

Xavi finishes things off
Iniesta almost got Barça’s second in the 56th minute after some great play with Ronaldinho. The game had become dominated by Barça, and in the 64th minute, Bojan came on for Eto'o. Six minutes later Xavi resolved the game, when the ball fell to his feet after Múnua had got a right hand deflection to a great cross from Puyol out on the right. With the score at 2-1, Barça were looking for the third to put themselves at ease. They didn’t find it, but the score was enough to maintain their unbeaten run at Nou Camp.



Goals :

0-1 Cristian (min 2)
1-1 Ronaldinho (p) (min 40)
2-1 Xavi (min 70)


Source : FCB