With Arsenal coming off the back of a frustrating draw with Hull in the FA Cup, and Barcelona riding high in the La Liga and favourites to lift the champions league trophy, they meet for the 1st leg of the round of 16 Champions League at the Emirates Stadium. The game kicked off on a clear, cold night in north London with Arsenal kicking from left to right. Arsenal started the game strongly, with Girouds height and power causing Barcelona's defence a problem. Even with the likes of Messi, Suarez and Neymar, it was Arsenal that seemed to pose a bigger threat going forward. Monreal received the first yellow card of the game after he slipped over and went through the back of Rakitic in the process. The first clear chance for Arsenal came in the eighth minute, when Ozil sprinted down the left wing and pulled the ball back to an un-marked Ramsey in the penalty box, but the ball was slightly behind him and he couldn't get it under-control quick enough, before Barcelona managed to regroup and the chance was snuffed out.
20 minutes into the game and Barcelona were dominating possession, but Barcelona's big game players like Messi and all yet to create a clear chance. The best chance for either team came two minutes later when Ozil yet again found some space on the left, and pulled it back for Bellerin, who manages to get a shot away, which is then subsequently blocked. But it falls to Chamberlain who scuffs a shot from about 8 yards out, which is hit straight at Ter Stegen and he comfortably saves it. If he placed it anywhere else in the goal then Arsenal would now be 1-0 up. As the firs half went on, Barcelona started to become more of an attacking threat, with their best chance of the half coming in the one minute stoppage time. Dani Alves floated a ball to the edge of the 6-yard box where Suarez was lurking, he flicked a header towards the left side of the goal, but it was slightly too far left and it went behind for a goal kick. That was the last move of the first half and the whistle blew for half time. Arsenal fans were probably feeling more optimistic at the break than they did before the game, with Barcelona not being at their best and Arsenal having some good spells of play.
The second half kicked off with the score still locked at 0-0. The first chance of the half came in the 49th minute, when Iniesta played a ball through to Neymar, who unlike his usual self failed to score, after a shot towards the centre of the goal which Cech managed to save. The first substitute of the game came a minute later with Chamberlain making way for Walcott because of a minor injury. Arsenal had another brilliant chance to take the lead when Monreal whipped in a cross, which Giroud headed powerfully towards the bottom left hand corner of the goal. Ter Stegen managed to pull off an impressive save to deny the Frenchman, and kept the scores at 0-0. Barcelona then started to utilise their dominance of possession with some attacking chances of their own. It started with a flurry of corners to test the Arsenal defence. Messi and Suarez then had chances in quick succession, with Messi's shot being blocked by the Arsenal defence throwing their bodies in the way, and Suarez's effort whistling past the right post. Barcelona did finally manage to find a way through the Arsenal defence, when Neymar played a one-two with Suarez and then accelerated down the left wing drawing the Arsenal defence to him, which then left Messi un-marked in the box. Neymar reached the edge of the box and played a smart ball to Messi, who calmly stroked the ball into the centre of the goal when Cech went down too early. Giving arguably the best player in the world that amount of time and space is deadly and it finally gave Barcelona the lead.
Wenger made a substitute a minute later for Arsenal, with Danny Welbeck replacing Olivier Giroud. Barcelona then went on searching for a second goal to add to the score line of 1-0. Arsenal defended for their lives knowing that a 2 goal away advantage would be a very hard thing to come back from. But Arsenal did nearly manage to score when Welbeck headed the ball down to Ramsey, who had a very close range shot towards the centre of the goal, but it was too near Ter Stegen who saved it comfortably. With time running out Wenger decided to make his third and final substitution, with a tired looking Coquelin making way for Flamini. Unfortunately for Flamini it would not be a good start to his night, when he brought down Messi in the box and conceded a penalty. Messi then stepped up to take the penalty which his curled into the bottom right hand corner to double Barcelona's lead on the 83rd minute.
Before this game kicked off, Messi had not been able to find the back of the net against Cech in any of their 8 previous meetings, but he has scored twice against him in 11 minutes tonight. As it grew closer to the final whistle and the players started to become more and more tired, more fouls started to be conceded, and Pique was subsequently booked for a bad foul. As the clock hit 90 minutes it was announced there was to be 4 minutes stoppage time, which gave Arsenal fans a glimmer of hope that they may be able to snatch a late goal, and improve their chances of progressing to the quarter finals of the competition, when they travel to Barcelona for the second leg. But the last chance of the game was for Barcelona, when Neymar headed it towards the top left hand corner of the goal, which Cech managed to save to stop the score line from becoming embarrassing.
The final whistle blew with the match ending Arsenal 0-2 Barcelona. Arsenal will have to pull something very special out of the bag, if they are to have any chance of reaching the next stage of the cup. But for any team beating Barcelona is a huge challenge, having to score at least two goal at the Nou Camp seems nearly impossible even if they do perform well on the day. The next leg takes place on the 16th March, but Arsenal have to worry about facing Man United at Old Trafford in 5 days, which is another important League game. Barcelona also have a match on the same day, when they host Sevilla in the La Liga.
Barcelona's lethal front 3 (Suarez, Neymar, Messi)
20 minutes into the game and Barcelona were dominating possession, but Barcelona's big game players like Messi and all yet to create a clear chance. The best chance for either team came two minutes later when Ozil yet again found some space on the left, and pulled it back for Bellerin, who manages to get a shot away, which is then subsequently blocked. But it falls to Chamberlain who scuffs a shot from about 8 yards out, which is hit straight at Ter Stegen and he comfortably saves it. If he placed it anywhere else in the goal then Arsenal would now be 1-0 up. As the firs half went on, Barcelona started to become more of an attacking threat, with their best chance of the half coming in the one minute stoppage time. Dani Alves floated a ball to the edge of the 6-yard box where Suarez was lurking, he flicked a header towards the left side of the goal, but it was slightly too far left and it went behind for a goal kick. That was the last move of the first half and the whistle blew for half time. Arsenal fans were probably feeling more optimistic at the break than they did before the game, with Barcelona not being at their best and Arsenal having some good spells of play.
The second half kicked off with the score still locked at 0-0. The first chance of the half came in the 49th minute, when Iniesta played a ball through to Neymar, who unlike his usual self failed to score, after a shot towards the centre of the goal which Cech managed to save. The first substitute of the game came a minute later with Chamberlain making way for Walcott because of a minor injury. Arsenal had another brilliant chance to take the lead when Monreal whipped in a cross, which Giroud headed powerfully towards the bottom left hand corner of the goal. Ter Stegen managed to pull off an impressive save to deny the Frenchman, and kept the scores at 0-0. Barcelona then started to utilise their dominance of possession with some attacking chances of their own. It started with a flurry of corners to test the Arsenal defence. Messi and Suarez then had chances in quick succession, with Messi's shot being blocked by the Arsenal defence throwing their bodies in the way, and Suarez's effort whistling past the right post. Barcelona did finally manage to find a way through the Arsenal defence, when Neymar played a one-two with Suarez and then accelerated down the left wing drawing the Arsenal defence to him, which then left Messi un-marked in the box. Neymar reached the edge of the box and played a smart ball to Messi, who calmly stroked the ball into the centre of the goal when Cech went down too early. Giving arguably the best player in the world that amount of time and space is deadly and it finally gave Barcelona the lead.
Wenger made a substitute a minute later for Arsenal, with Danny Welbeck replacing Olivier Giroud. Barcelona then went on searching for a second goal to add to the score line of 1-0. Arsenal defended for their lives knowing that a 2 goal away advantage would be a very hard thing to come back from. But Arsenal did nearly manage to score when Welbeck headed the ball down to Ramsey, who had a very close range shot towards the centre of the goal, but it was too near Ter Stegen who saved it comfortably. With time running out Wenger decided to make his third and final substitution, with a tired looking Coquelin making way for Flamini. Unfortunately for Flamini it would not be a good start to his night, when he brought down Messi in the box and conceded a penalty. Messi then stepped up to take the penalty which his curled into the bottom right hand corner to double Barcelona's lead on the 83rd minute.
Before this game kicked off, Messi had not been able to find the back of the net against Cech in any of their 8 previous meetings, but he has scored twice against him in 11 minutes tonight. As it grew closer to the final whistle and the players started to become more and more tired, more fouls started to be conceded, and Pique was subsequently booked for a bad foul. As the clock hit 90 minutes it was announced there was to be 4 minutes stoppage time, which gave Arsenal fans a glimmer of hope that they may be able to snatch a late goal, and improve their chances of progressing to the quarter finals of the competition, when they travel to Barcelona for the second leg. But the last chance of the game was for Barcelona, when Neymar headed it towards the top left hand corner of the goal, which Cech managed to save to stop the score line from becoming embarrassing.
The final whistle blew with the match ending Arsenal 0-2 Barcelona. Arsenal will have to pull something very special out of the bag, if they are to have any chance of reaching the next stage of the cup. But for any team beating Barcelona is a huge challenge, having to score at least two goal at the Nou Camp seems nearly impossible even if they do perform well on the day. The next leg takes place on the 16th March, but Arsenal have to worry about facing Man United at Old Trafford in 5 days, which is another important League game. Barcelona also have a match on the same day, when they host Sevilla in the La Liga.
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