May 2008 - Barcelona rock and have their eye on the La Liga title
Murcia 3 Barcelona 5 (17th May 2008)
Barcelona's last game of season was away to Murcia, a club who have already left it too late to avoid relagation to the second tier of Spanish football. Both clubs in effect were playing for the fun of it and this was reflected in the open play that resulted in a total of 8 goals. One of those goals scored for Barcelona was from Thiery Henry, his 19th of the season, a good tally for his first season at Barca.
It was Murcia though who took the lead in the 16th minute with a Juan Ochoa header, Ochoa having been left unmarked in the Barcelona penalty area. A 23rd minute goal from Eto'o and Henry's goal left Barcelona with a 2-1 advantage going into half-time. The seond half belonged to Barcelona's Giovanni, who scored an excellent hat-trick with 33rd, 52nd and 66th minute goals.
Despite being 1-5 down, Murcia never gave up and fought back with an Alonso 81st minute goal, closely followed by an 85th minute goal from Abel. With Murcia 3-5 and with 5 minutes to go, Murcia were unable to get the fourth and an exciting goal filled game finished with victory for Barcelona. Many of the Barcelona players will now be keen to get a few weeks rest before the start of the Euro 2008 football championships.
Barcelona 2 Mallorca 3 (11th May 2008)
Barcelona were looking to give their manager Rijkaard a good send-off in what universally is accepted as being his last game in charge at the Nou Camp. Players including Eto'o and Zambrotta could also be on their way out of the club and a victory would have been a nice finale for the departees. Unfortunately, Mallorca do not seem to have read the script and they were desperate to get a win; a win which will give them a very real chance of moving into a UEFA Cup spot for next season.
Despite a disapointing first season with Barcelona, Henry has found the net a few times in recent games and it was Thiery who broke the deadlock in the 17th minute with a solid strike just in front of goal. In the 2nd half, Eto'o took Barcelona further ahead with a 56th cleanly placed shot. At this point, Barcelona had 3 strikers on and it looked as though they might bombard the Mallorca goal and turn this into a one-sided victory.
The game turned on its head in the last third of the game with constant Mallorca pressure and goals for Valero, Webóand Güiza in the 67th, 70th and 90th minutes. This victory leaves Mallorca one point away from a UEFA place with one game to go.
Barcelona 6 Valencia 0 (4th May 2008)
After a disappointing week in which Barcelona were knocked out of the Champions League by Manchester United of England, Barcelona had nothing to lose in this game and for the first time in weeks, Barcelona had no pressure and played with flair, style and a desire which if they had had in the last few months, might have meant a very different season for Barcelona. Barcelona were on fire in this game and the 6-0 score line was a fair one.
After four games with no goals, it was a wonderful site to see the likes of Henry (14th and 58th minutes), Krkic (72nd & 79th), Xavi (8th) and Messi (5th) putting the ball into the net: The only disappointment was not seeing Henry get the hat-trick. The game and in particular, the crowd, were highly charged and the fans used the game to voice their protest against the club President, Joan Laporta. Cries of "Barca si (yes), Laporta no'' were heard throughout the first half, although with Barcelona 3-0 at half-time the crowd settled in the second half.
It will be a fascinating summer at the Nou Camp, with many changes likely both manager and player-wise. Keep reading this column for news of transfers and the latest from the Nou Camp.
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