Three days after their disappointing road draw versus Real Sociedad, Barcelona came home to begin their Champions League defense with a Group H matchup against AC Milan. Barça came back to Camp Nou excited to get away from Anoeta Stadium, where they’ve dropped four points in two years to Sociedad. Milan was coming to face Barça after a harrowing draw against Serié A foe Lazio, also dropped two points early in league play. Even with both draws, both teams are powerhouses of European football, and it promised to be a match to remember.
Alexandre Pato celebrates after scoring the opening goal in 24 seconds, the sixth fastest in UEFA Champions League history.
The match kicked off, and AC Milan took the ball and it seemed like it would be a slow grinding affair between two giants at the Nou Camp. Then Alexandre Pato, a Milan striker, took the ball and weaved his way unheeded through Barça’s defense without a legitimate challenge. He beat every single defender, found himself 1-on-1 with keeper Victor Valdes, and beat him to the lower left corner only 24 seconds into the match. Barcelona had no idea what hit them, and Camp Nou was dreadfully silent. Barça’s defense had been shredded without regard, and before they even got their cleats in the turf they were down 1-0.
It took Barça a full ten minutes to get their feet under them, and put the instant-goal behind them. Messi got into his runs down the middle, splitting Milan defenders left and right. In the 30th minute, Nesta of Milan drew a yellow after dragging down Messi after he was beaten and Messi had a straight line to the goal just outside the box. Messi took the free kick and bent it up and over the Milan wall with his left boot, sailing inches wide to the right and hitting the post. It wouldn’t be Messi’s last stint into the Milan box.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi (right) beats the Milan keeper just prior to tapping a pass to a wide open Pedro Rodriguez in front of the goal. Pedro's goal tied the match at one goal a piece.
Two minutes later, Messi zipped his way into the Milan box again. After a few quick dribbles, a shot with his right foot was low and quickly saved by the Milan keeper. Four minutes after, in the 36th minute, Messi broke free in the box. He quickly dispatched two defenders, and put a move on the goalie and beat him toward the goal line before he dropped a perfect pass to Pedro in front of the goal to tap it to level the score at 1. It was only a matter of time before Messi’s consistent pressure resulted in something for Barça, after continuous efforts fell just short in the previous ten minutes. Milan’s inital surge had fizzled, and Barça’s momentum was gaining speed. Messi had struck, and Milan’s defense had been broken after 36 minutes.
In the 39th, Andres Iniesta tried to imitate Leo Messi’s brilliant run, but he pulled up and fell to the turf clutching his hamstring. Eerily similar to the injury that Alexis Sánchez suffered last week at Anoeta, Iniesta injured his hamstring and was taken off on a stretcher as Cesc Fábregas came on to the pitch to fill out the team.
Just before half, Dani Alves played a perfect lob pass over the Milan defense to a streaking Leo Messi right at the edge of the Milan box. Just as Messi was preparing to strike at the net, the side judge threw up his offside flag. It was the 44th minute, and the half was all but over, as Barça had gained all the momentum as Pato had been thoroughly silenced for all but 23 seconds of the match. Milan went into the locker room with their tail between their legs, and Barça looking to strike quickly once the second half clock began.
David Villa connects with a free kick, bending it perfectly over the Milan wall and eventually into the bottom left corner of the net for the second goal.
As the second half began, Barça received possession and in the 48th minute Xavi hammered a wicket right-footed shot at the left Milan post, forcing the keeper to fully stretch out for the save and deflecting off his hands across the goal line for a corner. Off of Xavi’s corner, David Villa took the ball and was fouled hard by Nesta, resulting in a free kick from ten yards outside the box. Villa lined up, approached, connected, bent it over the Milan wall, and curved it to the bottom left corner of the goal forcing the keeper to run and dive in an attempt to save. The curve on Villa’s free kick was ultimately too much, as the keeper did not come close to saving it as it found its way to the back up the net giving Barça its first lead of the game in the 50th minute.
Barcelona's David Villa celebrates his goal in the 50th minute. His goal gave Barcelona a 2-1 advantage.
Following David Villa, Milan gained back some possession and worked the ball forward to their strikers. After some unsuccessful attempts at goal, Milan gave up the ball to Barcelona who maintained control of the ball for over eight consecutive minutes. Once Barcelona gained the lead, they seemed eager to just become passers and not attackers. In the 67th minute, long-time Barcelona player and seasoned defender Carles Puyol made his first appearance of the season, coming off a horrendous knee injury going back to La Liga play last season. Puyol came in for Seydou Keita on the defensive side for Barça.
Play seemed to slow down from Puyol’s entrance until the final stanza of the match. Barça, being content to hold on to the ball and play keep away, stayed around midfield until the 85th minute when Messi streaked into the box and smoked a left footed shot at the goal, only to be deflected and cleared by the Milan keeper. The 90th minute came and went, and three minutes of injury time were added on. It seemed all over and Barcelona were to be given the full three points in Group H, while Milan would fall to last place with zero points. Three minutes.
The 91st minute came and went. As did the 92nd. In the 93rd and final minute. Milan won a corner on a last ditch effort. It would be their final chance. Alexandre Pato took the corner, curled it to the far corner side of the box and as a capacity crowd of 98,000 held their breath, AC Milan midfielder Thiago Silva rose into the air for a header.
Thiago Silva (white) watches as his header sails towards the goal as keeper Victor Valdes (black) looks on helplessly.
The ball seemed like it was in the air for an eternity. It finally fell, and when it did, it was in the back of net and proved to be Milan’s equalizer on the brink of a Champions League loss. The score was level at 2-2, and the final whistle blew just moments later when Barça kicked off from midfield. Milan pulled a ‘rabbit out of a hat’, snatching a sure victory from their hosts and scampering back to Italy with a much deserved one point.
Barcelona players Xavi, Messi, Fábregas, and Alves react somberly to Silva's goal near the final whistle.
Thiago Silva (right) is embraced by Milan teammates moments after heading home a crucial goal in the 93rd minute.
With the tie, Barcelona and AC Milan both earn one point in Group H of the Champions League. Each of the four teams in Group H earned one point, as FC BATE Borisov (Belarus) drew 1-1 with FC Viktoria Plzen. Most would think that Barcelona and AC Milan would be the easy winners of Group H, and the top two of each group advance to the knockout stage of the Champions League. For Borisov or Viktoria to come close to the Spanish and Italian giants, they will have to find their opponents weaknesses and exploit them as much as possible without letting damage control get too far out of hand.
That being said, Barça’s performance was still disappointing to both the players and fans. Pep Guardiola’s face says it all: “How on Earth did we let this slip away?”
Barça's head coach Pep Guardiola reacts to Thiago Silva's last second goal, leveling the score at 2.
On Saturday the 17th of September, Barça prepares for Osasuna to come to Camp Nou as La Liga play kicks back into gear. The Blaugrana will hope for a more productive and typical Barcelona performance that everyone has become accustomed to. Lionel Messi and company certainly seem up for the challenge.
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