Barca beats Mallorca and Messi reaches new record

FC Barcelona beat Mallorca yesterday evening by a comfortable 4 goals to 2 and therefore keep their unbeaten record intact and maintain the leadership in the Spanish La Liga.

Goals came from Xavi, Tello and Messi seemed to set the game up for an avalanche of goals in the second half. Busquets was caught out handling the ball and therefore gifted the Mallorca team a penalty while a defensive error on behalf of Barca made it 2-3 with still half an hour to play.

But it was left up to Leo Messi to put this game to bed when he scored his second goal of the match on 70 minutes.

Tito Vilanova’s Barcelona keeps marching on with an immaculate record to boot. Little Leo Messi is also nearing the record for the footballer with the most goals in a year.

The post Guardiola era of FC Barcelona is holding up quite nicely with just a few setbacks; Real Madrid in the Supercup and last week’s game against Celtic in the Champions League. Barcelona has won 10 games and drawn one in eleven games this season. This is a feat that only Real Madrid has been able to accomplish in the 68/69 season and 91/92 season respectively. This Barca team is looking good!

In the past Mallorca has always been a relatively easy fixture and the start of the game proved this to be true. Xavi scored from a free kick, Messi pounced on a terrible mistake by Aouate and Christian Tello in a lightening piece of quick play quickly put three goals on the scoreboard and it seemed business as usual at Mallorca’s ground.The teams went to the dressing rooms at the break with Barca leading by 3 goals to nil.

Barca faced a Mallorca side that resembled Celtic in the Champions League last week. Joaquín Caparrós thought that if it worked for them it’ll work for us. It did work for Caparrós, until they started to let the goals in.

The second half got underway and Pereira lead the Mallorca comeback with a goal on 55 minutes. Just 3 minutes later, a Sergio Busquets handball gave Mallorca the chance to get closer, which they did and made it 2-3.

Whatever hope the Mallorca side had of levelling the game and snatching a point was put to rest with Messi’s second goal of the evening. With this goal he eclipsed Pele’s record goal tally of   75 goals in 1958.

All in all this was a good away win for Barca although they are still a bit shaky at the back. Piqué also made an appearance but it was he and alvés who contributed to letting Pereira in to score the second goal for Mallorca.

Real Madrid hung on for a 2-1 win at Levante where Cristiano Ronaldo received a nasty elbow in the eyebrow from Navarro. Levante were up to their usual bully boy tactics with Sergio Ramos pointing the finger at Ballesteros stating:

“We are tired of people like Ballesteros”

Ramos accused the Levante player of anti sporting behaviour and should leave football if he preferred boxing instead.

Real Madrid still find themselves 8 points behind Tito Vilanova’s Barca.