A draw, and in my opinion a deserved one. We played in patches but kept it tight for most of the game, Gonzalo cleared off the line but Guille also hit the post. Heres my opinion of our players :
- Diego Lopez : Had a case of the jitters in the first half and flapped at a few crosses, got it under control though and was commanding and brave in the second.
- Angel : A surprise starter but fared well enough, had some trouble with Nani but in general was solid.
- Gonzalo : Had a good battle with Tevez, cleaned him in the second half and also made a goal line clearance, swashbuckling stuff from the Argentinian!
- Godin : Equally impressive, some good headers and some smart defending helped keep a clean sheet. Had a painful run in with some hoardings but finished the game well.
- Capdevila : A bit of a loose performance, had trouble with Park and Tevez's movement and did not get forward as much as he'd have liked.
- Eguren : Fouls fouls and some excellent midfield play. Did his job as always, worked hard as always. Sat in front of the back four and protected them well.
- Edmilson : As above except with fewer fouls.
- Cani : Another surprise starter, was not impressive and was subbed off at half time. Poor showing, did not track back on Nani enough.
- Pires : Would not have been my choice for this high octane clash but did well, didn't offer much cover but showed some nice linkup play going forward. Was replaced by Ibagaza around 70 minutes.
- Mati : Yes a start! Difficult game for him to come into but I thought he did well. Kept it simple with good ball retention as always. Worked hard too It's another 90 minutes for him and he showed some confidence towards the end by demanding the ball. Good performance.
- Guille : The lone striker, did very well. Contested a lot in the air and showed some delightful touches, really unlucky not to score with a delightful flick. Was replaced by Llorente
Subs :
- Cazorla : Came on at half time and did very well. Some great linkup play with Mati and Pires
- Ibagaza : It's the Champions League Ariel waken up!
- Llorente : Tried hard but little time to do much!