Barcelona only played half a game last night.
First half, they didn’t turn up.
But they got a 1-1 draw in the Mercedes-Benz-Arena.
Stuttgart kicked off at 100mph and played a high line and were very organised and determined and positive, running at Barcelona in a very direct way.
When Gebhart hit a flat, fast cross to the far post, Brazilian-born Cacau beat Puyol and scored with a diving header on 25.
Busquets was shabby, Xavi was lost without Iniesta, who was wasted on the left wing, and I began to wonder when Dani Alves, their dynamic right back was coming back. Alves is valuable in situations like this.
It was almost 2-0 six minutes later and Stuttgart missed other chances.
Arsenal old boy Jens Lehmann made a good save from Messi, diving to his left. The ball squirted against the post but Lehmann didnt panic. He saw that the ball was going to bounce back to him and it did.
Having won 7 of their last 9 since Christain Gross took over, Stuttgart seemed to be on a roll.
Normally, teams know how Barcelona play but can’t stop them. Here, Stuttgart were stopping them.
Watching Barcelona getting battered was fun. Weird, but fun.
The oldest cliche in football is :You can only play as well as you’re allowed to play.
Second half, Piquet knocked down a long ball to Ibra, Jens Lehmann saved his first shot but the rebound broke for the big man to slot for 1-1.
Goals change matches. After that, Barcelona dominated.
But keeper Victor Valdes still had some work to do. Valdes has improved a helluva lot since I started watching him five years ago. He’ big and solid. He’s grown into the job and won six trophies with them in 2009. If that doesn’t give you confidence, nothing will.
Academy left winger Pedro was missing.
He is fast and bold and direct and scores goals. Sure, Pedro needs to improve outside the box. But he’d be in my team. If Pedro had played last night, Barcelona would have won.
As you know, Jens Lehmann was signed by Arsenal for £1.2 million and became an Invincible and got them to the 2006 final in Paris, where he was sent off. He was the best keeper in the Champions League that year. And he was the best keeper in the World Cup too. And he reached the final of Euro 2008 with Germany before losing to a goal that Fernando Torres lobbed over him from a Xavi pass. He is 40 now and his career ends in May. He was very good at Arsenal and will not be forgotten.
Thanks for everything, Jens.
I remember your fine first games against Celtic and Rangers. What a difference you made from day one. You had balls.You had an opinion. You had a sense of humour.
Nowadays Arsenal is a bland team of yes-men. Nobody shouts, nobody wins a trophy, nobody gets to a final.