FC Barcelona vs Mallorca, 4-2

[flywoman]

In the first half, Xavi scored a gorgeous goal off a direct free kick, Leo Messi made a powerful low shot that got right past the keeper, and after selflessly crossing the ball back into the box one too many times, Cristian Tello decided to pretend that the four-odd defenders between himself and the net did not exist and miraculously scored a third in the extra minute.

You would think that this would mean a relatively composed second half, but you would be wrong. Five minutes in, Mallorca mounted a counterattack, and with Dani Alves straggling back from way the hell up by the opposition goal as usual, Pereira was wide open to receive a pass directly in front of Valdes and slam it past him. Then, three minutes later, an accidental handball by Sergio Busquets resulted in a penalty kick and second goal for Mallorca. Luckily, Messi managed a second goal in the 70th minute, making him the highest goal scorer in a single year ever, a record formally held by Brazilian phenomenon Pele.



It was great to see Pique back in action after his most recent injury, and defending very well at that. Hopefully we will have Puyol back on the pitch next weekend and we can stop being so anxious about our leaky defense. Alexis Sanchez also made the most of his limited time on the ball, assisting Messi's second goal with his chest(!). And while Victor Valdes couldn't do much about the two goals that were scored, he saved another one like a boss. It was also very sweet to see many of the boys hugging their on-loan teammate Andreu Fontas, who came on as a substitute for Mallorca in the last quarter of the match.

Next week many of our key players will be away for international friendlies - the Spaniards in Panama, the Argentinians in Saudi Arabia. Hopefully they won't contract the FIFA virus just in time for the match against Zaragoza on Saturday.