Rubin Kazan Holds Barcelona at Bay Again, Move into First in Group F

After a shocking 2-1 loss at the Camp Nou to Rubin Kazan during Matchday Three, FC Barcelona traveled to Kazan to once again take on the champions of the Russian Premier League in an important fixture in Group F.

Meanwhile for Rubin Kazan, they went into this fixture looking to once again beat the winners of the 2009 UEFA Champions League, and to advance onto the knockout stages for the first time in their history.

The conditions in Russia were extremely cold and caused the pitch to be very rough before the match even begun, but the game wasn't delayed and the first Champions League match of the day was now underway!

Early on, Barcelona showed that they weren't going to get beaten once again, as they drew two corners and Zlatan Ibrahimovic took a header in the third minute that beat Kazan keeper Sergei Ryzhikov, but the crossbar denied the goal and the game went on.

After the Ibrahimovic header, Barcelona continued to be on the attack, but Ryzhikov continued to stop Barcelona, and Kazan blew their best chance of the first half when Aleksandr Ryazantsev got a breakaway toward Barcelona keeper Victor Valdes, but Valdes stopped the shot and the game went into the half goalless.

As the second half begun, Barcelona once again went onto the offensive, but they clearly showed no inspiration while attacking, and were not able to take a difficult shot at Ryzhikov.

But Kazan showed heart, as Alejandro Dominquez got a great chance and passed to Aleksandr Bukharov, who decided to chest the ball instead of shooting it, which allowed Valdes to scoop up the danger.

And shortly afterwards, Bukharov got another great chance, as he got Valdes completely out of position outside of the penalty box, but Barcelona defender Carlos Puyol cleared the danger.

After the Kazan chances late in the match, Barcelona were still not able to get any more great chances, and the game ended with a scoreless draw.

With the draw, Kazan have temporarily moved into first in Group F with five points, and own the tiebreaker over Barcelona due to their win in the Camp Nou during Matchday Three.

Kazan will now host Dynamo Kiev in an extremely important fixture in Matchday Five, as knockout stage spots will certainly be on the line in Kazan on November 24.

Meanwhile for Barcelona, they too will have an extremely important match during Matchday Five, as they will host Serie A champions Inter Milan at the San Siro, which will also have major knockout stage implications on the line.