The End of La Liga? Barcelona Edges Valencia to Move Ten Points Clear of Madrid

Valencia came out firing against Barcelona.  La Mestalla was packed and noisy, and the home side, which hadn't lost in 11 consecutive games, looked charged up.  Barça was forced to play defensively, and Pep was out of his seat for the entire opening 20 minutes -- directing troops and looking a bit frantic.  He'd chosen an unusual formation, with Adriano beating out Maxwell for the left-back spot, and Mascherano joining Busquets in midfield, moving Iniesta to the left wing and Pedro to the bench.  Mascherano played well, and with Busquets hanging back, he was free to pressure like mad up through midfield.

Barcelona possession was nonexistent, however, and Valencia nearly opened the scoring in the 20th minute, as Jordi Alba beat Pinto neatly after being played through into a one-on-one situation.  The goal was disallowed, however, and replays showed that if he was offside, it was by the slimmest of margins.

Valencia forced Barça into some desperate defending with their high line of pressure.  Xavi was marked closely as he dropped back to receive -- unable to turn and distribute, he repeatedly touched back to Pique or Abidal, who had no choice but to send one-touch clearances into the sky.

Adriano looked lively on the left, taking full advantage of his second consecutive start.  He combined nicely with Villa on a counterattack, receiving a neat heel flick and blasting a shot over the bar.

Jordi Alba, on the other side of the field, created problems in his own right, running recklessly at the defense and winning multiple corners.  But Valencia was unable to get the opening goal that perhaps they deserved.

In the 30th minute came what looked like a sure score: Messi overpowered a Valencian defender and broke for goal, with one man to beat and Villa rushing to join him in the middle.  Instead of passing to Villa, Messi kept the ball and looked to beat the keeper around the right, sending a chip just over the crossbar, and leaving Villa a bit miffed in front of goal.

Minutes later Messi was again hurtling at the defense after winning a ball cleanly -- this time in midfield.  He made a ridiculous pass to himself, shook off three defenders and dropped a dime to Villa, who immediately touched a return pass ahead for Leo.  But with 3 defenders hot on his heels, and having just covered half the pitch, Messi was out of gas and the chance was lost.

The game continued at break-kneck speed, with neither side settling the tempo.  Abidal and Stankevicius were spectacular in defense for their respective sides -- the Frenchman cutting off a dangerous through ball for Joaquin, and Stankevicius appearing time and again to break up combinations and jump-start the counterattack with deep passes.

Adriano was involved in three Barcelona chances before halftime:  First, a lovely cross for Villa, who got a touch on goal but sent the ball straight into the chest of Guaita.  Minutes later, Messi found Xavi outside the box, who controlled nicely in traffic and heel-tapped a return pass that came directly to Adriano, moving in from the left flank.  One could almost sense his discomfort in having stepped in to a Xavi-Messi combination, and he sent a hurried shot well outside of goal.  Finally, the Brazilian made a brilliant play on his own -- cutting off a pass and playing himself through into space, he flew up the left flank, creating a final dangerous possession for Barcelona, one that fizzled out into the halftime whistle.

Valencia opened the second half with pure striker Soldado replacing the captain Joaquin, hoping to finally finish one of their many chances.  And more chances came -- the best in the 58th minute as Xavi was easily stripped attempting to speed-rush the defense.  A perfectly played counterattack left Pablo Hernandez wide in space on the left, but his curving shot was just right of Pinto's far post.

Two minutes later Valencia nearly scored again, this time thanks to a drizzling outlet pass from Abidal that forced Adriano to foul the onrushing Stankevicius.  The ensuing set piece was sent wide right for Pablo, whose cross inexplicably deflected out of bounds for a goal kick.  La Mestalla appealed for a handball, a corner -- something, but nothing was given.

Between minutes 64 and 66 the match really heated up, with Messi receiving a yellow card for arguing, and Pablo Hernandez getting booked for holding back Iniesta.  Pedro entered the game, sending Iniesta back to midfield and Mascherano to the bench, and he began his customary hell-raising pressure of the Valencia defense.  

In the 72nd minute, as Dani Alves dumped a wishful chip over everybody and out of bounds, something became very clear: Barça had not put together a single pass-built attack.  The ball had yet to complete a single turn around the back four, and Pique had spent most of the night within a few yards of his own goal.

Even so, Barça broke through in the 76th minute.  Xavi was given a few yards of space in Valencia territory, and he picked out Adriano on the left flank with a pass that was smartly let through by Iniesta.  Adriano cut back nicely to lose his defender, and with Pedro and Villa covered in front of goal, he found Messi streaking unmarked through the center with a perfectly weighted pass that Messi spanked on goal with his strong left foot.  Guaita got to there, but he couldn't keep the ball out, and as it trickled through to the back of the net, Messi charged off in celebration, turning to catch a leaping Adriano in his arms.

Valencia was crushed, but after a lengthy Barcelona celebration, 'Los Che' regrouped and fought back with a vengeance.  They played like a team that expected to net an equalizer, controlling the ball with more authority than either side had achieved all match.  But their eagerness let them down in the final third -- with hurried shots and men charging forward with speed only to blast crosses wide.

Guardiola looked to bleed this one out, sending Maxwell for Adriano in the 81st, and Keita for Iniesta in the 86th.  In the closing minutes Barça managed to do just enough to disrupt Valencia and prevent serious danger, thanks mostly to relentless pressure from Pedro and Dani Alves, and a surprisingly spry Xavi.  The midfielder's  90 strong minutes following a 10-day layoff were a testament to the quality of Barça's staff.

The whistle blew to end an entertaining and hard-fought match that enjoyed the best of Spanish football.  The game could've ended fairly in a draw, but while Valencia showed why they belong in the Champions' league, Barcelona came through with a monumental victory to move 10 points clear of Real Madrid.  Pep's reaction to his first victory in La Mestalla showed how big these three points were for his team, as he thumped assistant Tito Vilanova repeatedly on the back before grabbing his head and planting a big kiss in his hair.  La Liga might very well be over.