New Delhi: It took a while, but Barcelona eventually found their scintillating form, smashing four past Numancia.
Four second half goals helped Barcelona to a comfortable win over Numancia on Saturday night.
Pep Guardiola put out his strongest possible line-up, while Sergio Kresic packed his side with five defenders to counter Barca's fearsome attack.
First Half
As expected, Barcelona dominated the opening exchanges, with Numancia barely getting a touch of the ball. The first chance came on five minutes, when Dani Alves nearly succeeded in chipping Juan Pablo from the right, only to see the ball bounce off the crossbar.
For all their dominance, Barca were not creating too many clear cut chances, and they should have paid for it on 18 minutes. Del Pino headed in a Javier Barkero cross, but the referee penalized him for a push on Iniesta. It was a harsh call, which could easily have gone the other way.
That acted as a wake up call for the home side, as they began to attack with more venom, with Lionel Messi in particular livening up. On 21 minutes, Xavi wasted a golden chance when he mis-kicked the ball from around the penalty spot, after Samuel Eto'o had set him up.
Five minutes later, the opener almost came from an unlikely source, as Pique fired just wide from outside the box. Barcelona continued to monopolize possession, but unlike in previous weeks, the ball refused to go in, due to a combination of poor finishing and desperate defending.
With ten minutes to go, Juan Pablo pulled off one of the saves of the season. A brilliant run from Iniesta saw him through on goal, but his chip was foiled at point blank range by the outstretched hand of the keeper. Lionel Messi then went on a trademark run, beating about five players in the box before eventually being crowded out.
Somehow the score remained goalless at the break, and Numancia would have been pleased with their efforts, especially given the amount of teams who have been dead and buried at this stage at the Camp Nou this season. Indeed, were it not for the referee, the visitors may well have been ahead, despite only creating one chance.
Second Half
Barely a minute after the restart, Barcelona had the ball in the back of the net, but Eto'o's backheel was ruled out for offside. It did not take long, however, for Barca to find the back of the net, and the goal was yet another classic.
Recieving the ball on the edge of the box, Dani Alves, chipped it over the defender before heading it into the path of Messi, who calmly glided the ball into the net with his first touch. It was a cruel blow to Numancia so early on in the second period, but the goal had an air of inevitability about it.
The visitors had not given up though, and moments later, Nagore fired a wild shot over from just outside the box. It proved to be a false dawn, however, as Barcelona went up the other end and scored another.
Latching onto Iniesta's through ball, Eto'o raced into the box and slotted past Juan Pablo with consummate ease. Numancia were convinced that he was offside, but the referee was unconvinced, and rightly so. The visitors' frustration was understandable, since a two goal deficit seemed almost impossible to overcome, especially given their defensive formation and mentality.
If Barcelona were counting their chickens, however, they were shocked on the hour mark when Numancia pulled one back in spectacular fashion. Having been awarded a free-kick on the edge of the box, Barkero stepped up and whipped in a trademark left-footed shot that went over the wall and under the post, nestling in the back of the net. Victor Valdes may have been disappointed to be beaten at his near post, but it was a venomous strike that would have seriously tested any keeper.
Sensing an opportunity, Kresic immediately freshened his stocks, replacing Goiria with Aranda. Numancia soon earned another free-kick, but this time Nagore's strike was well stopped by Valdes. Iniesta then went on another mazy run, but his shot from just inside the box was eventually blocked by Ortega. With twenty minutes left, however, Henry made sure of the points with a wonderful strike.
Lionel Messi shimmied his way around the edge of the box before passing to Henry, but the Frenchman still had a lot of work to to do. With his back to goal, he pivoted before slotting the ball into the bottom right hand corner with precision. That would be his last contribution, as he was promptly withdrawn for Sergi Busquets.
The signs were ominous for Numancia, and Messi duly added another with 15 minutes to go. Receiving the ball from Eto'o, he jinked his way through to the penalty spot, only to see Juan Pablo save his shot. However, the rebound fell kindly to him, and all that remained was to slot the ball into an empty net.
Samuel Eto'o then had a chance to add his second, but his touch when through on goal was too heavy, allowing Juan Pablo to smother the ball. As if things couldn't get any worse for Numancia, their captain Palacios was soon sent off for his second yellow. Meanwhile, Guardiola used the opportunity to grant Bojan and Aliaksandr Hleb some playing time, withdrawing Iniesta and Xavi.
Lionel Messi then saw yet another of his shots saved by Juan Pablo, without whom the score may well have entered double figures. The game was now being played entirely in Numancia's box, and the only point remaining to be sorted out was how many more Barca would score. Messi soon thought he had his hat-trick, but his chip rattled the crossbar, after he had been released by Busquets on the left.
With a minute left, Eto'o had yet another chance to score his second, but he dragged his shot wide of the near post from a tight angle. Mere seconds later, he was set up again, but this time he failed to connect with Dani Alves' cross.
That proved to be the final action of a frantic match in which Barca scored four second half goals, but could easily have had ten. Their lead is now 15 points, pending Sevilla and Real Madrid's matches.
Barcelona 4-1 Numancia
Messi 49, 75 Barkero 60
Eto'o 52
Henry 71
Barcelona: Valdes - Dani Alves, Puyol, Pique, Abidal - Toure, Xavi (Hleb 82), Iniesta (Bojan 79) - Messi, Henry (Busquets 73), Eto'o
Numancia: Juan Pablo - Palacios, Boris, Ortega, Juanra, Bellvís - Nagore, Dimas - Del Pino, Barkero (Quero 79) - Goiria (Aranda 62)
Yellow Cards: Dimas 23, Xavi 24, Palacios 58, Pique 65, Del Pino 81, Ortega 90
Red Cards: Palacios 80
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