What with karma, the universe, Pastafarianism, or what have you, Barcelona got a taste of their own medicine. Well, maybe not entirely. In the previous encounter Manchester City played a good game but were steamrolled by Barcelona. In this game, they still played very well, and did indeed emerge victorious, so not precisely the inverse of the previous situation. Now that I spent a paragraph clearing up my first sentence, let's switch our focus to football. Despite some extremely reactionary comments by us fans, Barcelona did not play a bad game, Manchester City simply had a terrific game. We will get through this. I've not a shred of doubt about it. We're a substantially deeper team than last season, and I believe in my coach. Setbacks will occur. What we learn from them will determine whether we succeed or fall short.

Unfortunately, the team was sunk by some rather regrettable mistakes by a couple of players that lead directly to opposing goals. Might the result have turned out differently had we held to the lead and capitalized on our own opportunities? Perhaps. the fact remains we didn’t execute, and some of the essentials were lacking or missing entirely. Delving now into what could have happened is immaterial and inconsequential. The fact remains we are still in the lead in a very complicated group, and could emerge from it as the number one seed. There is still some work to be done to attain that goal, but it is very well within our reach. However, I believe the effort put forth by some players needs to increase. We can’t always depend on the superstars to solve a game, which is not to say the superstars are the only ones putting forth maximum effort. After all, this is a team game and we need everybody to do their best.

Irish Goat’s Three Gamboling Goleadores!

1^st Goleador: André Gomes

The most valuable player of our midfield, and, quite deservedly, the man of the match. His work rate was admirable and his effort inspiring. The slightest wrinkle in an otherwise impeccable performance was the missed chance in front of goal, but even that was exciting. He might not be the flashiest player, but you know a player is having a good game were if feels as though he has multiplied and is everywhere on the field. I am also quite enamored with his passing and vision. I’ve mentioned this before about him and it hasn’t changed in the games I’ve seen him play since.

2^nd Goleador: Neymar

This is literally the third game in a row where I include Neymar as the second Goleador. Yes, I understand this is incredibly subjective as I am the one choosing the players each and every game, yet I trust I am not the only one seeing his current run of form. We all expect a trident of the best forwards in the world to be nigh unstoppable, but unfortunately these tremendous players are indeed human, and as such won’t always dazzle us with their abilities. In occasions, such as these, I am exhilarated by Neymar’s consistent work ethic and current run of form as opposed to a more flamboyant albeit brittle and ephemeral style of play.

3^rd Goleador: Luis Suárez

Despite what the score line would suggest, I felt this as one of the best game the attacking trident has played this season. If you’d had shown me only the first forty minutes of this match, I would’ve bet everything I own that this was a game Barcelona would end up winning. The passing was crisp and accurate, and the movement off the ball was quick, creating avenues and oxygenating the offense. We had the grand majority of possession and our high pressure was on point. I include Luisito in this list because lately he has not been performing to his astounding abilities. In this match, I saw more effort and more intent from him, what many Spanish speakers call Garra. This is the only choice in this game’s Goleadores which is truly incredibly subjective, but I will stand by it.

See you all this weekend, and as always Visca Barça!