The Predictable Super Cup.

As the insufferable image of Andy Townsend unnecessarily droned on about the difficulties the English clubs would face in this year's Champions League in ITV4's build up to the Super Cup, I had a little think;

"This'll be a doddle for Barca; they've already seen off Madrid and Porto have lost Falcao! Another trophy for Guardiola."

To an extent, I was right, but Barcelona were made to work a little harder than I anticipated for their victory. Right from the kick off Porto reminded everyone exactly why they were in the final. Hulk and Kleber harassed and annoyed at a decidedly weakened Barcelona defence, putting them under pressure that they didn't seem to expect. Eric Abidal in particular looked uncharacteristically uneasy on the ball, frequently misplacing his passes and even getting tackled by the industrious Porto forwards. However, as is the problem with most teams that play Barca, Porto couldn't convert the half-chances they created, and as the game wore on, Barca found their feet and fired up the carousel.

Their style of play was hampered by the poor Monaco pitch which, because it was ridiculously built on concrete, is infamous. The ball bobbled around and Barca's slick play became a lot less cohesive than usual. They struggled to trouble Porto in the opening half an hour and if Hulk had managed to get his head on a cross that Valdes had flapped at, Barcelona would have found themselves in a very compromising position. Dani Alves was firing in some truly awful crosses and David Villa was doing his utmost to stay offside. They looked vulnerable. 

Frustratingly for new coach Vitor Pereira, Porto didn't look sharp either and, on the 39th minute, gifted their opponents the lead. Breaking from defence, Freddy Guarin ran into a bit of trouble in the Barca midfield, at which point he sensibly played the ball back to his 'keeper. Messi, still trotting back from the attack, latched onto it, jinked by the onrushing Helton and scored his 185th goal for the Catalan giants. As soon as the ball trickled over the line, all hopes of a Porto win/draw/exciting game were extinguished. Barcelona ended the half undeservedly, but expectedly, ahead. 

The second half started equally as slowly as the first. Barca bossing the possession but still not looking as clinical as they were last season, and Porto chasing valiantly and breaking when possible. Joao Moutinho came close, and Guarin had a 35-yarder tipped around the post, but they just didn't seem to trouble Valdes. The game became more interesting as Messi and Iniesta became more involved. Porto found their vision, movement and passing too much and soon pockets of space began to pepper their half. A neat interchange between the two resulted in Villa trying to squeeze a shot past Helton, but the Spaniard was thwarted by the smart save from the 'keeper. The Porto No. 1 was quickly called into action again as Pedro was played in by Messi, but the Barcelona forward's loose check back allowed the keeper to clear. The carousel was now at full tilt.

A couple of substitutions and a yellow card for Rolando broke up the play a bit and allowed the trailing side to come back into the game. A moment of poor communication saw Valdes rush under a Mascherano back-pass header, unfortunately Kleber couldn't capitalise in the same way that Messi did. The back line did look rattled though and just a few minutes later the game should have changed. Abidal clumsily challenged Guarin in the box but the referee waved play on, convinced there was no foul. The replays showed that Abidal got very little of the ball and heavily suggested a penalty would have been the correct decision. With that blip past them Barca continued to dominate through Iniesta and Messi. Rolando fouled the little Argentinian again and was - somewhat harshly I feel - sent off. Very soon after that Messi picked up the ball on the right, came inside and lifted a sublime pass onto the advancing Fabregas' chest, who then volleyed into the roof of the net. It was a lovely goal, and it practically engraved Barcelona's name onto the Super Cup. There was just a couple minutes remaining when Guarin received a straight red for a foolishly late tackle on Mascherano, but the game was already lost. The final whistle blew and as the fans' roar reached a crescendo in Monaco, about a billion people watching at home nodded sharply and said; "Knew they would win."

It was predictable, but not too comfortable.

szólj hozzá: Barcelona 2-0 FC Porto