Third away draw (1-1)

Third away draw (1-1)

Valladolid and Barça drew 1-1 at the Nuevo Zorrilla in the tenth game of the league season. Llorente put the home side one up, but Ronaldinho levelled affairs shortly before the break.
Valladolid v Barça was anything but a memorable game. Neither side sealed control of the game, although Valladolid did take the early initiative, and got their reward with a 15th minute goal from Llorente. Barça bounced back shortly before the break when Xavi and Ronaldinho produced a terrific move that the latter ended up transforming into a goal. After the restart, it was Barcelona that looked the better side, but Valladolid proved far harder to break down than many might have expected. Both sides had their chances to clinch the three points, Bojan hit the post in the 58th minute, but it ended all square in yet another draw away from home for Barça following stalemates in Santander and Pamplona.

Strong start from Valladolid

The home side started firing on all cylinders, Sesma coming close after 3 minutes, and Sisi getting a chance 10 minutes later. Valdés saved the day on both occasions. But Barça were struggling to get the ball moving forwards against a solidly deployed home side. Mendilíbar’s side went ahead with their third opportunity, Llorente breaking into the Barça area to take advantage a lucky bounce to slot the ball home. This was not the start Barça had been hoping for. Here comes Ronaldinho

It took 25 minutes for Barça to finally gain any meaningful possession of the ball, and once they did so, they started causing more and more danger. It was in the 42nd minute that they got what they were after, with Xavi threading a class ball through to Ronaldinho, who broke free from his marker and struck home with a delightful medium height shot. From there on, Valladolid opted to keep things tight at the back and fought on to deservedly keep things even at half time.

Bojan shows class

Things changed after the break, with Barcelona’s one-twos and speed confounding the Valladolid midfield. The chances came thick and fast, with two falling to Bojan with a high shot in the 56th minute and then a strike at the right post defended by home keeper Alberto. But the winning goal just didn’t want to come, and Valladolid responded by clawing their own way back into the game. Touré Yaya left the field to be replaced by Gudjohnsen, who worked wonders for Barça’s presence in the centre of the park.

Chances fall both ways

Neither side was able to dominate the midfield, and this meant chances fell for either side. Valladolid based their play on fast counter attacks that Valdés had little problem coping with. Barça meanwhile relied upon an inspired Ronaldinho to penetrate the opposition’s defence, and in the 87th minute looked like scoring but was brought down in what the Barça players claimed was a penalty. But the referee didn’t want to know anything about it, and the game ended with the spoils shared in an intense game at the Nuevo Zorrilla.