Barca frustrated by Rubin
Russians maintain unbeaten record against Spaniards in Europe
Barcelona and Rubin Kazan played out a 1-1 draw in their UEFA Champions League clash which proved to be a tale of two penalties at the Ortalyk Tsentralnyi Stadium.
Rubin, the Russian champions who stunned Barca in the same competition last year with a 2-1 triumph at Camp Nou, elected to use the Jose Mourinho school of thought to get a result in their Group D clash
Mourinho’s defensive tactics worked wonders for Inter Milan against the Primera Division superpower in last season’s competition and Kurban Berdyev’s counter-attacking display paid dividends in the first-half as Christian Noboa scored from the spot after 30 minutes.
Barca, who left Lionel Messi on the bench for the clash, bossed the matchday two fixture and their equaliser also came via a penalty when David Villa sneaked a 60th minute strike past the brilliant Sergei Ryzhikov in Rubin’s goal.
The point means Pep Guardiola’s side top the pile with four points from their first two games, but FC Copenhagen have the chance to leap-frog the Spaniards when they play Panathinaikos later on Wednesday.
Slick
Torrential rain in Russia allowed the visitors a slick surface to play their passing game in Wednesday’s encounter and the Spanish champions soon got into their flow as David Villa slipped in Pedro Rodriguez in the 12th minute.
But the World Cup winner — one of eight in the Barca starting XI — saw his first-time shot cannon off the bar before Rubin goalkeeper Ryzhikov gratefully caught the rebound.
Rubin may have been the fifth biggest spenders in Europe over the summer, but the hosts were chasing shadows for the first quarter of the match and you would have been fooled into thinking they were the away side, such was Barca’s dominance.
Villa, who picked up his first red card for Barca at the weekend, got a sight of goal in the 26th minute as he collected Dani Alves’ drifted cross to the back post but the Spanish striker could only lash a left-foot volley wide of Ryzhikov’s goal.
Barca’s supremacy counted for little three minutes later though as Rubin were awarded a penalty against the run of play.
Vitali Kaleshin managed to break into the Spaniards’ penalty area on a rare attack for the Russians and Turkish referee Cuneyt Cakir had no option but to award the home side a spot kick when Alves took a wild swing at his opposing number.
Captain Christian Noboa stepped up confidently in the 30th minute before blasting his penalty past a disappointed Victor Valdez, who was able to get his knee on the strike but he was unable to stop the Rubin skipper from giving his side the lead.
The goal failed to deter Barca as they continued to enjoy the lion’s share of possession but they managed to muster just one chance two minutes before the interval as Pedro fired wide inside the penalty area after a clever knock-down from Villa.
Territorial
The second-half saw Guardiola’s side maintain their territorial advantage in the match but they were failing to trouble Rubin’s goal, with Villa’s 55th minute free-kick there only real chance in the opening stages after the restart.
Barca signalled for Lionel Messi to warm up as Guardiola prepared to make his first substitution of the evening, and while the World Player of the Year went through his routines, his side grabbed a deserved equaliser from the spot on the hour mark.
First, Lasha Salukvadze was guilty of a clumsy challenge on Andreas Iniesta inside the penalty area and Villa soon applied the finish, albeit the striker’s effort squeezed into the bottom corner after Ryzhikov got a hand to the shot.
To make matters worse for Rubin, Messi — who missed the last three games after an ankle injury — replaced compatriot Javier Mascherano, who did little to warrant his first Champions League start for the Catalan giants.
It was Alves, who inadvertely found himself through on goal in the 62nd minute after a terrible headed backpass Cesar Navas from Villa’s deflected cross, but Ryzhikov managed to block the Brazilian full-back’s toe-poke.
And the Russian goalkeeper continued to impress between the posts as his bravery two minutes later denied Villa from point-blank range before the 30-year-old was at it again to stop Messi from scoring in the 71st minute.
Rubin turned to their bench and their second substitute Obafemi Martins — formerly of Newcastle — went close with a snap-shot in the 76th minute but the hosts were posing no real threat to their La Liga opponents.
That was until the 87th minute, when a rapid attack nearly yielded a late winner for the hosts. Kaleshin’s inswinging cross caught out the Barca defence, allowing Martins a free header at goal but the Nigerian’s effort crashed off the post.
Barca had a chance to snatch the spoils in stoppage time when Messi played in Iniesta in the 92nd minute but the man who scored the winning goal for La Roja in the World Cup final failed to find the finish in Russia and it ended all square.
