Moltes Grácies - Many Thanks

What a beautiful feeling it is to wake up on a monday morning and being solitary leaders.

It was going to be one of these matches, where nothing is going to come easy. Barcelona started well, in focus, not giving anything up and with all team members totally dedicated. Gudjohnsen fought like a white lion for each ball, even Ronaldinho did some tracking back. Deco was the fighter we knew him as, Iniesta was always becoming an option for his team members, Puyol wanting to move on, with the tragic death of his father and Márquez serious.
Zaragoza did score a first goal, through a corner, once again showing a leak in defending set pieces. All old ghosts started to make themselves present, it was one of these moments, where you think: "Oh, no, not again". After several team members having had double training sessions, in hope to acquire fitness, after a very tough start of the season. The team has not been itself, and where there is not one rumour there is another one, where one problem has been dealt with another gets invented. Now the recent talk is of Rijkaard leaving at the end of the season. If he does it is not surprising, it wastes a lot on any human being, having to constantly blow out fires, that are started by the club itself.
After a promising start to the game, suddenly Barça were one nil down and Zaragoza were attacking with quite some danger. Barcelona managed to blow that away and Ronaldinho scored shortly thereafter with a header from a corner. He shouted like a possessed man out all the tension that he had to bear in the last few weeks. Messi and Edmilson both received tackles that brought them out of the game. Ronaldinho is not back to his best, but he is slowly getting closer, he does not bring out all the doubt that people had in his game. Not that all changes with a goal, but his attitude was better, he seems hungry again and prepared to lead the team to new glories in Eto'o's abscence. The game was tense, but one could almost feel that Barcelona would score at some moment, once again it was not really the quality of the play that proved it, but the attitude. It seems like the team has gained something, be it fitness, be it authority, or credibility. Then suddenly it all blew up by an appalling play acting from Diego Milito, a player I really like. In a dispute of a ball, Motta's reputation got him sent off. Milito went down and clutched his face as Motta brushed his... chest. Barcelona player were furious and there was a sense that they would all be sent off, shortly after in an act of almost reconciliation the referee sent off the other Milito brother, Gabriel, when he dragged down Saviola as the last defender. I am glad Motta got sent off in a way, as perhaps in Madrid they will stop moaning about "El Villerato", the conspiracy of referee help. With Milito's sending off there was a fierce going through, a rage, a willingness to win, that caused a wave after wave, with Ronaldinho especially looking furious and focused (Motta is one of his best friends), Saviola made some very clever runs and from a wonderful freekick Ronaldinho put Barcelona ahead and in the dying minutes of the game, Ronaldinho almost repeated the freekick, but it bounced of the bar and Saviola headed it in. It almost caused a celebration similar of winning a title.

What I liked
Ronaldinho is close to being himself.
Gudjhonsen's tracking back and pressing the opposite team, being the first defender.
Puyol got a victory
Saviola is proving to be very valid
The team spirit

What I don't like
The mistake in defending that caused the Zaragoza goal
Milito's play acting

Thank you for making me proud again of my team. It is just what I want, dedication, a team spirit and never giving up.