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Barcelona 5 - Besiktas 0 Barcelona: Arnau; Puyol, Abelardo, Petit (Gerard 68'); Xavi (Gabri 84'), Cocu; Simao, Luis Enrique, Sergi (Gerard 63'); Rivaldo, Dani (Kluivert 63'). 3-2-3-2. Goals: Final league positions (6
matches): Barcelona were knocked out of the Champions League at the first stage after finishing third in their group. Although they did do all they could on the night, winning by five clear goals against Besiktas, they could do nothing to influence the result of the other group match between Milan and Leeds United, which ended in a 1-1 draw, enough for both teams to qualify for the next round. A victory for Milan would have meant that Barcelona finished ahead of Leeds on goal average, and rumours abounded before the match on the one side that the Spaniards had offered massive financial incentives to the Italian club and their players to win, and on the other side that Milan had no interest in helping a potentially difficult opponent to continue in the competition and that therefore they would not try. In the end though most commentators agreed that the result was fair, and Milan did at least put out their best first team players for the game. Barcelona and Besiktas also put out their best teams, with the Turkish side needing a victory to snatch third spot which offered a gateway through to the UEFA cup competition. However Turkish clubs do not travel well, and although they have a formidable home record, the team from Istanbul have been disastrous away. Within 20 minutes Barcelona were two up, both goals coming from Rivaldo corners on the right in identical fashion, with first Cocu and then Luis Enrique on the end of the move. All thoughts then switched to the San Siro, with 60,000 ears glued to 60,000 transistor radios, and when Milan were awarded a penalty the crowd at the Nou Camp went silent. However Shevchenko's shot hit the post and bounced out, and the Barça players didn't have to guess what had happened from the crowd's reaction. Then Matteo scored for the English side just before the break, and the hotdog sellers in Barcelona moaned, their half time profits down the chute as nobody felt hungry any more. Even Luis Enrique's second of the night just after the interval did little to restore the atmosphere, and it was only when Serginho equalised for Milan halfway through the half that the crowd got behind the players. The Spanish television cameras were connecting constantly with Italy, and they finally gave up on transmitting the game from the Nou Camp and just concentrated on the Milan game. Barça did get two more in the meantime through a Rivaldo penalty and then from substitute Gabri, but nobody noticed. With a few minutes to go it became clear that neither Milan nor Leeds were prepared to risk anything at the end, and the game slowed to walking pace. Both whistles went within seconds of each other, and never was a five goal victory so badly received. The crowd did however applaud their players off the pitch, but the competition was lost earlier in the season with their losses against Milan at home and Besiktas away, and nobody blamed Milan or Leeds for what they did on the night. Barcelona's consolation is the UEFA cup, and they will play Bruges in the third round. They put on a brave face about it, but the loss of revenue from their early elimination will make a big hole in their budget. Serra Ferrer needs some good results in the league now to restore the faith. Luis Fernández and others are waiting in the wings..... |
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