08/31/2011
Barcelona confirmed their elegant domination of European football on Friday by beating Porto 2-0 in the European Super Cup showpiece in Monte Carlo on Friday.
Lionel Messi was the star of the show despite a horrible pitch in the Stade Louis II, scoring Barca's first goal and setting up the second for supersub Cesc Fabregas.
Porto, spirited but limited, sorely lacked Radamel Falcao, top scorer in the Europa League last season, who has just been sold to Atletico Madrid.
The Portuguese champions lost their discipline at the end and had Ronaldo and Freddy Guarin sent off, for desperate fouls on Messi and Javier Mascherano.
The Super Cup is the curtain-raiser for the European football season, played between the winners of the Champions League and the Europa League.
The triumph left Pep Guardiola as the most successful Barca coach ever, with 12 major trophies in his astonishing three-year reign. It also left playmaker Xavi as the Barca player with most trophies ever, 18 now in his immaculate career.
Xavi said that "it was a difficult game, partly due to the pitch. Also, they are a good team. We were not as superior as on other occasions."
The little midfield maestro added: "We are making history, and we just want to continue working hard and making people happy. This is a great epoch that we are enjoying."
Meanwhile, Mascherano said: "The important thing tonight was to win, this is another trophy for us. We are showing a lot of ambition, and maybe what we are doing is unrepeatable."
Porto's Brazilian striker Hulk, for his part, bemoaned the fact that "we didn't take our chances tonight. They are a very good team, but it would have been a different match if we had managed to score."
Xavi and company lacked their usual rhythm and fluency, in part due to a horrible pitch in the Stade Louis II, but were always in the driving seat. Porto made an aggressive start, pressing Barca powerfully in midfield, and Barca keeper Victor Valdes had to make an early save from Joao Moutinho.
However, Porto's game plan went up in smoke six minutes from half time when the Colombian youngster unintentionally Guarin set up Messi with a horrendous back-pass.
Messi - on Thursday voted the most important player in last season's European competitions - calmly skipped around keeper Helton and made it 1-0 with his sweet left foot.
The Super Cup was the only club competition in which the FIF World Player had not yet scored - until Friday.
Barca dominated possession in the second half but Porto refused to give up. Guarin forced a sharp save from Valdes with a low drive. Twelve minutes from time Porto were unlucky not to be given a penalty when Eric Abidal clumsily hacked down Guarin.
Four minutes from time, Messi cleverly set up Fabregas with a precise lob and the former Arsenal captain controlled with his chest and made it 2-0 with a calm volley.
Fabregas has enjoyed a sensational start since finally joining Barca two weeks ago, after his prolonged transfer saga. He has already picked up two major trophies, the Super Cups of both Spain and Europe.
