Catalunya 4-2 Argentina

Posted Wednesday, December 23, 2009 by Goal.com

After a quiet but entertaining first half, the unofficial friendly between Catalunya and Argentina exploded to life in the second period with five goals as the hosts strolled to a convincing 4-2 win.

Argentina entered the game without their two icons, Lionel Messi and coach, Diego Maradona. The Catalans, meanwhile, summoned FC Barcelona’s big guns including Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, Sergio Busquets and Bojan Krkic, but other familiar faces such as Joan Capdevila, Oleguer and Sergio Garcia also made Johan Cruyff’s starting XI.

Both teams demonstrated their attacking intent right from the start, but it was Catalunya who created the first real opening after four minutes. Sergio Garcia picked up a square pass from Bruno and spun past his marker but his centre to Bojan was intercepted.

The first shot on target was fashioned up by Los Albicelestes after ten minutes. Ezequiel Lavezzi’s charging run and cross down the left was poorly cleared, but Javier Pastore drilled in a first time shot on the edge of the box which was easily saved by Victor Valdes.

Moments later, Angel Di Maria skipped down the left and chipped in a delicate cross for an unmarked Lavezzi, who mistimed his header and blazed his effort well over.

Straight to the other end, Busquets lofted in a cross to the backpost for Sergio Garcia, but the Real Betis forward completely miscued his volley despite being given space and time to shoot.

The best sequence of action came in the 23rd minute. Catalunya strung a number of scintillating high-speed passes together but lost the ball right on the edge of the box. The Argentines launched a counterattack immediately as Lavezzi screamed through the middle with the ball, checked past a crowd of defenders before curling in a right foot shot from 20 yards out which Valdes managed to tip over at full stretch.

Higuain then came close when he charged past Puyol into the box but slammed his shot over the bar. Just past the half-hour mark, Xavi caressed a freekick right on the edge of the area which floated marginally over the bar before coming to rest on the roof of the net.

Di Maria then thought he had won a penalty for Argentina when he followed up a cross which Valdes spilled and was tripped down by the Blaugrana shot-stopper, but the referee waved away the appeals. Higuain had another excellent opportunity in the 40th minute when he connected with Lavezzi’s cross but he could only thump his header straight at Valdes from six yards out.

The deadlock was finally broken two minutes from half-time. Verdu angled in a precise diagonal cross from the left and Sergio Garcia outjumped his marker and glanced a header past Diego Pozo.

The Argentines came out firing in the second half and just five minutes in, Di Maria should have equalised. Higuain played in the Benfica winger with a lovely through ball but with only Valdes to beat, he dragged his low shot wide.

But Catalunya stung the visitors on 55 minutes. Bojan picked up the ball in midfield, charged towards goal unattended and shimmied past three defenders inside the box before rifling in a low shot past Pozo into the bottom corner.

Bojan almost doubled his tally minutes later when he capitalised on a defensive mistake but his shot was smothered by an on-rushing Pozo.

Argentina pulled one back on 62 minutes. Pastore picked up a pass from Jesus Datolo, lifted the ball up himself and unleashed an unstoppable volley into the top corner. But just seven minutes later, the Catalans restored their two goal cushion when Sergio Gonzalez coolly converted a penalty. Two minutes after that, the South Americans reduced the gap again.

Lavezzi drew out two defenders before squaring the ball to Di Maria, who sidefooted a low shot past Valdes from the edge of the box. The goals didn’t stop there and on 75 minutes, Espanyol’s Moises Hurtado made it 4-2 when he ghosted in behind Martin Demichelis to head home Verdu’s freekick.

Di Maria should have had a second when he latched onto a through ball but his audacious chip over the advancing Jordi Codina bobbled wide. Lavezzi then came close twice in the closing stages while Oscar Serrano almost got a fifth for Catalunya deep into injury time.