daniel alves has called on fc barcelona to reproduce the intensity they showed in saturday's win over sevilla fc as they go in search of the victory that would secure their progress.
full-back daniel alves said fc barcelona would have to maintain the form they showed in the 5-0 rout of sevilla fc on saturday if they were to get the better of fc københavn in group d of the uefa champions league.
alves was among the scorers at the weekend as barcelona stayed within touching distance of liga leaders real madrid cf, but he expects a tougher test at the parken stadion. fck lost 2-0 in barcelona a fortnight ago, but made enough chances in the second half to unsettle the group leaders and ensure the danish champions go into the return with plenty of belief.
"the last match was difficult as [københavn] are a very strong and well-organised team with a lot of quality," said the 27-year-old alves. "we will have to learn from our last meeting and come out with the same intensity we showed at the weekend, but claiming the three points will be hard. we are improving as the season progresses and will try to match the performance against sevilla, but the home crowd will ensure that it will not be easy."
a host of missed chances cost barcelona victory on matchday 2 when they were forced to settle for a 1-1 draw at fc rubin kazan, and fck might also have taken a point at camp nou had they made the most of their chances after the break. dame n'doye crashed a volley against the bar and césar santin missed with a header with the goal at his mercy, before messi secured the win with his second goal in added time. that victory moved the catalan side past fck and into top spot in group d and another victory on tuesday will secure their progress.
fck defender sölvi ottesen, however, is confident his side can stop them and improve their own chances of advancing. the icelandic centre-back is a major threat from set pieces, which will be one of the home side's main weapons on tuesday. "i feel in good form and am really looking forward to this match, it is the biggest in my career," said the 26-year-old, who missed the match in barcelona with a broken arm. "i believe we can get at least a draw which would put us in the driving seat to advance to the next round."
lionel messi added to his two goals when the two sides met a fortnight ago but his 31st-minute opener was rapidly cancelled out by claudemir.
claudemir's rapid response to lionel messi's first-half opener edged fc københavn a vital step closer to the uefa champions league knockout phase while preventing fc barcelona from already stamping their ticket.
fresh from troubling the spanish champions in a 2-0 camp nou loss two weeks ag, fck again played with commendable belief, setting the early tempo and claudemir levelling within 60 seconds after lionel messi had added to his double in that match. goalkeeper johan wiland also put in an eye-catching shift to keep københavn four points ahead of next opponents fc rubin kazan in second place. one point clear at the summit, barcelona will hope to seal their progress at panathinaikos fc on matchday 5.
both teams were given a lift before kick-off with the news that section rivals rubin and panathinaikos had drawn 0-0 in russia, and they began with the look of sides feeling at home in the top two places. if that was more surprising coming from the danish outfit, it was they who nearly registered within three minutes, claudemir crashing a loose ball against the corner of post and crossbar from 30 metres out.
martin vingaard then tested víctor valdés directly from successive corners, but barcelona could not be subdued forever and, with 22 minutes gone, johan wiland did excellently to turn a david villa shot against the woodwork. the københavn goalkeeper followed up by denying sergio busquets from close range but he was powerless to stop messi as the argentinian international fired in off the far post after fck's centre-backs had converged to cut out seydou keita's header to villa but failed to clear.
instead of wilting, ståle solbakken's surged back with defiance, claudemir volleying low beyond víctor valdés after he had let a jesper grønkjær cross slip through his fingers. the barcelona no1 did better to save from oscar wendt, yet it was his counterpart who ended the half the busiest, pulling off a trio of stops from messi.
wiland continued to impress after the break as well, palming clear an iniesta effort as his team-mates faded as an attacking force – until cristián bolaños screwed wide with 20 minutes remaining. that miss seemed to galvanise his colleagues and they were soon celebrating when dame n'doye headed in, only for the striker to be penalised for a foul. n'doye then had to be shepherded wide after threatening to bury a memorable winner, which is precisely what substitute pedro rodríguez nearly provided when he blasted against the post in added time.
yardımcı hakemler: zoltán székely (rou), sebastian gheorghe (rou)
4. hakem: augustus constantin (rou)
çizgi hakemleri: marius avram (rou), istván kovács (rou)
københavn: johan wiland (gk), zdeněk pospěch, claudemir, william kvist (c), jesper grønkjær, dame n'doye, mikael antonsson, oscar wendt, martin vingaard (dk. 90 sölvi ottesen), mathias zanka jørgensen, christián bolaños (dk. 90+1 thomas delaney)
yedekler: kim christensen (gk), morten nordstrand, césar santin, thomas kristensen, kenneth zohore
teknik direktör: ståle solbakken (nor)
barcelona: víctor valdés (gk), daniel alves, gerard piqué, carles puyol (c), xavi hernández, david villa (dk. 80 pedro rodríguez), andrés iniesta, lionel messi, seydou keita, sergio busquets, éric abidal
yedekler: rubén miño (gk), bojan krkić, javier mascherano, gabriel milito, maxwell, adriano
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