An unimpressive Barcelona side left it late but eventually managed to pick up all three points against Real Mallorca thanks to the returning Andrés Iniesta, who scored the decisive second in a 3-1 victory.
The Catalan outfit started the evening 27 points ahead of the island team but the gulf in class was not obvious from the start, as Mallorca took the lead with less than twenty minutes gone.
Aritz Aduriz was the scorer as he chipped Víctor Valdés following a superb run from the half-way line and Barcelona looked subdued for much of the first-half.
They did get back into it before half-time though as Thierry Henry smashed home from a corner at the back post, and then with just fifteen minutes left, Iniesta tapped home from close-range, after a move that looked to be offside.
Yaya Touré made the scoreline look more impressive as he smashed home from close range after some ball control in the box.
The performance might well be explained as simply a lack of practice over the Christmas break but no doubt some will look at the fact Barcelona were missing Lionel Messi again, who was only in the stands.
Either way, Barcelona extended their lead at the top of La Liga to 13 points over Sevilla, and Mallorca failed to move clear of the bottom four, despite a plucky display.
New Year, New Changes
The main news from the start was that Lionel Messi wasn't even in the squad following his late return from holiday, and Victor Sánchez made a surprise start at the middle of defence. Barcelona showed some signs of weariness too as they struggled to create anything of note in the opening ten minutes, and Mallorca looked comfortable sitting deep and defending. Indeed, the first real scare was near the Barcelona goal, as a ball over the top looked to be feeding in Aritz Aduriz, only for Víctor Valdés to come rushing out of his box, and Eric Abidal to nip in and take the ball away from everyone.
The home fans had little to cheer about early on, but should have seen their side take the lead when Yaya Touré pinged a long ball into the box towards Samuel Eto'o, only for the striker to volley wide from ten yards. Then, much to the shock of everyone in the Camp Nou, Mallorca took the lead with just fifteen minutes gone. Aduriz was both the creator and the scorer as he dribbled from the half-way line, out pacing Sánchez, and then dinking a delightful little chip over Valdés to put his side ahead. It was a sensational start for the island side, who were the last team to beat Barcelona at the Camp Nou back in May, and they didn't really face any immediate retaliation from the subdued hosts.
Indeed, it took until the 27th minute for Barça to create another chance, as Xavi pulled a corner to the edge of the box and Eidur Gudjohnsen struck a sweet shot that clipped the cross bar. They seemed to up the tempo after that chance though and Mallorca were indebted to Germán Lux as he made a great save to deny Touré from inside the box, following some smart passing from Barcelona. It did not take long for a visibly more confident Barça to take the lead though, as Carles Puyol flicked a corner on to Thierry Henry at the back post and he took one touch then smashed it in off the post across the helpless 'keeper.
Barcelona looked as though they would go on to grab another, the way they were starting to play but they couldn't do so, with Mallorca nearly going ahead when Valdés spilled a free-kick and the ball nearly landed at the feet of Aduriz. Neither team could break the deadlock before the half-time whistle though, although Barcelona did finish stronger as Lux made a good save to deny Eto'o from close range.
Similar Second-Half
The home side came out strongly in the second-half too, with the Mallorca defence doing brilliantly to block an Eto'o shot after Puyol had cut the ball back to him. However, they struggled to create any real clear-cut chances, as the away side defended deep and looked to hit on the counter-act. Henry did nearly manage to feed in Eto'o with a flick over the defence but he was just edged out and his shot flew over the bar.
Indeed, the biggest cheer in the second-half was reserved for the return of Andrés Iniesta, who came on to replace Aliaksandr Hleb with 65 minutes gone. The move proved to be a masterstroke too as the mercurial Spaniard grabbed the goal that put Barcelona ahead with just fifteen minutes left. Xavi started the move as he hit a shot from outside the box, that took a deflection, feeding in Gudjohnsen, who squared for Iniesta to tap in from a few yards out. Mallorca protested vehemently about the goal as it looked like both players could have been in the move, but the referee did not give anything.
The goal sparked a change from Mallorca as they tried to come out of their shell, but they struggled to create anything as the clock wore down. Barcelona on the other hand seemed happy with the result and were content to pass it around their visitors. Henry very nearly rounded off a lovely move towards the end as he flicked in a cross from Alves, but it went just wide of the far post. The end did have a twist for Mallorca, but not in a good way, as Josemi received a second yellow card for dragging down Iniesta with just a minute left on the clock. Things got worse too as Yaya Touré put the icing on the cake for Barcelona by finishing a lovely dribbling move inside the box by smashing past by Lux from close range.
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James Walker-Roberts, Goal.com
