Barca, Lazio and Man City Streaks End Across Europe

WhoScored’s regular Monday article takes a look at some of the streaks that came to an end in  Europe’s main leagues over the last few days. Getafe’s 1-0 home win over Barcelona sent shock waves through Europe and ended the visitors’ twenty-seven match unbeaten run in all competitions.  Over in Italy, a top of the table showdown saw Juventus secure a crucial win at Lazio, sending their hosts crashing to defeat for the first time since the second game of the season. Manchester City’s seven-match winning run came to an end at Anfield on Sunday afternoon, in a hard-fought 1-1 draw with Liverpool. Barca’s defeat now leaves City and Juve as the only two undefeated clubs in Europe’s five top leagues as the domestic season edges into December.

Barca Wasteful at Getafe

Pep Guardiola’s side completely controlled the proceedings and were far superior in almost every aspect of the game against Getafe. In terms of possession, Barca has 73%, up on their away average of 69.8%, with Xavi –as always- central to their play, making 124 passes. The visitors had 20 shots compared to Getafe’s 7; again, this exceeded their average on the road (15.2) but only 6 of these were on target. In a real smash and grab performance, the host side found the net with their only attempt on target all game.

Barca showed the appetite to battle, making 26 tackles to Getafe’s 19, with Sergio Busquets the most impressive- he made 7 tackles and 9 interceptions, a tally mirrored by the home side’s Michel in an intriguing central midfield tussle. Xavi’s creativity was unfortunate not to reap reward- he produced 8 key passes but due to poor Barca finishing, he failed to pick up a single assist.

A noticeable stat was the lack of successful dribbles from Guardiola’s side- they managed only 5 all game, just 1 more than their hosts, and substantially down from their away average of 9.5. Lionel Messi had a clear off day- he made just 1 successful dribble, no key passes and had only 1 shot on target from a total of 6 attempts.

Alexis Sanchez and David Villa, the other members of the front three on Saturday, had 4 efforts each, with both managing just 1 on target. Pedro, on as a sub with eighteen minutes remaining, had 3 on target in comparison but due to a man of the match display from Miguel Angel Moya in the Getafe goal, Barca could not find a way through and now sit six points behind arch-rivals Real Madrid.

Buffon Defies Lazio

Both sides came into the game level on 22 points ahead of the Stadio Olimpico showdown. Lazio’s home form had been patchy, though, with just two wins from five in front of their own fans prior to Saturday’s clash. Juventus had been solid on their travels, conceding just 2 goals away from home but their clean sheet can be put down to the heroics of Gianluigi Buffon between the posts, with the keeper making 8 saves to pick up a WhoScored rating of 9.4 and the subsequent man of the match award.

In terms of possession, Juventus tend to boss away games, and this continued at Lazio, though their average of 59% dropped to 54% here. Both sides increased their averages for goal attempts, too, in a thoroughly open game that was far from as dour as the scoreline suggests. Lazio just edged it with 19 shots to 18 and had 8 efforts on target to Juve’s 5 but Buffon, in an inspired performance, defied them time and again.

Hernanes was the home side’s main culprit; playing behind a front two, he had 8 efforts, hit the post and had 3 on target, but could not beat Buffon. He also produced 4 key passes, the most of any Lazio player, though Miroslav Klose was a real disappointment- the German managed a single shot on target throughout. Abdoulay Konko was outstanding for the hosts in defence- the right-back made 10 tackles, 6 interceptions and 6 clearances, keeping Mirko Vucinic quiet on Juventus’ left flank.

Although Lazio made 23 tackles to Juve’s 21, the visitors won the crucial midfield battle- Arturo Vidal (5 tackles and 4 interceptions) and Claudio Marchisio (1 tackle and 7 interceptions) helped gain control of the crucial area, allowing Andrea Pirlo the time and space to weave his magic, making 78 passes, the most of any player on the pitch.

Simone Pepe and Alessandro Matri managed 4 goal attempts apiece and though Matri failed to hit the target with any of his efforts, Pepe grabbed the crucial match-winner to clinch all three points and keep Juventus’ unbeaten season intact in what was a massive win.

Hart to the Rescue for City

Perhaps the previous day’s result at Old Trafford had played a part in Roberto Mancini’s thinking for the trip to Liverpool. With Man United drawing against Newcastle, Mancini knew a draw was enough to maintain their five point gap at the top of the Premier League and as a result, fielded just one recognised forward from the start. City average 55.6% possession away from home but had just 49% yesterday, with their lack of any real attacking impetus giving Liverpool the edge.

Liverpool had 17 shots to the visitors’ 7 - given that City average 17.7 away from home, the reduction in attempts was clearly substantial. Kenny Dalglish’s side managed 6 on target to the visitors’ 3, with City thankful to Joe Hart for keeping their unbeaten record alive - the keeper picked up the WhoScored man of the match award, making 6 saves and 2 good claims, with only a deflected Joleon Lescott own goal managing to beat him.

The hosts also showed more battle, winning 24 tackles to City’s 20; Lucas was superb in the centre of midfield, making 7 tackles and 6 interceptions to break up his opponents’ attacking moves throughout. Vincent Kompany produced a captain’s performance for the league leaders, opening the scoring and making 4 tackles, 6 interceptions and 13 clearances in the heart of defence.

Luis Suarez was unlucky not to get amongst the goals - the Uruguayan was the best attacker on show, managing 3 shots, 2 key passes and 3 successful dribbles, though Sergio Aguero was a big disappointment for City, with only 1 effort all game. Mario Balotelli, on as a sub in the 65th minute, lasted eighteen minutes before receiving his marching orders for two yellow cards and will no doubt hog the headlines on Mancini’s birthday but with the draw keeping them well clear of neighbours United , the City boss will have plenty to be cheerful about.