18.02.2008, 09:47
Barcelona show against Celje

Old rivals met in Palau Blaugrana where Barcelona played great handball against a completely lost Celje.

Barcelona show against Celje

In the history of the Champions League, Barcelona and Celje met 9 times. The new balance: Barcelona leading by 5 to 4 victories.

Only the home team were playing in form in Barcelona. Celje were unable to cope with the opponents after 2:2.

Barcelona desperately needed a victory after losing in Denmark against Gudme in the first round. The big motivation, superb defence and quick attacks were too much for Celje. A 7-0-run gave "Barca" a seven-goal lead and after two good Iker Romero shots it was already 16:6 in 23 minutes.

"We played confused and with fear. Such a style would not be enough against weaker teams, so we had no chance against Barcelona," a realistic Slavko Ivezič said.

Celje's 5-1 defensive formation was no problem for Romero, Nagy, Noddesbo and others. The team of Slavko Ivezic was destroyed and at one moment they were already 17 goals behind. There was also problem in Celje's attack where David Spiler or Srdjan Trivundza were not able to organise anything and the long shots were not coming either. A big part of Barcelona's success was the brilliant Kasper Hvidt (15 saves).

"We put the tactical plans in practice completely. We wanted to start strong and take some advantage in the first part of the game. We did that, so it was even easier in the next 30 minutes," commented Barcelona's Demetrio Lozano.

TEXT: Maja Mastnak, Sportal