Barcelona Given Pole Dance, But Still Qualify

A well-placed free header from Cleber in the second period was enough for the voiciferous Wisla support to enjoy a famous win for their side, although Barcelona were never in any danger of suffering elimination.

Wisla set themselves up with a defensive 4-4-2, while Barcelona, so long the practioners of a 4-3-3, lined up in a similar configuration. Their approach, though, was more aattacking, with Andrés Iniesta and Xavi Hernández encouraged to push up and support the Eto'o/Henry pairing up front.

In any case coach Maciej Skorza seemed to give the hosts a decent grounding early on as a pair of determined defensive lines kept Barça at bay. So frustrated were the blaugrana to grow, in fact, that the first chance fell to Wisla 15 minutes in. Júnior Díaz smacked a drive goalwards, but Valdés pulled off a routine save.

Nonetheless Barcelona's class began to shine through, and from a series of corners and set pieces leading up to the half hour mark the Catalans showed their worth. Nonetheless Wisla were conspicuously untroubled until the 41 minute mark when Dani Alves - impressive going forward but sometimes suspect against Zienczuk on the flank - hit a speculative effort over the bar.

Barcelona, then, had virtually no chances to show for their efforts, and after a hell-for-leather but still rather dull first half they had a goodly percentage of the possession but no goals. Wisla, needing strikes on the board, had defended well but couldn't find their strikers.

Not that they had to, for it was defender Cleber Lima who opened the scoring just after the break. Barcelona had started well but they were soon to be caught out in the simplest of fashions at a corner. A corner was whipped in to the far post, and there was Cleber - untroubled by any semblance of marking from Puyol - to send a diving header above and past the flailing Valdés.

After Eto'o saw a rare opportunity saved, Barcelona rang the changes as Gudjohnsen came on for Xavi and Hleb replaced Iniesta. The blaugrana's best chance of the game was sandwiched between these alterations: Piqué almost replicated Cleber's goal at the other end with a header from an Alves corner, but his effort came back off the bar.

The chances came thick and fast for a few minutes, every blue and red shirt coming forward, but even the likes of Puyol were finding their chances going astray. Bojan came on for Eto'o in a last-ditch attempt to redress the balance, but Barcelona's second half was summed up in a second when he did so well to charge past Singlar and find Pawelek one-on-one but then balloon his effort way, way over the crossbar.

Wisla fans stood and sang as one, celebrating a famous win, while Pep Guardiola looked on as he presided over Barcelona's first loss to a Polish side. Nonetheless it was the Catalan contingent that advanced, winning 4-1 on aggregate.

WISLA KRAKOW - FC BARCELONA
1-0 Cleber 52'

Wisla: Pawelek; Singlar, Brozek, Baszczynski, Cleber; Diaz Campbell, Lobodzinski (Malecki 82), Jirsak, Zienczuk (Dawidowski 90); Boguski (Niedzielan 68), Brozek

Barcelona: Valdés; Alves, Piqué, Puyol, Abidal; Xavi (Gudjohnhsen 56), Keita, Touré, Iniesta (Hleb 64); Eto'o (Bojan 73), Henry.

Yellow Cards: Brozek 45 - Henry 90

Referee: Lubos Michel (Slovakia)