Champions League: Matchday 3

Barcelona v Rangers
First off, I hate Rangers. Second, I love Barca. Obviously, I watch this game with some extreme bias. I'll try to check it at the door.
The first half has seen Barca dominate possession, creating a number of chances on goal while executing their passes with the expected precision. With that said, Rangers have done an admirable job defending, cutting off the incisive passes from midfield that make Barca so hard to defend. Rangers have clogged the box, marked Henry and Messi with serious determination and emerged from the first half with a 0-0 tie. However, Barca will likely continue to grind the defense into the ground, with overlaps and their constant attack-and-possession style of play. One example of this in the first half was the attacking play of Puyol on the right, something I have rarely seen. Thankfully Victor Valdes has looked solid in goal but Rangers have had some uncomfortably strong attacking play in the first half. The absence of Deco, the coagulating agent of midfield, has been felt, as Xavi and Iniesta have struggled somewhat. In particular, Iniesta and Xavi will need to contain Rangers counterattacks while supporting the play of Gudjohnsen, Henry, Messi and Ronaldinho. It should be an excellent second half.

The Second Half
Barcelona continued to press forward while Rangers held Henry and Ronaldinho in check, double-teaming and fouling the two stars. Meanwhile, Messi was kept silent on the right flank, with few touches in the second half and none of his typically straightforward brilliance in attack. It has been said before, and it'll be said again: Deco makes Barca run. Without his pinpoint passing and control of the game from central midfield, all the rotating parts of Barcelona have no axle to turn, no node to connect to. Almost every time Henry or Roni touched the ball, they were hacked. And when Barca won free kicks, Ronaldinho sky-ed the first one and hit the crossbar on the second. Otherwise, Rangers continued to clog the top of the box and defended admirably on the wing. Barcelona's offense never quite got into high gear and the fouls and deep counter-attacks kept the Blaugrana from getting into any sort of cogent rhythm. In order to win the group, Barca will have to play better, with or without Deco. As a fan, this match was a bit of a disappointment.