12 February 2007, by Sean Gillen

Deco hits form as Barcelona stretch La Liga lead

Barcelona 2-0 Racing Santander

Barcelona sent out a message to their European and domestic rivals with a vintage display as a wonderful second-half performance saw them beat Racing Santander to move three points clear at the top of La Liga.

Deco produced his best performance for some time in midfield and Ronaldinho struck twice as he appeared to return to his top form. Meanwhile, there was a second-half return from injury for Lionel Messi as Barca begin to prepare for the end of season run-in.

Although the hosts appeared confident and dominated possession throughout the game, the first half saw little in the way of clear-cut opportunities, and Ronaldinho’s tame free-kick on twenty minutes was as close as they came to opening the scoring in the early stages.

Superb penalty save

There was a scare for the home fans when Racing were awarded a penalty after 25 minutes, after Belletti tugged back Juango in the penalty area. Ezequiel Garay stepped up to take the kick, but Barca goalkeeper Victor Valdes produced a superb double-handed save to keep the scoreline level.

Deco almost put Barca ahead within a minute of the penalty, hitting a sweet 25-metre shot to draw a good save from Juan Calatayud, and Andres Iniesta struck the rebound straight at the Racing keeper.

More magic from Deco then saw him lift a perfectly weighted ball through to Belletti, but the Brazilian’s hooked cross narrowly evaded Ronaldinho. Iniesta then thundered an effort off the post after Ronaldinho and Xavi had worked an opening for him on the inside right of the area.

The second half saw Barca raise their performance level, and Ronaldinho broke the deadlock within just five minutes of the restart. The brilliant Brazilian earned a free-kick 25-metres from goal, and dispatched a superb dipping shot into the bottom corner to give his side the lead.

Deco takes centre stage

Racing were carved open again soon afterwards when Xavi played the ball into Deco and the Portuguese midfielder produced a defence-splitting pass to play Saviola through on goal, but the in-form Argentine’s finish missed the post by a whisker.

Barca added a second midway though the half, and Deco was the creator as Ronaldinho doubled his tally. The former Porto playmaker delivered a pinpoint free-kick from a position wide on the left, and Ronaldinho powered his header past Calatayud for the clinching second goal.

The biggest cheer of the evening came shortly after the goal as the Nou Camp faithful rose to their feet to welcome back teenage sensation Messi, who has recently recovered from a broken bone in his foot.

The champions continued to create chances and Calatayud produced an excellent double save to deny Ronaldinho and Giuly. Ronaldinho still had time to hit the post and almost create a goal for Giuly, before the referee blew the final whistle to strong applause from the home crowd, who were delighted to see their team back to their imperious best.

Barcelona:
Valdes, Belletti (Oleguer, 87), Zambrotta, Marquez, Puyol, Edmilson, Xavi, Deco, Iniesta (Giuly, 61), Ronaldinho, Saviola (Messi, 68)
Yellow Cards: Belletti (26)

Racing:
Calatayud, Lozano, Garay, Pinillos, Colsa (Antonio Tomas, 77), Ruben, Scaloni (Alvarez, 72), Vitolo, Juanjo, Balboa, Serrano (Momo, 66)
Yellow Cards: Vitolo (76)

Goals:
[1-0] Ronaldinho, 51
[2-0] Ronaldinho, 67