The Magician's Second Act

In a previous post I briefly talked about the last meeting between Barcelona and FK Rubin Kazan. I thought that Barcelona controlled the first game and was sure that despite losing, they would come back and dominate Rubin Kazan in their second meeting. While they didn't lose again on Wednesday, they were unable to come away with a victory. It was the same story as the first game: Barcelona dominated possession and had many more shots, but in the end, they couldn't score and walk away with a victory - which is all that really matters.

So who is this Rubin Kazan? Not sure anyone knows. But maybe it's not so much that Barcelona is playing poorly, but rather that Rubin Kazan is a legit team. Either way, with the Inter victory vs. Dynamo Kiev (highlights in the post below), Group F has turned into the most exciting group in the Champions League. Just check out those standings. Awesome. I thought for sure Barcelona would run away with the group with Inter following in second. With two games remaining, no one, including the champs, is guaranteed to make it to the next round. No team can afford to lose and every team has to be taken seriously. I laughed a few weeks ago at the Russian magician's "lucky" victory, but look who's smiling now? The Russian magician. Never laugh at a Russian magician. He can and will break you.

UEFA Champions League Group F
	GP	W	D	L	GS	GC	GD	PTS
Internazionale	4	1	3	0	5	4	1	6
Barcelona	4	1	2	1	3	2	1	5
FK Rubin Kazan	4	1	2	1	4	5	-1	5
Dynamo Kiev	4	1	1	2	6	7	-1	4