Europe's defending champions had a bad day on Wednesday. Barcelona was defeated by the Russian team FK Rubin Kazan 2-1 at Nou Camp in Spain. The loss was Bara's first since December, when the team was beaten by Shakhtar Donetsk.
Kazan began giving Bara a hard time from the first minutes of the game. A loose ball some 35 yards from the Spanish goal seemed benign - at least, until Aleksandr Ryazantsev shot the ball past Victor Valdes into the top corner of the net, opening the score with the first strike of the match in Rubin's favor.
The move left the stadium - and Bara - stunned. It was the first time in the season that Barcelona had fallen behind in a game, in either Europe or the Primera Division.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Lionel Messi, and Daniel Alves struggled to equalize the score for Barcelona, but Rubin goalkeeper Sergei Ryzhikov was able to halt their attempts. (Ryzhikov would stop all but one of Bara's 24 attempts; the figure is all the more miraculous since Rubin made only 3.) By halftime, Barcelona still hadn't caught up, and the players went to break looking slightly shell-shocked.
Whatever happened during break, Bara returned to the game with a changed attitude. Ibrahimovic was able to score just three minutes after play resumed, in minute 48, when Xavi's chip over the Rubin defense was chested down by Ibrahimovic at the edge of the area; he then drilled an unstoppable shot in off the far post.
Bara may have been re-motivated, but the Russian team wasn't flagging. Rubin refused to give up opportunities to their Spanish opponents, and at minute 78, scored again. When a break from the Russians left a hole in the area, Karadeniz Gokdeniz stole a left shot past Valdes for the goal that sealed the victory.
Bara tried to equalize again; Alves and Messi united to give Ibrahimovic his chance, but his shot from the penalty spot crashed against the crossbar. In the final minute of injury time Toure headed Xavi's corner ball, but it thudded against the post.
And so Bara lost the game.
The game now ties Rubin and Barcelona, along with Kiev, at four points; Inter is in last with three points. Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola said that the team was coming from a 0-0 draw against Valencia during the weekend's La Liga tournament and was almost certain of a victory over Rubin - and so a secure qualification for the knockout phase.
Only the two leading contenders, however, will move to the knockout, and Bara is no longer the inevitable choice.
"These things happen. It's not the first time and I doubt it will be the last," Guardiola said during a news conference. "I didn't feel like we played a bad match. They [Rubin] had a very well-structured defense and all the teams [in the group] are very good. They are all professionals."
Rubin coach Kurban Berdyev was extremely proud of the team and its capabilities under pressure.
"The whole team played well and they showed great control during the match and that's why we won today. I am very proud and I think today will be a big party for our fans".
Indeed, there will be a big party in Russia for the team, which only recently entered the top division.
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