Valladolid 2 - Barcelona 2

Valladolid: Ricardo; Torres Gómez, García Calvo, Heinze, Marcos; Peña, Turiel; Caminero (Fernando Sales 75'), Fernando, Chema (Lozano 70'); Kaviedes (Alberto 78'). 4-2-3-1.
Barcelona: Dutruel; Puyol, Petit, Frank De Boer, Sergi; Gabri, Guardiola, Xavi (De La Peña 90'), Cocu (Zenden 65'); Rivaldo, Kluivert (Overmars 55'). 4-4-2.

Team changes: Valladolid: No change / Barcelona: Petit, Xavi, Gabri for Reiziger, Luis Enrique, Overmars.

Goals:
0-1. 02. Guardiola. Bent free kick over defensive wall and in off post.
1-1. 59. Kaviedes. Overhead kick after controlling Marcos cross on knee.
2-1. 61. Turiel. Ran ball in after Dutruel got a hand to Fernando's lob.
2-2. 81. Overmars. Took Rivaldo through ball and shot over keeper.

Valladolid and Barcelona both picked up a vital point to move both of them a little closer to their respective objectives, the home side to keep themselves in the first division and the visitors to win a Champions League place for next season. Barcelona's faltering season continues, and after losing to Oviedo at home last week, they really needed to win here to have any real chance of making it to the money-spinning European competiton. However Valencia's defeat at home to Deportivo threw them a lifeline, and a late goal from Overmars put them within three points of the East coast side and with all to play for in the Camp Nou in the last week. Barça's president Joan Gaspart confirmed that caretaker manager Charly Rexach will be in charge next season, and with Luis Enrique suspended for four matches he picked a more defensive 4-4-2 formation, with Petit playing in the back four and Rivaldo alongside Kluivert up front. Pepe Moré's starting eleven were logically unchanged from the side which gave Deportivo their first home defeat of the season in the last match.

Within three minutes Barcelona took the lead, Guardiola hitting a free kick over the defensive wall and in to Ricardo's net off the post. Curiously it was only his second goal of the season in the league, the previous one coming against the same side four months ago, and Valladolid protested to referee Esquinas Torres as the goal came after he awarded a dubious free kick for a foul by García Calvo on Kluivert. For the next half hour play was mainly in the Barcelona half, although the extra man in midfield gave Valladolid little scoring opportunities and the home side were limited to shots from long range without really troubling Dutruel. Ten minutes before the break Cocu got the ball in the net but Esquinas correctly ruled out the goal for offside, and just after the restart Ricardo saved comfortably from a De Boer free kick.

But Barcelona paid the price for complacency and two goals in a minute around the hour mark turned the game around. The first was a spectacular effort, Kaviedes trapping the ball on his thigh with his back to goal before unleashing an overhead kick which caught Dutruel off his line, the Ecuadorian striker's second goal in two games. Then the French keeper could only get a hand to Fernando's lob, and as the ball span towards the goal Turiel ran on to force the ball in to the net. Shortly afterwards news reached Rexach that Deportivo had scored and he knew that if things stayed as they were a point would be enough. Overmars had already replaced Kluivert, and Zenden came on to join him rather than De la Peña, who had been warming up before the second goal. Still it was hard going, but Guardiola found Rivaldo with a long pass, and the Brazilian star slipped the ball through for Overmars to shoot over Ricardo.

After the final whistle the players rushed into the dressing room to hear that Deportivo had held on, and everything now depended on the last match against Valencia. Frank De Boer will probably have been given a one year ban by then, although Barça will appeal which should stay the sentence until after the match. Valladolid settle for a point which keeps them in fifteenth place, and only a loss next week at Real Madrid combined with victories for Osasuna and Zaragoza and a draw for Oviedo would see them relegated. That is unlikely, and assuming it doesn't happen the Castilla-León side can start as from next Monday to look for the necessary finance to keep them afloat.