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Lionel Messi of Barcelona - Source: Reuters -
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Holders Barcelona suffered their first Champions League defeat
in 10 matches on Wednesday when Aleksandr Ryazantsev and Gokdeniz
Karadeniz netted to give Rubin Kazan a shock 2-1 win in their Group
F clash.
The victory for the Russian champions, the first time Barca have
lost a competitive game at home since a La Liga defeat to Osasuna
last May when they had already won the Spanish title, leaves the
group wide open at the halfway stage.
Inter Milan slipped to last place on three points after a 2-2 home
draw with Dynamo Kiev and Barca, Rubin and Dynamo all have four
points from their three games.
Rubin rocked Pep Guardiola's side in only the second minute at the
Nou Camp when midfielder Ryazantsev let fly from distance and the
ball arrowed past Victor Valdes into the top right corner.
Barca had plenty of possession after falling behind but found it
tough to break down the visitors' well-organised defence until Xavi
picked out striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic with a lofted pass in the
48th minute.
The Sweden striker controlled with his chest and crashed a low shot
past Sergei Ryzhikov from the right of the area but Barca fell
behind again after a swift Rubin break engineered by Alejandro
Dominguez.
The Argentine forward released the pacy Karadeniz and the Turkish
international finished with ease past Valdes with 17 minutes of
normal time left.
Wild Celebrations
Guardiola threw on midfielder Seydou Keita in place of central
defender Rafael Marquez with 10 minutes left and Barca laid siege
to the Rubin goal but were unable to find a second equaliser.
Ibrahimovic sent an acrobatic volley against the crossbar, Xavi
stung Ryzhikov's hands with a fierce drive and Yaya Toure headed
against a post in the fourth minute of added time.
The final whistle prompted wild celebrations among the small knot
of Rubin fans in the vast arena as the shell-shocked Barca
faithfuls slipped quickly away.
Rubin coach Kurban Berdyev said his side's strategy had been to try
to contain Barca and hit them on the break.
"The whole team played well and they showed great control during
the match and that's why we won today," Berdyev told a news
conference.
"I am very proud and I think today will be a big party for our
fans," he added, before being applauded from the room by the
Russian journalists.
Barca came into the match after Sunday's 0-0 La Liga draw at
Valencia and Guardiola said they had missed a chance on Tuesday to
all-but secure qualification for the knockout phase.
"These things happen. It's not the first time and I doubt it will
be the last," he told a news conference.
"I didn't feel like we played a bad match. They had a very
well-structured defence and all the teams (in the group) are very
good. They are all professionals."
Barca next face a tricky away match against Rubin in Kazan before
hosting Inter. They travel to Kiev to face Dynamo on Dec. 9.
Champions League collated results
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