Everyone wins in Barca masterclass

Not that defeat to Frank Rijkaard's side could be termed embarrassing. Far from it. Inviting a European superpower to Edinburgh captured the public's imagination as Hearts set a new club attendance record of 57,857, but with Ronaldinho and others jinking and shuffling their way through the afternoon any team would have toiled to contain the flamboyant Spaniards.

The Brazilian set an unattainable tempo for the rest whilst appearing to play only in third gear. He was withdrawn at half-time after beating Craig Gordon twice to afford his team a 2-1 interval advantage. But just as Hearts might have heaved a sigh of relief at his departure, Thierry Henry and Deco trotted off the substitutes' bench to begin the second half. It was that kind of afternoon. At times Barcelona swarmed all over their opponents with the tenacity of a plague of locusts. In between they simply played passie between themselves, midfielder Xavi Hernandez in particular displaying impeccable ball retention skills.

Anatoli Korobochka and Stephen Frail saw their side hampered in an attacking sense with Andrius Velicka playing as a lone forward, but the 15-minute period following Juho Makela's first-half equaliser saw them hold their own. The Finn's goal had a calming effect on his colleagues and should have been the prelude to Hearts moving ahead, but Lithuanian trialist Audrius Ksanavicius wasted a clear chance when through on goalkeeper Victor Valdes on 35 minutes.

Ronaldinho's second five minutes later reaffirmed Barcelona's supremacy before Giovanni dos Santos' third in the second half.

"I think we showed, although we played against a quality team, that there was no disgrace," said Frail. "I'm not going to talk about that too much because we wanted to win the game. But they have quality. We stuck to our task and scored a goal that they weren't too happy with. I think they felt it was a bit sloppy.

"It was good to go and get the equaliser and we could have gone 2-1 up.

"That would have been interesting to see how they reacted but I'm delighted we stuck to it. Now we have to fine-tune things this week."

Michael Stewart's through pass put Ksanavicius one on one with Valdes, however the winger tried to flick the ball with the outside of his left foot and barely connected.

"Ksanavicius did quite well wide on the left and should have scored, which would have been good for him," continued Frail. "It was difficult coming in to a game like that, possibly in a system that is alien to him. But he and Ricards Beniusis, our other trialist, did okay and we hope to have a look at them in training this week."

In a marketing context Hearts should be devastated to be without European football this season, for there are certain individuals working out of the Tynecastle office block who really know how to put on a show. Flares and smoke bellowed from the Murrayfield pitch on Saturday before the teams made the grandest of entries for what was a mere friendly, albeit a glamorous one. Evidently, some learned a lot during Phil Anderton's tenure as chief executive.

Ksanavicius played an early one-two with Velicka before a timely intervention from Lilian Thuram denied him a clear opportunity. Moments later at the opposite end, Ronaldinho deftly nutmegged Christos Karipidis with a shot that almost surprised goalkeeper Gordon. Largely due to the Brazilian's relentless probing, Barcelona monopolised the ball early on.

With Ibrahim Tall anchoring midfield in a 4-5-1 formation, Hearts were deployed to frustrate their opponents and break down the free-flowing movement of ball players like Xavi and Andres Iniesta. However, sitting back led to the concession of the opening goal on 21 minutes. Gianluca Zambrotta attempted to sprint on to Santiago Ezquerro's pass and went down rather innocuously as he brushed past Ksanavicius in the penalty area. Dougie McDonald isn't known for refusing opportunities to penalise Hearts, hence the instant award of a penalty which was expertly dispatched by Ronaldinho.

There was a brief delay a minute later with Larry Kingston poised over a Hearts free-kick. A supporter invaded the pitch and approached Barcelona's Samuel , who amusingly donned the fan's hat and waved with him to the crowd. The distraction was to Hearts' benefit. When play resumed Kingston floated his set-piece to the back post and Christophe Berra's header was flicked into the net by Makela, much to the crowd's delight.

Eto'o fell under a challenge from Berra, which looked more of a penalty than Ksanavicius on Zambrotta, but referee McDonald remained impassive. Lee Wallace then denied Eto'o with a timely intervention before Ksanavicius passed up his opportunity.

Five minutes from the interval Ronaldinho increased the tempo once more. Sylvinho delivered a deep cross from left that was nodded almost nonchalantly away from Gordon by those Brazilian dreadlocks, leaving Hearts feeling a touch aggrieved at being behind as they sauntered up the tunnel.

Following a multitude of half-time substitutions, including the withdrawal of star of the show Ronaldinho, Barcelona increased their advantage. The Brazilian's replacement, Dos Santos, converted from close range from Henry's low cross at the end of a move that was conspicuous for the involvement of another substitute, Bojan Krkic.

The 16-year-old midfielder already looks one of Europe's most promising talents. A Spaniard of Serbian origin, his vision and attacking drive were the outstanding feature of the second half. He insolently flicked the ball with the outside of his right foot to tee up Henry, but for once the Frenchman's finishing deserted him from just ten yards. Henry then returned the favour only for Krkic to drive the ball over the crossbar from a similar position.

Rijkaard, though, was right to be content with two victories from two games on the club's Scottish tour. "The boys really worked hard this week and we got a good result, so I'm satisfied with that," said the Dutchman. "I think Hearts gave us a hard time during the first half but we more or less controlled the game from the start. It was a pity we lost a goal from a standard situation. Maybe the players were a little distracted by the fan entering the pitch, but we must learn from that because we were dominating the game.

"In general I think Hearts were good opposition and it was wonderful to play in front of this crowd."

Amongst the Tynecastle side's substitutes was the tidy-looking Spaniard Ruben Palazuelos, who took up position in front of the back four and distributed the ball well. In attack, Beniusis looked uncomfortable and made little impact, his style looking more suited to the rigorous tests waiting in the SPL.

Nonetheless, another Lithuanian could consider the afternoon a relative personal success. Not only was Saulius Mikoliunas Hearts' most potent threat down the right during the second half, he also walked off with Henry's shirt over his shoulder at full-time.

The countdown to Hibs has now begun for Hearts, but the memories and lessons of Barcelona are expected to live long in the memory.

Hearts (4-5-1): Gordon; Karipidis, Zaliukas, Berra, Wallace; Makela, Kingston, Tall, Stewart, Ksanavicius; Velicka. Subs: Banks 75 (for Gordon), Neilson 46 (for Berra), McCann 46 (for Ksanavicius), Pospisil 59 (for Tall), Mikoliunas 46 (for Makela), Jonsson 69 (for Zaliukas), Ivaskevicius 46 (for Stewart), Palazuelos 46 (for Kingston), Beniusis 46 (for Velicka), Elliot 59 (for Wallace), McGowan 85 (for Karipidis).

FC Barcelona (4-3-3): Valdes; Zambrotta, Thuram, Oleguer, Sylvinho; Xavi, Toure, Iniesta; Ezquerro, Eto'o, Ronaldinho. Subs: Belletti 46 (for Zambrotta), Motta 65 (for Toure), Crosas 74 (for Thuram), Valiente, Maxi Lopez, Delgado 87 (for Xavi), Henry 46 (for Eto'o), Olmo, Krkic 46 (for Ezquerro), Dos Santos 46 (for Ronaldinho), Deco 46 (for Iniesta), Abidal 46 (for Sylvinho), Jorquera 46 (for Valdes), Olazabel.

Referee: Dougie McDonald.

Attendance: 57,857.

Taken from the Scotsman