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Sports

Valencia Ties up Barcelona with an Exquisitely Controlled Play

An artful, bewitching handle on the ball.

.@valenciacf TIES THE GAME and a fantastic counter. 1-1 @FCBarcelona reeling. #LaLiga https://t.co/fTsR3rwP4v
— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) December 5, 2015

Well it's hard to top the ever-erudite Ray Hudson's commentary on this one, so we'll just leave it to quotations to start things out:

"That control is magnificent from the Alcácer [?]," croons Hudson. "There's a burgeoning of urging [?] talent. Look at this control. The ball dances beautifully. He casts his magic spell over it, and delivers a lovely little kiss touch pass."

Yes, it's all worthy of the song of the Bard (Hudson) as Paco Alcácer gently seduces the ball into a soft orbit around his person, dodging the likes of Gerrard Pique and Javier Mascherano to lay out a perfect assist for a clean goal into the back of Barcelona's net. In what often feels like a two-team league, it's a beautiful sight to see another Spanish side beat the likes of Barcelona or Real Madrid at making the game look beautiful. Even if it's just for a beautiful tie.