The action started a little too quickly for the taste of most Barça fans yesterday when Osasuna almost scored in the first minute. Puyol and Pique both looked like they weren't quite ready yet and got burned on a play that left Valdes to make a great save. As the beginning of the first half progressed, it was easy to see that the Barça players were affected by the strong Pamplona sun, shining directly in their eyes. Mix that with the ambitious start from Osasuna, and things were looking dangerous. Barça did manage to get off a few shots in the first part, but with no luck. Iniesta combined with Alexis on a great play only to see Alexis shoot right at the goalkeeper. Iniesta had the first goal of the night at his foot in the 12th minute, alone with the keeper inside the area and he launched it over the goal. Not a mistake you normally see from Andres Iniesta, but as the minutes passed it was clear that he wasn't in his best form tonight. Tello took a great shot in the 15th minute, cutting in from the left side and firing one, only to be denied by the post. Soon after, Barça was definitely robbed of a good opportunity when Leo Messi broke out past the Osasuna defense to get a perfectly passed ball with lots of space between him and the keeper but the line judge called it back for offsides. After seeing the replay several times, it's easy to say that Messi definitely wasn't offsides.
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| Dealing with the Pamplona sun. Photo from Sport.es |
Osasuna finally struck in the 17th minute when they crossed the ball into the area from the left side and Joseba Llorente scored from just in front of the goal. When the cross came into the area, Pique and Jordi Alba both showed their backs to Llorente. This gave him the space to sneak past both of them and get a foot on the ball. Bad mistake, and there was really nothing Valdes could do.
The rest of the first half showed more control and more shots from Barça. Messi and Tello both found the goalkeeper a couple more times but just couldn't get past him. Iniesta also had more opportunities but couldn't make it work out. In the 25th minute he actually shot another ball over the goal after a great pass in from Alexis Sanchez.
There was only one more scare from Osasuna in the first half. In the 33rd minute Iniesta lost the ball in the midfield and Osasuna attacked quickly. They got off a shot from the left side that was blocked by Valdes but rebounded straight back for another shot from in front of the goal. Pique, who had fallen down on the first shot, was able to get a leg out to block this shot but it bounced right back for a third shot which Pique, still on the ground, blocked with the family jewels.
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| Here comes the jewel shot! Photo from Sport.es |
It was a long first half as Barça wasn't at the top of their game and Osasuna was really pushing hard. Apart from the bad shots from Iniesta, he also lost the ball 4 times in the half, not normal for one of the world's best players.
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| Not a good day... Photo from Sport.es |
The second half started with the same players on the pitch and although Barça definitely improved with the ball control and possession, they weren't having any luck finding the goal. In the 17th minute Pedro came in for an invisible Cesc Fabregas and Xavi for Iniesta in the 25th.
In the 25th minute Busi lost the ball on Osasuna's side of the pitch and they attacked quickly, had a good opportunity to make it a 2-0 game, alone with Valdes but denied by the post. Tito Vilanova apparently thought Busquets was fouled when he lost the ball and raised his hands in protest, which got him his first red card (unmerited) of the season and he took an early leave from the stadium.
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| Who, ME?? Photo from teinteresa.es |
David Villa came in for Tello in the 30th minute of the second half, and Barça got their first goal one minute later. Great work from Alexis and especially Pedro who passed and ran around the Defense on the right side. Pedro was finally able to cross the ball back into the middle to Alexis, who found a running Messi to put it in the goal and make it a 1-1 game.
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| Leo, always Leo! Photo from Sport.es |
The middle of the second half was a little rough. Pique got a yellow card for lifting his elbows on a jump, and Osasuna got one for the exact same thing less than a minute later. Puyol also received a blow that fractured his cheek bone. It's not the first time this has happened, we've seen Carles wearing a mask in the past for the same problem. Maybe now they can get him a new one with some captain's stripes on it!
In the 35th minute, and after a very nervous and long second half, Leo Messi hit the mark after a good pass from Jordi Alba on the left side. Messi shot hard from the front of the area on his first touch. The ball hit the net, Osasuna's keeper wasn't happy, and all of Barcelona breathed a collective sigh of relief! Although Osasuna did see one red card (their captain) for complaining, Messi's goal was really the end of the match.
Barça suffered to take the three points today but the final score is all that matters. Stressful game, good result. We're also getting a little help in other places as Getafe was able to beat Real Madrid last night. After two matches Real Madrid has a whopping one point. Way to go guys!
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| Not a picture of FC Barcelona, but I liked it anyway. Photo from Sport.es |
With the results from the first two matches, Madrid is definitely going to want to win the return leg of the Spanish Supercup on Wednesday. They will come out with something to prove, the only problem is that they have to play against Barça!
All for the first trophy of the season on Wednesday night!
I'd also like to add that it was nice to see our new signing, Alexandre Song, on the bench. I can't wait to see this guy get some action. I was also happy to see Thiago Alcantara back at training today with the rest of the team.
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| FC Barcelona bench including Alex Song! Photo from Sport.es |
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| Thiago back at work! Photo from Sport.es |
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