ACTUALITE |
12.09.2005
ETO`O DOUBLE DOWNS MALLORCA
sportinglife.com
A brace from Samuel Eto`o gave Barcelona their first Primera Liga win of the season at the expense of nine-man Mallorca at the Nou Camp on Sunday.
The Cameroon striker, who suffered a clash of heads with team-mate Damia on Friday in training and spent the night in hospital, was passed fit to play and it was a good thing for Barca as he scored with two close-range headers after 26 and 31 minutes to send his team on their way to the three points.
Eto`o did squander several second-half chances to widen the margin of victory.
Mallorca will be happy to forget the match after having both Sergio Ballesteros and Francisco Farinos sent off in a feisty second period.
After a disappointing goalless draw against Alaves in the opening match of the season, Barcelona needed a success in front of their home fans to assert themselves on their league rivals.
New signings Santi Ezquerro and Mark van Bommel both started the match on the bench along with Jose Edmilson, with coach Frank Rijkaard preferring to stick with the tried-and-tested formula which led his side to the championship last year.
But Barca did not have it all their own way in the opening exchanges with Mallorca moving the ball around well.
An Eto`o ball which cut through the Islanders` defence for Ludovic Giuly, however, was a sign of what was to come as former Barca full-back Fernando Navarro was given a torrid time.
A swift counter-attack saw Giovanni van Bronckhorst bring the ball out from defence and the ball reached Giuly, who eventually crossed for Eto`o.
The striker was clear at the far post but from a narrow angle, his header went straight at goalkeeper Miguel Moya.
At the other end, Juan Arango flashed a free-kick wide and Alejandro Campano was also creating danger on the right wing.
Carles Puyol was yellow-carded for a foul on Yoshito Okubo and the Japanese player continued to be a menace for the Barca captain, who was lucky to stay on the pitch after another foul at the start of the second half.
But Barca made the crucial breakthrough midway through the first half and from there on took command.
Van Bronckhorst crossed from the left and although Eto`o`s header was weak, it somehow bounced over the diving Moya and into the back of the net.
Deco was enjoying a golden patch in the game and he was instrumental in Barca`s second.
He chipped a delightful ball for Giuly, who fired goalwards from close range. Moya parried excellently but Eto`o was on hand to head home from a yard out.
Barca began to dominate and the Mallorca players` heads dropped. Before half-time, Eto`o could have sealed his hat-trick but his 25-yard drive went a foot over.
After the interval, Barca continued to enjoy plenty of the ball while Mallorca did not press forward, preferring instead to take their chance on the counter-attack.
The opportunities all came in the Mallorca half and a pinpoint cross from Ronaldinho should have led to the Eto`o`s third, but with the ball perfectly teed up to head home from close range, Moya saved well.
As the game wore on, Mallorca began to get frustrated with their lack of possession and what they felt was a lack of impartiality from the referee.
Ballesteros was sent off for two bookable offences and will be lucky not to face further trouble after pushing Puyol in the face as he walked off the pitch.
Former Valencia midfielder Farinos was then dismissed after picking up two quick bookings.
Midway through the second half, Van Bommel was brought on for his league debut and could have scored with a shot in the dying minutes but the ball ricocheted off the post.
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