Madrid: Eidur Gudjohnsen and Javier Saviola proved Samuel Eto'o's absence may not be as painful as first thought when they both scored in Barcelona's 3-1 win at Athletic Bilbao in the Primera Liga on Saturday.
The Cameroon striker will be out for five months after suffering a knee injury in the Champions League match against Werder Bremen on Wednesday, and in San Mames it looked as if that would upset Frank Rijkaard's side early on.
Barca were on the rack as Fran Yeste put the home side ahead after 11 minutes and they only got into the game when Bilbao had defender Javier Casas harshly sent off eight minutes later.
Bilbao defender Ustaritz turned Gudjohnsen's cross into his own net just before the break, and the former Chelsea striker then put Barca ahead in the 61st minute.
Second-half substitute Saviola added a third 13 minutes from time to put Barca three points clear at the top. Second-placed Real Madrid host city rivals Atletico in the Madrid derby on Sunday, while Valencia, who are third, are at home to promoted Gimnastic Tarragona.
Gudjohnsen Focus
All eyes were on Iceland striker Gudjohnsen to see how he would cope replacing Eto'o in his first start since completing a 12 million euros ($15.20 million) move from Chelsea in June.
But it was Bilbao who struck first when striker Fernando Llorente crossed from the left and Yeste, unmarked on the penalty spot, swept a sweet volley in to the corner.
The home side had their tails up and Barcelona looked nervous every time the ball entered their area, but the game was turned on it's head in the 19th minute when Casas was sent off.
Argentine forward Lionel Messi fed Gudjohnsen in space on a swift counter-attack only for Casas to haul the striker down outside the area. Despite the presence of two covering defenders the referee showed a straight red card.
The visitors' passing was laboured and they did not get a shot on target until a minute before the break when Ustaritz turned Gudjohnsen's cross into his own goal under pressure from Carles Puyol.
Barca's Mexican defender Rafael Marquez thumped a fierce volley against Bilbao's post a minute after the restart, but it was Gudjohnsen who put the visitors in front, nipping through a static defence to stab Xavi's pass into the net.
Saviola came on for the Icelander in the 71st minute and soon after finished off a fine passing move that involved Ronaldinho, Xavi and Andres Iniesta before the Argentine shot low into the corner for his first Barca goal in two years.
Comments
0 comment