Match Report:
Another goalless draw marked the La Liga match day three in Pamplona. Barcelona had to wait until the fourteenth minute for their first attempt on goal, when Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure struck a long-range effort well off target. Henry also shot wide in Barcelona's next attack following good interplay between Ronaldinho and Andres Iniesta. Giovani then sent a dangerous centre into the box on 19 minutes, but Henry arrived just too late once again.
Barcelona were in control of possession for much of the game, but were struggling to click in attack and created few clear-cut chances. In the thirty-fifth minute, Giovani raced into the right-hand side of the penalty area and latched onto Iniesta's clever through-ball, but Ricardo saved well with his body. Osasuna had a close attempt afterwards, when Javier Portillo dispossessed Lilian Thuram just outside the area and fired a low drive just wide of Victor Valdes' far post. Despite that lapse, Barcelona continued to dominate proceedings and Deco called Ricardo into action again with a poked effort following Iniesta's wonderful threaded pass.
Osasuna poured forward as soon as the second half started. Their fast-paced initial attack almost resulted in a goal but Valdes palmed Javi Garcia's crashing shot just over the bar. Five minutes later, Henry nudged a long pass and the ball almost inadvertently went past an already-committed Ricardo. Henry and Giovani then combined well in a promising Barcelona attack on 55 minutes, but the Mexican was well offside and the flag was quickly raised.
Oleguer came in for Zambrotta in the 65th minute. Also, Ronaldinho was substituted by Xavi in the 66th minute. With thirteen minutes remaining, Xavi tried his luck from distance, but saw his effort drift well wide. Two minutes later, Bojan Krkic replaced Giovani as Barcelona went in search of a late winner. Bojan immediately created a chance on 82 minutes, but failed to find a team-mate to connect with and the chance was not utilized. The young striker also appeared from thin air in the dying minutes annex a lose ball, but the final touch was not enough to maintain strong control of the ball, and the final chance for Barca to score was lost. The match ended soon afterwards with both Osasuna and FC Barcelona sharing points.
My Comments:
Barca have still not been convincing enough this season. A lot of work still hasn't been done and in reality, still needs to be done. The coming weeks and crucial matches against top teams will go a long way toward shaping the top three spots in the La Liga. Perhaps, a long-placed hope to close the gap at the top will be home matches against Sevilla and Real Madrid. These however will not be too much of a great hope to place expectations on, as a win cannot not be gauranteed, especially by current performances. The Champions League match against Olympique Lyon may be a worthy and positive distraction from the pressures of the La Liga and may act as the long-awaited re-launch pad for the Blaugrana to take off in their proper footing this season.
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FC Barcelona must win against Osasuna today in order to remain in top contention for the La Liga trophy.
After defeating Almeria 3-1, defending champions Real Madrid have maintained their leadership in the table with nine maximum points from three matches, putting them three points ahead of their closest rivals, second-placed Valencia who have six points from three matches. Third is Mallorca with four points, same as FC Barcelona but with a superior goal difference over Barca. Barcelona will have a difficult opportunity to close the gap tonight away at Pamplona, where the Catalan giants will attempt to shoot down home team Osasuna who have a traditionally complex game pattern, attitude and technique. But this will be the toughest test for the Blaugrana this early season, as the need for a win is clear-cut. Should Barca fail to win, clubs like Sevilla will likely over-step the Blaugrana in the league standings, as the highly rated Sevilla still have two games at hand and just one point behind FC Barcelona.
Bojan prepares for official debut,as Barca prepares for all-important encounter.
Goal machine, Bojan Krkic will have an opportunity to fulfil one of his life-long dreams when the 17 year-old steps onto the pitch this night against Osasuna in Pamplona. The youthful one, who has shattered all the goal-scoring records in Barcelona reserve team, is set to make his official debut for Barca as Bojan has travelled with the first team, after being named among top strikers by coach Frank Rijkaard. The list also includes Eidur Gudjohnsen, who just returned from injury and who has also proved his fitness by playing for his country Iceland three days ago. Gudjohnsen is the Iceland national team captain.
Argentine sensation Lionel Messi, captain Carles Puyol, Cameroonian international Samuel Eto'o and Brazilian Edmilson were all left out due to injury, while Mexican defender Rafa Marquez is on suspension after receiving a red card against Athletic Bilbao two weeks ago.
The full list of 18 players to visit Osasuna in pamplona include:
Valdés, Jorquera, Oleguer, Thuram, Milito, Sylvinho, Zambrotta, Abidal, Xavi, Deco, Iniesta, Touré, Gudjohnsen, Ezquerro, Giovani, Henry, Bojan and Ronaldinho.
The match kicks off at 21:00 CET and is a must win for Barca who are on 4 points from two games, well behind league leaders Real Madrid who have 9 points from three games.
Prophecies look bleak ahead of FC Barcelona's weekend make-or-mar La Liga clash with Osasuna.
Former Osasuna man, Juan Carlos Unzue has warned ahead of the weekend La Liga game involving FC Barcelona and Osasuna in Pamplona, the home ground of Osasuna which is notorious for it's miserly disbursement of funds to visiting teams. Neither Unzue, who is now the goalkeeper trainer at barcelona, nor the Barca players expect an easy match on Sunday. Unzue says:
Osasuna’s way of playing makes it tough for any visiting team. Skill and technique aren’t enough to win in Pamplona. You really need to work as hard as or even harder than they do. It doesn’t matter who’s in charge there or what new players they sign. Their game idealogy remains the same and has not changed.
Juan spoke on the need for Barca to look ahead and not let any past results hunt them. In particular, the goalless draw against Santander during the opening day of the La Liga has tied Barca down to four points, two behins the top teams in the Primera. Unzue wants to look ahead:
The match against Racing Santander is gone now and we must look ahead. That was three weeks ago and the team’s upped their rhythm since then. It’s true that we didn’t play well, but we’ve drawn our lessons from that and I think Sunday will be a very different matter. It’s most important that we have the maximum number of players fit and available and that the team come out confident that they can win.
FC Barcelona must win Osasuna on Sunday in order to keep alive, the hopes of a favourable outing in the 2007/08 La Liga.
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After defeating Almeria 3-1, defending champions Real Madrid have maintained their leadership in the table with nine maximum points from three matches, putting them three points ahead of their closest rivals, second-placed Valencia who have six points from three matches. Third is Mallorca with four points, same as FC Barcelona but with a superior goal difference over Barca. Barcelona will have a difficult opportunity to close the gap tonight away at Pamplona, where the Catalan giants will attempt to shoot down home team Osasuna who have a traditionally complex game pattern, attitude and technique. But this will be the toughest test for the Blaugrana this early season, as the need for a win is clear-cut. Should Barca fail to win, clubs like Sevilla will likely over-step the Blaugrana in the league standings, as the highly rated Sevilla still have two games at hand and just one point behind FC Barcelona.
Goal machine, Bojan Krkic will have an opportunity to fulfil one of his life-long dreams when the 17 year-old steps onto the pitch this night against Osasuna in Pamplona. The youthful one, who has shattered all the goal-scoring records in Barcelona reserve team, is set to make his official debut for Barca as 
Former Osasuna man, Juan Carlos Unzue has warned ahead of the weekend La Liga game involving FC Barcelona and Osasuna in Pamplona, the home ground of Osasuna which is notorious for it's miserly disbursement of funds to visiting teams. Neither Unzue, who is now the goalkeeper trainer at barcelona, nor the Barca players expect an easy match on Sunday. Unzue says:
Osasuna’s way of playing makes it tough for any visiting team. Skill and technique aren’t enough to win in Pamplona. You really need to work as hard as or even harder than they do. It doesn’t matter who’s in charge there or what new players they sign. Their game idealogy remains the same and has not changed.