Eric Abidal saves the day for Barcelona
It was simply a glorious day for the French fullback Eric Abidal, who scored the winning goal for the La Blaugrana during the Super Cup fixture against Athletic Club. Eric Abidal’s first goal for the Spanish side helped them qualify
for the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey as the two teams battled it out for 90 minutes in San Mames. For now, Barcelona can play one of the two opponents – Getafe or Real Betis.
Barcelona and Athletic Club are the two teams that have won the Copa del Rey more than any other team in http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Spain-c3011. This is why San Mames was jam-packed when the two Spanish Giants battled it out in Bilbao’s home ground. The match
was expected to be a thriller especially after the goalless draw in the Nou Camp and the crowd did get the feast they were hungry for. The crowd was simply on its toes throughout the game because the intensity and emotion of the game was at its peak. Both
the teams have won the trophy for the highest number of times and that definitely got the crowd going.
Barcelona controlled the game throughout the 90 minutes; however, it was a very tight affair. Most of the fans thought that the game was going to go into extra time as the Catalans were finding it very hard to penetrate through
the home team’s defensive walls. The extra time would come up eventually, but of course not, in case Barcelona did something about it. Surprisingly, it was the most unexpected scorer, Eric Abidal who found the back of the net for the visitors. It was for the
first time that the Frenchman scored in his 130 appearances for the Spanish club. Even though the 75th minute strike looked to be the key to victory, the Bilbao striker Fernando Llorente pulled one back to put the home team back on level terms.
With a late goal coming from Fernando Llorente, the game became a nail-biting event. However, the Spanish Champions made sure that they stick well at the back so they can produce a good result for themselves. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Carles-Puyol-c8331 came
on to strengthen the defence even more and then there was no chance for the home team to get past the Barcelona defence as Josep Guardiola’s side once again qualified for the quarterfinal stage of the tournament.
Josep Guardiola introduced his team with Andres Iniesta and Carles Puyol, both sitting on the bench. The game play of the La Blaugrana was very quick and the passing was inch perfect as the visitors closed Athletic Bilbao down
in their own half. It was during the first quarter of an hour when http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/David-Villa-c10629 had a tremendous opportunity to put the team ahead, but he misfired and could not find the back of the net. Even though the visitors went off to a steady start, they started losing
possession to Bilbao who started to look confident on the pitch.
Barcelona had 70% possession of the ball but most of the chances were created by Athletic Club. This way the match became an even affair as the home team’s counter attacking tactics worked perfectly against the Catalan Giants.
The mid-table Spanish La Liga side tried their shots on goal and created some wonderful opportunities to find the back of the net.
Barcelona were finding it hard to penetrate through http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Athletic-Club-c38535’s defensive walls. That was the reason why Josep Guardiola decided to send his experienced and talented midfielder Andres Iniesta. Adriano was the one who was sacrificed
as Eric Abidal moved towards the left flank and http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Gerard-c14664 Pique in the centre back position. With Andres Iniesta on the pitch, the game started to open up for Barcelona as he linked the midfield and striking force perfectly.
The game did not come to life until the 75th minute and it was definitely a night to remember for the Frenchman Eric Abidal. The Barcelona full back scored his first goal for the club and it came moments after an object
struck him on the head as it was thrown by the crowd.
With Eric Abidal’s goal it looked to be over, but http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Fernando-Llorente-c13671 made sure that the suspense in the game remains, as he pulled one back after a few minutes with a fabulous strike from the right foot. Josep Guardiola did warn
the team to remain careful until the end of the game and even though the teams came back in action, Barcelona won the game on away goal advantage as Eric Abidal was hailed as a hero.
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