Osasuna vs. FC Barcelona, Spanish La Liga - half time report
The Spanish La Liga fixture got delayed because of extreme weather conditions.
However, after an hour it looked as if the temperature was fine and the match finally started. The Catalan giants were ready to face a strong opponent as they were visiting Osasuna.
Osasuna were ready to face the Spanish champions, who were flying high, after their 5-0 victory over Real Madrid.
Josep Guardiola made sure that he sent out his best team against a difficult side. Osasuna did not lose a single game throughout the season, while playing against any side at home.
Guardiola decided to play his ace goalkeeper, Victor Valdes, in between the two poles and it was Daniel Alves, Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique, and, Eric Abidal, who were helping him defend his goal.
Xavi Hernandez was also featured, along with Sergio Busquets and Andres Iniesta in the midfield and the most important player, Lionel Messi, was also present in his favourite right wing position. Pedro Rodriguez was present on the left flank, with David Villa in the centre and high up as a striker.
On the other hand the home side was playing their best side as well. Ricardo was the one goalkeeping for them and he was aided by Nelson, Sergio, Miguel Flano and Monreal at the back.
The home team was playing a 4-5-1 to help themselves in outnumbering the Catalan giants in the midfield. Patxi Punal, Soriano, Juanfran, Javad Nekounam and Masoud were playing in the midfield, with Masoud being the attacking midfielder, while Javad and Juanfran featured on the wings. Camunas played up front as a sole striker for his side.
The match started at a slow pace and the cold weather was a clear reason for it. Both the Spanish sides were trying to keep possession of the ball but it was the home team that managed to pressurize the Spanish champions with their extraordinary display of football.
The defensive lines of Barcelona were shattering as they were finding the home team too hard to resist and during the 12th minute it was Victor Valdes, who simply gifted the ball to the Osasuna striker, Camunas.
But the Spaniard could not really score the first goal for his side to help his team lead the game. However, later it was the Catalan giants, who took their first shot on goal and it came from David Villa, who only managed to hit the Osasuna goalkeeper.
During the 26th minute, the Spanish Champions finally managed to put their side in front, as Pedro Rodriguez managed to score the first goal of the game and it was the magical Lionel Messi, who managed to drive the ball past three Osasuna defenders. The Spanish striker easily converted the through ball into a wonderful goal.
The first half ended with the Catalan giants leading the game with only a single goal. However, the home side looked to be very dominating in terms of possession. Although, they took a lot of shots on goal, they still couldn’t manage to put themselves on level terms with the high-flying Josep Guardiola side.
Tags: