La Liga round-up: Barcelona rally to avoid first defeat
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| Juan Melli 18 | Samuel Eto'o 45 | |||||||
| Mark González 25 | Samuel Eto'o 83 |
Barcelona saw their 10-match winning streak snapped as the league leaders had to recover a two-goal deficit to draw 2-2 at Real Betis.
The visitors could have been ahead in the sixth minute but Samuel Eto'o failed to control the ball while alone in front of goal, with Xavi eventually firing a hard shot wide.
Betis, though, were two goals up within 25 minutes. First, Juan Melli headed home Achille Emana's in-swinging corner kick beyond goalkeeper Víctor Valdés in the 18th minute.
And seven minutes later, former Liverpool winger Mark González drilled a left-footed volley under Valdés after he was set up by Sergio García.
Emana could have put Betis three up seven minutes before the break, but the Cameroon midfielder crashed his shot over the crossbar.
But just when it looked as if the home side would go in two goals to the good at half-time, referee Alfonso Perez Burrull gave Barcelona a questionable penalty in the 45th minute. Branko Ilič was adjudged to have brought down Andrés Iniesta as the Barcelona midfielder moved along the left of the area.
Eto'o saw his spot-kick saved by Ricardo, but pounced on the rebound to score his 100th league goal for Barcelona.
González thought he had scored Betis' third on 50 minutes but the Chile winger was ruled offside.
Betis defended resolutely in the face of severe pressure with Ricardo producing a fine save to deny Thierry Henry and somehow keeping out a point-blank volley by Gerard Piqué in the 82nd minute.
However, they could not cling on until the final whistle as Eto'o struck an equaliser a minute later to break Betis' hearts and extend Barcelona's unbeaten league run to 21 matches.
Elsewhere in La Liga on Saturday:
Related links:
Also see:
Technorati tags:World soccer Soccer news Football news La Liga Spain Barcelona
The visitors could have been ahead in the sixth minute but Samuel Eto'o failed to control the ball while alone in front of goal, with Xavi eventually firing a hard shot wide.
Betis, though, were two goals up within 25 minutes. First, Juan Melli headed home Achille Emana's in-swinging corner kick beyond goalkeeper Víctor Valdés in the 18th minute.
And seven minutes later, former Liverpool winger Mark González drilled a left-footed volley under Valdés after he was set up by Sergio García.
Emana could have put Betis three up seven minutes before the break, but the Cameroon midfielder crashed his shot over the crossbar.
But just when it looked as if the home side would go in two goals to the good at half-time, referee Alfonso Perez Burrull gave Barcelona a questionable penalty in the 45th minute. Branko Ilič was adjudged to have brought down Andrés Iniesta as the Barcelona midfielder moved along the left of the area.
Eto'o saw his spot-kick saved by Ricardo, but pounced on the rebound to score his 100th league goal for Barcelona.
González thought he had scored Betis' third on 50 minutes but the Chile winger was ruled offside.
Betis defended resolutely in the face of severe pressure with Ricardo producing a fine save to deny Thierry Henry and somehow keeping out a point-blank volley by Gerard Piqué in the 82nd minute.
However, they could not cling on until the final whistle as Eto'o struck an equaliser a minute later to break Betis' hearts and extend Barcelona's unbeaten league run to 21 matches.
Elsewhere in La Liga on Saturday:
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Related links:
Also see:
- La Liga round-up: Barça march on as Atlético return to winning ways
- Capello thinks Messi is Maradona's successor
- Copa del Rey: Barça on course to final
- Chelsea and Barça squad worth €818.7m
- Henry: Messi is like Maradona
Technorati tags:World soccer Soccer news Football news La Liga Spain Barcelona
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