Cameroon international Samuel Eto’o produced a world-class finish to fire Barcelona to a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday as Pep Guardiola’s side closed to within three points of leaders Valencia.
After demolishing Atletico Madrid 6-1 last time out Barca were hungry for more, but the goals weren’t as forthcoming and it was left to Eto’o to provide the breakthrough on 63 minutes with his sixth goal of the campaign.
The 27-year-old controlled a lofted ball majestically before unleashing an unstoppable left-footed volley worthy to win any match. Barcelona’s next test is a Champions League trip to FC Basel tomorrow.
PHOTO: AP
“I am really happy. You cannot afford to relax on this ground at 1-0 because they always launch balls into the area and even at 2-0 you are not safe,” Guardiola said.
Lionel Messi and Xavi were given a rest as Guardiola showed he is not afraid of making big decisions.
“If we had lost people would have said that we are dependent on Xavi and Messi, but it is not like that. We are a squad,” Guardiola said.
Valencia lead the standings after maintaining their flawless home record with a 4-0 thrashing of Numancia. Last season, Valencia were a soft touch at their Mestalla stadium losing nine times, but the 2004 champions have made it a fortress once again with four home wins from four in the league.
Sevilla are second, two points behind the tabletoppers, after defeating Almeria 1-0 late on Sunday.
While former coach Juande Ramos struggles at Tottenham Hostpur, his successor Manolo Jimenez is enjoyng a good run and Adriano’s 52nd minute goal powered his side up to second. A solid defense has been the secret to Sevilla’s success and goalkeeper Andres Palop has kept seven consecutive clean sheets.
Valencia have also looked assured at the back and have David Villa, who scored the winner in Spain’s 2010 World Cup qualifying win over Belgium in midweek, firing in the goals. The Spanish international netted the opener on four minutes and the final goal of the game on 89 minutes — his eighth goal of the campaign — to complete the 4-0 rout of Numancia.
Villarreal, also unbeaten, sit two points behind Valencia in third, with the two powerhouses of Spanish soccer, Barca and Real Madrid, fourth and fifth on 16 points.
Real Betis finally got their first win of the season climbing out of the bottom three with a 3-0 triumph over Real Mallorca.
That means Osasuna are the only team yet to win and new coach Jose Antonio Camacho had a difficult start losing 2-1 at promoted Sporting Gijon.
At 1-1 the game could have gone either way, but Osasuna had Roversio Rodrigues sent off for bringing down Mate Bilic in the penalty area. Bilic converted the penalty and Osasuna drop into the relegation zone.
Spanish La Liga
Team P GD PTS
1 Valencia 7 13 19
2 Sevilla 7 9 17
3 Villareal 7 6 17
4 Barcelona 7 12 16
5 Real Madrid 7 10 16
6 Almeria 7 1 11
7 Malaga 7 -1 10
8 Atletico Madrid 7 1 9
9 Getafe 7 0 9
10 Espanyol 7 -1 9
11 Deportivo La Coruna 7 -1 9
12 Mallorca 7 -5 8
13 Valladolid 7 -2 7
14 Racing Santander 7 -4 6
15 Sporting Gijon 7 -11 6
16 Real Betis 7 -1 5
17 Athletic Bilbao 7 -6 5
18 Recreativo Huelva 7 -9 5
19 Osasuna 7 -3 4
20 Numancia 7 -8 4
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