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On Saturday, the 2005/06 Spanish football championship started. Defending champions "Barcelona" did not start the new season very successfully - in the first round, they failed to defeat the newcomer "Alaves" club from La Liga. Meanwhile, other favorites like "Valencia" and Bilbao "Athletic" secured victories.
The first opportunity to break through for "Barca" came after about twenty minutes - after a precise pass by L.Giuly, S.Eto'o took a strong shot at goal, but former Barcelona goalkeeper R.Bonano demonstrated excellent reaction and blocked the Cameroonian's shot. Just a minute later, after a precise pass from Spain's goalkeeper Xavi, "Barca's" player L.Giuly found himself alone against the goalkeeper, but once again the visitors failed to score. The Catalans continued to attack actively and soon Deco took a very dangerous shot, but once again "Alaves" was saved by R.Bonano. The teams went to rest with the score 0-0.
After the break, the situation on the field remained the same - "Barcelona" continued to dictate the pace of the game and tried to score. In the 52nd minute, "Alaves" succeeded again when the ball bounced off the post after Ronaldinho's shot. During the next attacks, S.Eto'o failed to take advantage of a hundred percent opportunity, as he missed the goal while alone against the goalkeeper. With about fifteen minutes left to play, the same S.Eto'o shook the opponents' post with a shot from about 20 meters.
Soon, the first chance to score was had by the Alaves players - a precise pass from the edge reached the home team's player Bodipo, but the forward lacked a bit of precision and his shot off the post went out of bounds. Right at the end of the match, "Barcelona" pressed their opponents in their half of the field and had another good opportunity to snatch a victory, but "Alaves" were fortunate once again - after Ronaldinho's penalty shot hit the crossbar and flew out of bounds. The referee added three minutes, but neither team managed to score and the match ended in a draw.
In the next match, the "Valencia" team defeated Seville's "Betis" team at home and thus somewhat appeased their fans after unexpectedly losing in the Intertoto Cup final against the "Hamburger" club and failing to qualify for any European football tournament. The victory for the "Valencia" team was decided by the only goal by Pablo Aimar in the 53rd minute. At the end of the match, "Betis" could have equalized, but "Valencia" goalkeeper S.Canizares played confidently and kept his goal dry.
Successfully starting the season was the "Athletic" team as well. Bilbao footballers crushed the "Real Sociedad" club 3-0 at home. F.Yeste scored the first goal of the match and of the new La Liga season in the 47th minute. F.Llorente and L.Prieto added one goal each, securing their team's victory in the Basque derby.
