© EuroFootball.com
On Sunday in Spain, there was a flurry of red cards. During the seventh round of the 27th "La Liga" tour, a total of nine red cards were shown. Two of them were received by the leaders of the championship "Barcelona" players, who unexpectedly lost 2-1 to Pamplona's "Osasuna" footballers as guests.
In the matches held in Pamplona, the hosts took the lead in the 19th minute of the game, when "Barca" goalkeeper Victor Valdes failed to catch the ball sent into the penalty area with a long pass and Valdo easily sent it into the goal.
The situation for "Barcelona" worsened significantly in the second half when "Osasuna" forward Savo Milosevic fell in the penalty area during a quick counter-attack. The referee decided that he was fouled by Edmilson, who received a second yellow card within five minutes. Captain Francisco Punal, standing at the 11-meter spot, confidently sent the ball into V. Valdes' goal.
Although after just over ten minutes "Barcelona" star Ronaldinho made a pass, showing why he is voted as the best player in the world, followed by a goal from Swede Henrik Larsson, it was all the "Barca" could do against Pamplona's "Osasuna" players who climbed to fourth place.
In the third minute of added time, a red card for violent play against "Osasuna" forward Pierre Webó was also received by Barcelona's defender Thiago Motta, so "Barcelona" finished the match playing with nine players.
"Sevilla" suffered an unexpected defeat as guests in Vitoria, losing 2-1 against "Alaves" and failing to take advantage of the opportunity to close the gap with "Real" and "Valencia" sharing second and third places in Madrid. Sevilla footballers were most hindered by a red card received by defender Aitor Ocio in the 18th minute. Although at that time Sevilla was in the lead after a goal scored by Javier Saviola in the tenth minute, the hosts not only equalized the score in the first half but also took the lead. Even though "Alaves" lost two players in the last five minutes of the match, it did not help the visitors.
The footballers of "Athletic Bilbao" achieved a very important victory, snatching a win dramatically in the third minute of added time against "Cadiz".
Match statistics for the 27th round of Sunday's games:
Madrid 2 - 1 65` [1 - 0] Fernando Torres (penalty) 71` [1 - 1] Damia 76` [2 - 1] Pablo 90` Gabi sent off from the field ("Atletico")
Vitoria 2 - 1 10` [0 - 1] Javier Saviola 24` [1 - 1] Nene 45` [2 - 1] Rodolfo Bodipo 18` Aitor Ocio sent off from the field ("Sevilla") 85` Rodolfo Bodipo sent off from the field ("Alaves") 89` Juanito sent off from the field ("Alaves")
1 - 0 90` [1 - 0] Tiko 18` Fernando Amorebieta sent off from the field ("Athletic Bilbao") 90` Alejandro Varela sent off from the field ("Cadiz")
1 - 1 1` [1 - 0] Guillermo Pereyra 22` [1 - 1] Jose Mari
Sevilla 1 - 1 20` [1 - 0] David Rivas 73` [1 - 1] Antonio Hidalgo
1 - 2 Madrid 33` [1 - 0] Diego Milito 39` [1 - 1] Veljko Paunovic 59` [1 - 2] Veljko Paunovic 49` Alvaro sent off from the field ("Zaragoza")
Pamplona 2 - 1 19` [1 - 0] Valdo 59` [2 - 0] Francisco Punal (penalty) 72` [2 - 1] Henrik Larsson 58` Edmilson sent off from the field ("Barcelona") 90` Thiago Motta sent off from the field ("Barcelona")
Top scorers: 1. Samuel Eto'o (Barcelona) - 19 goals; 2. David Villa (Valencia) - 15; 3. Ronaldinho (Barcelona) - 14; 4. Diego Milito (Zaragoza) - 13.
