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In the Tuesday matches of the 29th round of the Spanish championship, the defending champions "Barcelona" secured a victory and increased their lead in the championship race. Playing in front of 67 thousand spectators at home, they defeated Madrid's "Getafe" 3-1, extending their lead over second-placed "Real" to 14 points.
3 - 1 Madrid
5` [0 - 1] Nano
22` [1 - 1] Anibal Matellan (own goal)
52` [2 - 1] Samuel Eto`o
69` [3 - 1] Samuel Eto`o
In the match at Nou Camp stadium, the visitors took an unexpected lead when Nano scored with a header in the 5th minute after a pass from Mario Cotelo. Shortly after, "Barca" almost equalized when Ludovicas Giuly missed an opportunity in front of the goal. However, the score was eventually leveled in the 22nd minute when defender Anibal Matellanas scored an own goal, deflecting a cross from Giovanni van Bronckhorst intended for Ludovic Giuly.
Despite good opportunities from M. Cotelo and striker Veljko Paunovic, "Barcelona" struggled defensively without injured defenders Rafael Marquez and Edmilson. However, they managed to take the lead when Samuel Eto`o scored in the 52nd minute and extended their advantage to 3-1 after 69 minutes, with Eto'o scoring his 100th goal in La Liga against "Getafe".
It is worth noting that Carles Puyol received his 5th yellow card in this match, which was also his 200th La Liga appearance. Due to automatic suspension, the Barcelona captain will miss the weekend match against "Malaga", but will be back for the "El Clasico" in a week.
In other matches of the 29th round:
Wednesday
Athletic Bilbao - Espanyol
Alaves - Celta
Deportivo - Malaga
Mallorca - Cadiz
Osasuna - Real Sociedad
Betis - Racing Santander
Zaragoza - Real
Valencia - Villarreal
Thursday
Atletico - Sevilla
Top Scorers:
1. Samuel Eto`o (Barcelona) - 22 goals;
2. David Villa (Valencia) - 16;
3. Ronaldinho (Barcelona) - 14;
4. Diego Milito (Zaragoza) - 13;
5. Fernando Torres (Atletico Madrid) - 12.
