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At a very unusual time - on Friday - the match was won by the leader of the Spanish championship "Barcelona", who defeated "Villarreal" with a minimal score at home.
1-0
10’ [1-0] Samuel Eto'o
The match started with "Barcelona", who played in these matches without the injured Lionel Messi and with the opportunity to rest the Brazilian Ronaldinho, with pressure and dangerous attacks. The first and, as later clarified, the last goal of the match was scored in the tenth minute by the most productive player of the Spanish championship, Samuel Eto'o, receiving a long pass from Oleguer, fooling the defender and beating the goalkeeper.
Midway through the first half, "Villarreal" had a great opportunity to equalize, but Jose Mari, who was free in the penalty area, hurried and shot inaccurately. After a few minutes, the ball ended up in the "Villarreal" goal, but the referee decided that Argentine Maxi Lopez, who had a rare opportunity to score, had hit the goal after previously fouling the visiting defender.
In the second half, the "Villarreal" players played more actively and dangerously, but players like Jose Mari and Guillermo Franco failed to take advantage of the opportunities, while "Barcelona" goalkeeper Victor Valdes brilliantly defended their goal in several episodes.
The Catalan victory was slightly marred by injuries to two players: in the ninth minute, the Swede Henrik Larsson left the field due to a thigh injury, and his replacement Santiago Ezquerro also left the field due to injury before the end of the first half. Meanwhile, teammates Carles Puyol and Ludovic Giuly collided dangerously during the match, but they finished the game. On the other hand, in the opponents' camp, defender Gonzalo suffered an injury. It is still unclear whether the injury is serious, but if it turns out to be serious, it would be a serious loss for "Villarreal", who will play the first UEFA Champions League semi-final match against "Arsenal" on Wednesday.
This victory means that "Barcelona" can secure the title of Spanish champions as early as the next weekend in the match against "Sevilla".
