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In the tenth minute from the middle of the first half, Sevilla players rose after a missed goal and managed to celebrate an impressive 2-1 victory against Barcelona and rise to the top of the tournament table.
In the match in Seville, Ronaldinho led the visitors ahead when he directed the ball into the goal with his head in the 13th minute. In the 28th minute, the same Ronaldinho not only earned an eleven-meter penalty, but also a red card for Sevilla defender Aitor Ocio.
However, Ronaldinho's penalty kick from eleven meters was successfully blocked by Andres Palop, and before the end of the first half, Russian Aleksandr Kerzhakov equalized the score.
Daniel Alves, playing fantastically in this match, in the middle of the second half, led the visitors ahead with a penalty kick, and Barcelona soon lost its numerical advantage when Ludovic Giuly was sent off the field, followed later by Gianluca Zambrotta.
Barcelona's coach, in this match as well as in Wednesday's Copa del Rey match against Zaragoza, sent players onto the field in an unusual 3-4-3 formation. Ronaldinho became the main striker, with Giuly and Lionel Messi playing on the attacking wings. Brazilian Rafael Marquez and Catalans Carles Puyol and Oleguer formed the defensive trio, while Dutchman Gio van Bronckhorst and Italian Zambrotta played on the wings. In the middle of the field, the duo Xavi and Andres Iniesta formed the midfield for the Spanish national team.
Barcelona started the match well, as Zambrotta broke through on the right wing to the backline and made a precise pass into the penalty area, where Ronaldinho headed the ball into Palop's goal.
The hosts gained confidence towards the end of the first half and managed to equalize the score: Kanoute made a great long pass to Alves, who then passed the ball to Kerzhakov, who scored from outside the penalty area, beating Victor Valdes.
Sevilla started the second half more actively and could have taken the lead already in the 47th minute, but Valdes successfully blocked Kanoute's shot after a mistake by R.Marquez. In the other half of the field, Xavi and Messi tried long shots, but unsuccessfully.
The hosts took control of the game in the 61st minute when Alves' penalty kick ricocheted into Barcelona's goal. Moreover, a minute later, Giuly saw a red card for a foul on Alves, although the foul was not clearly visible in the replays.
As Barcelona fell behind, Rijkaard substituted Samuel Eto'o for Marquez, but soon Barcelona had to play with nine men when Zambrotta received a second yellow card in the 76th minute. After this episode, Rijkaard made a peculiar substitution and Edmilson entered the field in place of Ronaldinho.
At the end of the match, Barcelona could have equalized, but Palop blocked Xavi's penalty kick, and Alves and Kanoute later failed to capitalize on excellent opportunities to solidify the victory.
In other Saturday matches, Valencia celebrated a home victory, defeating Celta Vigo 1-0 and approaching Barcelona, who are currently in second place, by three points. The only goal of the match was scored by Fernando Morientes in the middle of the second half.
It is interesting that the Valencia lineup finally saw the debut of Spanish national team defender Asier del Horno, who transferred to Valencia last summer but suffered a serious injury in preseason matches and only now has recovered.
Saturday match statistics:
Sevilla 2 - 1 Barcelona
14` [0 - 1] Ronaldinho
39` [1 - 1] Alexander Kerzhakov
61` [2 - 1] Daniel Alves
28` Aitor Ocio was sent off the field (Sevilla)
62` Ludovic Giuly was sent off the field (Barcelona)
76` Gianluca Zambrotta was sent off the field (Barcelona)
Valencia 1 - 0 Celta Vigo
67` [1 - 0] Fernando Morientes
Tournament Table:
