Barcelona fail to impress with Almeria draw
Tuesday, 18 March 2008
MADRID, Mar 17 (AFP): On Samuel Eto's 100th appearance for the club, Barcelona missed a golden opportunity to make inroads on leaders Real Madrid when Almeria twice came from behind to secure a 2-2 draw Sunday.
After Real's surprise 1-0 slip-up at Deportivo La Coruna 24 hours earlier Barcelona, who had Gabriel Milito sent off in the second half, could have cut the gap on the defending champions to five points.
But with this stalemate Frank Rijkaard's side are seven adrift with 10 games to go.
Serb teenager Bojan Krkic put Barcelona into an early lead, the 17-year-old pouncing on a rebound after Almeria keeper Diego Alves failed to adequately deal with Andres Iniesta's shot from outside the area.
Almeria, who had mustered just the one point from their last three games but who could count Real Madrid among their victims, drew back level off a setpiece which exploited some lax Barca defending.
The totally unmarked Ruben Pulido took to the air to flash an angled header past Victor Valdes.
After Real's surprise 1-0 slip-up at Deportivo La Coruna 24 hours earlier Barcelona, who had Gabriel Milito sent off in the second half, could have cut the gap on the defending champions to five points.
But with this stalemate Frank Rijkaard's side are seven adrift with 10 games to go.
Serb teenager Bojan Krkic put Barcelona into an early lead, the 17-year-old pouncing on a rebound after Almeria keeper Diego Alves failed to adequately deal with Andres Iniesta's shot from outside the area.
Almeria, who had mustered just the one point from their last three games but who could count Real Madrid among their victims, drew back level off a setpiece which exploited some lax Barca defending.
The totally unmarked Ruben Pulido took to the air to flash an angled header past Victor Valdes.