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Match

Marcador del partit

Date: Sunday, 31 Aug
Competition: ???label.competicio0???
Stadium: Los Pajaritos, Soria

Resultat:

Numancia: 1
FC Barcelona: 0

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THE GOALS

1-0, Mario (min 13)

La Liga kicks off with a defeat (1-0)

Roger Bogunyà

FC Barcelona were beaten by a solitary goal by Numancia despite dominating the opening encounter of the new season and creating chance after chance to take something from the game.

Despite having the majority of possession and the best opportunities, it was the home side that recorded the win as they packed their defence and looked to play on the break as it proceed to be a successful formula as Mario netted the only goal of the in the 13th minute. After that, the hosts sat back to defend their lead and allowed the Blaugrana to dictate the player while making things very difficult by lining up with two lines of four in front of Junan Pablo in goal.

Possession and chances

From the first minute Barcelona showed that they were in Los Parajitos to produce a forward thinking bran of football involving a swift passing game through the midfield. Nevertheless this dominance was unable to produce a goal despite the ball striking the bar twice and the post once in the course of the 90 minutes.

Eto’o goes close

Although there were no gaps and so little space in and around hte Numancia area, Barça continued to play int he same way and hope that something would go for them or that a moment of magic would finally see them able to draw level. After going behind to an effort from Mario, Eto'o almost equalised straight away when his shot from outside the area clipped the top of the bar and flew behind.

Substitutions

After the half time break, Barça came out even more determined to score and it was virtually one-way traffic with the yellow shirts of the visitors pushing forward continuously. Coach Pep Guardiola looked to change things to try and test Numancia in different ways and introduced Aliaksandr Hleb in place of the more defensive Touré Yaya. Bojan Krkic followed him on and then Seydou Keita bolstered the midfield with his entrance soon after.

Off the post

The substitutes gave the Blaugrana even more up front, but still that elusive opening could not be found and Numancia were able to stick to their tactics and sit back. Eto'o, Bojan, Xavi and Eto'o all went close while Lionel Messi saw a free-kick come back off the post in the closing minutes. The ball would just not go in and four minutes of injury time the referee signalled Barça's first opening day defeat for 14 seasons.

Preview

13 years without an opening day defeat

1995/96: Valladolid-FCB (0-2)
1996/97: Oviedo-FCB (2-4)
1997/98: FCB-R.Sociedad 3-0)
1998/99: Racing-FCB (0-0)
1999/00: FCB-Zaragoza (2-0)
2000/01: FCB-Málaga (2-1)
2001/02: Sevilla-FCB (1-2)
2002/03: FCB-At.Madrid (2-2)
2003/04: Athletic Club-FCB (0-1)
2004/05: Racing-FCB (0-2)
2005/06: Alavés-FCB (0-0)
2006/07: Celta-FCB (2-3)
2007/08: Racing-FCB (0-0)

Making a good start

Jordi Clos

FC Barcelona start the new season on Sunday at Numancia with the ambition being the same as it always as is as the team want to chalk up a confidence boosting result and show that they are ready to compete for honours this term.

"In Soria we will not win or lose the league title, but we have to start well," said coach Pep Guardiola in the pre-match build-up. The new Barça trainer recognised that the three points will not affect the race for the championship at this stage, but he wants his side to make a successful start to the campaign on Sunday afternoon in Los Parajitos. The Blaugrana will also be looking to extend a great record of not losing on the opening day of a season for 13 seasons.

Great pre-season

There is a reason for optimism around Barcelona after the club's pre-season performances and their display in the Champions League qualifying tie as they recorded seven wins and only one defeat, that coming in the second leg of the European encounter with Wisla, and there have been plenty of goals. Those results showed that the players are taking on board what Guardiola has asked of them and with so few goals conceded it has also been evident that the team can defend as well as go forward.

Messi returns

Lionel Messi returns after competing in the Olympic Games with Argentina, where he helped the Albiceleste to win the gold medal. The 21-year-old and Rafa Márquez both did not travel to Poland in midweek and are the new two new faces in the squad for the Numnacia game. Barcelona have never won in Los Parajitos and the last time they played there was in 2004/05 in a 1-1 draw.

In the top flight

Numancia are one of the three teams to have promotion to la Primera at the end of last season and are in the top flight for only the fourth term in their history. After playing Barça, they face Real Madrid and then Villarreal in a real test of their first division mettle. Sergio Kresic, who replaced coach Gonzalo Arconada over the summer will not be able to count on Guayre or his recent signing Goira, but should have former Barça players Juan Carlos Moreno and Dimas Delgado in his squad for the game.

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