FCBARCELONA.CAT

24.02.2008 12:00

Two close-fought precedents

Berta Brau

Two close Barça victories. That’s the precedent of the Barça-Levante ties that have been played during the Rijkaard era, during the 2004/05 and 2006/2007 seasons.

During the Rijkaard era, Barça and Levante have only faced each other twice at Nou Camp, due to Levante going down one season to the Segunda A. On both occasions, against all expectations, Barça only won by the minimum.

First encounter

In the 17th league match of 2004/5, Barça received Shuster’s Levante, who were then 14th in the league. Deco opened the score in the 35th minute with a shot from a free kick. Then ex-Barça player Cofre got a pass from Ettien and smashed the ball into Rubén’s net.

Suffering till the end

It wasn’t until the 86th minute the Barça finally managed to get a goal back, when Eto’o scored from inside the box, enabling Barça to close 2004 unbeaten in Nou Camp.

Two wins from two games

In the 32nd match of the 2006/2007 season, Levante returned to Nou Camp after one season in Segunda A. They were 18th, whilst Barça were league leaders. Once again, it wasn’t the easy victory expected.

The first team only managed to scrape a victory thanks to an Eto’o goal in the 27th minute. The goal was disputed due to a possible offside from Ronaldinho, who made the goal for Eto’o. Barça created more chances, but no goal came, and the teams were fairly evenly matched on the pitch.

Going for a hat-trick

On the 25th day of the 2007/2008 season, Levante return to Nou Camp lying at the bottom of the league with 16 points, and with only one victory away from home. However, going on their past performances, Barça shouldn’t take anything for granted. The Valencian team will arrive at Nou Camp motivated with a desire to go against the odds.