Pedro's first-half strike gave Barcelona a win over Almeria at
the Nou Camp tonight as the Catalans made hard work of a seemingly
routine home match in the sixth round of the Primera Division.
The Tenerife-born youngster struck after half an hour to score
only his second ever goal for the first team, and it proved enough
to give a below-par Barca outfit their sixth successive league win
and put pressure on bitter rivals Real Madrid, who face a tough
trip to Sevilla tomorrow.
Almeria coach and Real Madrid legend Hugo Sanchez had no doubt been
hoping to do his old club a favour by halting Barca.
And Sanchez, who has always maintained he would never coach the
Catalans out of respect for the club where he starred in the late
1980s, claimed he would draw inspiration from Barca's other rivals,
Espanyol, who scored a surprise 2-1 win at the Nou Camp last season.
But Barca had a man sent off at a crucial moment in that match
and as other teams, including Madrid, have found out in the last
year, getting anything from the Nou Camp is easier said than done.
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