Lionel Messi struck twice to give Barcelona a comfortable win
at Osasuna after the Catalans had raced against the clock to arrive
in Pamplona in time for the Primera Division fixture.
Pedro gave Barca the lead in the first half and Messi added his
second-half brace to see Barca stay top of the league and ensure
a happy ending to what had been a stressful day for the Catalan
club.
Under Pep Guardiola Barca travel to away games on the day of the
match, but the Catalans saw their plans thrown into disarray by
an unexpected air controller's strike.
Barca claimed in a statement on their website that they were originally
given permission to play the match tomorrow evening by the Spanish
Football Federation (RFEF).
However, with Osasuna reportedly unwilling to change the fixture,
the Catalan club were later told by the RFEF that the game would
go ahead as originally scheduled, forcing Barca to make hasty road
and rail arrangements for the journey to Pamplona.
The squad left Barcelona at 4pm local time, catching the high-speed
AVE train to Zaragoza and completing the rest of the trip by coach.
That saw the Catalan party arrive at the Reyno de Navarra stadium
only shortly before the scheduled kick-off time, which was then
put back by 45 minutes.
When the match eventually started, Osasuna came out flying in freezing
cold conditions and Jose Antonio Camacho's men won two corners in
the first two minutes.
But Barca, with the same line-up as in Monday's brilliant 5-0 humbling
of Real Madrid at the Nou Camp, soon took control.
|
