Soccer-Barcelona to appeal against Vilanova dismissal

 

Barcelona will appeal against what they believe was an excessively harsh dismissal of coach Tito Vilanova in Sunday's 2-1 La Liga win at Osasuna, the club said on Monday.

Vilanova, who was making his away debut in the league after taking over from Pep Guardiola at the end of last season, was sent from the bench in the second half when he protested the referee's decision not to award a free kick for a challenge on Sergio Busquets.

The referee said in his match report he had punished Vilanova "for angrily protesting a passage of play, having been warned by the fourth official".

"The expulsion was excessive because I didn't say anything that was out of line," Vilanova told a post-match news conference on Sunday.

Lionel Messi scores twice as Barcelona come from behind to beat Osasuna 2-1

 

Lionel Messi scored two late goals Sunday as Barcelona came from behind to win 2-1 at Osasuna in the Spanish league.

 

The hosts looked took the lead after Joseba Llorente’s acrobatic 17th-minute goal and it wasn’t until the 76th that Messi leveled, guiding Alexis Sanchez’s short pass beyond goalkeeper Andres Fernandez.

Osasuna went down to 10 men when Francisco Punal was red carded for arguing the goal was offside.

Messi then latched on to Jordi Alba’s cross in the 80th for the winner.

Mourinho bemoans 'offside' Barca goal

Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho hit out at refereeing decisions after watching his side lose 3-2 to Barcelona in a pulsating Spanish Supercopa first leg at the Camp Nou on Thursday.

PA PhotosJose Mourinho: Unimpressed by Barca equaliser

The "Only One" suggested the key moment in the game had been Pedro Rodríguez's equaliser, which came moments after Cristiano Ronaldo had headed Madrid in front.
At his post-match press conference, Mourinho said Pedro had been offside. "I do not want to criticise the key decisions in a game," he told reporters. "I do not want to do it this season - at least not in the second game.
"The thing I did not like about the game was Barcelona's first goal came from an assistant referee's mistake, but it's not a big deal."

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Barcelona beats Madrid 3-2 in Spanish Super Cup

 

BARCELONA, Spain (AP) - Barcelona rallied to beat Real Madrid 3-2 on Thursday night in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup, giving Tito Vilanova a victory in his first game as a head coach against Jose Mourinho.

Cristiano Ronaldo put the defending La Liga champions ahead in the 55th minute with a header off a corner kick, only for Pedro Rodriguez to tie the score one minute later for the Copa del Rey winner.

Lionel Messi converted a penalty kick in the 70th minute after Sergio Ramos tripped Andres Iniesta, and Iniesta fed Xavi Hernandez for a 3-1 lead in the 78th, delighting a crowd of 91,728.

 

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