The defending La Liga and UEFA Champions League winners kicked off their 2009-10 La Liga season with a match against Sporting Gijon. The match comes only a few days after their UEFA Super Cup win against Shakhtar Donetsk in extra time. Here’s a recap of Monday’s match along with video highlights.
FC Barcelona cruises past Sporting Gijon 3-0 – Video Highlights
Barcelona controlled 79% of possession and dominated Sporting Gijon in a 3-0 victory to open the 2009-10 La Liga season. The match was in front of 75,000 strong at the Camp Nou where Barcelona was clearly the better team on the night. The first goal came in the 18th minute as Bojan Krkic as a corner was headed towards him and he put it past the keeper. The next goal came in the 42nd minute by Seydou Keita who scored off a header from a cross. The first half would end at 2-0 for Barca.
The second half was more of the same as the home side continued to get chances and they would add one more. In the 82nd minute a cross into the box was deflected off a defender and to an unmarked Zlatan Ibrahimovic who headed it past the goalkeeper. All three goals came off headers as Gijon left Barcelona players unmarked in the box during corners and crosses. Lionel Messi was unavailable for the match and Thierry Henry was on the bench but the team still won easily.
| MATCH STATS | ||
| Barcelona | Sporting Gijon | |
| Shots (on Goal) | 20(9) | 9(5) |
| Fouls | 10 | 12 |
| Corner Kicks | 9 | 7 |
| Offsides | 2 | 6 |
| Time of Possession | 79% | 21% |
| Yellow Cards | 0 | 2 |
| Red Cards | 0 | 0 |
| Saves | 5 | 6 |
| SCORING SUMMARY | |
| Barcelona | Sporting Gijon |
| Bojan Krkic (18) | |
| Seydou Keita (42) | |
| Zlatan Ibrahimovic (82) | |
