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Sunday, April 5, 2009

Osasuna, first away victory in season

Osasuna climbed out of the relegation zone and severely dented Atletico Madrid's hopes of getting back in the Champions League after claiming a deserved 4-2 win at the Vicente Calderon.
Walter Pandiani netted two of his side's goals but it was the performance of Osasuna playmaker Masoud Shojaei that really caught the eye.
The 24-year-old Iranian was involved in virtually every good passage of play for the Pamplona-based side and his brilliant display earned him an impressive ovation from home fans when he was substituted late on.
Those same supporters did not reserve the same appreciation for their own side, though, venting their frustrations during the second half and booing the team off at the end - at least those who bothered to wait around for the final whistle.
Atletico looked shaky and disjointed early on and Pandiani put Osasuna ahead in the seventh minute.
Pandiani had seen a second-minute effort ruled out for offside while five minutes later Masoud crashed a header against the underside of the crossbar with Leo Franco motionless.
It was not to be third time lucky for the hosts though as some dismal marking allowed Pandiani all the time in the world to latch onto Masoud's free-kick and send a diving header into the corner of the net.
That poor start by their side should have given the Atletico fans a foresight of the horrors to come, but instead they had their hopes raised as Diego Forlan produced a moment of individual skill to draw the Rojiblancos level in the 14th minute.
Osasuna had plenty of men back but Forlan still managed to create space for himself outside the area before curling home a low-footed shot.
It was to prove a false dawn though as Osasuna started to put the Atletico backline under increasing pressure.
Krisztian Vadocz somehow managed to head wide from point-blank range from a corner before Leo Franco was forced into tipping over Jaroslav Plasil's curling free-kick.
Atletico's resistance was finally broken a minute before half-time though as Hungarian Vadocz put Osasuna back in front.
Atletico defender Tomas Ujfalusi failed to clear a corner and Vadocz swivelled to send a soft shot past the wrong-footed Leo Franco from six yards out.
That was a morale-sapping way to end the first half, but worse was to follow for Atletico as they conceded a third goal two minutes after the re-start.
Masoud was again involved with a fantastic pass to Plasil, whose low cross was side-footed home by Pandiani with the home defence again nowhere to be seen.
That well-worked goal drew applause from the home fans, who were becoming increasingly frustrated with their own players.
Atletico briefly threatened a fightback with Sergio Aguero testing Roberto from 30 yards and Florent Sinama-Pongolle heading a free-kick wide, but any hopes of getting something out of the match ended in the 68th minute when Osasuna went 4-1 ahead.
This time it was Masoud who took all the glory for himself, brilliantly turning Pablo Ibanez inside out before coolly slotting home left-footed.
The Atletico supporters again warmly applauded that goal, although there could also have been a degree of sarcasm against their own side mixed in, as the stadium soon turned their ire towards Atletico president Enrique Cerezo.
Even the sight of Pablo pulling a goal back in the 72nd minute following a corner failed to win back the fans, who barely celebrated the strike.
Atletico failed to create much even after that though, and they remain five points adrift of fourth-placed Villarreal, while Osasuna move out of the bottom three and up to 14th.

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