Messi, Barcelona remember Maradona

Before the match, Barcelona played 'The Song of the Birds' by Catalan cellist Pablo Casals as the teams stood around the centre circle where a Maradona shirt was laid on the centre spot

Madrid: Barcelona on Sunday followed the advice of coach Ronald Koeman and paid tribute to their former player Diego Maradona with an emphatic return to form in La Liga and a 4-0 victory over Osasuna.

Maradona, who played two seasons for Barca, died on Wednesday aged 60. Before the match, the club played ‘The Song of the Birds’ by Catalan cellist Pablo Casals as the teams stood around the centre circle where a Maradona shirt was laid on the centre spot.

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Lionel Messi, who has inherited Maradona’s legendary Argentina number 10 shirt, bowed his head. Flags at the Camp Nou flew at half mast, Maradona’s image was displayed on every screen and digital advertising hoardings while a club official held a framed Maradona Barcelona shirt.

The Catalans have been struggling in La Liga and started the game 14th. On Friday, Koeman said the best tribute his team could pay Maradona was to “show what we can do on the pitch”.
He recalled Messi and Frenkie de Jong, who were not in the squad for Tuesday’s 4-0 Champions League win at Dynamo Kiev, and also started Antoine Griezmann, who was on the bench in Ukraine.

Barcelona climbed to seventh, still 10 points behind leaders Real Sociedad, who drew 1-1 at home to third-placed Villarreal.

Gerard Moreno scored a penalty after just six minutes for Villarreal at Anoeta but Mikel Oyarzabal replied with a spot-kick on the half-hour to earn the hosts a point.

La Real pulled a point ahead of Atletico Madrid despite the end of their six-match winning run in the league. However, Diego Simeone’s unbeaten side have two games in hand.