Football Funnies: Black cat invades Camp Nou pitch on Barcelona's season opener against Elche

A black cat invades the pitch just before kick-off at the Camp Nou on Aug 24, 2014. -- PHOTO: AFP
A black cat invades the pitch just before kick-off at the Camp Nou on Aug 24, 2014. -- PHOTO: AFP

Before Barcelona's star-studded team got to dazzle in the team's opening game of the new La Liga season, a black cat beat them to it by prancing on to the pitch and striding about before kick-off.

The bemused players looked on as stadium staff tried to corner the feline, but - to the delight of the crowd - it evaded them for long periods of time. Still, the spectators let out an appreciative cheer when a steward finally scooped the pesky furball up and escorted it off the field, UK Mirror reported.

And the Catalans (Cat, Catalans, get it?) certainly took a leaf out of the cat's book by running circles around the Elche defence through the 90 minutes. Lionel Messi was as elusive as the four-legged pre-game entertainment, scoring two goals to help his team to a 3-0 win despite being reduced to 10 men for half the match.

Looks like the black cat certainly heralded bad luck for the visiting team.

For more Football Funnies for the brand new European football season, check out The Straits Times' Banana Kick.

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