Eto'o the star on Oscar night

Samuel Eto'o put his five-month absence behind him as FC Barcelona revived their Primera División title charge with a 3-0 home win against Athletic Club Bilbao on Sunday.

Long absence
Aside from a six-minute cameo at CA Osasuna on 4 February, the Cameroonian had not appeared for Barcelona since September. Yet there was no sign of rustiness as the 25-year-old forced the defensive error which caused Fernando Amorebieta to put the ball into his own net and open the scoring for Barcelona on 23 minutes. He then teed up Xavi Hernández to volley in the second six minutes later and rounded off a virtuoso display with a goal of his own five minutes before the interval.

Oscar-winning performance
The headlines honoured the striker this morning: "Eto'o returns and changes the league", wrote Marca. El Mundo Deportivo led with "The Divine One returns" while Sport tied his superb showing in with the film industry gala in the United States, with the headline "An Oscar for Eto'o".

Agonising miss
Eto'o declared himself "very happy with my return and scoring a goal", adding: "I needed a match like that, because sometimes you give all you have and it doesn't work." However, he admitted he was almost upstaged by Ronaldinho whose cheeky effort from the touchline went just wide after a rampaging run. "If Ronaldinho's shot had gone in, they would have built him a statue," said Eto'o.

Liverpool tie
Barcelona visit Real Zaragoza on Wednesday for the second leg of their Copa del Rey quarter-final, trailing 1-0, but the major date on the horizon is the away leg of their UEFA Champions League first knockout round tie against Liverpool FC on 6 March, following last week's 2-1 Camp Nou defeat. Coach Frank Rijkaard will hope the return of a fit and hungry Eto'o can help the European champions overcome the 2005 winners in England. "Eto'o's return is good news," he said. "He brought depth to our game because he makes more space to cross to other players. I'm happy for him."