Sevilla missed a chance to take over first place in the Spanish league on Sunday, allowing Javier Portillo to score the winning goal in the 76th minute in a 1-0 loss to Gimnastic Tarragona.
Portillo, on loan from Real Madrid, headed in Jose Maria Calvo's floated pass to keep FC Barcelona in first place.
Sevilla, which had been unbeaten in seven games, needed a draw in Tarragona to reclaim first place but gave a below-par display, even though striker Frederic Kanoute headed onto the bar just before half-time.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Gimnastic's victory continued their recent improvement. The 19th-place Catalan club have lost only twice in the past seven games.
Also, third-place Valencia drew 1-1 at Osasuna to move within three points of the lead.
Osasuna captain Patxi Punal converted a 35th-minute penalty, awarded after Valencia defender Emiliano Moretti pulled back midfielder Raul Garcia.
Valencia substitute Fernando Morientes equalized in injury time with a glancing header from Miguel Brito's floated pass. The goal was the Spain striker's 11th of the season.
The game at Osasuna's Reyno de Navarra stadium was attended by Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho, whose team meets Valencia in next month's Champions League quarter-finals. Valencia advanced on Tuesday by eliminating Inter Milan.
Barcelona and Sevilla each have 50 points, although the defending champions are first because of head-to-head results. Valencia have 47, two more than Real Madrid. Zaragoza and Atletico Madrid follow with 43.
Also on Sunday, it was: Real Betis 1, Zaragoza 1; Atletico 2, Deportivo La Coruna 0; Getafe 1, Recreativo Huelva 1; Real Sociedad 3, Mallorca 1; Celta Vigo 1, Athletic Bilbao 1; and Racing Santander 1, Espanyol 1.
On Saturday, Lionel Messi scored his third goal of the game in injury time to rally Barcelona to a 3-3 draw with Real Madrid. Villarreal beat Levante 2-0.
Zaragoza striker Diego Milito scored his 17th goal of the season in the 23rd minute, with Betis midfielder Marcos Assuncao equalizing with a 45th-minute penalty.
Betis defender Nano Rivas was ejected in the closing stages.
Betis played the game at the Manuel Ruiz de Lopera stadium after the Spanish soccer federation delayed a three-match home ban for a week.
Atletico's game with Deportivo was preceded by a short piece of somber music to mark the third anniversary of the Madrid train bombings which killed 191 people.
Sixth-place Atletico scored after just 40 seconds when midfielder Luciano Galletti latched onto a long pass from defender Antonio Lopez.
Substitute Miguel Angel "Mista" Ferrer sidefooted the ball into an empty net for the host team's second goal in the 84th.
Atletico handed a debut to central defender Fabiano Eller, who arrived from Trabzonspor in January.
Getafe conceded a goal after only four minutes when Recreativo striker Ikchuckwu Uche scored from close range.
Striker Daniel Guiza headed in Getafe's equalizer in the 27th.
Bayer 04 Leverkusen go into today’s match at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim stung from their first league defeat in 16 months. Leverkusen were beaten 3-2 at home by RB Leipzig before the international break, the first loss since May last year for the reigning league and cup champions. While any defeat, particularly against a likely title rival, would have disappointed coach Xabi Alonso, the way in which it happened would be most concerning. Just as they did in the Supercup against VfB Stuttgart and in the league opener to Borussia Moenchengladbach, Leverkusen scored first, but were pegged back. However, while Leverkusen rallied late to
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
Japanese players are moving to English soccer in record numbers and more look set to follow with clubs attracted by their quality, strong work ethic and value for money. Kaoru Mitoma is the standout talent of five Japanese players in the English Premier League, with eight more in the Championship and two in League One. Liverpool midfielder Wataru Endo, the captain of Japan, believes his compatriots are “being held in higher esteem” by English clubs compared with the past. “The staff at Liverpool ask me about lots of Japanese players, not necessarily with a view to a transfer, but just saying this or
Taiwan yesterday survived Bosnia and Herzegovina to win their Davis Cup World Group I tie at the Taipei Tennis Center. The tight series started on Saturday with world No. 123 Jason Tseng losing 3-6, 7-5, 6-4 to Mirza Basic in the opening singles matchup. However, teammate Tony Wu kept the tie even, dominating world No. 86 Damir Dzumhur 6-2, 6-1. Yesterday, 24-year-old Ray Ho and partner 25-year-old Hsu Yu-hsiou kept up the momentum, making short work of Basic and Nerman Fatic, winning 6-3, 6-4. Tseng then suffered another defeat, losing 6-4, 2-6, 6-2 to Dzumhur in a brutal match that lasted more than two