Coach Frank Rijkaard didn't start with his "Fantastic Four" and FC Barcelona was held to an unconvincing 0-0 draw against 10-man Racing Santander on Sunday in the first round of the Spanish first division.
New signing Thierry Henry entered as a 62nd-minute substitute for Lionel Messi but the former Arsenal striker's presence alongside Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o created only a few scoring chances for Barcelona.
Barcelona was handed an advantage in the 68th when striker Euzebiusz Smolarek earned a red card in his debut.
Henry fired just wide with his first touch inside the box four minutes later, but the striker was offside. The France striker also hit the post in the 86th.
"It's the first game of the season, it's not the end of the world," Rijkaard said.
US-born striker Giusepe Rossi converted a penalty while Jon Dahl Tomasson and Santiago Cazorla added the others to lead Villarreal over 10-man Valencia 3-0 at the Mestalla stadium. Striker David Villa was ejected in the 40th minute with his team trailing 1-0 after receiving his second yellow card.
Sevilla defender Antonio Puerta was breathing with the help of a respirator and in "very serious" condition on Sunday after suffering two heart attacks during his team's 4-1 win over Getafe on Saturday.
The 22-year-old Spain defender lost consciousness and fell near his own goal in the 31st minute, but was able to walk off minutes later after being treated by team doctors. Puerta again lost consciousness in the dressing room and was rushed to the hospital, where he was admitted to an intensive care unit.
Barcelona needed a victory to keep pace with defending champion Real Madrid, which rallied for a 2-1 win over crosstown rival Atletico Madrid on Saturday. Wesley Sneijder scored the winner in manager Bernd Schuster's debut.
Racing pressured Barcelona early, forcing goalkeeper Victor Valdes to deny Pedro Munitis and Aldo Pedro Duscher inside nine minutes.
In the 22nd, Munitis raced to a through ball only for his low drive to beat Valdes but bounce off the far post.
Barcelona answered at the end of the half with Xavi Hernandez chipping over Racing goalkeeper Antonio "Tono" Martinez in the 45th, but the ball was cleared off the line before Messi forced a diving save in the ensuing melee.
Ronaldinho's curling free kick just missed in the 61st, prompting Rijkaard to bring on Henry.
Four-time NBA all-star DeMarcus Cousins arrived in Taiwan with his family early yesterday to finish his renewed contract with the Taiwan Beer Leopards in the T1 League. Cousins initially played a four-game contract with the Leopards in January. On March 18, the Taoyuan-based team announced that Cousins had renewed his contract. “Hi what’s up Leopard fans, I’m back. I’m excited to be back and can’t wait to join the team,” Cousins said in a video posted on the Leopard’s Facebook page. “Most of all, can’t wait to see you guys, the fans, next weekend. So make sure you come out and support the Beer
Revelations of positive doping tests for nearly two dozen Chinese swimmers that went unpunished sparked an intense flurry of accusations and legal threats between the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and the head of the US drug-fighting organization, who has long been one of WADA’s fiercest critics. WADA on Saturday said it was turning to legal counsel to address a statement released by US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) CEO Travis Tygart, who said WADA and anti-doping authorities in China swept positive tests “under the carpet by failing to fairly and evenly follow the global rules that apply to everyone else in the world.” The
Taiwanese judoka Yang Yung-wei on Saturday won silver in the men’s under-60kg category at the Asian Judo Championships in Hong Kong. Nicknamed the “judo heartthrob” in Taiwan, the Olympic silver-medalist missed out on his first Asian Championships gold when he lost to Japanese judoka Taiki Nakamura in the finals. Yang defeated three opponents on Saturday to reach the final after receiving a bye through the round of 32. He first topped Laotian Soukphaxay Sithisane in the round of 16 with two seoi nage (over-the-shoulder throws), then ousted Indian Vijay Kumar Yadav in the quarter-finals with his signature ude hishigi sankaku gatame (triangular armlock). He
Rafael Nadal on Wednesday said the upcoming French Open would be the moment to “give everything and die” on the court after his comeback from injury in Barcelona was curtailed by Alex de Minaur. The 22-time Grand Slam title winner, back playing this week after three months on the sidelines, battled well, but eventually crumbled 7-5, 6-1 against the world No. 11 from Australia in the second round. Nadal, 37, who missed virtually all of last season, is hoping to compete at the French Open next month where he is the record 14-time champion. The Spaniard said the clash with De Minaur was