On a weekend when Real Madrid elected to honor legendary striker Alfredo di Stefano, described by UEFA president Michel Platini as "a great among greats," both Real and neighbors Atletico flopped as Barcelona reignited their La Liga hopes.
Di Stefano -- Real's honorary president -- witnessed the unveiling of a statue of him at Real's training center at Valdebabas in the suburbs of Madrid to commemorate the swathe of domestic and European titles the "blond arrow" won in the club's white jersey.
Today's vintage could have done with him after Real slumped 2-1 on Saturday at Real Betis, allowing Barcelona to close the gap at the top to five points with a win by the same score at Zaragoza sealed by a Ronaldinho penalty.
PHOTO: AP
Thierry Henry had netted Barca's opener and afterwards insisted he was happy at the club despite coach Frank Rijkaard tending to give him a wider role than the one in which the Frenchman had so excelled at Arsenal before coming to the Camp Nou last summer.
Ronaldinho's spotkick to cancel out a Zaragoza equalizer by fellow Brazilian Oliveira propelled Barca on to 51 points from 24 matches, to 56 for Real.
Real's German coach Bernd Schuster claimed his men deserved a point at Betis but the Sevilla-based side bounced back from Royston Drenthe's opener to win with goals from Edu and South Afican-born Mark Gonzalez, formerly a fringe player with Liverpool.
PHOTO: REUTERS
The title race is meanwhile more of a two-horse race than ever after would-be contenders lost ground on Sunday.
Villarreal are eight points adrift of Barca after a goalless stalemate at home to Racing Santander while Atletico Madrid failed to overhaul the former after going down 2-1 at home to struggling Athletic Bilbao, who move five points clear of the drop zone.
Antonio Lopez put Atletico ahead but Markel Susaeta and Fernando Llorente turned the tables before the break.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Sevilla are sixth, five points behind Atletico, after registering a fine 4-2 away win on Saturday at Espanyol built on goals in the opening 10 minutes from Luis Fabiano and Freddy Kanoute.
A left-foot strike from Luis Garcia gave Espanyol some hope five minutes before the break but the hosts then found themselves down to ten men after Zabaleta was sent off midway through the second period following a foul on Diego Capel.
Danish midfielder Christian Poulsen promptly restored the two-goal lead with the visitors' third after 73 minutes and, although Coro netted for Espanyol two minutes later, Sevilla held their nerve in a pulsating finale as Capel struck the clincher 13 minutes from time.
US track and field athletes have about four dozen pieces to choose from when assembling their uniforms at the Olympics. The one grabbing the most attention is a high-cut leotard that barely covers the bikini line and has triggered debate between those who think it is sexist and others who say they do not need the Internet to make sure they have good uniforms. Among those critical or laughing at the uniforms included Paralympian Femita Ayanbeku, sprinter Britton Wilson and even athletes from other countries such as Britain’s Abigail Irozuru, who wrote on social media: “Was ANY female athlete consulted in
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
Former US Masters champion Zach Johnson was left embarrassed after a foul-mouthed response to ironic cheers from spectators after a triple bogey at Augusta National on Friday. Johnson, the 2007 Masters winner, missed the cut after his three-over-par round of 75 left him on seven-over 151 for 36 holes, his six on the par-three 12th playing a big role in his downfall. Television footage showed Johnson reacting to sarcastic cheers and applause when he tapped in for the triple bogey by yelling: “Oh fuck off.” Such a response would be considered bad form in any golf tournament, but is particularly out of keeping
Taiwan’s Lee Jhe-huei and Yang Po-hsuan on Saturday won the men’s doubles bronze medal at the Badminton Asia Championships in Ningbo, China, after they were bested by the hosts in their semi-final. The Taiwanese shuttlers lost to China’s Liang Wei Keng and Wang Chang, who advanced to yesterday’s final against Malaysia’s Goh Sze Fei and Nur Izzudin. The Chinese pair outplayed Lee and Yang in straight games. Although the Taiwanese got off to a slow start in the first game, they eventually tied it 14-14, before Liang and Wang went on to blow past them to win 21-17. In the second game, Lee and