A brilliant solo goal from Dutch winger Arjen Robben helped Real Madrid close the gap on runaway leaders Barcelona to 12 points as the champions defeated Villarreal 1-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.
Real coach Juande Ramos handed debuts to French midfielder Lassana Diarra and Dutch international striker Klass-Jan Huntelaar ?40 million euros (US$55 million) worth of talent ?but it was Robben who proved the difference. The former Chelsea man jinked his way past several opponents ?leaving Spanish star Marcos Senna sprawling on the ground ?before unleashing an unstoppable 31st minute winner.
Ramos had no hesitation in giving league debuts to Diarra, who he signed for 20 million euros from Portsmouth during the transfer window, and Huntelaar who also cost 20 million euros and was bought by former manager Bernd Schuster.
The Christmas break also allowed Real to recover injured players and they welcomed back Pepe and Gabriel Heinze to strengthen the back four.
Real hit the woodwork on 11 minutes when Robben? deflected shot took a ricochet off the top of the crossbar for a corner.
Robben was Real? standout player and the Dutch star scored a terrific goal just after the hour. Cutting in from the right flank Robben faked to shoot ?deceiving Spanish international Senna who threw himself to the ground in a last ditch effort to block ?before firing a fierce drive into the top corner with his left foot.
Six minutes before the break Huntelaar should have got a debut goal, but Diego Lopez foiled the Dutchman with a reflex save.
Villarreal coach Manuel Pellegrini? halftime dressing down seemed to work and his team were transformed in the second period, putting Real on the back foot with a series of corners.
Villarreal pushed forward and their best chance came on 70 minutes when Giuseppe Rossi? header was pushed onto the crossbar by Casillas. The visitors were the better side in the second half, but the ball wouldn? go in.
Valencia hold on to second spot after Sevilla drew 1-1 with bottom side Osasuna on Sunday.
A Jesus Navas goal looked set to propel Sevilla up to second, but Walter Pandiani equalized in the final minute to stun the home fans.
Former Real legend Hugo Sanchez, who won five consecutive league titles in Madrid colors from 1985 to 1990, had a great start with new club Almeria, with his first match in charge ending in a 1-0 win over Real Betis.
Meanwhile, Recreativo Huelva beat Numancia 3-1, a win that lifted them out of the bottom three.
Spanish La Liga
?/td>
| Team | P | GD | PTS |
1 | Barcelona | 17 | 40 | 44 |
2 | Valencia | 17 | 12 | 33 |
3 | Real Madrid | 17 | 9 | 32 |
4 | Sevilla | 17 | 9 | 32 |
5 | Atletico Madrid | 17 | 13 | 30 |
6 | Deportivo La Coruna | 17 | 3 | 30 |
7 | Villarreal | 17 | 5 | 29 |
8 | Malaga | 17 | -1 | 25 |
9 | Valladolid | 17 | 0 | 23 |
10 | Getafe | 17 | -3 | 21 |
11 | Racing Santander | 17 | -3 | 21 |
12 | Sporting Gijon | 17 | -12 | 21 |
13 | Athletic Bilbao | 17 | -4 | 20 |
14 | Almeria | 17 | -8 | 19 |
15 | Real Betis | 17 | -2 | 18 |
16 | Numancia | 17 | -14 | 17 |
17 | Recreativo Huelva | 17 | -13 | 16 |
18 | Espanyol | 17 | -11 | 14 |
19 | Mallorca | 17 | -14 | 14 |
20 | Osasuna | 17 | -6 | 13 |
?/p>
Shohei Ohtani and his wife arrived in South Korea with his Los Angeles Dodgers teammates yesterday ahead of their season-opening games with the San Diego Padres next week. Ohtani, wearing a black training suit and a cap backwards, was the first Dodgers player who showed up at the arrival gate of Incheon International Airport, west of Seoul. His wife, Mamiko Tanaka, walked several steps behind him. As a crowd of fans, many wearing Dodgers jerseys, shouted his name and cheered slogans, Ohtani briefly waved his hand, but did not say anything before he entered a limousine bus with his wife. Fans held placards
Taiwan’s Tai Tzu-ying yesterday advanced to the quarter-finals at the All England Open, beating Kim Ga-eun of South Korea 21-17, 21-15. With the win, Tai earned a semi-final against China’s He Bingjiao, who beat Michelle Li of Canada 21-9, 21-9. Defending champion An Se-young defeated India’s P.V. Sindhu 21-19, 21-11. An on Wednesday cruised into the second round, unlike last year’s men’s winner, Li Shifeng, who suffered a shock defeat. South Korea’s An, the world No. 1, overcame Taiwan’s Hsu Wen-chi 21-17, 21-16 to set up the match against Sindhu. In other women’s singles matches, Taiwan’s Sung Shuo-yun lost 21-18, 24-22 against Carolina Marin of
EYEING TOP SPOT: A victory in today’s final against Storm Hunter and Katerina Siniakova would return 38-year-old Hsieh Su-wei to the world No. 1 ranking Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens on Thursday secured a spot in the women’s doubles finals at the BNP Paribas Open after dispatching Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez 6-2, 7-6 (7/5) at Indian Wells. Hsieh and her Belgian partner Mertens, who won the Australian Open in late January, coasted through the first set after breaking their opponents’ serve twice, but found the going tougher in the second. Both pairs could only muster one break point over 12 games, neither of which were converted, leaving the set to be decided by a tiebreaker. Hsieh and Mertens took a 6-3 lead,
DOUBLES PAYBACK: Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Martens avenged their defeat in the quarters at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open against Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei on Wednesday advanced to the semi-finals of the women’s doubles at the BNP Paribas Open in Indian Wells, California. Hsieh and partner Elise Mertens of Belgium dispatched Demi Schuurs and Luisa Stefani 6-1, 6-4 to set up a clash against Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the US and Australia’s Ellen Perez for a spot in the final of the WTA 1000 tournament. Hsieh and Martens made a blistering start to their rematch after they lost to Schuurs and Stefani in the quarter-finals at the Qatar TotalEnergies Open last month, winning three games without reply at the start of the first set