Forgotten striker Bojan Krkic scored his first league goals of the season as Barcelona restored their six-point advantage over Real Madrid at the top of the Spanish first division with a 2-0 win at Almeria on Sunday.
Coach Pep Guardiola chose to rest Samuel Eto’o and Thierry Henry, giving Bojan a rare start, and the 18-year-old seized his opportunity, scoring a second-half brace inside three minutes.
Even an inspirational game from Almeria’s Brazilian goalkeeper Diego Alves could not keep Barcelona and Bojan at bay as they continue their treble bid.
PHOTO: EPA
“He [Bojan] deserved to play as he was doing really well in training,” Guardiola said.
“I am delighted for him and we will need him as April is a terrible month for us in terms of games. Everyone will play their part. We would like to have a bigger lead than six points but we can’t do anything about that. We have had so many games recently that is has been difficult to train at times but we just have to keep on going,” Guardiola added.
Real had thrashed Bilbao 5-2 on Saturday to temporarily cut the gap to three points, and the pressure was on Barca to respond. The Catalan side had crushed Almeria 5-0 at Camp Nou earlier in the season, so the hosts wanted to give a better account of themselves while Mexican coach Hugo Sanchez, a former Real Madrid legend, wanted to do his old club a big favour.
Eto’o scored a hat-trick in the Almeria thrashing, but started on the bench as Guardiola decided some of his stars needed a rest with the Champions League quarter-finals to come.
Seydou Keita, Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique were all thwarted by Alves in a goalless first half. However, the breakthrough arrived in the 53rd minute with Bojan following up after Messi had hit the post with a curling shot.
It was Bojan’s first league goal of the campaign and the second came three minutes later when he completed a wonderful team goal involving Dani Alves, Messi and Andres Iniesta.
Elsewhere, Atletico Madrid came from two goals down to defeat 10-man Villarreal 3-2 at the Vicente Calderon to pull themselves back into the Champions League race.
Goals from Diego Forlan, who also missed a penalty, and Antonio Lopez in the final ten minutes secured a crucial win for Atletico who are now two points behind fourth-placed Villarreal.
“It was impossible to have any more chances than we had in this match,” Atletico coach Abel Resino said. “Diego Lopez [the Villarreal goalkeeper] was fantastic for them, but I told the players to keep going and carry on playing like they were.”
If Atletico had lost, Villarreal would have been eight points clear of their rivals and they took a 2-0 lead through Matias Fernandez and Ruben Cani.
Sevilla’s faint hopes of challenging Real for second place looked to have ended after a 2-2 draw with Malaga left them nine points behind the champions. Luis Fabiano scored an 84th-minute equalizer to snatch a point for Sevilla who were 2-0 down against their Andalucian neighbors.
Spanish La Liga
Team | P | GD | Pts | |
1 | Barcelona | 27 | 54 | 66 |
2 | Real Madrid | 27 | 32 | 60 |
3 | Sevilla | 27 | 13 | 51 |
4 | Villarreal | 27 | 6 | 45 |
5 | Atletico Madrid | 27 | 15 | 43 |
6 | Malaga | 27 | 5 | 43 |
7 | Deportivo La Coruna | 27 | 0 | 42 |
8 | Valencia | 27 | 7 | 40 |
9 | Valladolid | 27 | -1 | 39 |
10 | Racing Santander | 27 | 0 | 33 |
11 | Sporting Gijon | 27 | -22 | 33 |
12 | Almeria | 27 | -10 | 31 |
13 | Athletic Bilbao | 27 | -9 | 31 |
14 | Recreativo Huelva | 27 | -12 | 30 |
15 | Real Betis | 27 | -6 | 29 |
16 | Mallorca | 27 | -15 | 29 |
17 | Getafe | 27 | -5 | 28 |
18 | Osasuna | 27 | -6 | 26 |
19 | Numancia | 27 | -27 | 23 |
20 | Espanyol | 27 | -19 | 22 |
France’s Kevin Aymoz snatched the men’s title at Skate America on Saturday, winning his first grand prix title with a battling free skate, while short program leader Kazuki Tomono faltered. It was an emotional triumph for Aymoz, who made his grand prix level debut in 2017, with seven prior podium finishes, but no gold. He had struggled with a painful foot injury since a disappointing 10th-place finish at Skate Canada last month. “It was so difficult,” the 28-year-old said. “After Skate Canada I wanted to give up so much and today I’m here and it’s so beautiful to be with my friends competing
Nineteen wickets fell yesterday on an opening day of carnage in the first Ashes Test, with England’s attack led by skipper Ben Stokes bowling them into a position of strength after Australia dismissed the tourists for 172. A rampaging Mitchell Starc took 7-58 to put England on the back foot after Stokes won the toss on a fine day at a packed Perth Stadium and chose to bat. Harry Brook (52) and Ollie Pope (46) offered the only resistance as they crumbled after lunch, but England’s elite fast bowlers, led by an exceptional Stokes with 5-23, fought back to reduce the hosts
Nigeria’s soccer coach has accused the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DR Congo) of practicing “voodoo” after his squad’s hopes of qualifying for next year’s FIFA World Cup ended in a penalty shoot-out loss in the African playoff final. DR Congo and Nigeria drew 1-1 after extra-time in the tie in Rabat, Morocco, on Sunday and the central Africans won 4-3 on penalties to book a place in inter-confederation playoffs in Mexico in March next year. In his post-match remarks to journalists, coach Eric Chelle said a member of the DR Congo team “did some voodoo, every time, every time, every time.” “That
Australian cyclist Paige Greco, a Paralympic gold medalist, has died. She was 28. A joint statement by the Australian Paralympic Committee and Cycling Australia said that Greco “passed away in her Adelaide home after experiencing a sudden medical episode” on Sunday. “Paige meant everything to us,” her mother Natalie Greco said. “Her kindness, her determination and her warmth touched our family every single day. She brought so much joy and pride into our lives, and the pain of her passing is something we will carry forever, “ Natalie Greco said. “While we are devastated by her loss, we are incredibly proud of the person she
RSS