Barcelona’s weary collection of international globe-trotters produced a workmanlike performance to beat Valladolid 1-0 on Saturday with Samuel Eto’o scoring the only goal.
Barcelona remain six points ahead of Real Madrid, who beat Malaga 1-0, in the race for the Spanish title with nine games left to play.
Having lost three out of four matches following World Cup and international breaks this season, Pep Guardiola’s Barcelona team knew they could not afford to drop points.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Barcelona began the game with Lionel Messi and Thierry Henry on the bench but while they controlled the game they struggled to create openings. That was until Eto’o coolly beat the Valladolid keeper shortly before half-time with a match-winning lob.
The second half was more even and Messi and Dani Alves were introduced to bolster Barca.
Meanwhile, Real Madrid stayed in second place with a sixth successive away victory.
PHOTO: AP
Real coach Juande Ramos was forced to field a weakened team with several players out injured, most notably Arjen Robben who has been a key performer this season. After a goalless first half, Gonzalo Higuain made the breakthrough powering through the Malaga defense and finishing well.
Villarreal slumped to a 3-0 defeat against Almeria who won through first half goals from Alvaro Negredo, Pablo Piatti and Jose Mane. Villarreal’s miserable night got even worse when Robert Pires was sent-off with 30 minutes left, while midfielder Santi Cazorla suffered a broken leg and will miss the rest of the season.
Sevilla consolidated their third place with an important 1-0 win away to Recreativo Huelva courtesy of a Frederic Kanoute penalty after 33 minutes.
Real Betis looked to have ended their winless streak against Numancia in their relegation battle but a late penalty was converted by Carlos Aranda to earn the visitors a point in a 3-3 draw.
Aranda earlier equalized Sergio Garcia’s opener for Betis and then Jose Barkero put Numancia ahead before Jesus Capi and Ricardo Oliveria turned the game around late on. Numancia had the final say though through Aranda’s spot kick.
Athletic Bilbao ended a seven-match streak without a win with a 2-1 victory over in-form Mallorca. Fran Yeste converted a penalty after just three minutes following a David Navarro handball and then Javi Martinez put them back ahead after Jose Jurado had equalized.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB