A stoppage-time own goal by Gerard Pique denied Barcelona the spoils in a 1-1 draw at Osasuna on Saturday as the champions saw their lead over Real Madrid cut to a single point.
Barca looked poised to win in Pamplona after Seydou Keita followed up his hat-trick against Real Zaragoza last weekend with a 73rd-minute strike, but with seconds left former Manchester United man Pique diverted a cross into his own net.
Barcelona now face a trip to Russia to take on Rubin Kazan in Wednesday’s Champions League match and will need no warning about a potential slip-up, having lost 2-1 to the Russians at Camp Nou in their last European match.
On the domestic front unbeaten Barca stay top, though, 10-men Real closed in with a 2-0 home win over Getafe courtesy of a brace from Gonzalo Higuain.
Sevilla stayed in touch with the leading duo by winning 2-0 at Xerez.
Recently-capped Spanish international Alvaro Negredo and Brazil striker Luis Fabiano were on target as Sevilla closed to within four points of Barca.
Elsewhere, new Atletico Madrid coach Quique Sanchez Flores got off to a losing start on his league bow falling 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao.
Highly rated Javi Martinez, 21, scored on 19 minutes to keep Atletico fourth from bottom and dent confidence further ahead of Tuesday’s vital Champions League home match against Chelsea.
It is a crunch week for Atletico, who need to beat Chelsea to have any chance of qualifying for the knockout phase and then prepare for a derby against Real Madrid at the Vicente Calderon.
Osasuna were the last team to beat Barcelona in the league, winning 1-0 at Camp Nou on the penultimate weekend of last season, and they stole a draw at the death when Pique haplessly put the ball past Valdes for a painful own goal.
Barca now turn their attention to the Champions League, while Real must focus on a testing Champions League trip to AC Milan tomorrow and then another derby against Atletico.
Jonas Vingegaard on Tuesday claimed the overall Vuelta a Espana lead while Jay Vine earned the stage 10 victory for his second triumph of the race. Two-time Tour de France winner Vingegaard overhauled Torstein Traen’s lead to head the general classification by 26 seconds from the Norwegian, with Joao Almeida third and trailing the Dane by 38 seconds. Vine put in an unmatchable performance on the final climb to finish ahead of Spanish Movistar riders Pablo Castrillo and Javier Romo. “Back in red, I’m happy with it, it’s a beautiful jersey,” Vingegaard said. “I’m happy with how the day went,
The Kansas City Chiefs wrapped up a brief visit to Brazil on Friday with a season-opening loss to the Los Angeles Chargers, but despite the defeat, the team outshone their divisional rivals in the fight for the hearts and minds of Brazilian fans. In Sao Paulo for just the second-ever NFL game in the city, Chiefs players — especially quarterback Patrick Mahomes and tight end Travis Kelce — were treated as major celebrities throughout their stay, turning Corinthians Arena into a scene reminiscent of the Chiefs’ Arrowhead Stadium. Before kickoff, crowds of fans gathered around the Chiefs’ tunnel, eager to catch a
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