Valencia trimmed the gap on fourth-placed Espanyol to a point when a Roberto Soldado double gave them a 2-1 home win over Almeria in La Liga on Sunday.
Espanyol had gone four clear thanks to a 3-2 success at Atletico Madrid on Saturday, before Soldado struck in each half to lift Valencia to 24 points from 13 matches and keep them in the hunt for a place in European competition.
Unbeaten leaders Real Madrid had 32 points from 12 games ahead of yesterday’s Clasico against Barcelona, who were a point behind.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Soldado made the most of a slice of luck to open the scoring at the Mestalla. A floated pass landed on the back of his head and fell kindly for the striker, who took the ball inside a defender and finished low into the net.
His second came from a typically swift Valencia counter attack. Joaquin sent Aritz Aduriz clear on the right and Juan Mata cleverly flicked his low cross into the path of Soldado, who controlled the ball and beat Diego Alves from close range.
Jose Leonardo Ulloa scored a consolation header late on.
“I was trying to watch the defender [on the first goal] and it just hit me on the head,” Soldado said in a television interview. “They all count.”
Earlier, Pierre Webo and Gonzalo Castro struck just after halftime to give Real Mallorca a 2-0 home win over Malaga. Michael Laudrup’s side are a point clear of Atletico Madrid and Sevilla, who both lost on Saturday.
Castro sent Webo clear to open the scoring at the Iberostar Estadio in the 50th minute and the Cameroon striker returned the favor five minutes later for Castro to make it 2-0.
Also on Sunday, Carlos Gurpegi’s header in added time snatched a 1-0 home win for Athletic Bilbao over Osasuna.
Hercules beat Levante 3-1, Deportivo lost 1-0 at Racing Santander and Sporting Gijon were beaten 3-1 at home by Real Sociedad.
The lights dimmed and the crowd hushed as Karoline Kristensen entered for her performance. However, this was no ordinary Dutch theater: The temperature was 80°C and the audience naked apart from a towel. Dressed in a swimsuit and to the tune of emotional music, the 21-year-old Kristensen started her routine, performed inside a large sauna, with a bed of hot rocks in the middle. For a week this month, a group of wellness practitioners, called “sauna masters,” are gathering at a picturesque health resort in the Netherlands to compete in this year’s Aufguss world sauna championships. The practice takes its name from a
‘SOURCE OF PRIDE’: Newspapers rushed out special editions and the government sent their congratulations as Shohei Ohtani became the first player to enter the 50-50 club Japan reacted with incredulity and pride yesterday after Shohei Ohtani became the first player in Major League Baseball to record 50 home runs and 50 stolen bases in a single season. The Los Angeles Dodgers star from Japan made history with a seventh-inning homer in a 20-4 victory over the Marlins in Miami. “We would like to congratulate him from the bottom of our heart,” top government spokesman Yoshimasa Hayashi told reporters in Tokyo. “We sincerely hope Mr Ohtani, who has already accomplished feat after feat and carved out a new era, will thrive further,” he added. The landmark achievement dominated Japanese morning news
Roger Federer on Wednesday said that staying involved with tennis in retirement helped him avoid feeling “like an alien” ahead of this week’s Laver Cup in Berlin. Federer, who helped create the tournament, retired at the Laver Cup in London two years ago and has since stayed involved with the competition as an ambassador. “I’m happy I went back right away to some tournaments,” the 43-year-old told reporters. “I feel I ripped the Band-Aid off quite quickly and when I walk around the tennis sites I still feel I belong there,” he said. “I don’t feel like an alien, which is a
Lewis Hamilton on Thursday said there was a “racial element” to International Automobile Federation (FIA) president Mohammed ben Sulayem’s recent comments regarding drivers swearing during Formula 1 races. In an interview with motorsport.com, Ben Sulayem said: “We have to differentiate between our sport — motorsport — and rap music” when referring to drivers having a responsibility to stop swearing on the radio. “We’re not rappers, you know,” Ben Sulayem said. Responding to those remarks ahead of tomorrow’s Singapore Grand Prix, seven-time champion Hamilton said: “With what he said, I don’t like how he has expressed it. Saying ‘rappers’ is very stereotypical.” “If you