A Xavi free-kick and an exquisite lob from Lionel Messi fired Barcelona to a 2-0 win at Sevilla that cut Real Madrid’s lead at atop of La Liga back to seven points on Saturday.
Xavi curled a shot over wall after 18 minutes and Messi bagged his 31st of the league campaign soon after.
The Argentine started the move deep in midfield playing a one-two with Andres Iniesta, he nutmegged a defender as he skipped into the area and calmly lifted the ball over the advancing Andres Palop.
Photo: Reuters
However, having carved a host of first-half chances, Barca spent much of the second period pegged back as both goalkeepers Palop and Victor Valdes made top-class saves.
The champions moved on to 63 points from 27 games.
Jose Mourinho’s Real, on 70 points, can restore their 10-point advantage if they can beat fourth-placed Malaga at Santiago Bernabeu.
“We played very well in the first half and we scored two goals, and could have got more, but the second half was a different story,” Pique told Spanish television. “We have done our job now we need to see what happens tomorrow. At least they [Real] go out knowing we are there behind them and we are still in the fight.”
Barca coach Pep Guardiola sounded a more pessimistic note when he was asked about the side’s chances of catching Real to win their fourth consecutive league crown.
“You should forget about this league, we aren’t going to win it,” he told reporters. “If there is one thing about this team, it is that it is competitive, but there is another team that has achieved better results than us.”
Both sides came out at the start of the match wearing shirts in support of Barcelona’s French defender Eric Abidal, who found out he needed a liver transplant.
When asked about Abidal, Barca’s Argentine defender Javier Mascherano told Spanish television: “I don’t like to mix football with things that happen off the pitch, but if the victory serves to give him a lift, all well and good.”
CA Osasuna climbed to fifth with 29 points after grabbing a late equalizer to draw 1-1 at basement side Real Zaragoza.
Portugal striker Helder Postiga had struck from outside the area to give Zaragoza the lead with five minutes to go, but three minutes later Osasuna defender Roversio headed in from a corner.
Rayo Vallecano de Madrid climbed to eighth with 37 points after beating another promoted club Real Betis Balompie 3-0 in the late game, with second-half goals from Emiliano Armenteros, Diego Costa and Raul Tamudo.
Zaragoza stayed 20th with 19 points, eight short of safety and five behind 19th-placed Sporting de Gijon.
Sporting, whose 62-year-old coach Javier Clemente was celebrating his 500th game in La Liga, lost 2-1 at fellow stragglers Granada to first-half strikes from Carlos Martins and Guilherme Siqueira.
Real Sociedad’s Inigo Martinez put the ball in his own net to give Getafe a 1-0 home win.
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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