Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 200th goal for Real Madrid, helping his club delay Barcelona’s claim to the Spanish league title by trouncing 10-man Malaga 6-2 on Wednesday at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Had Real dropped a point, Barcelona would have lifted their 22nd league crown, and fourth in five seasons.
Instead, a determined-looking Madrid went on a goal rampage, opening the scoring when Raul Albiol headed inside the far post from a corner by Luka Modric in the third minute.
Photo: EPA
Roque Santa Cruz equalized in the 15th minute when he bounced in a ball off the far post after a corner by Francisco “Isco” Alarcon.
Sergio Sanchez conceded a penalty and earned a straight red card in the 21st minute when he held an advancing Ronaldo in the penalty area. The Portuguese international tried to convert the spot kick but goalkeeper Wilfredo Caballero saved the Madrid forward’s powerful shot with his outstretched left foot.
Ronaldo made up for the miss by adding the second goal five minutes later with a precise free-kick from just outside the box.
Photo: AFP
Mesut Ozil raced up the left flank, sidestepped two defenders and shot past Caballero in the 34th minute before Vitorino Antunes pulled one back for Malaga two minutes later by connecting sweetly with a ball just outside the penalty area and shooting over goalkeeper Diego Lopez’s reach.
Caballero was replaced by Idriss Kameni in the 42nd.
Karim Benzema scored in first-half injury time by poking home a delicate sideways tap by Ronaldo inside the penalty area four minutes later.
Modric scored in the 63rd, but Real coach Jose Mourinho looked concerned by Ozil’s apparent ankle injury when the German fell awkwardly and had to leave the field later in the second half.
Angel Di Maria scored Madrid’s sixth in injury time.
Atletico Madrid reinforced their claim to a Champions League berth next season by brushing aside Celta Vigo 3-1. Atletico are third in the standings, and Celta remain in the relegation zone.
Diego Costa opened the scoring for Atletico in the 47th minute when he connected with Miranda’s back-header.
Juan Francisco Torres extended the lead in the 66th by scoring from a powerful shot before Augusto Fernandez pulled one back for Celta in the 83rd.
Radamel Falcao added the third in the 86th minute by beating three defenders to rifle a shot past Celta goalkeeper Javier Varas.
OUT AGAINST INDONESIA: Taiwan reached the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time by defeating Denmark, with Chou Tien-chen beating Viktor Axelsen Taiwan yesterday crashed out of the Thomas Cup team competition in Chengdu, China, but achieved their best result at the top-tier badminton event by reaching the semi-finals. Indonesia were too good in the semis, winning 3-0 to advance to today’s final against China, who eliminated Malaysia 3-1. In the opening singles of the men’s team clash at the Hi-Tech Zone Sports Center Gymnasium 2, Anthony Ginting defeated Taiwan’s Chou Tien-chen 21-18, 21-19 in 51 minutes, which put a huge hole in Taiwan’s aspirations to perhaps even make the final. In the men’s doubles, Fajar Alfian and Muhammad Ardianto downed Lee Yang and Wang
NO DOUBT: Spurs star Wembanyama was unanimously selected as NBA Rookie of the Year, winning all 99 votes to become the first Frenchman to capture the honor The Minnesota Timberwolves on Monday night produced a dominant defensive display to seize a commanding 2-0 lead in their best-of-seven playoff series against the Denver Nuggets with a 106-80 road victory. The third-seeded Timberwolves harassed Denver relentlessly to claim a second straight win over the NBA champions as the series heads back to Minneapolis for Game 3 on Friday. Karl-Anthony Towns and Anthony Edwards scored 27 points apiece, but the star of the show was Minnesota’s suffocating defensive effort, which knocked Denver out of their stride almost from the tip-off. The Timberwolves finished with 11 steals and 12 blocks, in sharp contrast to
Top-ranked Iga Swiatek on Saturday came through “the most intense and crazy final” she has ever contested to avenge her loss to Aryna Sabalenka in last year’s Madrid Open final with a grueling three hour, 11 minute victory in the Spanish capital. Coming back from 1-3 down in the decider and saving three match points in total, Swiatek claimed a 7-5, 4-6, 7-6 (9/7) victory to secure the Madrid Open trophy for the first time. “Well, who is going to say now that women’s tennis is boring, right?” Swiatek said. Swiatek, who picked up the 20th title of her career, and ninth at
One of Malaysia’s top soccer clubs has pulled out of today’s season-opening Charity Shield after a spate of assaults, including an acid attack, on players in the country. It leaves the kickoff of Malaysia’s season this weekend under a cloud following the unprecedented acts of violence against players, which have left the country shocked and angry. Authorities said they have imposed tighter security, but Selangor said that they would not play in the showpiece curtain-raiser against Malaysian Super League champions Johor Darul Ta’zim (JDT) citing “a series of criminal incidents and recent threats.” Selangor and Malaysia winger Faisal Halim is in intensive care