Sevilla missed a chance to take over first place in the Spanish league on Sunday, allowing Javier Portillo to score the winning goal in the 76th minute in a 1-0 loss to Gimnastic Tarragona.
Portillo, on loan from Real Madrid, headed in Jose Maria Calvo's floated pass to keep FC Barcelona in first place.
Sevilla, which had been unbeaten in seven games, needed a draw in Tarragona to reclaim first place but gave a below-par display, even though striker Frederic Kanoute headed onto the bar just before half-time.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Gimnastic's victory continued their recent improvement. The 19th-place Catalan club have lost only twice in the past seven games.
Also, third-place Valencia drew 1-1 at Osasuna to move within three points of the lead.
Osasuna captain Patxi Punal converted a 35th-minute penalty, awarded after Valencia defender Emiliano Moretti pulled back midfielder Raul Garcia.
Valencia substitute Fernando Morientes equalized in injury time with a glancing header from Miguel Brito's floated pass. The goal was the Spain striker's 11th of the season.
The game at Osasuna's Reyno de Navarra stadium was attended by Chelsea coach Jose Mourinho, whose team meets Valencia in next month's Champions League quarter-finals. Valencia advanced on Tuesday by eliminating Inter Milan.
Barcelona and Sevilla each have 50 points, although the defending champions are first because of head-to-head results. Valencia have 47, two more than Real Madrid. Zaragoza and Atletico Madrid follow with 43.
Also on Sunday, it was: Real Betis 1, Zaragoza 1; Atletico 2, Deportivo La Coruna 0; Getafe 1, Recreativo Huelva 1; Real Sociedad 3, Mallorca 1; Celta Vigo 1, Athletic Bilbao 1; and Racing Santander 1, Espanyol 1.
On Saturday, Lionel Messi scored his third goal of the game in injury time to rally Barcelona to a 3-3 draw with Real Madrid. Villarreal beat Levante 2-0.
Zaragoza striker Diego Milito scored his 17th goal of the season in the 23rd minute, with Betis midfielder Marcos Assuncao equalizing with a 45th-minute penalty.
Betis defender Nano Rivas was ejected in the closing stages.
Betis played the game at the Manuel Ruiz de Lopera stadium after the Spanish soccer federation delayed a three-match home ban for a week.
Atletico's game with Deportivo was preceded by a short piece of somber music to mark the third anniversary of the Madrid train bombings which killed 191 people.
Sixth-place Atletico scored after just 40 seconds when midfielder Luciano Galletti latched onto a long pass from defender Antonio Lopez.
Substitute Miguel Angel "Mista" Ferrer sidefooted the ball into an empty net for the host team's second goal in the 84th.
Atletico handed a debut to central defender Fabiano Eller, who arrived from Trabzonspor in January.
Getafe conceded a goal after only four minutes when Recreativo striker Ikchuckwu Uche scored from close range.
Striker Daniel Guiza headed in Getafe's equalizer in the 27th.
Inter on Sunday were given a letoff when they snatched a late 1-1 derby draw with AC Milan, while league leaders SSC Napoli were held by a late goal at AS Roma. Reigning champions Inter remain three points behind Napoli, who looked to be heading five clear as they led in Rome until Angelino volleyed in a stunning leveler in the first minute of stoppage-time. Angelino’s strike gave even more significance to Stefan de Vrij’s last-gasp equalizer at the San Siro. The defender forced home Nicola Zalewski’s knockdown just as it looked like Tijjani Reijnders’ opener would be enough for Milan. “I can
The Washington Capitals and Winnipeg Jets on Saturday did not disappoint in a thrilling midseason matchup in front of a fired-up sellout crowd of more than 18,500 fans. The top two teams in the NHL delivered with a combined nine goals, including the 877th of Alex Ovechkin’s career to put him 18 back of breaking Wayne Gretzky’s record. That tied the score, the Jets pulled it out in overtime and just about everyone involved got their money’s worth out of the 5-4 game. “We knew how we were both sitting in the standings and both having real good years,” Winnipeg coach Scott
BACK-TO-BACK: The League One club, which is owned by stars Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, is sparing no expense to clinch promotion to the Championship Hollywood endings are pricey, even in England’s third division. In pursuit of their third straight promotion, Wrexham AFC splashed some cash at League One rival Reading to secure the services of striker Sam Smith. The Welsh club owned by actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney confirmed the signing of the 26-year-old Smith on Friday. He is one of the top scorers in the third division. The transfer fee was not disclosed, but British media widely reported it to be about £2 million (US$2.48 million) — not extravagant, but a hefty price at this level and it would be about the same figure that
Santiago Castro on Tuesday had an immediate impact off the bench as he scored the goal to send Bologna into the Coppa Italia semi-finals for the first time in 26 years. Bologna won 1-0 against last year’s runners-up, Atalanta BC, and are to play either holders Juventus or Empoli in the final four. Juventus are to host Empoli in their quarter-final on Feb. 26. The last time Bologna reached the semi-finals was in 1999, when they lost 4-2 to ACF Fiorentina. There were chances for both sides in a high-tempo match in Bergamo, but it was Bologna who broke the deadlock 10 minutes from