Coach Frank Rijkaard didn't start with his "Fantastic Four" and FC Barcelona was held to an unconvincing 0-0 draw against 10-man Racing Santander on Sunday in the first round of the Spanish first division.
New signing Thierry Henry entered as a 62nd-minute substitute for Lionel Messi but the former Arsenal striker's presence alongside Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o created only a few scoring chances for Barcelona.
Barcelona was handed an advantage in the 68th when striker Euzebiusz Smolarek earned a red card in his debut.
Henry fired just wide with his first touch inside the box four minutes later, but the striker was offside. The France striker also hit the post in the 86th.
"It's the first game of the season, it's not the end of the world," Rijkaard said.
US-born striker Giusepe Rossi converted a penalty while Jon Dahl Tomasson and Santiago Cazorla added the others to lead Villarreal over 10-man Valencia 3-0 at the Mestalla stadium. Striker David Villa was ejected in the 40th minute with his team trailing 1-0 after receiving his second yellow card.
Sevilla defender Antonio Puerta was breathing with the help of a respirator and in "very serious" condition on Sunday after suffering two heart attacks during his team's 4-1 win over Getafe on Saturday.
The 22-year-old Spain defender lost consciousness and fell near his own goal in the 31st minute, but was able to walk off minutes later after being treated by team doctors. Puerta again lost consciousness in the dressing room and was rushed to the hospital, where he was admitted to an intensive care unit.
Barcelona needed a victory to keep pace with defending champion Real Madrid, which rallied for a 2-1 win over crosstown rival Atletico Madrid on Saturday. Wesley Sneijder scored the winner in manager Bernd Schuster's debut.
Racing pressured Barcelona early, forcing goalkeeper Victor Valdes to deny Pedro Munitis and Aldo Pedro Duscher inside nine minutes.
In the 22nd, Munitis raced to a through ball only for his low drive to beat Valdes but bounce off the far post.
Barcelona answered at the end of the half with Xavi Hernandez chipping over Racing goalkeeper Antonio "Tono" Martinez in the 45th, but the ball was cleared off the line before Messi forced a diving save in the ensuing melee.
Ronaldinho's curling free kick just missed in the 61st, prompting Rijkaard to bring on Henry.
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
INTER AWAIT: Superb saves by PSG ’keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma inspired the victory, as Arsenal were punished for misses, including one by Bukayo Saka Arsenal on Wednesday fell short on the big stage again as their painful UEFA Champions League semi-final exit against Paris Saint-Germain left Mikel Arteta to rue his club’s failure to provide him with enough attacking options. Arteta’s side were unable to reach the Champions League final for the first time in 19 years as PSG clinched a tense 2-1 win at Parc des Princes. Trailing 1-0 from last week’s first leg in London, the Gunners made a blistering start to the second leg, but could not convert their chances as Gianluigi Donnarumma’s superb saves inspired PSG’s 3-1 aggregate victory. Arsenal were punished for
Taiwanese e-sports veteran Lin “ET” Chia-hung yesterday successfully defended his King of Fighters XV title at this year’s Evolution Championship Series: Japan (EVO Japan), securing his second consecutive championship. Lin claimed victory with a 3-1 win over Japanese pro gamer “mok” in the grand final, repeating his earlier 3-1 win against the same opponent in the winners’ final. The 40-year-old earned a ￥1 million (US$6,897) cash prize at the two-day tournament, which drew 294 competitors. Mok, Lin’s toughest rival in the bracket, took home ￥400,000 as runner-up. Lin remains undefeated in match sets against mok in King of Fighters XV, holding a 10-0 record,
RSS