Villarreal came up short in their bid to keep up the pressure on league leaders Real Madrid when they went down 2-0 at struggling Valladolid on Sunday.
Real have 32 points from 14 games and a four-point lead after their 3-1 win over Racing Santander on Saturday, helped by two goals from club captain Raul Gonzalez.
Villarreal slip to third, behind Barcelona on goal difference with both clubs on 28 points, after the Catalan giants drew 1-1 at local rivals Espanyol on Saturday.
PHOTO: AFP
Joseba Llorente opened the scoring for Valladolid after 18 minutes when he found the net with a tremendous header from 10m out. Victor Fernandez added Valladolid's second goal 11 minutes after the break.
"In the first half we had our chances and should have been level at the break. We started the second half playing well but when Valladolid got their second goal, that was it," Villarreal coach Manuel Pellegrini said.
Atletico Madrid moved up to fourth place with a comfortable 2-0 win over relegation-threatened Real Betis.
PHOTO: AFP
Jose Antonio Reyes nearly put Atletico ahead after just three minutes when he hit the cross bar but Diego Forlan broke the deadlock after 33 minutes.
The prolific Uruguayan striker controlled a Kun Aguero cross with his chest before scoring with a left foot shot from the edge of the six yard box. Raul Garcia added Atletico's second in injury time.
There were ugly scenes at the end of the game as Betis supporters tried to storm the directors box and police had to move quickly to protect the club president Jose Gomez and former president Manuel Ruiz de Lopera.
The future of Betis coach Hector Cuper is also in doubt after just two wins this season, which has left the Seville-based club second from bottom.
A 90th minute headed goal from Getafe's Braulio Nobrega meant heart break for bottom club Levante as they went down 2-1 to stay without an away point this season.
Levante took the lead after 15 minutes when Riga Mustapha followed up and slotted home the rebound from his own penalty which Getafe goalkeeper Pato Abbondanzieri had palmed away.
Getafe equalized just after the hour when Braulio latched onto a long pass from the midfield by Manu Del Moral, who had hit the post himself just two minutes earlier.
The game was overshadowed though by a worrying incident involving Levante defender Inaki Descarga.
Descarga collapsed to the ground unconscious after an accidental clash of heads with Getafe midfielder Ruben De La Red nine minutes before half time.
An ambulance was brought onto the pitch and Descarga was still unconsciousness several minutes later as he left the ground.
However, it was later confirmed that he had come around in a Madrid hospital and was out of immediate danger.
"We talked about abandoning the game with the referee and Michael Laudrup [the Getafe coach]. We said that we would see how he was and make a decision during half time. The news was good so we decided to carry on," Levante coach Gianni De Biasi said.
Osasuna edged away from the relegation zone with a 2-1 win over fellow strugglers Deportivo La Coruna, who slip to third from bottom.
"Things are not good, I am worried. We were the worst we've been this season," Deportivo coach Miguel Angel Lotina said.
Czech midfielder Jaroslav Plasil got his first goal for Osasuna since joining the Pamplona-based side from Monaco in the summer, with a spectacular left-foot volley after 47 minutes.
Deportivo equalized through Ruben Castro with six minutes to go but Dady got the Osasuna's winner two minutes before the whistle with a left foot free kick from 20m out.
Valencia's woes increased just four days after they failed to qualify for the knockout stages of the Champions League when they crashed 3-0 at home to Athletic Bilbao.
It was the Basques first win in Valencia's Mestalla stadium for 20 years.
Manchester United on Tuesday confirmed Michael Carrick as interim manager until the end of the season, tasking him with leading the Red Devils back into the UEFA Champions League. “Having the responsibility to lead Manchester United is an honor,” said Carrick, 44, who won 12 major trophies in his 12-year playing career at United. The former midfielder previously had an unbeaten three-game stint as caretaker boss at Old Trafford in 2021. Carrick then took on his first permanent managerial role at second-tier Middlesbrough in October 2022 and was sacked in June last year after the club finished 10th in the
Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg on Wednesday was ruled out for the second half of their 118-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets after the No. 1 pick sprained his left ankle in the first half. Flagg was called for a foul while defending against Peyton Watson and turned the ankle as he fell to the floor with 6 minutes, 1 second left in the second quarter. Flagg limped to the bench and continued to the locker room, but returned for the final 2 minutes, 35 seconds before the break. The 19-year-old did not come out for the second half before the announcement that
Yassine Bounou on Wednesday saved two penalties, while Youssef en-Nesyri netted the decisive spot-kick as hosts Morocco secured a 4-2 shoot-out victory over Nigeria following a 0-0 draw in a tense Africa Cup of Nations semi-final in Rabat. Morocco, seeking their first continental title in 50 years, are to face 2021 winners Senegal in Sunday’s decider in Rabat, while Nigeria take on Egypt in the third-place playoff tomorrow. The 120 minutes before the shoot-out had few clear-cut chances for either side, but it was Morocco who created more opportunities, although they were denied by some fine saves from Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali. Nigeria
Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Sunday sparked defending champions Oklahoma City to victory, while Anthony Edwards led Minnesota’s last-minute fightback to beat San Antonio. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points while adding eight assists and five rebounds in the Thunder’s 124-112 home victory over Miami, improving the NBA’s best record to 33-7 after outscoring the Heat 70-53 in the second half. “We locked in defensively. We were finally able to get some stops,” Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins said. “We were able to get out in transition a little bit, get going offensively and find the flow.” Jalen Williams scored 18 points, while
RSS