Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola said the pressure was now on Real Madrid after his side beat Recreativo Huelva 2-0 at the Camp Nou on Saturday to open up a nine-point gap at the Spanish League summit.
For Barcelona, keeping players fresh seems the main concern for coach Guardiola, who rested Carles Puyol, Xavi and Samuel Eto’o against Recreativo to give them a breather in the season run-in.
Uruguayan Martin Caceres started in defense against his old club, while Bojan Krkic replaced Eto’o in attack.
PHOTO: AP
After watching Barcelona smash four goals past Bayern in the first half in midweek, Huelva, third from bottom, would have wanted to keep things tight, but it didn’t work out that way.
Thierry Henry used his pace to get in behind the defense and his cut back was slotted in by Andres Iniesta with just 46 seconds gone.
Victor Valdes was then called upon to make a great save to foil Sebastian Nayar in the sixth minute.
Barcelona were controlling proceedings and Lionel Messi thought he had doubled the lead minutes before the interval, only for Nasief Morris to block his goal-bound shot.
An own-goal provided Barcelona with the second they craved as the sliding Morris diverted Iniesta’s cross into his own net. Lionel Messi missed a penalty late on, but it proved irrelevant.
Spain’s other Champions League hopefuls, Villarreal fell to their third league defeat in four games with a 2-0 home loss to Malaga on Saturday.
Worryingly for Villarreal, Marcos Senna, club captain and the main playmaker, was taken off with a knock in the closing stages.
Taiwan’s top women’s badminton doubles duo, Hsieh Pei-shan (謝沛珊) and Hung En-tzu (洪恩慈), achieved a straight-sets victory over Japan’s Kaho Osawa and Mayui Tanabe at the Badminton World Federation (BWF) Super 300 Macau Open on Sunday. The Taiwanese pair won the final 21-18, 21-12, marking the duo’s second title this year after their win at the BWF Super 300 Taipei Open in May. The match on Sunday was their first encounter with the Japanese duo, ranked No. 63 in the world. Hsieh and Hung, ranked No. 12, began the opening game well. Hung, who plays left-handed, performed strongly at both the net and the
Canadian teenager Victoria Mboko upset top-seeded Coco Gauff 6-1, 6-4 on Saturday night to reach the National Bank Open quarter-finals. “Your support was incredible,” Mboko told the crowd in French after a chorus of “Ole, Ole, Ole” chants echoed around the venue. “I’m really happy to win today ... It’s incredible. I’m so happy to beat such a great champion.” Gauff dropped to 2-3 since winning the French Open. She followed the major victory with opening losses in Berlin and Wimbledon, then overcame double-fault problems to win two three-set matches in Montreal. Gauff had five double-faults on Saturday after having 23 in
Jobe Bellingham on Tuesday admitted to having “anxieties” on following in brother Jude’s footsteps after joining Borussia Dortmund in the summer. Jobe Bellingham, 19, is two years younger than Jude Bellingham, who joined Real Madrid in 2023 after three years at Dortmund. A centerpiece of the England national team, Jude Bellingham has emerged as one of the best players in the world in recent seasons. The younger Jobe Bellingham joined Dortmund in June from Sunderland after their promotion to the English Premier League. He admitted he understood what the perception would be ahead of the move to Germany. “It’s something you do think about.
Before Tuesday’s 7-2 win at the Atlanta Braves, Milwaukee Brewers manager Pat Murphy suggested “most people couldn’t tell you five players on our team.” A look at the standings would indicate more Brewers players soon will be recognized by more fans. After all, it is difficult to overlook a team that not only continues to extend their lead in the National League Central, but also boasts the best record in the majors. “What we’re doing in here right now is special,” right-handed pitcher Freddy Peralta said after allowing only four hits and one run in five innings, while setting a career high with
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