Barcelona and their new Ballon D’Or victor Lionel Messi moved five points clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga with goals from Thierry Henry and Zlatan Ibrahimovic sealing a 2-0 win at Xerez on Wednesday.
Barca built on their 1-0 win over foes Real in Sunday’s Clasico and piled more pressure on their rivals in a rearranged league fixture to accommodate their participation at the FIFA World Club Cup in Abu Dhabi in the middle of the month.
France international Henry headed the opener 58 seconds into the second half, before substitute Ibrahimovic scored his ninth goal of the season with a delightful chip in the final minute.
Messi came on as a substitute and hit the post, before setting up Ibrahimovic’s goal.
Champions Barca are also in league action tomorrow at Deportivo La Coruna, while Real host Almeria.
Barca coach Pep Guardiola rang the changes, with Ballon D’Or winner Messi, who won the award on Tuesday at a canter, starting on the substitutes’ bench.
Messi was joined by first teamers Andres Iniesta, Ibrahimovic, Gerard Pique and captain Carles Puyol, while Sergi Busquets was suspended following his dismissal against Real.
Nevertheless, there was enough quality on show with Thierry Henry, Dani Alves and Xavi, voted third in the Ballon d’Or, to test a Xerez side that had been thrashed 5-1 by Getafe last time out.
With key inventive players missing, Barcelona struggled to create chances and it was not until the 25th minute that they looked like scoring when Frenchman Henry shot over the bar from an acute angle.
Two set-pieces provided the best first-half opportunities, with Ivory Coast midfielder Yaya Toure, who recently expressed his disappointment at not being in the first team, wasting a golden chance as the ball ricocheted off his chest to goalkeeper Renan Brito.
Barca had drawn their last three league matches, but Guardiola didn’t panic with the score 0-0 at the interval and 59 seconds into the second half the breakthrough came.
Brazilian leftback Maxwell broke down the flank and stood a cross up for Henry to glance a header in off the underside of the crossbar. It was Henry’s first goal since his controversial handball helped France eliminate the Republic of Ireland in their World Cup playoff and he celebrated wildly.
Xerez were frustrated at conceding so early and then had to deal with the sight of Messi warming up on the touchline.
Messi replaced Pedro Rodriguez on 55 minutes to give Barca more trickery going forward, but Xerez recovered well from the goal setback and a fantastic counterattack almost provided the equalizer just after the hour mark, but a poor touch from striker Mario Bermejo saw the move break down.
Xerez had only scored four goals in the league, but were looking threatening and Guardiola threw on Ibrahimovic for Bojan Krkic.
Messi showed why he is regarded as the best player on the planet with a great run and backheel to wow the crowd and set up Alves, but the Brazilian’s cross was scrambled to safety.
Messi hit the post late on and Iniesta missed a sitter, but they didn’t prove costly as Ibrahimovic chipped in a late second.
Nineteen wickets fell yesterday on an opening day of carnage in the first Ashes Test, with England’s attack led by skipper Ben Stokes bowling them into a position of strength after Australia dismissed the tourists for 172. A rampaging Mitchell Starc took 7-58 to put England on the back foot after Stokes won the toss on a fine day at a packed Perth Stadium and chose to bat. Harry Brook (52) and Ollie Pope (46) offered the only resistance as they crumbled after lunch, but England’s elite fast bowlers, led by an exceptional Stokes with 5-23, fought back to reduce the hosts
Paul Pogba on Saturday described his emotional Monaco debut as a moment of relief and gratitude, after the French midfielder returned to the pitch for the first time in more than two years following a doping ban. The former Juventus and Manchester United player, who joined the French Ligue 1 side on a free transfer in June, had not played a competitive match since September 2023. Pogba received a four-year ban in February last year after testing positive for banned substance DHEA (dehydroepiandrosterone), which boosts testosterone levels. The suspension was cut to 18 months after an appeal at the Court
Houston’s Calen Bullock on Thursday intercepted reigning NFL Most Valuable Player Josh Allen twice and the league’s top defensive unit powered the Texans over Buffalo 23-19. Allen was sacked eight times, his most in any game, for 70 lost yards and Bullock’s final pickoff killed the Bills’ last desperate drive with 18 seconds remaining. The Texans, who have allowed the NFL’s fewest points and fewest yards a game this season, shut down Allen, who produced six touchdowns in a victory over Tampa Bay just four days earlier. “The defense stayed disciplined,” Houston’s Danielle Hunter said. “We had a game plan to keep him
FINAL STRETCH: After the McLaren drivers’ disqualifications, Verstappen’s chances of a fifth successive title would depend on another big slip-up from Norris and his team Formula One world champion Max Verstappen on Saturday produced a masterful drive to win the Las Vegas Grand Prix and his title hopes were boosted further with the McLarens of championship leader Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri being disqualified. Norris finished the race in second with Piastri fourth, but the skid blocks on both cars were found after the race to be less than the minimum depth. The disqualifications mean that with two race weekends remaining, four-time defending champion Verstappen is level on points with Piastri in the title race, just 24 points behind Norris. However, Verstappen’s chances of a
RSS