Two goals from Alvaro Negredo gave Sevilla a 2-1 win against Valencia in the Spanish league on Sunday as the Andalusians moved back into the Champions League spots.
The striker tapped in from Julien Escude’s knock-on from a corner in the 21st minute before lobbing Cesar Sanchez in the 70th after being fed the ball by Jesus Navas on the edge of the area.
David Navarro cut the deficit for Valencia, heading in from close range during injury time.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Earlier, goals from Sergio “Duda” Barbosa and Javier Lopez gave Malaga a 2-0 away win against a lackluster Atletico Madrid.
Duda stroked the ball home in the fourth minute, as he met right back Jesus Gamez’s cross from the flank and Lopez confirmed Malaga’s dominance with his strike from Nabil Baha’s cross in the 70th.
“The team played a horrible game from which there’s nothing to salvage and I’m sorry about it,” Atletico coach Quique Sanchez Flores said.
Frederic Kanoute pressured early on at Sevilla’s Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium and Valencia’s David Navarro did well to intercept the ball in the opening minutes before the Mali striker could take a shot.
Valencia struggled to control wingers Jesus Navas and Diego Perotti and the Andalusians dominated the first hour of the game.
With Valencia lacking fluency, their forward line rarely posed a threat. Coach Unai Emery introduced Ever Banega and Nicola Zigic on the hour, replacing Carlos Marchena and Pablo Hernandez.
At two goals down, the visitors finally started to put pressure on the Sevilla defense.
David Silva carved out a chance in the 64th, drifting away from his marker and forcing a save from Andres Palop. Minutes later, David Villa hit the post after wrongfooting defender Marius Stankevicius.
At the Calderon Stadium Atletico boss Sanchez Flores deployed several reserve team players, with a view to resting some bigger names ahead of Thursday’s Copa del Rey semi-final against Racing Santander.
The plan appeared to backfire as the home team struggled from the start and Malaga had a string of chances after Duda’s early goal.
David de Gea had to stretch to save Fernando Fernandez’s goalbound flick-on from Duda’s pass and Ecuador striker Salvador Caicedo struck the side netting after being put through by Selim Benachour.
Sanchez Flores introduced Sergio Aguero and Jose Antonio Reyes at half-time, to replace Ibrahima Balde and Ignacio Camacho.
When play resumed Aguero burst into the area with the ball before being booked for diving. The Argentina striker drew a fine save from Gustavo Munua 10 minutes from the end although he was mostly stifled by Malaga’s defense.
Xerez notched their second win of the season by beating Mallorca 2-1, while Villarreal sacked coach Ernesto Valverde following a 2-0 defeat to Osasuna.
Carlos Calvo scored both goals for Xerez, stunning goalkeeper Dudu Aouate with a long-range strike in the 52nd minute and then dribbling in from the left to slot home in the 80th.
Pierre Webo had put Mallorca ahead in the 24th with a diving header.
At Villarreal’s Madrigal Stadium, Osasuna went ahead through Juan Francisco Torres in the 15th, before sealing the win in the 85th.
Also on Sunday, relegation candidates Zaragoza beat Tenerife 3-1, Valladolid drew 1-1 with Almeria and Getafe drew 0-0 with Racing Santander.
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said
‘HELLA ENERGY’: Minnesota’s 42-point victory set a club record for points in a playoff game, but the team have to keep up their momentum to stay in the series, Edwards said Anthony Edwards on Saturday night scored 30 points and the Minnesota Timberwolves overwhelmed Oklahoma City 143-101 to tighten their NBA playoff series. Edwards added nine rebounds and six assists. while shooting 12-of-17 from the floor and 5-of-8 from three-point range as the hosts Timberwolves pulled a game back to be 2-1 behind in the best-of-seven Western Conference Finals. However, moments after the 42-point win, Minnesota were determined to forget all about it. Such is life in the NBA playoffs. “You’ve got to erase this one,” Edwards said. “This one is over. I know everyone is happy about this one, but we know OKC is
The horn sounded on Wednesday night to signal a third straight trip to the Stanley Cup Final, as the Florida Panthers celebrated merely by hopping over the boards and several heading over to congratulate goaltender Sergei Bobrovsky. It was a subdued celebration seemingly more befitting a regular-season win for the reigning Cup champs. “I remember a few years ago, it felt like such an accomplishment from where we were at one point,” forward Matthew Tkachuk said, adding: “It’s all business and we’ve got a bigger goal in mind.” The Panthers closed out the Carolina Hurricanes in five games, with a 5-3 victory in
RSS