Atletico Madrid squandered a chance to cut the gap to stuttering La Liga leaders Barcelona to nine points when they were held to a 0-0 draw at fourth-placed Malaga on Sunday.
With two of the meanest defenses in the Spanish top flight on display, goals were always going to be at a premium and neither side were able to seriously trouble the opposing goalkeeper in a tight game at La Rosaleda.
Malaga captain Weligton sent a header narrowly wide with about 15 minutes left and the home side just managed to clear their lines after a scramble in the penalty area in the dying minutes, but both teams appeared content to settle for a draw.
Photo: EPA
Atletico coach Diego Simeone praised his players for another strong performance after they saw off Sevilla and clinched a place in the Copa del Rey final on Wednesday last week.
“After playing an extremely important match four days ago, with a lot of pressure and a significant mental effort, today the team responded with the 90 minutes we needed to remain near the top of the league,” he told a press conference.
“We just lacked the final pass to convert our play, which was very positive for the whole match, into a goal,” added the Argentine, who has transformed the club since taking over midway through last season.
The result left Barca 11 points clear of Atletico with 12 games left after they were beaten 2-1 at third-placed champions Real Madrid on Saturday.
“A draw was a fair result,” Malaga coach Manuel Pellegrini told a press conference. “We have secured a point against a great team, who are having a great season. They are second in the league, they are in the Copa final and have a lot of individual quality.”
European qualification hopefuls Real Sociedad and Real Betis Balompie played out an entertaining 3-3 draw in San Sebastian in Sunday’s late kickoff.
The Basques fought back from two goals down to take a 3-2 lead, before Colombian Dorlan Pabon scored his second of the night to level in the 66th minute.
Sociedad are sixth on 41 points, while Betis are one behind in seventh.
RCD Mallorca gave their bid to survive the drop a boost when Israel international striker Tomer Hemed nodded a 94th-minute winner in a 2-1 comeback victory at fellow strugglers Granada.
RCD Espanyol and Real Valladolid drew 0-0 at the Estadio Cornella El-Prat in Barcelona and are 13th and 11th respectively.
The former interpreter for baseball star Shohei Ohtani on Thursday was sentenced to nearly five years in prison for bank and tax fraud after he stole nearly US$17 million from the Los Angeles Dodgers player’s bank account. Ippei Mizuhara, who was supposed to bridge the gap between the Japanese athlete and his English-speaking teammates and fans, was sentenced in federal court in Santa Ana to four years and nine months after pleading guilty last year. He was ordered to pay US$18 million in restitution, with nearly US$17 million going to Ohtani and the remainder to the US Internal Revenue Service. He was
Aaliyah Edwards on Monday pulled off the stunner of the opening round of the Unrivaled one-on-one tournament, beating top-seeded Breanna Stewart 12-0. The tournament to be played over three days featured 23 of the WNBA’s 36 players. A few had other commitments and a couple others were out with injuries. Stewart got the ball first against Edwards and missed a contested layup. Edwards then hit a three-pointer from the corner and a jumper from the elbow to go up 5-0. The player who scores keeps the basketball. Edwards hit two layups and a three-pointer to seal the win. Stewart, a two-time WNBA Most Valuable Player,
SPEEDSKATER: Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s run at the Asian Winter Games without a medal since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990 Speedskater Chen Ying-chu yesterday made history as the first athlete representing Taiwan to secure a medal at the Asian Winter Games. Competing at the HIC Speedskating Oval in Harbin, China, Chen clocked 10.510 seconds in the women’s 100m event, finishing third behind South Koreans Lee Na-hyum and Kim Min-sun, who posted times of 10.501 and 10.505 seconds respectively. Her bronze medal ended Taiwan’s drought at the Asian Winter Games since the nation first participated in the second iteration in 1990. This year’s Games mark Chen’s debut at the event. Previously excelling in roller speedskating, she won six medals at world championships before transitioning
The 40-year-old LeBron James on Thursday became the oldest player to score 40 points in an NBA game, putting up a season-high 42 in the Los Angeles Lakers’ 120-112 victory over the Golden State Warriors. James passed the record held by Michael Jordan, his idol and the only other NBA player to score 40 after his 40th birthday. “I’m old, that’s my take,” James said when asked about his latest achievement. “I need a glass of wine and some sleep, that’s what I think.” Jordan did it for the Washington Wizards just three days after turning 40 in February 2003. James is 38