Levante UD won their first game of the Spanish league season on Friday when substitute Andreas Ivanschitz scored with the last kick of the game for a 2-1 victory against a 10-man Rayo Vallecano de Madrid.
Rayo was down a man from the 60th minute when Alhassane “Lass” Bangoura was dismissed for kicking Levante’s Jordi Xumetra, but the hosts looked to have earned a comeback draw when substitute Joaquin Larrivey scored in the 79th minute, canceling out Ruben Garcia’s opener.
Rayo were the more aggressive side playing with 10 men, but Levante goalkeeper Keylor Navas made several saves before Xumetra broke free and squared for Ivanschitz to net the winner in dramatic fashion.
Levante had not scored a goal in their first two games, losing one and drawing another.
“Yes, we got the win when we least expected it,” Levante coach Joaquin Caparros said. “When we had more possession and an extra player you couldn’t notice it. [Then] we fell back and lost our confidence, but we got lucky in the end.”
Rayo have lost two straight after their first-round victory.
Elsewhere, Elche forward Yiadom Boakye also netted deep in stoppage-time to snatch a 2-2 draw against a 10-man UD Almeria in a clash between promoted sides.
Almeria dominated early at their Juegos Mediterraneos Stadium, with forward Fernando Soriano heading home Rafael “Rafita” Ramos’ cross at the back post eight minutes in.
Elche’s Eduardo Albacar made it 1-1 in the 32nd minute by scoring a penalty after Sebastian Dubarbier handled the ball in the penalty area.
Almeria went back ahead in first-half stoppage-time when Elche defender Ionut Sapunaru was also called for a handball in the box, giving Jose “Verza” Garcia the opportunity to fire in the spot-kick.
The match turned in Elche’s favor in the 67th when Dubarbier was dismissed with his second booking. Almeria held on until five minutes into added time when Boakye spun in the area and drove the ball in.
Barcelona are to visit Valencia, while Real Madrid host Athletic Bilbao today. Real Sociedad welcome Atletico Madrid, Malaga play at Sevilla and RCD Espanyol face Real Betis Balompie.
ADVANTAGE ATLETICO: Well off the pace in La Liga, the Copa del Rey represents Atletico Madrid’s best chance of silverware this season Atletico Madrid on Thursday hammered Copa del Rey holders Barcelona 4-0 in the first leg of their semi-final. After an Eric Garcia own-goal sent Diego Simeone’s side ahead early on, Antoine Griezmann, Ademola Lookman and Julian Alvarez struck to give Atletico a landslide lead by halftime. Barca defender Garcia was sent off in the final stages, with Atletico maintaining their significant advantage on the record 32-time winners, which they take into the second leg at the Camp Nou on March 3. Both sides missed good chances in the second half, with Barca’s Pau Cubarsi having a goal disallowed before Garcia was sent off
Dasun Shanaka hammered the fastest half-century by a Sri Lankan in T20Is as the cohosts thrashed Oman by 105 runs at the World Cup yesterday in Pallekele, Sri Lanka, for their second win in Group B. The 2014 champions piled up 225-5, the highest total of the tournament, before restricting an outclassed Oman to 120-9. The 43-year-old Mohammad Nadeem waged a lone battle for Oman, compiling an unbeaten 53 to become the oldest player to score a 50 in T20 World Cups. Having promoted himself up the order and under pressure to deliver, Sri Lanka skipper Shanaka smashed a 19-ball half-century. It has been
Kawhi Leonard on Sunday scored 41 points, grabbed eight rebounds and made four steals to lead the Los Angeles Clippers in a lopsided 115-96 victory at Minnesota. The 34-year-old forward, a two-time NBA champion, matched the second-best road scoring effort of his career as the Clippers improved to 25-27. “Just being aggressive. My teammates trust me,” Leonard said. “Every moment when I touch the ball — assist, shooting the basketball or getting a rebound — I’m just trying to help the team win.” Leonard made three steals in a row at the start of the contest. “Just wanted to come out early in the
FLOP TO CONQUEROR: It was sweet vindication for Sam Darnold, who played for four NFL teams before his debut season in Seattle ended in the ultimate win The Seattle Seahawks on Sunday coasted to Super Bowl glory, routing the New England Patriots 29-13 as Sam Darnold sealed his journey from flop quarterback to conqueror of the NFL’s biggest prize. Brushing off a reputation for wilting in big games, journeyman quarterback Darnold threw for a touchdown and 200 yards on the grandest stage of all to give the Seahawks their second-ever Lombardi Trophy. “It’s unbelievable. Everything that has happened in my career, but to do it with this team, I wouldn’t want it any other way,” Darnold said. The victory was buoyed by a dominant defensive display and kicker Jason Myers’
RSS