Skip to main content

Suarez double keeps Barca top after late Marcelo strike rescues Real

Barcelona: Barcelona came through a testing local derby at Espanyol, winning 3-0 to cling to their slender lead at the top of La Liga after rivals Real Madrid had set the challenge by beating Valencia 2-1 in the earlier kick-off.

Barca triumphed thanks to two clinical finishes from Luis Suarez and a strike from Ivan Rakitic following a vintage slalom run by Lionel Messi.

Suarez pounced on a disastrous backpass from Jose Manuel Jurado to break the deadlock in the 50th minute and Rakitic sealed the win in the 76th by side-footing home Messi's cutback after the Argentine had torn through the home defence.

Suarez, who had failed to score in his previous five games in all competitions, took advantage of another calamitous error by the otherwise impressive Espanyol backline and rifled in Barca's third from close range in the 87th minute.

The pressure was on Barca after Real Madrid had beaten Valencia 2-1 earlier in the day to provisionally lead the standings, and the champions got an early fright when Jurado eased into their area but fired wide of the far post.

Espanyol's good organisation then went to waste when Jurado gifted the ball to Suarez, who knocked it past former Real Madrid goalkeeper Diego Lopez with an effortless flick of the outside of his right boot to send the champions on their way.


"I think we deserved the win because we gave a serious performance," said Barca coach Luis Enrique. "We knew that in the second half their high pressing would allow us to create more up front. We wore out the opposition."

Barca top the standings on 81 points due to their superior head-to-head record over Real, who also have 81 and have a game in hand.


Marcelo came to Real Madrid's rescue four minutes after his side had conceded a potentially crucial Valencia equaliser, from Dani Parejo, that could have seriously dented their hopes of landing a first title since 2012.

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his first goal in five league games to put Real ahead in the 27th minute but in the second half had a penalty saved by Diego Alves, who turned away a league-record sixth spot kick of the campaign.


Valencia had given Real a scare when Santi Mina hit the woodwork in the opening minute and the visitors pulled level in the 82nd minute with a thumping free kick from Parejo, the former Real academy player, who had fouled Luka Modric for the penalty.

Marcelo promptly grabbed the winner, cutting inside from the left-hand side of the area and curling the ball under Alves with his right foot, as Real's title bid benefited from yet another crucial late goal.

"I can't explain how we keep on scoring late goals. All I know is it's exciting, it's beautiful," coach Zinedine Zidane told reporters.

Atletico Madrid warmed up for their Champions League semi-final first leg against Real by hammering Las Palmas 5-0 away with two goals from Kevin Gameiro and strikes from Saul Niguez, Thomas Partey and Fernando Torres.

It was not all plain sailing for Diego Simeone's side, however, as they lost Jose Gimenez to injury, adding to the absences of fellow defenders Juanfran and Sime Vrsaljko for Tuesday's short trip to the Santiago Bernabeu.

Granada's run of six consecutive seasons in La Liga ended following a 2-1 defeat at Real Sociedad, leaving Tony Adams's side 10 points adrift of safety with three games left. They join basement club Osasuna in the Segunda Division next season.

Levante sealed their return to the top flight 11 months after being relegated by beating Real Oviedo 1-0 at home.

Stay updated on the go with Sify Live Scores App. Click here to download it for your device



via Sify.com http://ift.tt/2pKPrGw
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Virat Kohli and co. leave for West Indies

The Virat Kohli led Indian team left for the West Indies for the four-Test series starting July 21st. The team was accompanied by its newly appointed head coach Anil Kumble and other support staff. The 16-member squad will play a tour game against the West Indies Cricket Board President's XI at Warner Park in Basseterre, St Kitts on July 9 and 10. The journey begins. #TeamIndia leaves for the tour of West Indies. #WIvIND http://pic.twitter.com/ebK1jkoFiN -BCCI (@BCCI) July 5, 2016 That will be followed by a three-day warm-up fixture at the same venue from July 14 to 16. The first Test match will be held at the Vivian Richards Cricket Ground in Antigua from July 21 to 25. The other three Test matches will be held at Sabina Park in Kingston, Jamaica (Jul 30-Aug 3), Darren Sammy National Cricket Stadium in Gros Islet, St Lucia (Aug 9-13) and Queen's Park Oval, Port of Spain, Trinidad (Aug 18-22). When India last toured West Indies in 2011, the visitors won the series 1-0....
Post a Comment
Read more

India withdraw Smith protest as boards make peace in DRS row

India have withdrawn an official protest about the actions of Australia captain Steve Smith in the second test as the governing bodies of both countries moved to bring an end to the acrimony surrounding the ongoing four-match series. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) had earlier registered a complaint to the International Cricket Council (ICC) over Smith looking to the dressing room for guidance on whether to review an lbw decision during the Bengaluru match. Despite the hosts winning the test to level the series at 1-1 on Tuesday, India skipper Virat Kohli alleged the tourists had indulged in the practice throughout the match, sparking a war of words in the media and a robust response from Australia. The boards released a joint statement on Friday saying the chief executives of both bodies had met in Mumbai on Thursday and agreed to try and bring the focus "back to the game" ahead of next week's third test in Ranchi. "India has always cherished a c...
Post a Comment
Read more

AB de Villiers becomes top ranked batsman in ODIs

Dubai: South Africa's star batsman AB de Villiers on Friday regained the top spot in the ICC player rankings for One-Day International batsmen after leading the list of run-scorers in the recent series against New Zealand. De Villiers's 262 runs in the series, including a highest of 85 in the third ODI at Wellington, have helped him overtake Australia opener David Warner at the top of the ladder, reclaiming the top spot within two months of losing it to India captain Virat Kohli, according to the International Cricket Council's (ICC) statement. The 33-year-old batsman is on 875 points, four points ahead of Warner and 23 clear of Kohli. Among other batsmen, England's Joe Root and Alex Hales are major gainers as they have reached career-best rankings. Root has reached fourth spot after scoring 195 runs including 101 in the final match in Bridgetown against West Indies while Hales, who knocked up 110 in the same match, his fifth century in the last 20 ODIs, has gained...
Post a Comment
Read more