La Liga Season 10/11

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La Liga wrap: Real lose ground to Barca

31 January 2011

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Real Madrid's title hopes took a blow when they lost 1-0 at struggling Osasuna in La Liga action on Sunday.

The relegation-threatened club moved three points clear of the drop zone courtesy of a Javier Camunas strike in the 61st minute at Estadio Reyno de Navarra. The home side could have sealed the win with a late goal but desperate Madrid defence on the goal-line prevented a second.

Jose Mourinho's men sit seven points behind league leaders Barcelona, and their significant head-to-head deficit to the Catalans means they will most likely need to make up eight points on their rivals to claim the La Liga title this campaign. Togolese striker Emmanuel Adebayor made his bow for Madrid when he was substituted for Angel Di Maria in the second half, but he could not find a face-saving goal for his new club.

Gaizka Toquero opened his 2010-11 campaign for Athletic Bilbao in their 2-0 victory over Atletico Madrid, scoring a brace for the victors at the Estadio Vicente Calderon. Fernando Llorente had the chance to open the scoring from the spot, but missed his penalty kick in the 40th minute, but Toquero made up for his team-mate's miss by scoring in the 45th and 64th minutes.

Villarreal took all three points from their trip to Espanyol, winning 1-0, and moving to within six points of Real Madrid after their loss. The third-placed side went ahead in the 45th minute from a Giuseppe Rossi wonder strike, which he hit from an acute angle that rocketed into the roof of Espanyol goalkeeper Carlos Kameni's net.

 

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Mourinho: Real´s title hopes slipping away

31 January 2011

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Jose Mourinho admits it will be 'difficult' for Real Madrid to win the La Liga title after their shock 1-0 loss to Osasuna on Sunday.

Javier Camunas was the hero for Osasuna at the Estadio Reyno de Navarra, with his second-half winner meaning Real have now slipped seven points behind league leaders Barcelona. Barca have lost just once this season and seem destined to claim their third straight title, and even Mourinho admits his side have a mountain to climb if they are to resurrect their championship hopes.

"This is our second defeat in La Liga and we are in a very difficult situation with respect to the first-place team," Mourinho said. "I don't like to lose when you give the match away by not playing, not fighting or not being committed or focused. That is not the case." "Tonight the other team played its heart out and had a week to prepare for the match. They played to the brink."

"My players have done their jobs with dignity and I have nothing to reproach them for, they fought to the end. We lost three points that we didn't deserve to lose." "Tomorrow is a new day. There will be another match and we will be there." Mourinho paid tribute to struggling Osasuna, who broke an eight-game winless run with their victory on Sunday.

"Osasuna are a tough team and the crowd was fantastic," Mourinho said. "I don't think many teams win here." "We had opportunities to score in both halves, but we haven't done it. And if the opponents score first it is very difficult. Congratulations to Osasuna.''

 

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La Liga: Racing Santander 1 Valencia 1

1 February 2011

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Racing Santander's winless run extended to six in the La Liga following a spiteful 1-1 draw with nine-man Valencia on Monday.

Argentine striker Ariel Nahuelpan put Racing in front after 33 minutes but as they tried to protect their lead in the second half, the match turned ugly.

Referee Alfonso Alvarez Izquierdo dished out nine second-half cards, three of them red.

Valencia's David Navarro was the first to be given his marching orders after receiving two yellow cards in a minute early into the second half but as the flurry of cards continued Alberto Costa bagged an important 78th minute equaliser.

There was still time for Valencia's Ricardo Costa and Racing's Mehdi Lacen to be sent off in the dying stages as both sides were forced to share the spoils in the entertaining draw.

 

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Hercules 0 - 3 Barcelona
All Goals and Highlights 29.01.2011



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Deportivo La Coruña 3 - 3 Sevilla
All Goals 29.01.2011



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La Liga wrap: Messi hat-trick inspires record-breaking Barca

6 February 2011

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A Lionel Messi hat-trick guided Barcelona to a 3-0 win over Atletico Madrid on Saturday, moving them 10 points clear on top of La Liga.

In the process, Barca notched up their 16th consecutive league win, breaking Real Madrid's record of 15 - a mark that had stood for 50 years.

After being rested from Barca's 3-0 Copa del Rey win over Almeria in midweek, Messi was simply unstoppable at the Nou Camp and the 23-year-old opened the scoring on 17 minutes with a low shot from the edge of the box before firing home a second from close range 11 minutes later.

He completed his hat-trick 10 minutes from full-time as Barca continued their march towards a third successive title.

Elsewhere on Saturday, Villarreal failed to make up any ground on second-placed Real Madrid when they slumped to a 1-0 defeat at home to relegation battlers Levante, with midfielder Valdo scoring the only goal of the game three minutes after half-time.

Villarreal remain third despite the defeat, three points behind Real Madrid who take on Real Sociedad on Sunday.

Almeria caused another surprise when they enjoyed a 3-2 home win over Espanyol, who fell to sixth. The hosts raced to a 3-0 lead after just 18 minutes thanks to goals from Silva Marcelo Henrique, Kala Uche and Hernan Bernardello, but a 34th-minute goal from Verdu and another from Alvaro Vasquez four minutes after half-time put some spice back in the contest.

Athletic Bilbao climbed to fifth with a 3-0 home win over Sporting Gijon thanks to goals from David Lopez, Gaizka Toquero and Fernando Llorente, while Getafe moved to eighth after an Adrian Colunga brace helped them to a 4-1 win over Deportivo La Coruna.

Osasuna and Mallorca played out a 1-1 draw, as did Real Zaragoza and Racing Santander.

 

[Mesut Özil]

La Liga wrap: Birthday brace for Ronaldo

7 February 2011

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Real Madrid found themselves back among the goals and closed the gap on Barcelona in a 4-1 win over Real Sociedad on Sunday.

Jose Mourinho's Real beat Sevilla 2-0 in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday but had failed to score more than one goal in each of their five preceding matches. Star man Cristiano Ronaldo was also suffering his own drought, without a goal in his last four appearances.

But he struck a brace on his 26th birthday in the win over Sociedad, while Kaka and Emmanuel Adebayor also scored as Real kept pace with La Liga leaders Barca. Brazil international Kaka seized upon a poor clearance from midfielder Gorka Elustondo to open the scoring in the eighth minute at the Santiago Bernabeu.

It was just Kaka's second goal of the season after recovering from the knee injury that sidelined him since the 2010 World Cup. Real goalkeeper Iker Casillas denied Raul Tamudo at the other end, before Ronaldo found the net with a low drive from outside the area in the 21st minute.

Ronaldo and Germany's Mesut Oezil both went close, before the two combined for Real's third. Oezil swung in a corner and Ronaldo rose to head home and put the hosts firmly in command three minutes before the break.

Sociedad pulled one back through an Alvaro Arbeloa own-goal in the 72nd minute, but on-loan striker Adebayor struck to restore the three-goal cushion with a minute remaining. Barca went 10 points clear with their win over Atletico Madrid on Saturday, but the lead is now back to seven points with Real in second.

Sevilla missed a chance to close the gap on Espanyol in the last European qualification places.

Sixth-placed Espanyol lost 3-2 away to Almeria on Saturday, but Sevilla were held goalless at home to bottom club Malaga. Julio Baptista and Weligton could have put Malaga ahead in the first half at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan while Luis Fabiano wasted a good chance for the hosts. Substitute Sandro Silva could have won it for Malaga in the closing stages, but his header was well saved by Sevilla goalkeeper Andres Palop.

Valencia stayed fourth after they beat Hercules 2-0 at home. Aritz Aduriz made the breakthrough in the 42nd minute at Estadio Mestalla, before Alberto Costa doubled the advantage eight minutes into the second half.

 

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Real Madrid 4 - 1 Real Sociedad
All Goals 06.02.2011



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Barcelona 3 - 0 Atletico Madrid
All Goals and Highlights 05.02.2011
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[floorfilla]

La Liga preview: Barca aim to extend record run

11 February 2011

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Barcelona will travel to Sporting Gijon on Saturday hoping to extend their record-breaking La Liga winning streak to 17 matches.

On Sunday, Barca broke the La Liga record for wins in succession when they eclipsed the great Real Madrid team of 1960-1961 with a 3-0 triumph over Atletico Medrid thanks to a hat-trick from the prolific Lionel Messi.

The club has also recently been lifted with news that manager Pep Guardiola is set to renew his contract for another year. Barcelona sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta said that Guardiola would renew on February 22 and that he had always wanted to stay.

"We knew that Pep wanted to stay, because he's always said that. We are aware of his value as a coach and what he brings to us as a club," Zubizarreta told the club's official website. Guardiola's new deal will please Spanish striker David Villa, formerly of Sporting Gijon, who recently told the English press he believes their success is down to the 'harmony' in the dressing room.

But Sporting Gijon will not lie down for their more-fancied opponents and have been much-improved after a dreadful run through October, November and December. After a good start to the season, Sporting won only one of 18 matches before a fight-back saw them go unbeaten in four, including three wins, but they were beaten last time out by Athletic Bilbao 3-0.

With the La Liga so competitive this year, despite sitting in 13th, Sporting Gijon could drop as low as second last if they lose and the significance of the fixture will not be lost on Manuel Preciardo's side.

In the other Saturday fixture, Atletico Madrid host Valencia in a battle of two top-half sides at the Vicente Calderon. Atletico, sitting eighth, are now 14 points behind fourth-placed Valencia and must win to keep any dreams of Champions League qualification alive.

After winning the Europa League and the European Super Cup within four months, Atletico have faded this season and have not been able to rely on the goals of Uruguayan Diego Forlan, who has struggled. If Atletico are underachieving, Valencia are overachieving, with the Mestalla outfit having lost just one of their last 11 matches in all competitions, despite the club's debt problems which were eased by the sale of Villa.

On Sunday, Real Madrid, seven points behind Barcelona, travel to Espanyol in a potentially tricky encounter. There are signs Real's attack is slowly improving, with Manchester City loanee Emmanuel Adebayor starting to find his feet at the club, netting his second goal for the Spanish giants in their 4-1 win at home to Real Sociedad last week. A win is vital to keep the pressure on Barcelona and any failure to pick up three points will increase the pressure on Real boss Jose Mourinho.

In other fixtures, under-achieving Sevilla travel to Racing Santander while third-placed Villarreal are also on the road and will face Deportivo La Coruna.

Strugglers Levante and Almeria will battle while bottom-club Malaga, buoyed by gaining a point against Sevilla, host Getafe.

Real Sociedad will clash with Osasuna while Monday's match pits Mallorca against the in-form Athletic Bilbao, who have not lost in the league since December.

 

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La Liga wrap: Barca held, Santander edge Sevilla

13 February 2011

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Sporting Gijon proved Barcelona are human after all on Saturday, holding the reigning La Liga champions to a 1-1 draw at the Estadio El Molinon.

In the process, Sporting ended Barca's record-breaking streak of 16 top-flight wins and became the first side to take points off the Catalan giants since Mallorca held them to a 1-1 draw at the Nou Camp on October 3.

Ahead of a crunch Champions League match against Arsenal in London on Wednesday, Barca boss Pep Guardiola rested several of his first-team regulars, with Pedro, Sergio Busquets and Eric Abidal starting on the bench.

David Barral opened the scoring for Sporting after 16 minutes with a sensational solo effort, and Barca had to wait until the 80th minute to secure a point thanks to a sublime David Villa chip.

Elsewhere on Saturday, a brace from Spanish winger Joaquin helped Valencia to a 2-1 away win over Atletico Madrid, piling more pressure on Quique Sanchez Flores, whose side have now lost their past five matches.

Atletico took an early lead thanks to former Arsenal winger Jose Antonio Reyes, but Joaquin hit back for the visitors just before the break to level proceedings.

Flores will be ruing a missed penalty from Uruguayan striker Diego Forlan - who saw his spot kick cannon of the upright - and Joaquin made Atletico pay dearly with a winner four minutes from the end.

In Saturday's later game, 10-man Racing Santander scored an injury-time winner to post a thrilling 3-2 win over Sevilla in an ill-tempered affair at the Estadio El Sardinero.

Racing looked to be cruising when a strike from Christian Fernandez and an Ivan Rakitic own goal had them 2-0 up after 20 minutes, but the game turned sharply when Fernandez was dismissed five minutes before half-time for a rash two-footed challenge.

Sevilla's Federico Fazio scored from the resulting free-kick and his side looked to have stolen a point when Luis Fabiano's 83rd-minute penalty beat Racing goalkeeper Tono.

But a long-range chip from Manuel Arana Rodriguez in the second minute of injury time caught Sevilla goalkeeper Andres Palop badly out of position, setting off wild celebrations on the bench as Racing improved to 12th in La Liga.

 

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Espanyol vs Real Madrid: Madrid Hold On For Victory

Feb 13 5:10p by Steve Abrams

How Real Madrid deserved those three points! Having more than matched their opponents, Espanyol, for the first 45 minutes, they then produced a solid defensive display after the break to reduce Espanyol to half chances, with young keeper Adán rarely troubled.

Marcelo got what proved to be the winner, racing into the box to recieve Cristianos slide rule pass before firing in a cracker over the otherwise inspired Carlos Kameni and into the roof of the net.

Once again, Jose Mourinho has proved that when it comes to tactics there are few better managers in the game. As soon as Iker Casillas was harshly sent off in only the third minute after brining down Callejon, Madrid reverted to a system that saw them form a 4-5-0 when Espanyol were in possession, before switching to a 4-2-3 when on the attack.

Cristiano and Adebayor were inspired in the first half, while Pepe and Carvalho were the heros in the second half, marshalling Callejon and Sergio Garcia with consumate ease.

In fact as the clock got closer and closer to the 90 minute mark, it was Real Madrid who had the chances to kill the match off as a contest, but Emmanuel Adebayor contrived to shoot both of his efforts into Carlos Kameni who saved his side on numerous occasions.

So Real Madrid, with ten men, take full advantage of Barcelonas draw last night against Sporting Gijon to reduce the gap at the top to 5 points. Perhaps La Liga race is still alive after all!

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Ten - Man Real beats Espanyol

IAIN ROGERS

Published <time pubdate="" datetime="2011-02-13 17:03 -0500">Sunday, Feb. 13, 2011 5:03PM EST

</time><aside class="articleseealso"><header><aside class="articlesidebar s3of12"> Casillas, Spain’s World Cup-winning captain, was shown a straight red after bringing down Jose Callejon just outside the area and Real coach Jose Mourinho immediately brought on reserve keeper Antonio Adan to replace Argentina winger Angel Di Maria.

The dismissal lifted the home fans but they were silenced on 24 minutes when Real defender Marcelo cut in from the left wing and squeezed a shot past Carlos Kameni from a tight angle.

January loan signing Emmanuel Adebayor almost snatched a second in the 40th minute but the Togo international’s scooped shot bounced on top of the crossbar and out for a goal kick.

Adebayor had chances to make the game safe late in the second half but Kameni pulled off two superb saves, while at the other end Joan Verdu nearly surprised Adan with a deft chip. Mourinho said Real had done well to beat such strong opponents with a man fewer.

“I am not going to change my tune just because we are two points closer,” the Portuguese told a news conference. “I would like to have a five-point lead over the team in second place.”

In the earlier kickoff, Villarreal surrendered their grip on third place when they lost 1-0 at Deportivo Coruna. Defender Alberto Lopo grabbed the only goal in the 60th minute at the Riazor when he popped up unmarked to steer home an Antonio Tomas free kick.

Villarreal’s second defeat in a row following last weekend’s 1-0 reverse at home to Levante left them in fourth, two points behind Valencia who won 2-1 at Atletico Madrid on Saturday.

Barca have 62 points from 23 matches, with Real on 57. Valencia are 10 points adrift on 47 and Villarreal have 45.

Fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao, who travel to Real Mallorca on Monday, are seven points behind Villarrreal, while Espanyol are sixth, a point behind the Basque club.

In Sunday’s other matches, former France striker David Trezeguet struck the winner as promoted Hercules came from a goal down to beat visiting Real Zaragoza 2-1.

Malaga scored two late goals to snatch a 2-2 draw against visiting Getafe, although the Andalusian club, one of the biggest spenders in the January transfer window, remained bottom of the standings.

Promoted Real Sociedad moved up to ninth above Atletico thanks to a 1-0 home win over Osasuna, who had Damia Abella sent off late on for a second yellow card.

Levante, who also came up from the second division at the end of last season, beat Almeria 1-0 to climb to 15th.
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Sporting Gijon 1 - 1 Barcelona
All Goals 13.02.2011


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Espanyol 0 - 1 Real Madrid
All Goals & Highlights 14.02.2011


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[floorfilla]

La Liga wrap: Real win with Benzema brace

12 March 2011

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Real Madrid cut Barcelona's lead in La Liga to four points with a 2-0 win over Hercules, while Valencia were stunned by Real Zaragoza.

A brace to France international Karim Benzema ensured Real kept pace with the league leaders, who will look to restore their seven-point lead when they visit Sevilla on Sunday.

Benzema's brace was the perfect warm-up for an impending visit from former club Lyon, who carry a 1-1 aggregate into the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday.

Real, playing without injured superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, went ahead in the 24th minute when Alvaro Arbeloa pulled back his pass on the right for the waiting Benzema, who coolly disposed of the ball beyond Hercules goalkeeper Calatayud.

The hosts had plenty of opportunities to extend their advantage before Benzema finally did so in the 56th minute, the Frenchman picked out by Angel Di Maria's cross for his ninth goal of the season.

Elsewhere, Valencia's hopes of a top-three finish took a dent when they were humbled 4-0 at Real Zaragoza.

Czech midfielder Jiri Jarosik put the hosts ahead in just the fifth minute, and Ander's first goal since September put Zaragoza 2-0 up in the 40th minute.

Things only got worse for Valencia after the break, beginning with a second caution to Lithuanian defender Marius Stankevicius in the 65th minute.

Gabi converted from the penalty spot following that infraction, and the Spaniard added a second penalty 11 minutes later after Valencia substitute Albelda fouled in the area.

Valencia are safe in third for the time being, but fourth-placed Villarreal can move within a point of them with victory over Sporting Gijon on Sunday.

Finally, Atletico Madrid were held to a 2-2 draw at lowly Almeria, despite a brace to prolific Argentinean Sergio Castillo.

Crusat and Henok Goitom nabbed goals for Almeria to deny Atletico, who provisionally move up to eighth with the point.

 

[floorfilla]

La Liga wrap: Sevilla halt Barca charge

13 March 2011

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Barcelona's lead in La Liga has been cut to just five points after the Spanish champions were held to a 1-1 at Sevilla on Sunday.

But the visitors will rue a costly mistake from Sergio Busquets, whose infringement during Lionel Messi's eighth-minute free kick ensured the resulting goal would be ruled out.

Substitute Bojan Krkic had put Barca ahead on the half hour with his first goal in three months, but Sevilla midfielder Jesus Navas stole a point for the hosts with an equaliser four minutes after the restart.

Bojan, who replaced injured striker Pedro in the 14th minute, calmly slotted into the net after Dani Alves brought down Andres Iniesta's high cross and slid his pass across for the 20-year-old starlet.

Barca should have gone into the break more than one goal ahead given the chances they were afforded, and Navas made them pay early in the second half after rising highest to meet Alvaro Negredo's floated cross.

The Spanish champions again had the better of the opportunities, with Iniesta hitting the bar and Sevilla clearing a shot off the line, but Barca's lack of finishing touch proved their undoing as they surrendered two valuable points.

The result means Real Madrid are now within five points of the league leaders, while Sevilla remain eighth but move within two points of the Europa League places.

Elsewhere, Villarreal suffered a setback in their pursuit of the top three when they were held 1-1 at home by nine-man Sporting Gijon.

Giuseppe Rossi put Villarreal ahead in the 29th minute, but despite losing defenders Jose Angel (65th minute) and Rafael Sastre (90) to red cards Sporting were still able to match it with their opponents.

Not only that, they were also able to level in the dying seconds thanks to a spot kick from Diego Castro.

Villarreal remain three points behind third-placed Valencia and a Champions League berth.

In other results, Mallorca's unlikely European hopes were dented with a 1-1 draw at Levante, while Espanyol trumped 10-man Deportivo La Coruna 2-0 to climb to fifth on the table.

Ten-man Osasuna kept their dream of top-flight survival alive by defeating Racing Santander 3-1, and Malaga also boosted their hopes of staying up with a plucky 2-0 win at Real Sociedad.

 

[Dodomeki]

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[floorfilla]

La Liga wrap: Real, Barca keep on winning

20 March 2011

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Real Madrid produced a 2-1 away win at rivals Atletico Madrid but their title rivals Barcelona also won in Saturday's La Liga action.

Jose Mourinho's squad travelled to the Vicente Calderon expecting a tough battle and they were never entirely comfortable against their city rivals, who occupy seventh spot on the table.

Both sides entered the match in good form, with Real unbeaten in 10 while it had been five matches since Atletico lost, a result that appeared on the cards when Karim Benzema scored after just 11 minutes for the visitors.

Sami Khedira helped set up the goal for the French forward, who netted his 10th in his last eight games for the club. Another one of Germany's World Cup stars was involved in the second goal, which came just after the half-hour mark.

The impressive Marcelo provided the assist for Mesut Oezil who scored for the fifth time in the league this season and it looked like the game could get away from Atletico. But Quique Sanchez Flores' side dug in and after defending valiantly for periods of time, they also had their own chances to score, one of which was finally taken by Sergio Aguero after 86 minutes.

The goal proved too late for the hosts, but there were some nervy moments late on for Real who cannot afford to drop points with Barcelona in such a rich vein of form. That form continued at the Nou Camp as Barca's unbeaten streak extended to 27 with a 2-1 home win over mid-table Getafe.

Dani Alves grabbed an early goal after 17 minutes and the match looked to be over when Bojan, making his 100th league appearance for the club at the age of just 20, scored early into the second half.

Getafe did pull a goal back, with Manu finding the back of the net with just two minutes of play remaining, but Barcelona held on to remain five points clear at the top of the league.

In the day's other match, Mallorca produced a 1-0 home win against Real Zaragoza, thanks to Jonathan de Guzman's 67th-minute goal.

Real goalkeeper Doblas was given a straight red card just three minutes before the goal in a match littered with bookings.

 

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La Liga wrap: Valencia stumble again, Rondon stars for Malaga

21 March 2011

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Stuttering Valencia crashed to another La Liga defeat as Sevilla picked up all three points in a 1-0 victory at the Mestalla on Sunday.

The loss was Valencia's fourth in five matches in all competitions. Their failure to snare a point sees them fall to fourth on the table following Villarreal's 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao.

Sevilla began well but were constantly denied by an inspired Javi Varas who made a series of stops to keep the scoreline locked at 0-0.

But that all changed after 70 minutes when a sweet strike from Croatian midfielder Ivan Rakitic handed Gregorio Manzano's side the lead, which they never relinquished.

Malaga climbed away from the bottom of the table with a 2-0 home win over Espanyol.
A first-half brace from Venezuelan forward Rondon secured all three points at La Rosaleda.

The victory lifts them into 18th place, one point from safety. Hercules replace them at the bottom after going down 4-0 at home to Osasuna.

Javier Camunas and Nelson struck to put Osasuna 2-0 up in the first half at Estadio Jose Rico Perez. Two goals in six second-half minutes from Krisztian Vadocz and Kike Sola wrapped up the victory for Osasuna, who are now 10th.

Almeria slid one place to second last after going down 1-0 at Sporting Gijon. Miguel de las Cuevas netted the only goal of the match for Sporting just 13 minutes in at El Molinon.

In other matches, Giovani Dos Santos helped Racing Santander see off Real Sociedad 2-1, while a last-minute winner from Ruben Suarez Estrada helped Levante snatch a 1-0 win at Deportivo La Coruna.

 

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Injured Ronaldo out until mid-April

20 March 2011

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Real Madrid could be without Cristiano Ronaldo for up to three weeks after the key forward suffered a leg injury.

Ronaldo, 26, missed two matches with a thigh-muscle problem before returning in Real's Champions League victory over Lyon on Wednesday.

The Portuguese was substituted after 70 minutes against Lyon, but started Saturday's league match against Atletico Madrid before again being removed with 20 minutes left.

He complained of pain in the left thigh before undergoing tests to determine to extent of the issue.

Real later released a statement confirming that the player had suffered another setback.

"Cristiano Ronaldo felt pain and had inflammation on the biceps femoris of his left thigh after the match with Atletico," the statement said.

Real coach Jose Mourinho could be unable to call upon the services of Ronaldo for the Champions League quarter-final first leg against Tottenham on April 5.

The Portugal captain could also miss his national team's international friendlies against Chile and Finland, as well as Real's La Liga match against Sporting Gijon on April 3.

 

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Spanish football under threat

23 March 2011

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La Liga heads for strike action.

Spain's professional soccer league, the LFP, is sticking by its threat to postpone a round of matches next month.

The dispute centres around the push by the Spanish government to have one La Liga game on every match day shown on free-to-air TV.

Talks between league officials, the government and parliamentary groups had failed to produce any progress, the LFP, which represents first and second division clubs, said in a statement on its website.

"Therefore, the LFP stands by the decision... to postpone the match day which corresponds to April 3, until there are concrete developments in the dialogue with the administration," the statement said.

The LFP, which has the backing of the Spanish football federation (RFEF), wants to scrap the free match rule to help strengthen clubs' bargaining powers in negotiations on audiovisual rights with TV companies.

They also want guarantees about how much cash they are entitled to receive from betting and lottery revenue.

La Liga leaders Barcelona are due to play at Villarreal, while second-placed Real Madrid host Sporting Gijon on April 2-3 - the weekend under strike threat.

 

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Court to rule on La Liga strike after March 29 hearing

MADRID (Reuters) - A Madrid court has postponed a decision on whether to prevent a La Liga strike on April 2/3 until it has heard arguments put forward by the professional soccer league (LFP) and six clubs against industrial action.

The clubs -- which include Sevilla and Villarreal and are known as the G-6 -- must make their case at a hearing next Tuesday along with the LFP, the court said in a statement on Friday.

The LFP decided at a meeting last month to suspend matchday 30 unless the government scraps a rule that one La Liga game per matchday should be shown on free television.

However, the G-6 broke ranks and filed a legal challenge on Wednesday to try to have the decision declared void.

They believe a strike would be "disproportionate, inopportune, against the interest of clubs, the competition and supporters and, what's more, against the law".

The LFP argues that removing the obligation to show one match for free will strengthen clubs' bargaining power in negotiations on audiovisual rights with media firms.

It also wants guarantees about how much cash clubs are entitled to receive from betting and lottery revenue.

LFP president Jose Luis Astiazaran said on Thursday he saw "very little chance" of finding a solution that would prevent the suspension of matchday 30, when La Liga leaders Barcelona are due to play at Villarreal and second-placed Real Madrid host Sporting Gijon.

However, he said the LFP was still open to dialogue and Friday's match between Spain and Czech Republic in Granada, which LFP and government officials are due to attend, could be a chance to seek common ground.