The Malaysian Insider :: Sports
The Malaysian Insider :: Sports |
| Falcao keeps 10-man Atletico perfect at home Posted: 24 Feb 2013 02:54 PM PST  Falcao is seen during their Spanish first division soccer match against Espanyol at Vicente Calderon stadium in Madrid February 24, 2013. – Reuters pic MADRID, Feb 25 – Radamel Falcao's penalty ensured 10-man Atletico Madrid preserved their 100 per cent home record in La Liga with a 1-0 victory over resurgent Espanyol yesterday. The Colombia striker netted his 21st goal of the campaign in the 38th minute, only to see his captain Gabi sent off for a second bookable offence on the stroke of halftime to leave Atletico with a man less for the entire second period. Diego Simeone's side stood firm and moved on to 56 points from 25 games in second place, 12 behind leaders Barcelona who came from behind to beat Sevilla 2-1 at home on Saturday. "We played a good first half, but the second with a man less was almost better," Argentine Simeone told a news conference. "The effort put in was extraordinary." Champions Real Madrid are third with 52 points after a 2-1 comeback win at basement side Deportivo Coruna, also on Saturday. Fourth-placed Malaga, who lost 1-0 at Porto in the Champions League last week, were well beaten 3-0 at Real Betis to stay on 42 points. Betis climbed to seventh with 39. Simeone fielded a full-strength side at the Calderon unlike fellow King's Cup semi-finalists Barca and Real, who meet for their second leg on Tuesday and Atletico's opponents Sevilla, who they visit on Wednesday. Atletico put the visitors under intense pressure, eventually winning a penalty when the outstanding Diego Costa was brought down in the area. Falcao sent the keeper the wrong way from the spot and with a man less following Gabi's sending-off the hosts outwitted Espanyol in the second half to make it 13 league wins from 13 at the Calderon this season. Javier Aguirre's visitors, 13th with 31 points, slipped to only their second defeat in 12 outings since the Mexican took the helm from Mauricio Pochettino with the side bottom in late November. TELEVISION REPLAYS Betis took the lead against Malaga inside the first minute when Jorge Molina headed in at a corner and they doubled their lead when Mario powered in another header from a corner in the 27th. With Benat Etxebarria pulling the strings in midfield Betis were rampant, and they should have had their third when Molina's penalty hit the crossbar bounced down and out in the 35th. Television replays showed the ball had crossed the line. Dorlan Pabon made it 3-0 from the narrowest of angles before the break, and Malaga's comeback hopes withered when Ignacio Camacho was sent off in the 62nd. Earlier, Rayo Vallecano's push for European football next season suffered a blow when they lost 2-1 at home to Real Valladolid to drop to eighth with 37 points. Rayo defender Jordi Amat scored an own goal in the 71st minute but rectified the situation a minute later when he caught the visiting keeper off his line with a spectacular shot from around 40 metres out. Former Manchester United striker Manucho grabbed Valladolid's winner with 10 minutes remaining. Elsewhere, new Celta Vigo coach Abel Resino started with a 2-1 home victory over former club Granada, as the Galicians notched a first win in seven outings. Mario Bermejo's 81st-minute winner came from a wildly miss-hit shot which bounced inside the far post as the keeper watched helplessly. Celta stayed in the bottom three with 23 points. – Reuters |
| Priority elsewhere as Barca and Real meet in Cup Posted: 24 Feb 2013 07:43 AM PST  Barcelona's Andres Iniesta (R) fights for the ball against Sevilla's Gary Medel during their Spanish First division soccer league match at Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, February 23, 2013. — Reuters pic The two "Clasicos" — the second a La Liga clash at the Bernabeu yesterday — will provide rich entertainment for fans but they are relatively insignificant compared to Barca's game at home to AC Milan on March 12 and Real's match at Manchester United a week earlier. The King's Cup is never a priority for Spain's dominant pair as long as they are still alive in Europe's elite club competition and the domestic league, and Real have all but given up on a second consecutive La Liga title after slipping 16 points behind leaders Barca with 13 games left. Barca are still reeling after going down 2-0 to Milan at the San Siro in Wednesday's last-16 first leg, though they picked themselves up and fought back from a goal down for a 2-1 La Liga win at home to Sevilla yesterday. Real, held to a 1-1 draw by United at the Bernabeu On February 13, also came from a goal down to win yesterday, beating bottom side Deportivo La Coruna 2-1 at the Riazor with Cristiano Ronaldo coming off the bench to set up Gonzalo Higuain for the winner. Assistant Barca coach Jordi Roura, standing in for Tito Vilanova who is recovering from throat surgery, praised his players for putting Wednesday's shock reverse behind them. "You can lose a match but the really important thing is the reaction," he told a news conference after the Sevilla game. "It was a really tough game and they scored against us while we had the match more under control," he added. "But once again the team rose to the occasion and showed the pride needed to secure a very important victory for the league campaign. Their reaction was splendid." SLAVISH ADHERENCE Cup holders Barca have a slight advantage ahead of Real's visit to the Nou Camp, which will be the 224th meeting between the arch rivals in all competitions, after they secured a 1-1 draw at the Bernabeu in last month's first leg. Cesc Fabregas fired Barca ahead five minutes after halftime and Raphael Varane nodded in an equaliser for Real nine minutes from the end. Real beat Barca 1-0 to win the Cup in 2011 and Barca eliminated them in the last eight last term. The successful side after Tuesday's showdown will meet Atletico Madrid or Sevilla in May's final. The pair meet at Sevilla's Sanchez Pizjuan stadium on Wednesday (2100) with Atletico holding a 2-1 advantage from the first leg at the Calderon. Barca struggled to create scoring chances against both Milan and Sevilla, leading some to question their slavish adherence to a possession-based playing style and ask whether they had an effective "Plan B" when faced with ultra-defensive sides. They have also found it tough to keep a clean sheet in recent outings and Roura said it was something they needed to improve if they were to keep alive their hopes of a treble of trophies this term. "It's true that we are having the odd problem in that sense and it's something to improve on, above all in our positioning in defence," Roura said. "Obviously it concerns us and we want to improve that and other things," he added. Barca's World Player of the Year Lionel Messi can equal the record goal tally for "Clasicos" of 18 held by former Real great Alfredo Di Stefano with a goal on Tuesday. — Reuters |
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