Spanish La Liga 2009/2010

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Barcelona moved back to the top of the Primera Liga on Sunday night after a 3-1 victory over Celta Vigo at the Nou Camp.

Goals from Javier Saviola, Ronaldinho and substitute Ludovic Giuly gave the Spanish champions the hard-earned victory and sees them stay one point clear of Sevilla.

Nene pulled a goal back for Celta from the spot midway through the second period but it was not enough to prevent a fourth straight Primera Liga defeat.

Sevilla recorded a thrilling 4-2 victory against lowly Levante at Estadio Ciudad de Valencia to briefly go top before Barcelona's win.

Frederic Kanoute fired the visitors into the lead before Alexander Kerzhakov and a Damiano Tommasi own goal put them in the driving seat. But the hosts rallied through Frederic Dehu and Gustavo Reggi before Alejandro Alfaro secured the win.

A brace from Robert helped Real Betis move out of the Primera Liga relegation zone and bring Valencia's run of six straight wins to an end, 2-1.

David Villa had put Valencia into an early lead only for Robert to equalize shortly after, and the Brazilian rounded off an impressive display by thumping home a penalty midway through the second half to seal all three points.

Basement club Gimnastic defied their league position to thrash Catalan rivals Espanyol, 4-0, at Nou Estadi.

Javier Portillo opened the scoring and the former Real Madrid striker was at the heart of things once again when he was brought down for a penalty by Jesus Lacruz, which was converted by Alejandro Campano.

Antonio Pinilla made it 3-0 and then Cesar headed home a Campano corner to send the home supporters into ecstasy.

First-half goals from Sergio Ballesteros and Jose Carlos Nunes helped 10-man Mallorca edge past Recreativo Huelva, 2-1, at the ONO Estadi.

Ballesteros, who was later sent off after picking up a second booking, put the home side ahead before Nunes doubled their advantage.

Gomez Juanma pulled one back for the visitors four minutes after the break, but Mallorca managed to hold on for all three points.

A first-half brace from Daniel Guiza was enough to see Getafe cruise past Osasuna, 2-0, at the Coliseum Alfonso Perez and stretch their unbeaten run to six games. The former Mallorca striker powered home his first after 28 minutes and he sealed the three points a minute before the break with a classy second.

Andoni Iraola was the derby hero as Athletic Bilbao heaped yet more misery on relegation-threatened Basque rivals Real Sociedad, 2-0, at the Anoeta.

Iraola scored a goal in each half to consign Sociedad to their third consecutive Primera Liga defeat, which leaves them six points adrift of safety, but it could have been a different story had Xabier Prieto converted a first-half penalty.

Diego Milito's 79th-minute penalty was enough to spare Real Zaragoza's blushes in the 1-1 draw with strugglers Deportivo La Coruna.

Sebastian Taborda had given the visitors a surprise lead in the 21st minute, but 11 minutes from time Taborda turned villain when he hacked down Sergio Garcia inside the box and Milito salvaged a point.

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Barcelona maintained its advantage at the top of the Primera Liga on Sunday despite being held to a goalless draw at Osasuna.

Sevilla's failure to win at home in a 0-0 draw with Real Sociedad means that Barca's dropped points bear no consequence on the latest standings.

Frank Rijkaard's men were without the services of injured Ronaldinho, missing with an ankle problem, but the coach will be pleased after Samuel Eto'o made a return after four months on the sidelines with a serious knee injury.

The Cameroonian was an 84th-minute substitute for Deco but had little time to make any impact on the final outcome.

Earlier on Sunday, Sevilla were without the services of 16-goal striker Frederic Kanoute and it showed as they missed the opportunity to move to the summit after a series of spurned chances saw them held by lowly Real Sociedad.

The home side failed to put away their many chances, with the late dismissal of Sergio Duda only adding to their frustration.

Juande Ramos' team remain in second place, a point behind Barca.

The big shock of the weekend was in the capital, where Real Madrid suffered another embarrassing home defeat to relegation-threatened Levante, 1-0.

Madrid were playing their 1,000th league match at the Bernabeu, but Levante ruined the celebrations with their first-ever win.

Salva Ballesta scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot early on and Madrid could find no way back.

The defeat was Madrid's seventh of the season and leaves them in fourth place - one point behind Valencia - and seven behind the leaders, while Levante remains in the relegation zone.

In Huelva, Recreativo survived a late scare to keep their European qualification aspirations on track with a narrow 2-1 victory over fellow challengers Villarreal.

Juanma hit a superb early goal to give Huelva the lead, before on-loan Liverpool striker Florent Sinama Pongolle doubled the advantage just after the interval.

But Jon Dahl Tomasson then pulled one back to ensure a nervy finish for the home side at the Nuevo Colombino.

However, Recreativo held on and are now in seventh place, four points above Manuel Pellegrini's team in 10th.

Another team challenging for European honors is Getafe, whose unbeaten start to 2007 ground to a halt after Ezequiel Garay's early header handed Racing Santander a narrow victory at the Estadio El Sardinero.

Garay rose highest to meet Pedro Munitis' cross from the right, heading the ball in from six yards as Racing stretched their own unbeaten run to four games - including last week's 1-1 draw with Atletico Madrid.

Real Betis continued their revival under Luis Fernandez, after recording a comfortable 2-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao to ease their relegation fears.

Robert De Pinho gave Betis the lead early on before debutant Fabrice Pancrate made the game safe shortly before the end.

A last-minute penalty by Ismael Urzaiz proved too little too late for the home team, which continued to struggle and is languishing just above the drop zone.

In Sunday's final game, bottom club Gimnastic Tarragona failed to show the sparkle that earned them a shock 4-0 win against Espanyol last weekend, but still managed to snatch a 1-1 draw at fellow strugglers Celta Vigo.

Borja Oubina got a belated reward for Celta's first-half dominance when he put his side in front not long after the interval.

However, Gimnastic battled back to get an equalizer through Javier Portillo and a share of the spoils against a team that has nine more points in the bank.

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David Beckham marked his return with a goal to ease the pressure on under-fire manager Fabio Capello and move Real Madrid within two points of Primera Liga leaders Barcelona thanks to a narrow victory over Real Sociedad.

The previously exiled 31-year-old, making his first appearance for six games following his decision to join the LA Galaxy, fired a 37th-minute free-kick around the Sociedad wall which crept under Claudio Bravo and into the bottom-left corner to level the scores after Mikel Aranburu had given the home side the lead at the Estadio Anoeta.

Ruud van Nistelrooy earned the three points early in the second half to end a run of back-to-back defeats which had led to speculation surrounding Capello's future at the Bernabeu.

The hosts kicked off with easily the worst scoring record in the division - just 12 goals from their 21 matches.

But they took just eight minutes to break the deadlock when Iker Casillas inexplicably parried a hanging cross from the right, to leave the unmarked Mikel Aranburu with the simplest of finishes, nodding the ball into the bottom-left corner from inside the six-yard box.

The home side, who had failed to net in five of their previous six matches, almost doubled their lead in the 15th minute when Darko Kovacevic's 20-yard drive was heading for the bottom-right corner, but Casillas made amends for his earlier error pushing the ball to safety.

The Real goalmouth came under continual pressure with former Madrid winger Savio's wicked corners twice scrambled clear, first by Fernando Gago and then by Emerson as Miguel Angel Lotina's side pressed for a second.

But Beckham had other ideas, hauling his side level with a trademark set-piece, although Bravo should have done better.

The former England skipper saw as much of the ball as anyone in the first half and seemed to be enjoying himself on his return to Capello's first team.

And Beckham, who scored Madrid's second goal in a 2-0 win over Sociedad earlier in the season, was involved in again in Van Nistelrooy's 48th-minute winner.

The former Manchester United midfielder found Guti, who slid in Gomez Miguel Torres down the left flank before his inviting cross was met by Van Nistelrooy at the near post after the striker stole in ahead of Bravo.

Beckham's set-pieces were causing the Basque side all sorts of problems and they were lucky to escape when his outswinging corner from the left was hooked away by Gutierrez Robles Juanito.

But the away side always looked capable of a goal on the counter-attack and were only rescued midway through the second half by a last-ditch block from Ivan Helguera.

Real's rearguard looked more comfortable dealing with Xabi Prieto's corners, with the assured Fabio Cannavaro commanding his troops.

The last quarter of an hour failed to deliver much in the way of action with Beckham booked for a reckless tackle on Savio.

Struggling Sociedad were unable to make the breakthrough, however, leaving them eight points adrift of safety as Beckham stole the headlines.

Sevilla's challenge for the Primera Liga title looks to be running out of steam as they dropped more points in the city derby with Real Betis.

Juande Ramos are finding 2007 to be a tough year after a magnificent 2006 when they finished the year on top of the Primera Liga and won the UEFA Cup and European Super Cup.

Neither side ever dominated the match between city neighbours but it was Betis who spurned the best opportunity when Robert Pinho blasted an early penalty over the Sevilla crossbar.

Sevilla therefore missed the chance to go ahead of Barcelona at the top of the table but while they are still in the leading group they must be worried about a Primera Liga run in 2007 that has seen them record only one win in six games.

Betis made a fine start at their home stadium, the Manuel Ruiz de Lopera.

First to try his luck was Robert who drilled wide from 12 yards.

And after 11 minutes they had a golden chance to take the lead when Fernando Fernandez tumbled in the box under the challenge of Daniel Alves.

The contact appeared to be minimal but a penalty was awarded.

Robert stepped up to take it but drilled it over the bar to the dismay of the home supporters and coach Luis Fernandez.

Sevilla goalkeeper Andres Palop then did well to deny Branko Ilic with Betis well in charge of the opening stages.

At the other end Adriano Correa fired wide as did Luis Fabiano from another good position for Sevilla.

Frederic Kanoute then fed Jesus Navas who was wayward with his shot but just before the break Palop did very well to save a free-kick from dead ball specialist Marcos Assuncao.

In the second half Sevilla came close to taking the lead through Christian Poulsen but the Dane rattled the woodwork.

However, Betis were looking dangerous and just as likely to get a goal that would ease their plight and further damage Sevilla's title tilt.

A mistake by Dani Alves allowed Robert the chance to clinch the game after 79 minutes and he bore down on the Sevilla goal.

But Andres Palop stood firm and blocked the shot to keep the score goalless.

Sevilla were still bearing down on goal and Jose Luis Marti was narrowly wide with another effort.

Substitute Juan Pablo Caff and Poulsen for Sevilla both fired shots over but neither side was able to find the winner to settle an Andalusian derby that has a bitter history.

Sevilla would have by now established a commanding lead in the Primera Liga if they had managed to maintain their 2006 form into 2007.

But with the other leading teams also in inconsistent form they are still well in the chase and could yet manage to make this a memorable year.

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Barcelona slipped to a disappointing 2-1 defeat at Valencia on Sunday to add another twist to a wide-open race for the Primera Liga title.

The Spanish champions lost out to second half goals from Miguel Angel Angulo and David Silva as Valencia moved to within four points of the Catalans in the title race.

After Barca's Deco and Valencia's David Albelda were dismissed, Ronaldinho scored a late consolation for Frank Rijkaard's side, who remain top of the Primera Liga despite the defeat.

Sevilla took another step towards ending their 61-year wait for a league title by beating Atletico Madrid 3-1 to go joint top with Barca despite playing over half the match with 10 men.

A well-taken goal from Fredi Kanoute and Daniel Alves strike opened up a 2-0 lead, and after Jose Luis Marti was dismissed shortly before halftime. Kanoute completed his brace before Ibanez Pablo grabbed a consolation.

At the other end of the table, late goals from Luis Garcia and Eduardo Costa gave Espanyol an important 3-1 victory over relegation rivals Mallorca at Montjuic.

The Balearic islanders had equalized through Bosko Jankovic after Luis Garcia's early strike for Espanyol with the first of his two goals.

Athletic Bilbao secured three vital points in their battle for Primera Liga survival with a workmanlike 2-0 victory over Getafe.

Boasting the dubious honour of being the worst home team in the Spanish top flight heading into the game, Bilbao shrugged off that tag with their second win of the campaign at the Estadio San Mames thanks to a brace from Aritz Aduriz (30 and 50).

Ten-man Celta Vigo secured their first league victory in 12 games after beating mid-table Osasuna, 1-0, at the Estadio El Sadar.

Fernando Baiano's early strike put Celta ahead before they suffered a setback when Fabian Canobbio was dismissed for two bookable offenses late in the first half.

Racing Santander claimed a fourth successive home win after coming from a goal down to seal an emphatic 4-1 victory over Gimnastic Tarragona.

Tobias Grahn put the visitors ahead shortly before the hour mark but Lionel Scaloni's instant reply sparked a bizarre turnaround.

An own goal by Anibal Matellan gave the hosts the lead before further strikes from Gonzalo Colsa and Nikola Zigic sealed all three points for Racing.

Recreativo Huelva edged to within touching distance of the European places after a narrow 1-0 victory over struggling Real Sociedad.

Severo Beto scored the decisive goal just after half-time to send his side just two points behind sixth-placed Real Zaragoza.

Elsewhere, in-form Deportivo La Coruna's European qualification hopes suffered a setback as they were held to a goalless draw by Levante.

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Gonzalo Higuain netted his first goal for the club as 10-man Real Madrid escaped from Saturday's local derby against Atletico with a point after a 1-1 draw in the Primera Liga.

Atletico had taken a deserved early lead when captain Fernando Torres scored his first-ever competitive goal against Real.

However, it was not enough to guide hosts Atletico to victory, as winter signing Higuain slotted home his maiden Real goal just after the hour to earn his side a draw.

Visitors Real had to play the final eight minutes with a man less following the dismissal of Fabio Cannavaro, but Atletico could still not fashion a winner.

Javier Arizmendi scored the only goal as Deportivo La Coruna jumped three places to ninth in the Primera Liga with a narrow 1-0 victory at Real Sociedad.

The Spain international latched on to Gonzalez Sergio's cross shortly before the half-hour to maintain Depor's 2007 run that has seen them go unbeaten with six wins and five draws from their 11 league and cup games since the turn of the year.

The result is a major blow for Miguel Angel Lotina's Sociedad, which remains 11 points adrift of safety after a 14th defeat of the season.

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Barcelona looked back to their best on Sunday night as they destroyed Athletic Bilbao at the Nou Camp to move two points clear at the top of the Primera Liga.

Having struggled to hit top form for much of the season, the critics were starting to round on Barca and coach Frank Rijkaard but they provided the perfect riposte against a struggling Bilbao side.

They were helped on their way by an own goal from Andoni Iraola and further first-half strikes from Xavi and the returning Samuel Eto'o completed the rout. Eto'o played for 66 minutes and looked sharp.


Sevilla started the day level on points with Barca but slipped off the pace following a goalless draw at Getafe.

Ruben Castro headed home a last-gasp equalizer for rock-bottom Gimnastic Tarragona to put a dent in Valencia's title challenge, 1-1.

Los Che were below par throughout but it looked as though they would still emerge victorious thanks to Joaquin's 63rd-minute goal.

However, the plucky hosts kept plugging away and they got their reward in injury-time when Javier Portillo's excellent left-wing cross was converted by Castro.

Quique Sanchez Flores' men remain third, four points behind Sevilla.

Elsewhere on Sunday, Real Zaragoza were held to a goalless draw at Levante, while strikes from Ferran Coro and Raul Tamudo enabled Espanyol to win 2-0 at Osasuna.

There were no goals between Real Betis and Recreativo Huelva, but four at the Balaidos as Celta Vigo and Racing Santander fought out a 2-2 draw.

Fernando Baiano and Habib Bamogo gave the hosts a 2-0 advantage at halftime, but Pedro Munitis gave the visitors hope shortly before the hour mark and Cristian Alvarez's late penalty clinched a fighting draw that denied Fernando Vazquez's team a third win on the trot.

Fabricio Fuentes' injury-time goal earned Villarreal their first points for four games and plunged Real Mallorca into further relegation trouble, 2-1.

The defender poked into the bottom right corner from 12 yards in the 91st minute at the Estadio El Madrigal after Jon Dahl Tomasson had cancelled out Guillermo Pereyra's opener, leaving Mallorca just one place and one point above the drop zone.

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Sevilla leapfrogged Barcelona to go top of the Primera Liga on Saturday after a brilliant comeback for a 2-1 victory in their top-of-the-table clash with the European champions at the Sanchez Pizjuan.

The Andalusians went a goal down and then a man down against the Catalan outfit - Aitor Ocio the player dismissed - but produced a stunning revival to displace the Spanish champions at the summit after 25 matches.

Ronaldinho put Barcelona ahead early on, but goals from Russian striker Aleksander Kerzakhov and Brazilian fullback Daniel Alves gave Sevilla a precious victory which could prove crucial in the title run-in.

The Catalans losy their lead at the top of the Primera Liga to the Andalusians, who now hold a one-point advantage with 13 games remaining.

Barca finished with just nine men following the second-half dismissals of Ludovic Giuly and Gianluca Zambrotta, the former particularly unfortunate.

Coach Frank Rijkaard played with an adventurous 3-4-3 formation against Zaragoza in the Copa del Rey in midweek and decided to persevere with the attack-minded system against title rivals Sevilla.

Samuel Eto'o was left on the bench as the visitors started with Ronaldinho in the centre-forward role, flanked by Frenchman Giuly and Argentinian Lionel Messi.

With Lilian Thuram and Deco both rested, Mexican defender Rafael Marquez started at the back alongside Catalans Carles Puyol and Oleguer. Dutchman Giovanni van Bronckhorst and Italian Zambrotta were deployed as attacking wing-backs, with Spain international midfielders Xavi and Andres Iniesta in midfield.

Barcelona started brilliantly and it was Zambrotta who set up for Ronaldinho for the opening goal on 13 minutes.

The Italian looked offside when he received the ball on the right wing, but the flag stayed down and the World Cup winner reached the byline before picking out Ronaldinho with a pinpoint cross, which the Brazilian headed back past the helpless Andres Palop.

The Catalans were totally in control of the game at this point and Sevilla had to wait until the 19th minute for their first effort on goal, when Frederic Kanoute fired well over the bar.

Eight minutes later, Barcelona had a great chance to go two up when Ronaldinho was brought down in the area by defender Ocio, who was shown the red card.

The Brazilian stepped up to take the kick, but sent his shot straight down the middle and Palop saved well with his legs to keep Sevilla in the match.

Despite the miss, things looked difficult for the home side, given their numerical disadvantage.

However, the Andalusians appeared to grow in confidence following Ronaldinho's error and equalized on 38 minutes.

Kanoute sent an intelligent long ball to right-back Alves in midfield, and the Brazilian charged forward, releasing Kerzakhov, who turned and fired a stinging left-footed shot past Victor Valdes from the edge of the area to bring the home side level.

Sevilla took control of the game on 60 minutes, when Alves fired a deflected free-kick past Valdes to put the home side ahead for the first time.

Things then got worse for Barcelona two minutes later after Giuly tangled with Alves and was unfairly shown the red card, as replays showed that the Frenchman had not even fouled the Brazilian.

Eto'o then came on for Marquez as the Catalans chased the game, but Barcelona went down to nine men soon afterwards when Zambrotta received his second yellow card on 76 minutes.

Fernando Morientes scored the only goal as Valencia edged past Celta Vigo, 1-0, in a gripping encounter at the Estadio Mestalla on Saturday evening.

With Barcelona due to play Sevilla in the late kickoff in a clash of the top two, the Spain international's 10th goal of the Primera Liga season helped Quique Sanchez Flores' men draw to within four points of the leaders.

However, it was not all smooth sailing for Los Ches, who were dominated for large spells by the opposition, who themselves are fighting for survival at the other end of the table and sit just a point above the relegation zone.

The hosts can count themselves lucky, especially after showing a lack of adventure in a cautious first half that produced only two chances.

The first of those came in the 18th minute, when quick thinking by Diego Placente saw him pick out Gabriel Sebastian Tamas, whose cracking 25-yard shot had to be parried by Santiago Canizares before the defence managed to clear the ball away to safety.

Five minutes later, an error from Perez Pablo Garcia let in Miguel Angulo, but his lobbed shot from 10 yards floated wide.

A halftime trip to the dressing room failed to inspire Valencia as they again looked lacklustre at the start of the second period.

In the 47th minute, Anderson Nene combined well with Argentinian Placente down the left before playing in a fine ball to Gustavo Lopez, who was well off-target with his attempted header from the centre of the penalty area.

More half-chances followed for the visitors, with Lopez and Tamas both firing wide. But the opener finally arrived in the 67th minute, totally against the run of play, when substitute Sanchez Joaquin made an immediate impact by cutting inside on the left and floating in a perfect ball that Morientes thumped home from close range.

That seemed to set off the home team and, shortly afterwards, David Villa saw a superb cross-goal effort come back of the upright - although he was marginally offside - before Joaquin again fired narrowly wide.

The action then shifted to the other end and Fernando Baiano was played in with a threaded through-ball from Nene, but his shot from the edge of the penalty area was punched away by Canizares.

Another substitute, Hugo Viana, then gave the visitors a dangerous 25-yard free-kick, which Fabian Canobbio put inches over the bar.

And their best chance to equalize came deep into stoppage time when Garcia's curling free-kick from the right was met by Baiano, who outjumped everyone at the back post but could only head tamely towards the ever-present Canizares as Celta were just about kept at bay.

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Barcelona and Real Madrid drew, 3-3, at the Nou Camp on Saturday in a pulsating latest edition of Spain's "el clasico" match.

Real led three times after two early goals from Ruud van Nistelrooy and a third from Sergio Ramos, but were pegged back by a brilliant Lionel Messi hat trick, as the teams grabbed a point apiece in the 26th round of the Primera Liga.

Barca played the whole second half with 10 men after Oleguer Presas was sent off just before the break.

Both teams came into the derby match under intense pressure after being disappointingly knocked out of the Champions League this week.

Real lost, 2-1, to Bayern Munich and went out on the away goals rule, as did Barcelona, despite a lucky 1-0 over Liverpool at Anfield.

The Catalans had also lost their as lead at the top of the Primera Liga with a painful 2-1 defeat at Sevilla last weekend.

In light of those failures, coach Frank Rijkaard had been expected to ditch his controversial 3-4-3 formation against Real Madrid.

However, the Dutchman once again opted for three at the back, with Oleguer, Lilian Thuram and captain Carles Puyol starting in defense.

Mexican Rafael Marquez was once again deployed in the midfield holding role, alongside the more creative trio of Deco, Xavi and Andres Iniesta.

Ronaldinho shook off a knock to start up front alongside Samuel Eto'o and Messi.

Meanwhile, Fabio Capello had been under even more pressure than Rijkaard in the build-up to the match.

The Spanish press claimed that the Italian coach would be sacked if his side lost this match, with former Real striker Michel set to take over.

For a game of such importance, Capello could have done with the experience of David Beckham, Roberto Carlos, Fabio Cannavaro and Jose Antonio Reyes, but all four missed the trip through injury and the Italian was forced to field a severely weakened side.

Sergio Ramos partnered Ivan Helguera in central defense, with Michel Salgado, Manuel Torres and goalkeeper Iker Casillas completing an all-Spanish back-line.

Mahamadou Diarra, Fernando Gago and Guti started in a narrow three man midfield, with captain Raul just behind Gonzalo Higuain and Van Nistelrooy.

The Dutchman got his side off to a perfect start after five minutes. Guti led a quick Real counter-attack and released the advancing Higuain. Thuram failed to clear the Argentinian's cross and Van Nistelrooy fired home the loose ball to give the visitors, and Capello, a dream start.

Real's joy did not last long, however, as Barcelona hit back just five minutes later.

Eto'o had forced a fine save from Casillas, but the goalkeeper could do nothing to prevent Messi from equalizing after 10 minutes.

Oleguer put the Argentinian through with a long ball which split the visitors' defense and the youngster coolly fired past Casillas.

Three minutes later, Real then retook the lead after Oleguer brought down Guti in the area.

Van Nistelrooy stepped up to score his second of the night and the third goal of a match just 13 minutes old.

Barcelona must have been in shock at this stage, but responded positively and deservedly levelled the match 15 minutes later.

Ronaldinho charged into the left-hand side of the penalty area and forced Casillas into an athletic save after a clever one-two with Eto'o.

However, the Real goalkeeper could only parry the Brazilian's effort and Messi smashed home the rebound to bring the Catalans level.

After Higuain and Eto'o had come both close to scoring in the following minutes, the game then took another dramatic turn just before half-time.

Oleguer upended Ramos and was shown his second yellow card, leaving Barcelona a man down.

Although the Catalans protested that Ramos had made the most of the challenge, the decision stood and Barcelona would have to play the second half with 10 men.

Rijkaard decided to sacrifice Eto'o, sending on Sylvinho to fill in at the back for the departed Oleguer.

With a man up, Real started the second half brightly and Higuain fired over after 49 minutes.

Van Nistelrooy was also still proving a handful for the Barcelona defence and almost bagged his hat trick after 63 minutes, but Victor Valdes managed to push the Dutchman's lobbed effort over the bar.

Valdes denied the former Manchester United player twice more in the following minutes with excellent saves.

It was no surprise when Sergio Ramos put Real back ahead after 72 minutes. The defender glanced Guti's inswinging free-kick into the top corner to put the visitors in front for the third time in the match.

But Barcelona never gave up and Messi got his hat trick with a stunning equalizer right at the death.

The Argentinian skipped past three challenges before hitting a sweet left foot shot past the helpless Casillas.

Rijkaard's side finished on a high and could have had a late penalty when Diarra barged into Ronaldinho, but the referee waved away the Catalan protests and both teams had to be content with a draw.

Barca return to the top of the Primera Liga, but Sevilla can move three points clear with a win at Gimnastic Tarragona on Sunday.

Villarreal kept their slim European qualification hopes alive after beating struggling Levante, 2-0. at the Ciudad de Valencia.

Diego Forlan put the away side ahead in the first half, before former AC Milan striker Jon Dahl Tomasson sealed the win when he fired home against the run of play in the second half.

Levante, who dominated the proceedings but lacked a real cutting edge, remain in 16th position, while Villarreal are now just four points behind the UEFA Cup places.

The home side were without Juan Martinez Nino, Luis Manuel Rubiales and Alvaro, while Spanish international midfielder Marcos Senna returned for Villarreal after recovering from a muscle problem.

But Robert Pires, Nihat Kahveci, Juan Manuel Pena and Alessio Tacchinardi were again sidelined through injuries.

The away side started brightest and Marcos Garcia came close to opening the scoring when he fired wide from the edge of the penalty area.

But Villarreal did take the lead in the ninth minute when former Manchester United striker Forlan superbly drilled home from 20 yards after Matias Fernandez`s pass.

The visitors came close to doubling their advantage in the 66th minute when Garcia`s effort from the centre of the penalty area was saved by Jose Molina.

The chance seemed to invigorate Villarreal and they punished the home side for their profligacy eight minutes later when Tomasson lashed into the bottom corner of the net from 12 yards after Fernandez`s cross.

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Sevilla moved back level with Barcelona at the top of the Primera Liga after a 2-0 win over 10-man Celta Vigo on Sunday.

Frederic Kanoute struck from the penalty spot six minutes after half-time, after Jesus Navas' free-kick was inexplicably handled by Celta midfielder Gustavo Lopez.

Fabian Canobbio saw red after 75 minutes for a reckless challenge on Navas, before Alexander Kerzhakov sealed the win in stoppage time.

Real Madrid kept within touching distance of the leaders with an uninspiring home victory over 10-man Gimnastic Tarragona.

Madrid overcame a poor first-half display to take the points thanks to goals from Robinho (56) and Nastic defender David Garcia - who put through his own net after 81 minutes.

Real Zaragoza gave their chances of playing European football next season a shot in the arm with a fine victory at home to fellow high-flyers Atletico Madrid.

Diego Milito scored the only goal of the game midway through the first half to extend Zaragoza's unbeaten league run to five games.

Real Sociedad remain bottom of the pile despite holding their own in a draw with 10-man Villarreal.

The San Sebastian club are nine points off the fourth-bottom spot that would mean safety at the end of the season.

It looked good for them when Savio Bortolini gave them the lead five minutes before the break but after the interval Josico Moreno snatched a point which did little for Villarreal's hopes of challenging for European football next season.

Villarreal ended the match with 10 men after a late red card for Ruben Cani.

Antonio Barragan's sensational strike 10 minutes from time was enough to hand 10-man Deportivo La Coruna a slender 1-0 win over Getafe at the Estadio Riazor.

The 19-year-old substitute unleashed a stinging drive from fully 35 yards which arrowed into Getafe goalkeeper Roberto Abbondanzieri's top right-hand corner.

The home side were dealt a blow after 35 minutes when Javier Arizmendi received his marching orders for violent conduct, but Barragan stepped up near the death to secure a vital three points for Deportivo.

Espanyol had to settle for a third consecutive league draw at Montjuic against relegation candidates Levante.

Gustavo Reggi opened the scoring for Levante on 13 minutes but Luis Garcia fired home the equaliser just five minutes later.

The Valencia-based side move two points clear of the relegation zone, while Espanyol slip to 10th place.

On Saturday, Barcelona sealed an emphatic 4-0 victory at Recreativo Huelva.

The Catalan giants were in sparkling form and were ahead after just three minutes through their prolific Cameroon forward Samuel Eto'o.

Gianluca Zambrotta (40) then made it two, before Eto'o (42) grabbed his second shortly before half-time.

Lionel Messi (86) wrapped up the victory close to end to fire the defending champions back to the summit, while Recreativo stay seventh.

Valencia meanwhile suffered a huge blow to their title hopes as they were beaten at home by Racing Santander.

The hosts were upset by goals in either half from Pedro Munitis (20) and Lozano Farran Oriol (63) that help Racing climb to eighth.

Real Mallorca took another step towards securing their top-flight status after beating fellow strugglers Real Betis 2-0.

Mallorca got off to the perfect start when Guillermo Pereyra gave them the lead in the opening minute.

And Juan Arango (four) then sealed Mallorca's fourth successive home victory when he found the back of the net soon after to help his side climb above Betis into 14th, six points away from danger.

In Saturday's final game, Athletic Bilbao's chances of avoiding relegation suffered a setback after they were thrashed at home by fellow strugglers Osasuna.

Inaki Munoz (30) put the visitors ahead when he fired home from the penalty spot, before Moreno David Lopez (47) extended their lead early in the second half.

And Jose Izquierdo (71) then wrapped up a routine away victory for Osasuna when he added a third soon after.

The hosts had Aritz Aduriz dismissed in injury time following a second caution.

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Robert Pires' first Spanish league goal helped Villarreal draw 3-3 with Real Betis.

Playing only his second league game for Villarreal, Pires appeared as a substitute in the 72nd minute and struck his team's third goal seven minutes later. The former France midfielder joined Villarreal from Arsenal last June but injured his knee the following month.

Diego Forlan scored Villareal's other goals to raise his season's total to 10. His first goal was came after only a minute, with the Uruguayan sending a shot past goalkeeper Toni Doblas.

Fernando headed in the equalizer for Betis from Enrique Romero's cross in the 10th. Edu Schmidt and Juanito Gutierrez also scored for Betis.

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"بابي چارلتون" يكي از مديران باشگاه منچستريونايتد انگليس شايعات مختلف در مورد وضعيت "كريستيانو رونالدو" را تكذيب كرد.

به*گزارش خبرگزاري فرانسه از لندن، هر دو باشگاه بارسلونا و رئال مادريد همواره در مورد خريد هافبك ۲۲ساله و پرتغالي باشگاه منچستر خبرساز بوده*اند.

رونالدو با آمادگي خود در اين فصل، نقش مهمي در بيرون كشيدن عنوان قهرماني از دست چلسي و انتقال آن به منچستر داشته است.

چارلتون روز دوشنبه به راديو بي.بي.سي گفت: اين دو باشگاه نام خود را به هر بازيكني كه آماده است، مي*چسبانند و اين كار اصلا درست نيست.

فكر نمي*كنم اين رفتار شايسته*اي در حصول اهداف آنها باشد.

وي ابراز اطمينان كرد رونالدو هر پيشنهادي از طرف اسپانيا را رد كرده و قرارداد فعلي خود را كه تا سال ۲۰۱۲مهلت دارد، تمديد خواهد كرد.

بازيكن سابق منچستر افزود: هيچ دليلي نمي*بينم كه او بخواهد در باشگاه ديگري بازي كند. انتشار اين همه شايعه كه منشا خارجي دارد، به او و باشگاه لطمه خواهد زد.

رونالدو بعد از رقابتهاي جام جهاني ۲۰۰۶كه در ديدارميان انگليس و پرتغال باعث اخراج "وين روني" شد، آماج انتقادات شديد و در آستانه ترك اولدترافورد قرار گرفت اما ماه گذشته اعلام كرد براي امضاي قرارداد جديد آماده است.

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Athletic Bilbao lifted itself out of the Primera Liga relegation zone with Saturday's surprise 1-0 victory over title contenders Valencia.

The win moved Athletic to 16th place with 29 points, two above the drop zone. Valencia sank to fifth, six points off the pace at the top, aided by Barcelona's loss to Real Zaragoza.

Los Che arrived in Bilbao hoping to move to third in the table ahead of the second leg of their Champions League quarterfinal with Chelsea. Things did not go to plan as Bilbao's Igor Gabilondo scored the game's only goal in the first half.

Valencia pushed for an equalizer with a series of attacks in the second half, but Athletic kept finding ways to deny David Villa.

Bilbao's breakthrough came in the 28th minute when Joseba Etxeberria made space on the right to cross and his ball found Gabilondo, who finished neatly with the inside of the boot to beat Ludovic Butelle.

The midfielder almost had a second moments later with a left-footed shot from close range which Butelle could only parry.

In the 73rd minute, Villa struck a 25-yard shot that beat goalkeeper Daniel Aranzubia but struck the crossbar.

A second-half goal from Argentine forward Diego Milito gave Real Zaragoza a deserved 1-0 victory over league leaders Barcelona and again threw the title race wide open.

Deprived of the services of injured striker Samuel Eto'o, Barcelona coach Frank Rijkaard opted to play Ronaldinho in a central role, flanked by Lionel Messi and Ludovic Giuly up front.

As halftime approached, Ronaldinho had his first shot but was well off target and picked up a booking a minute later following a poorly timed challenge on Pablo Aimar.

Andres D'Alessandro showed some tricky footwork on the byline and crossed brilliantly for Milito, who got the slightest of touches to nick the ball past Victor Valdes from an acute angle to put Zaragoza in front after 56 minutes.

Despite their need for a goal, Barcelona created little in the final stages and Zaragoza held in for an important victory.

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Real Madrid seized on slips by Barcelona and Sevilla to move firmly back into Primera Liga title contention on Sunday.

The capital club beat Osasuna, 2-0, at the Bernabeu, just hours after Sevilla was held to a goalless draw at home to Racing Santander.

Defending champions Barca was beaten, 1-0, at Real Zaragoza on Saturday night with Diego Milito netting the only goal.

Having seen what had gone before, Madrid were determined to see off the Pamplona-based visitors. Raul stabbed them ahead from close range after 23 minutes and Robinho secured all three points 10 minutes from time.

Sevilla was made to rue a host of missed opportunities as visiting goalkeeper Antonio Tono ensured a hard-earned point for his side.

Ernesto Chevanton was the principal villain for the hosts with a series of squandered opportunities.

At the end of round 29, Barca leads the way with 56 points, one more than Sevilla with Madrid a further point adrift.

Zaragoza's defeat of Barca moved them up to fourth, level on points with Valencia, which was beaten, 1-0, at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.

Atletico Madrid remains in contention for a place in next season's Champions League following a 1-0 win at Villarreal - Fabiano Eller scoring the only goal 11 minutes before halftime.

Fernando Torres sparkled for the visitors but could not get on the scoresheet and even saw a late penalty saved by home keeper Sebastian Viera.

Former Arsenal and France midfielder Robert Pires was sent off for a foul on Gabi Fernandez, which led to the spot-kick.

Recreativo Huelva's bid to play European football next season remained on track with a 4-2 defeat of Celta Vigo.

Jesus Vazquez's first-half penalty for Recre had been canceled out by Celta's Anderson Nene, also from the spot, as the game went into the last few minutes.

Laurentiu Rosu scored twice in two minutes for Recre only for Nene to grab his second to make the score 3-2, but there was still time for substitute Jose Cheli to strike one last blow for the winners and leave Vigo in the bottom three.

The bottom two, Real Sociedad and Gimnastic Tarragona, also lost on Sunday.

Gimnastic, who prop up the rest, succumbed to Iglesias Iago's free-kick at Deportivo La Coruna, 1-0, while Ferran Coro's solitary strike proved enough for Espanyol to see off Sociedad, 1-0.

Levante moved two points clear of the drop zone thanks to a 1-1 home draw against Real Betis.

Inaki Descarga put the Valencia-based hosts ahead only for Robert to level nine minutes from time.

Sunday's other game resulted in Real Mallorca beating Getafe, 2-0, thanks to goals from Jose Carlos Nunes and Oscar Trejo.

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Barcelona stretched their advantage at the Primera Liga summit to four points on Sunday evening with second-placed Sevilla losing ground after a 2-0 defeat at Valencia.

The Catalans left it late to secure a 1-0 win at the Nou Camp, a last-gasp Fernando Navarro own goal ending Real Mallorca's stubborn resistance and gifting the European champions three points.

Sevilla slipped up after coming up against a David Villa-inspired Valencia at the Mestalla.

Juande Ramos' side were without injured top scorer Frederic Kanoute, and the Mali marksman's absence proved a big loss.

Spain striker Villa made the breakthrough just before the half-hour and added a second from the penalty spot five minutes after the restart, but Valencia also has goalkeeper Santiago Canizares to thank for a brilliant penalty save from Enzo Maresca.

Sevilla played for most of the second half with 10 men after Andreas Hinkel was sent off in the 50th minute.

Real Zaragoza's title challenge also faltered as they went down, 1-0, to a Gimnastic Tarragona side battling to retain their top-flight status.

Javier Portillo was the hero for Nastic with his late strike enough to earn the spoils for the foot-of-the-table club and move them six points from the safety mark.

Hristo Stoichkov got his reign as relegation-threatened Celta Vigo coach off to the perfect start with a 1-0 win over Galician derby rivals Deportivo La Coruna.

The victory gives Celta's survival hopes a major boost and lifts them one point clear of the relegation zone with four games left to play.

The Bulgarian's side went into the game third from bottom and without a win in their last six league games, but a goal just after the hour mark from Fernando Baiano was enough to earn them three crucial points.

Levante take Celta's place in the bottom three after going down, 1-0, to Champions League-chasing Atletico Madrid.

Fernando Torres led Atletico with an inspirational performance and the game's only goal in the Vicente Calderon.

The 23-year-old was by far the game's most dangerous player and scored with a superb shot from the edge of the area in the 60th minute.

Osasuna and Recreativo Huelva battled out a 1-1 draw in a match between two teams with plenty of reason to feel buoyant at the moment.

Florent Sinama Pongolle opened the scoring for Recre eight minutes after the interval as the surprise packages threatened to add another scalp to an impressive haul in their first season since winning promotion.

However, Cesar Cruchaga levelled the match for Osasuna, which is one of three Spanish clubs to have qualified for the UEFA Cup semifinals.

Getafe kept alive their slim European hopes with a comprehensive 3-0 victory over 10-man Villarreal.

Javi Casquero gave them the lead after half an hour, and although Daniel Guiza missed a penalty before the break, Getafe made sure there was no way back for Villarreal after the interval.

Maris Verpakovskis and Valentin Pachon got the goals that wrapped up victory. A red card for Guillermo Franco completed a miserable afternoon for the visitors.

Ismael Urzaiz was the hero as Athletic Bilbao came from behind to beat Espanyol, 2-1, at San Mames.

Urzaiz was left out of the starting lineup, but came off the bench to score both Athletic goals after Jonatas had given the away team an early lead.

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Primera Liga heavyweights Real Madrid and Valencia meet at the Bernabeu on Saturday knowing a win would be a major psychological blow in the title race.

Third-placed Real have 54 points, one ahead of Valencia who are fourth with eight games left, but they need to bounce back from Saturday's painful 2-1 defeat at Racing Santander.

Valencia enter the game in high spirits having swept aside second-placed Sevilla 2-0 at home last Sunday.

Their inconsistencies can be blamed in part on a Champions League campaign where they proved they have a squad to compete at the highest levels.

Valencia have managed just two points from their last five away games and have not strung together back-to-back league wins since mid-January.

"First we need to focus on securing a Champions League place and then, depending on what the teams above us are doing, we can worry about the title," said Valencia defender Miguel.

Clashes between the teams have a history of controversy that will make life difficult for the match officials, particularly after a week dominated by debate over the integrity of referees.

Real's sports director Predrag Mijatovic and Valencia coach Quique Sanchez Flores are to be investigated for criticisms of recent refereeing decisions against their sides.

Real's defeat to Racing, courtesy of two late penalties, was their first in nine league outings.

OUTSTANDING GOALS

Leaders Barcelona, who have 59 points, were thankful for a late own-goal to beat Real Mallorca 1-0 at home last weekend but doubts about their ability to complete a league and cup double were dispelled on Wednesday.

Without Ronaldinho, who was rested, Frank Rijkaard's side crafted goals of outstanding quality to thump Getafe 5-2 in their King's Cup semi-final first leg.

The Brazilian forward has returned to training and should be available for the trip to Villarreal on Sunday when Barca need to improve on a record of one win in nine away games.

Sevilla have 55 points and are showing signs of strain as they are the only Spanish team still competing on three fronts. They are in the UEFA Cup and King's Cup semi-finals.

The Andalucians host relegation-battlers Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

Real Zaragoza and Atletico Madrid are tied on 50 points, in fifth and sixth place respectively, and will have to see if their resolve to get into the Champions League places is stronger than their opponents' desire to avoid relegation.

Zaragoza host Hristo Stoichkov's Celta Vigo on Sunday after the Bulgarian led the 17th-placed side to a victory in his first game in charge last weekend.

On Saturday, Atletico visit second-bottom Real Sociedad who earned their first away win of the season last time out.