Valencia ride luck to down troubled Malaga

November 2, 2009


Valencia reclaimed fourth spot from Real Mallorca thanks to a fortunate 1-0 win over bottom side Malaga on Sunday with defender David Navarro’s first goal of the season clinching the points.

Centre-back Navarro jumped highest at the back post to head in a Pablo Hernandez cross for the winning goal on 68 minutes as Valencia moved a point behind third-placed Sevilla.

“No games are easy and this one against Malaga certainly wasn’t,” said Valencia coach Unai Emery. “It was a tough game in which we had our chances but so did Malaga and we needed a big save from Cesar (Sanchez) towards the end.”

Malaga continue to prop up the table having not won since the opening day of the season when they thrashed Atletico Madrid 3-0.

David Villa, the league’s joint top-scorer with seven goals, almost scored for Valencia in the third minute when his cross crashed against the post to safety.

Juan Mata then had a goal ruled out for offside and Pablo Hernandez went agonisingly close with a drive as Malaga were over-run.

Albert Luque had the hosts’ best first half chance sliding in at the back post but could not get a foot on the devilish cross.

Villa went close with a lobbed effort in the second half but the goal was to come from a surprising source as Navarro capitalised on some slack defending to head home.

Malaga spurned several chances to equalise with Valencia goalkeeper Cesar Sanchez in fine form.

Real Mallorca are a point behind Valencia after maintaining their 100 percent home record with a 1-0 win over Racing Santander on Sunday.

Cameroon striker Pierre Webo scored the decisive goal to make it a perfect five wins for Mallorca at their fortress-like Ono Stadium.

Deportivo La Coruna can move above Mallorca and join Valencia on 18 points with a home win over Sporting Gijon later on Sunday.

Earlier Villarreal powered out of the bottom three thrashing promoted Tenerife at El Madrigal where three of the hosts’ five unanswered goals came in a magical six-minute spell.

“We won 5-0 but it was far from easy and in fact Tenerife were the most difficult team we have faced,” said Villarreal coach Ernesto Valverde.

“The big difference was that on this occasion our strikers were clinical and killed off the game especially at the start of the second half.”

An action-packed start to the second half saw veteran French midfielder Robert Pires put Villarreal 2-0 up 60 seconds after the break before Giuseppe Rossi (51 min) and Jose Llorente (52) put hapless Tenerife to the sword.

Llorente had opened the scoring after 14 minutes and Ruben Cani ended the goal-scoring rout in the 88th minute.

After going seven games without a win Villarreal have now recorded successive victories and move up five places to 13th in the table.

Villarreal’s win sees Atletico Madrid, who face Chelsea in the Champions League on Tuesday, fall into the bottom three with just one win from nine games.

Tenerife hover just above the relegation zone after failing to collect a point on their travels.

MADRID (AFP)

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Classy Barcelona hit Zaragoza for six

October 26, 2009


Mali international Seydou Keita scored a first ever hat-trick as champions Barcelona got back to their best, crushing Real Zaragoza 6-1 at Camp Nou on Sunday to move three points clear of Real Madrid at the top of the table.

Barca had experienced a blip with a Champions League home defeat to Rubin Kazan in midweek but responded with a football masterclass to punish Real’s 0-0 draw at Sporting Gijon on Saturday.

Keita scored a memorable hat-trick (24 min, 41, 86) to take his season’s tally to five while Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice and also had two goals ruled out for offside.

Ibrahimovic joins Valencia’s David Villa at the top of the scoring charts on seven goals while Lionel Messi has six goals after scoring a fine chip.

Barca were three goals up after a destructive first half but that was not enough as they tore Zaragoza to shreds in the second half and it could have been double figures.

On 24 minutes Barca made the breakthrough with Messi showing quick thinking from a corner to clip a ball in and Keita got in front of his man to score with a diving header.

Five minutes later Ibrahimovic thundered in a ferocious free-kick from 25 yards although goalkeeper Juan Carrizo will be disappointed.

Barca scored a third on 41 minutes with Xavi producing a sublime pass to release Ibrahimovic and the Swede crossed for Keita to smash home his fourth goal of the season crashing into the back of the net as he did so.

In a spot of role reversal Keita turned provider for Ibrahimovic zipping in a low cross which the Swede deftly flicked in off his boot on 56 minutes.

Messi produced a cheeky chip in the 80th minute and Keita completed his hat-trick four minutes from time as Zaragoza prayed for the final whistle.

Earlier Spanish international Villa returned with a bang scoring his seventh goal of the season as Valencia defeated 10-man Almeria 3-0 on Sunday to move into the top four.

Villa missed the 0-0 draw with Barcelona due to a thigh injury but started against Almeria and headed in on 54 minutes before Pablo Hernandez scored a sensational 35 yard chip and Juan Mata completed the scoring.

Almeria’s cause was not helped by the dismissal of goalkeeper Diego Alves after an hour for fouling Pablo.

Valencia supplant Deportivo La Coruna in fourth on goal difference with Sevilla just a point ahead in third.

“This was an important game for and three points that could make the difference between Champions League football at the end of the season,” said Valencia coach Unai Emery.

Depor saw a four-game winning run come to an end in emphatic fashion, crashing to a 4-0 defeat at Valladolid.

“Nobody in the dressing room is talking about the Champions League,” insisted Depor coach Miguel Lotina.

Earlier Villarreal finally recorded their first win of the season with a first goal from Brazilian club record signing Nilmar and a free-kick from Spanish international Joan Capdevilla sealing a much-needed 2-1 home win over Malaga on Sunday.

“Perhaps we sat a bit too far back but the points were too important and we couldn’t slip up,” said coach Ernesto Valverde. “It was our first win and you always hope a good run can start from here.”

It was Valverde’s first league win since taking over in the summer and lifts the club off the foot of the table with Malaga replacing them.

Nilmar arrived at Villarreal with a big reputation and his 11-million-euro fee made him the most expensive player in the club’s history.

It had been a slow start for the Brazilian forward but in the 27th minute he got his first goal in Villarreal’s colours.

Malaga responded close to half-time through Albert Luque but Capdevila’s free-kick on 54 minutes restored Villarreal’s lead and for once they held on.

MADRID (AFP)

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31/07/09: Transfer Rumors

July 31, 2009


‘Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger looks set to step up his interest in Bordeaux’s £12m-rated Moroccan striker Marouane Chamakh.’ – L’Equipe

‘Liverpool boss Rafa Benitez is holding out for £30m following Xabi Alonso’s transfer request, with Real Madrid having already offered £24m.’ – The Guardian

‘Liverpool have been offered Negredo, Rafael Van der Vaart or Klas Jan Huntelaar as a part of the Xabi Alonso transfer deal by Real Madrid.’ – AS

‘England midfielder David Beckham insists he is happy at the Los Angeles Galaxy in America despite last week’s ugly confrontation with spectators during his first home game for the club after returning from a five-month loan spell in Italy with AC Milan.’ – Sky Sports

‘Manchester United will launch a £35m bid for Bayern Munich midfielder Franck Ribery in two weeks.’ – The Sun

‘Mark Hughes is set to offer £22m for Joleon Lescott, with Everton so far unwilling to release their defender to Manchester City.’ – Daily Express

‘Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger is targeting Roma midfielder Daniele de Rossi, with the Italian star valued at around £30m.’ – The Independent

‘It looks like a busy time for the Gunners with St Etienne’s defensive midfielder Blaise Matuidi being lined up for a move, while midfield legend Patrick Vieira is set to return and be his mentor.’ – Daily Mail

‘Ghanaian midfielder Derek Boateng will leave Cologne for the Spanish club Getafe’ – Official site (1. FC Köln)

‘Liverpool are keen on signing Roma midfielder Alberto Aquilani.’ – The Independent

‘Portsmouth are close to signing Australian striker Mark Viduka on a one-year deal after they failed to get Croatia’s Nikola Kalinic.’ – Daily Mail

‘West Brom have offered £1.5m for Real Betis winger David Odonkor.’ – The Sun

‘Nicolas Dieuze will sign a two year contract with Le Havre from Grenoble’ – Official site (Le Havre)

‘Uruguayan striker Ernesto Javier Chevantón is “waiting for something new” regarding a possible departure from Spanish Club Sevilla FC’ – Marca

‘Malaga have signed Albert Luque and Edinho.’ – Official site (Malaga)

‘Hull City manager Phil Brown has confirmed the club’s interest in Newcastle’s Senegalese defender Habib Beye.’ – Sky Sports

‘Former Swiss international defender Stephan Keller has committed to a season with Sydney FC, after the 30-year-old became a free agent on leaving Dutch club De Graafschap last summer’ – L’Equipe

‘Frédéric Piquionne could soon join the Premier League and Portsmouth, Lyon and Pompey currently negotiating a loan deal with an option to purchase the forward.’ – L’Equipe

Abhimanyu Rajput

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Barca target Champions League

May 24, 2009


MADRID (AFP) – Barcelona might have suffered a shock 1-0 home loss to Osasuna before lifting the league trophy but coach Pep Guardiola has now targeted Champions League victory to round off the club’s stunning season.

A Walter Pandiani goal late Saturday gave Osasuna a 1-0 win against a Barca side made up largely of reserves with Guardiola resting players ahead of the Champions League final on Wednesday against Manchester United.

It was a disappointing night for Barca youngster Marc Muniesa who was dismissed for a crude challenge and Guardiola himself was sent off minutes later for protesting.

Speaking on the pitch to the crowd after lifting the trophy, Guardiola said: “We will not let you down on Wednesday. Thank you for your support but now we must go and sleep to prepare ourselves.

“I wanted to coach these players and now I congratulate them on winning two trophies but the biggest is still to come and we cannot fail. I would like everyone to congratulate them because they deserve it.”

Despite the win for Osasuna it was not enough to see them move out of the bottom three.

“Once again it was an example of how we play better against the stronger teams because we go out more concentrated,” said Osasuna coach Jose Antonio Camacho.

“I said beforehand that if we win here then our future would be down to us and that has been the case, now we have a week to prepare for our last game against Real Madrid who will also be playing for pride and will want to win.”

A 90th minute strike from Diego Perotti gave Sevilla a 1-0 win over Deportivo la Coruna which assures the Andalucian side of Champions League football next season.

Sevilla had plenty of possession but struggled to break down a resolute Depor defence, that was though until the final minute when Perotti appeared in the box to convert an Adriano cross from the right-wing.

A hat-trick from Diego Forlan has consolidated Atletico Madrid’s position in the top four while the Uruguayan has over-taken Samuel Eto’o as the top scorer in the Primera Division with 31 goals.

Athletic Bilbao, who are already safe from relegation, went behind to a Raul Garcia volley from outside the area but the cup finalists drew level midway through the second half with Xabi Etxeita scoring.

Forlan emphatically gave Atletico the win though with two fine goals before he completed his hat-trick from the penalty spot.

“We still have nothing assured, it is difficult to predict what will happen in football but this has certainly been a big step forward for us,” said the Atletico coach Abel Resino, who also had words of praise for Forlan.

“He is ambitious and as well as working hard, he makes the difference for the team. It appeared as though he was not participating in the game and then scored two good goals followed by a penalty.”

Villarreal have leapfrogged Valencia with a resounding 3-1 win over their local rivals and remain with an outside chance of a place in the Champions League, while Valencia can now hope for nothing more than Uefa Cup football next season.

A brace from Joseba Llorente gave Villarreal a commanding lead and then while David Villa did pull a goal back before half time, Ruben Cani assured the home side of victory mid-way through the second half.

Valencia coach Unai Emery accepted that while his team has been in the top four for most of this season, at the crucial moment they have struggled.

“Now the reality is that we are up against Deportivo for a place in the Uefa Cup and we will have to win the game against Athletic Bilbao next weekend,” he said.

“It is unfortunate situation because after about 30 matches we have been in a Champions League place and now we find ourselves fighting for a place in the Uefa Cup.”

At the other end of the table both Recreativo Huelva and Numancia have been relegated.

Real Betis go into their final match of the season looking nervously over their shoulders after their 1-1 draw with Malaga leaves them one point off the drop zone.

A goal from Brazilian Edu appeared to be enough to give Betis the win before Albert Luque struck ten minutes from the end with a powerful shot from outside the area.

On Sunday, Real Madrid face Mallorca in their last home game of a season to forget with the dismissal of coach Bernd Schuster and also the resignation of president Ramon Calderon.

They play a Mallorca side who thanks to a strong second half of the season already have their top-flight future assured.

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