• Home
• Archives
• LiveScores
• LeagueTables
• Trophies

News Feed

Barcelona victorious in Copa del Rey

FC Barcelona did better than arch rivals Real Madrid in their Copa del Rey match with Cultural y Deportivo Leonesa on Wednesday, beating the Segunda B side 0-2 in the first leg.

Both goals at Leon’s Municipal Reino de Leon stadium were scored by Pedro. The talented forward first netted in the 41st minute, and added a second in the 63rd.

With this result, the Catalans are with one foot in the next round, in which they were most likely to face Real Madrid. However, this remains to be seen following the latter’s 4-0 defeat at Alcorcon on Tuesday.

Valencia visited CD Alcoyano in the neighboring province of Alicante, and left with a 0-1 win in the pocket. The only goal came from Joaquin in the tenth minute.

Jonathan Roorda

Tags: alcorcon, Alicante, arch rivals, b side, Barcelona, catalans, cd alcoyano, copa del rey, fc barcelona, Joaquin, Leon, leonesa, MADRID, match, Pedro, real madrid, reino de leon, Rey

Related posts

• Real Madrid to tour United States (0)
• Robben fit for Spanish ‘Clasico’ (0)
• Productive Messi reaches Barcelona milestone (0)
• Pepe gets 10 match ban for violent outburst (0)
• Mighty Barcelona wary of Hiddink´s muscle men (0)
• Guardiola wants to feel El Clasico pressure (0)
• Fighting spirit pleases Madrid coach Pellegrini (0)
• ‘Iniesta generation’ flooding Barcelona maternity wards (0)
• Villa ´set to join´ Kaka at Real (0)
• Seedorf advises Drenthe not to focus on national team (0)
• Saviola wants to play, no matter where (0)
• Saviola linked with PSV Eindhoven (0)
• Ronaldo resumes training, may play against Zurich (0)
• Ronaldinho warns United: Nothing is impossible (0)
• Record crowd welcomes Ronaldo to Real Madrid (0)

Real Madrid eye Atletico in Spanish League clash

MADRID (AFP) – It looked like a question of when, rather than if, Barcelona were going to win this season?s Spanish league championship but they have lost their way of late with one point from the last nine.

There is now a genuine title race with Real Madrid.

Barcelona held a substantial 12-point gap over Real back on February 15 but that lead has shrunk to just four points in the space of three games with Barcelona drawing against Real Betis before defeats to Espanyol and Atletico Madrid.

Real have rattled out ten straight wins to play their part and hope to continue their pursuit of Barcelona on Saturday with a derby win over Atletico at the Santiago Bernabeu.

"We are four points behind the leaders now and people seem to think our work is over, but this has only just begun," said Real coach Juande Ramos. "Those people who think we’ll easily catch up with Barcelona are wrong. This is going to be very long."

Barcelona?s dip in form has been attributed to playing too many games as they fight on three fronts and they were in action in midweek reaching the Spanish Cup final with a 3-1 aggregate win over Real Mallorca.

Barcelona will face Athletic Bilbao in the final and ironically the two finalists meet at Camp Nou on Saturday.

Atletico came from 2-0 down to beat Barca 4-3 last weekend and hope to follow that up with victory over Real to enhance their Champions League hopes with fourth-placed Villarreal three points ahead.

Atletico have not beaten neighbours Real since 1999 and new coach Abel Resino will hope he is the man to break that jinx.

"This time we are going to do Barcelona a favour," said Atletico captain Maxi Rodriguez.

Real goalkeeper Iker Casillas has watched his side close the gap on Barca but said he would rather be in their shoes at the top of the table.

"It was to be expected that Barca wouldn?t win a few matches and something like that could happen to us too," explained Casillas. "I would swap places with them as they are still in three competitions and four points ahead in the league."

Real have a tough week with Atletico and then Tuesday?s Champions League match at Liverpool trailing 1-0 from the first leg.

Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola is under the microscope after his team?s loss of form but remains convinced Barcelona will be crowned champions come May.

"I sense we?ll be champions," said Guardiola. "I always say what I feel and right now I feel like we will start winning again and gain more of an advantage. We just need to get back the shape and aggression we were showing at the start of the season."

Bilbao thrashed Sevilla 3-0 to reach the Spanish Cup final after a 24-year wait so will go to Barcelona on a high.

Sevilla entertain Almeria on Sunday aiming to bounce back from their cup setback and continue their strong league form that has left them third.

Last season?s cup winners Valencia are in freefall and need to get back on the winning trail after collecting just six points from their last eight games.

Valencia, three points off the Champions League spots, travel to bottom side Numancia on Sunday.

Winger Joaquin insists there is no reason to press the panic button and emphasised that the players were still focused on the job in hand despite the club not paying their wages on time due to financial problems.

"Our objective is to be in the top four and we are not far off," explained Joaquin. "We are calm (about the economic situation) and when they can (pay us) they will do."

Valencia?s financial problems have led to speculation that Spanish internationals David Villa and David Silva could be auctioned off to the highest bidder in the summer.

Fixtures

Saturday

Barcelona v Athletic Bilbao, Real Madrid v Atletico Madrid, Villarreal v Espanyol

Sunday

Deportivo La Coruna v Racing Santander, Sevilla v Almeria, Getafe v Malaga, Real Mallorca v Real Betis, Osasuna v Sporting Gijon, Numancia v Valencia, Recreativo Huelva v Valladolid

Written by: AFP

Tags: Abel Resino, athletic bilbao, atletico madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, camp nou, Casillas, compet, David Silva, DAVID VILLA, Espanyol, four points, gap, jinx, Joaquin, la coruna, LA Liga, Liverpool, MADRID, madrid real, Malaga, maxi rodriguez, neighbours, point gap, real betis, real madrid barcelona, real mallorca, santander, Santiago, santiago bernabeu, SEVILLA, spanish cup, spanish league championship, three games, Valencia

Related posts

• Wounded Real ready to forget Liverpool humiliation (0)
• League next as Barca on brink of double (0)
• Real Madrid, Barca to face off in ´El Clasico´ (0)
• Old boy Sanchez aims to dent Real title bid (0)
• Freefalling Valencia slip further away from Champions League salvation (0)
• Eto´o warns Barcelona over complacency (0)
• Do or die for Real in Barca title decider (0)
• Crunch time for treble chasers Barcelona (0)
• Forlan scores as Atletico net Champions League spot (0)
• Villarreal boost Champions League hopes (0)
• Real focus on league ahead of Liverpool clash (0)
• Buoyant Betis eye Barca scalp (0)
• Buoyant Barcelona ready for title climax (0)
• Barcelona can win Spanish League after Real crash (0)
• Struggling Recreativo face formidable Barcelona (0)

Eto´o warns Barcelona over complacency

MADRID (AFP) – Star striker Samuel Eto’o has warned Barcelona cannot afford to get caught out by complacency as they attempt to push their Spanish title surge into overdrive.

Barcelona face Deportivo La Coruna at Camp Nou on Saturday with a 12-point lead over Real Madrid and Sevilla.

"We can’t afford to rest on our laurels because we’ve thrown away big leads before," said Eto’o. "We can’t afford to get tired of winning."

Last week, Barcelona were indebted to Lionel Messi for keeping their season on track.

The Argentine, who was pipped by Manchester United’s Cristiano Ronaldo for the World Player of the Year award on Monday, scored a hat-trick against Atletico Madrid in the Kings Cup and then a last-gasp winner in a 3-2 league win at Osasuna.

The manner in which Barcelona came from behind to win the game in the final ten minutes underlined their never-say-die attitude for manager Pep Guardiola that seemed to have evaporated under former coach Frank Rijkaard.

"This spirit is the only thing we can’t afford to lose," explained Guardiola. "We all feel part of every game in every competition, that’s a good thing."

Depor are enjoying a great season lying seventh, five points behind Real Madrid, and will hope to get over their midweek Kings Cup exit to Sevilla by becoming only the second team to defeat Barca in the league.

Barcelona have equalled the record points total of 47 for the first half of the season – set by Bernd Schuster’s Real Madrid last season – and have one game left to better that mark.

Schuster is now gone and his successor Juande Ramos has started promisingly with Real, winning their last three league matches without conceding a goal.

Real host Osasuna at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.

"We have to continue what we are doing and see if we can win some silverware at the end of the season," declared Ramos.

"We are 12 points behind (Barcelona) and that is a lot but if we win our games the pressure on them increases."

Dutch winger Arjen Robben has scored in his last two matches and comparisons with Messi have been made in the Spanish media.

"Messi is the best in the world," said Robben. "He is on a different planet."

Sevilla, who reached the quarter-finals of the Kings Cup, are level on points with Real going into Saturday’s home game against Numancia and can pull three points clear of the champions with victory.

Elsewhere, Atletico Madrid are desperate to keep Champions League rivals Sevilla on their radar – they are currently five points behind – but are low on confidence after four straight defeats, including a painful Cup exit to Barcelona on Wednesday.

Disgruntled Atletico fans flocked out of the Vincente Calderon turnstiles 10 minutes before the end of last weekend’s Athletic Bilbao defeat and the players are probably relieved to be away at Almeria on Sunday.

Valencia, a point behind Real and Sevilla, had to play extra-time to overcome Racing Santander in the cup on Wednesday so the legs could be heavy for Sunday’s trip to Athletic Bilbao.

"Bilbao are a difficult opponent especially at San Mames with their fans behind them," said Valencia winger Joaquin.

"We have had one day less to prepare and it is going to take it out of us to win there."

Fixtures

Saturday

Barcelona v Deportivo La Coruna, Sevilla v Numancia

Sunday

Real Madrid v Osasuna, Villarreal v Real Mallorca, Getafe v Racing Santander, Recreativo Huelva v Sporting Gijon, Valladolid v Real Betis, Malaga v Espanyol, Athletic Bilbao v Valencia, Almeria v Atletico Madrid

Written by: AFP

Tags: Argentine, atletico madrid, Barcelona, Bernd Schuster, Bilbao, camp nou, coach frank, cristiano ronaldo, frank rijkaard, Joaquin, juande ramos, kings cup, la coruna, LA Liga, last gasp, laurels, lionel messi, MADRID, Malaga, Manchester, manchester united, mark schuster, pep guardiola, real madrid, ronaldo, samuel eto, samuel eto o, San, santander, Santiago, santiago bernabeu, SEVILLA, spanish title, star striker, Valencia, valladolid, Vincente Calderon

Related posts

• Old boy Sanchez aims to dent Real title bid (0)
• Real Madrid, Barca to face off in ´El Clasico´ (0)
• Wounded Real ready to forget Liverpool humiliation (0)
• Record-breaking Barcelona aim to erase season´s ugliest stain (0)
• Do or die for Real in Barca title decider (0)
• Crunch time for treble chasers Barcelona (0)
• Raul nears di Stefano mark as Real cut Barca advantage (0)
• Mallorca gatecrash Barcelona title party (0)
• League next as Barca on brink of double (0)
• Buoyant Barcelona ready for title climax (0)
• Barcelona eclipse dream team with historic treble (0)
• Struggling Recreativo face formidable Barcelona (0)
• Real Madrid eye Atletico in Spanish League clash (0)
• Real focus on league ahead of Liverpool clash (0)
• Real crash at home to Mallorca (0)

Barcelona ease through to Spanish Cup quarter-finals

MADRID (AFP) – An under-strength Barcelona side was still too good for Atletico Madrid on Wednesday as they inflicted a fourth successive defeat on their opponents with a 2-1 victory (5-2 on aggregate) and a place in the Spanish Cup quarter-finals.

Barcelona – who were without six first choice players such as Samuel Eto’o, Thierry Henry and Lionel Messi as Josep Guardiola opted to either rest them or put them on the bench – scored through Bojan Krkic and Icelandic international Eidur Gudjohnsen.

Atletico had been briefly given some hope of overturning their 3-1 deficit from the first leg when Frenchman and former Liverpool striker Florent Sinama-Pongolle gave them the lead in the 24th minute.

Holders Valencia also progressed, but they were taken to extra-time by Racing Santander. However extra-time goals by Spanish duo Vicente – his second of the match – and Joaquin earned them their place in the last eight.

The final match of the round is on Thursday when Athletic Bilbao host Osasuna with the tie finely balanced at 1-1).

Written by: AFP

Tags: AFP, aggregate, athletic bilbao, atletico madrid, Barcelona, Bilbao, bojan krkic, Cup, eidur gudjohnsen, extra time, final match, first choice, florent sinama pongolle, frenchman, Joaquin, josep guardiola, Krkic, LA Liga, lionel messi, Liverpool, MADRID, osasuna, quarter finals, samuel eto, samuel eto o, santander, spanish cup, striker, thierry henry, time goals, Valencia, Vicente

Related posts

• Cup holders Valencia held by Santander (0)
• Valencia Cup defence on the edge as they lose Villa (0)
• Real Madrid eye Atletico in Spanish League clash (0)
• Osasuna look to exploit under-strength champions (0)
• Old boy Sanchez aims to dent Real title bid (0)
• Freefalling Valencia slip further away from Champions League salvation (0)
• Eto´o warns Barcelona over complacency (0)
• Champions Barca celebrate despite Osasuna defeat (0)
• Bojan brace keeps Barcelona six clear (0)
• Wounded Real ready to forget Liverpool humiliation (0)
• Real winning streak ends as Barcelona go six clear in Spainsh League (0)
• Real focus on league ahead of Liverpool clash (0)
• Messi hattrick gives Barcelona handsome win over Atletico (0)
• Mallorca gatecrash Barcelona title party (0)
• Trophies count, not records, says Henry (0)

Joaquin blames Ferrari for arriving late

VALENCIA (SW) – Spanish Primera Division side Valencia has to begin Monday’s training session without their winger Joaquin, who arrived more than thirty minutes too late.

When Joaquin finally did arrive, he first went to apologize to manager Emery, who luckily for the player isn’t as strict on these matters as his predecessor Koeman. Following the apology, Joaquin had to undergo the jokes of his teammate.

While being late by itself isn’t that unique, the reason in this case certainly is. After the training session, Joaquin revealed that everything was to blame on his Ferrari, which wouldn’t start…

Joaquin joined Valencia in 2006 and quickly became one of the side’s key players. Before moving to ‘los ches’, the now 27-year-old spent six years at Real Betis.

Written by: Jonathan Roorda

Tags: apology, Betis, case, ches, emery, ferrari, Joaquin, jokes, jonathan, Jonathan Roorda, Koeman, LA Liga, Monday, player, predecessor, Real, real betis, roorda, side, six years, spanish primera division, sw, teammate, training session, Valencia, winger

Related posts

• Betis and Jose Mari part ways (0)
• Ivan Helguera receives offer from LA Galaxy (0)
• Zigic returns to Racing on loan (0)
• Saviola wants to play, no matter where (0)
• Higuain out with tonsillitis (0)
• Heskey could return to Liverpool (0)
• Copa del Rey: Mallorca win, Bilbao and Gijon draw (0)
• Wolfsburg sign Japanese forward (0)
• Stuttgart sign young midfielder (0)
• Saviola linked with PSV Eindhoven (0)
• Sampdoria want Inter’s Adriano (0)
• Lavezzi may be Real Madrid’s next target (0)
• Hull City to complete two new signings (0)
• Fred changes mind and stays at Lyon (0)
• David Villa comes off injured in Copa del Rey clash (0)