Barcelona: Newly crowned Spanish champion Barcelona celebrated winning the league title in front of their home fans by easing to a 2-1 victory over Valladolid on Sunday. While rain and dropping temperatures threatened to dampen the party in the stands, Barcelona had little trouble keeping alive its bid to equal Real Madrid's 2012 record haul of 100 points even without the injured Lionel Messi.
The weather cleared up in time for Messi to join the rest of his team-mates to receive the trophy, which captain Carles Puyol handed over for coach Tito Vilanova and defender Eric Abidal to lift to the cheers of the Camp Nou crowd in recognition of the serious health problems both have come back from this season.
"We won the league, but the most important thing is that Eric and Tito are with us," said Puyol, before adding the traditional battle cry of "Long live Barca! And long live Catalonia!"
Vilanova underwent surgery in December to remove a second throat tumor in two years, and only returned after receiving further cancer treatment for 10 weeks in New York. He is set to return to New York this week for more tests. Abidal, meanwhile, returned to the pitch recently after having recovered from a liver transplant last year....
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08:26 AM, May 20, 2013
Madrid: FC Barcelona midfielder Xavi Hernandez has made a passionate defence of his side's passing style of football as they prepare for the run-in to the end of the season. Barcelona are almost assured of winning Spain's BBVA Primera Liga thanks to an impressive 13-point lead over Real Madrid, but face a tough task in the Champions League, where they will meet last season's defeated finalists Bayern Munich in what...
01:41 PM, Apr 18, 2013
Demba Ba sent Chelsea into the FA Cup semi-finals with a 1-0 victory over Manchester United. ...
07:10 PM, Apr 01, 2013
Hernandez's two goals against Honduras, in Friday's 2-2 draw, took his national team tally to an impressive 30 in 45 outings. ...
02:04 PM, Mar 26, 2013
Barcelona have been given a boost before Tuesday's Champions League showdown at home to AC Milan by the return of playmaker Xavi. ...
06:35 PM, Mar 08, 2013
Nani and Javier Hernandez both scored in a three-minute span in the second half to help Man U reach FA Cup quarter-finals. ...
08:21 AM, Feb 19, 2013
Barcelona hope to avoid a slip against Getafe on Sunday as their players fight fatigue from international friendlies midweek, and with Atletico lurking nine points adrift of the Spanish league leaders. ...
11:16 AM, Feb 08, 2013
Xavi has extended his contract with Barcelona for another two years, committing to the stay with the club through 2016. ...
09:54 AM, Jan 29, 2013
Manchester United maintained their seven-point lead in the EPL with a routine 4-0 victory over Wigan. ...
10:38 PM, Jan 01, 2013
"It's a great position but we're not going to think we have already done the job," Hernandez said after United's win over Newcastle on Wednesday. ...
09:51 PM, Dec 27, 2012
Javier Hernandez's injury-time goal on Wednesday gave Manchester United a 4-3 win over Newcastle and a seven-point lead in the Premier League following Man City's loss. ...
11:22 PM, Dec 26, 2012
Messi polished off his record year with his 91st and final goal of 2012 in Barcelona's 3-1 win at Valladolid. ...
01:06 AM, Dec 23, 2012
London: Manchester City's Sergio Aguero sets his sights on Chelsea on Sunday bolstered by statistics proving his strike rate since joining the club is the best in Premier League history. The Premier League's Opta number crunchers have worked out that the Argentine's 28 goals have come at a rate of one every 111 minutes - better than the likes of Robin van Persie, Thierry Henry and Alan Shearer. Manchester United's...
09:12 PM, Nov 23, 2012
Istanbul: Galatasaray remain on course to join Manchester United in the Champions League knockout phase after Burak Yilmaz secured a 1-0 victory over the already-qualified leaders on Tuesday. Yilmaz, who headed in from a corner at the start of the second half, has scored all five goals in Group H for Galatasaray. "We should have switched on and dealt with the ball," United defender Phil Jones said after his first...
02:46 AM, Nov 21, 2012
London: Manchester United's Mexican super-sub Javier Hernandez is set for a rare start when the Premier League leaders face Norwich City on Saturday, manager Alex Ferguson said on Friday. Hernandez has been in a rich vein of form with seven goals in his last five appearances in all competitions, including two as a halftime substitute in the 3-2 victory at Aston Villa last weekend. While the 24-year-old has been a...
07:48 PM, Nov 16, 2012
Swansea: Chelsea lost top spot in the English Premier League for the first time in more than two months after conceding a late equalizer to Pablo Hernandez in a 1-1 draw with Swansea on Saturday. Hernandez drilled the ball into the corner of the net in the 88th minute at Liberty Stadium, ending Chelsea's stay on top of the standings since Aug. 22. Manchester United is two points above Chelsea,...
11:00 PM, Nov 03, 2012
London: Chelsea say a steward has been hospitalized after being injured in a crowd surge at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League match against Manchester United. The London club is also investigating if objects were hurled toward the pitch by fans. Chelsea spokesman Steve Atkins says a male steward was crushed during a surge by home fans after Javier Hernandez's winner for Man United on Sunday. He appeared to have...
01:13 PM, Oct 29, 2012
Manchester: Manchester United produced a stirring comeback from conceding two early goals to beat Braga 3-2 on Tuesday, moving the English team to the brink of qualification for the Champions League knockout stage. Mexico striker Javier Hernandez started and completed United's rescue act, with his winner coming in the 75th minute following wave after wave of attacks from the home side. Braga forward Alan scored twice in the opening 20...
02:40 AM, Oct 24, 2012
