Barcelona: Real Sociedad came back to win 2-1 at Sevilla and Valencia beat Getafe 1-0 on Saturday as both teams remained locked on points in their fight for a fourth-place finish in the Spanish league. Sociedad remained ahead of fifth-place Valencia on head-to-head goal difference and in control of Spain's last Champions League spot with two rounds to go.
The Basque side fell behind 10 minutes in at Sanchez Pizjuan Stadium when Sevilla midfielder Ivan Rakitic slotted in a back pass from Geoffrey Kondogbia. But Rakitic's own goal when he headed a free kick into his team's net in the 16th leveled the score, and striker Imanol Agirretxe swept in Carlos Martinez's lobbed pass to give Sociedad the lead for good in the 24th with his 13th goal of the season.
Both sides created several chances in the second half, but neither could finish them off. Sevilla's Jose Antonio Reyes was dismissed after half-time with a direct red card for protesting a decision by the line judge while warming up on the sideline.
"We're happy because it's very hard to win here," said Sociedad coach Philippe Montanier. "In their previous nine home games only Atletico (Madrid) had won here. It was a tough game. We played well in the first half, and then in the second we tried to sit farther back and score on the break. But we had difficulties with their set pieces and had to hold on until the end."...
08:29 AM, May 19, 2013
New Delhi: The 2012 EPL champions may be relegated to the third tier of the Champions League after their dismal campaign in 2013, 'The Telegraph' reported. Manchester City are likely to be relegated to the third tier of Champions League seeds next season following their failure to qualify from the group stages of this year's competition, The Telegraph reported on Tuesday. City's woeful run this season has forced them to...
09:59 AM, Apr 30, 2013
Barcelona: Real Sociedad striker Imanol Agirretxe scored two goals and set up a third in a highly entertaining 4-2 comeback win over Valencia on Sunday. Sociedad's victory strengthened their hold on fourth place and Spain's last Champions League berth by increasing their lead to five points over fifth-place Valencia with five rounds left. "We took advantage of the chances we had," said Agirretxe, who took his tally to 11 goals...
08:51 AM, Apr 29, 2013
Manchester: Manchester United's charge to the Premier League title was slightly delayed on Wednesday after being forced to twice come from behind to draw 2-2 at West Ham. With second-place Manchester City beating Wigan 1-0, United's advantage over their neighbour was reduced to 13 points with five games to go for the leaders. Antonio Valencia scored his first goal in a year to first pull United level by canceling out...
02:17 AM, Apr 18, 2013
Barcelona: Deportivo La Coruna rolled to a 4-0 victory at Levante to provisionally escape the Spanish league's relegation zone for the first time in 18 weeks after their fourth consecutive win on Saturday. Also, Malaga forward Julio Baptista struck in injury time to grab a 1-0 win over visiting Osasuna four days after the Costa del Sol side was eliminated from the Champions League quarter-finals. Sergio Garcia's last-gasp equalizer secured...
10:25 AM, Apr 14, 2013
Atletico Madrid squandered a chance to reclaim second place in the Spanish league when they were held to a 1-1 home draw by Valencia on Sunday. ...
09:33 AM, Apr 01, 2013
Muniain came on as a second-half substitute and curled a loose ball into the corner of the net for in the 79th minute. ...
11:45 PM, Mar 10, 2013
Valencia are fifth in La Liga with 12 matches of the season remaining, a point behind Malaga who occupy Spain's fourth and final Champions League berth. ...
06:08 PM, Mar 07, 2013
Paris Saint-Germain's inconsistency in the French league has yet to impact their Champions League campaign as the big spenders hold a 2-1 lead ahead of Wednesday's return leg in the last 16 against Valencia. ...
06:32 PM, Mar 05, 2013
Barcelona's surprise 2-0 reverse at AC Milan on Wednesday has left all four La Liga Champions League representatives on the back foot ahead of next month's last 16, second legs and in danger of missing out on a place in the quarter-finals. ...
02:07 PM, Feb 21, 2013
Madrid's win kept them in third place, four points behind Atletico Madrid after it won 3-0 at Valladolid. ...
08:21 AM, Feb 18, 2013
UEFA will consider extending Ibrahimovic's suspension in the Champions League after the PFG forward was sent off against Valencia. ...
09:03 PM, Feb 13, 2013
PSG's 2-1 Champions League win at Valencia is proof that the club have become a force in Europe, said director of football Leonardo. ...
04:18 PM, Feb 13, 2013
Goals by Ezequiel Lavezzi and Javier Pastore gave PSG an important 2-1 away win at Valencia in the first leg of last-16 match. ...
04:12 AM, Feb 13, 2013
PSG are riding high at the top of Ligue 1 after a 3-1 win at home to Bastia while Valencia are improving but still down in fifth place in La Liga. ...
12:36 PM, Feb 11, 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
Messi extended his record streak by scoring in his 12th consecutive Spanish league game to give leader Barcelona a 1-1 draw at Valencia. ...
01:30 AM, Feb 04, 2013
Ricardo Costa headed in Valencia's injury-time winner to cap a 3-2 fightback victory at nine-man Deportivo La Coruna. ...
08:19 AM, Jan 27, 2013
Real went through on a 3-1 aggregate score after making good on their 2-0 win in the first leg. ...
08:22 AM, Jan 24, 2013
Barcelona have stumbled just when they were starting to seem invincible and Malaga are primed to take advantage when they host the holders in their King's Cup quarter-final second leg at the Rosaleda on Thursday. ...
03:13 PM, Jan 22, 2013
