Barcelona showed real character to stay within four points of leaders Real Madrid with a 2-1 win over struggling Deportivo La Coruna on Sunday, maintaining their flawless home record.
Cristian put Deportivo ahead after just two minutes to stun the home crowd but a 40th minute penalty from Ronaldinho restored parity and Xavi struck the winner to make it a perfect eight home wins in the league.
Barcelona, who welcomed Samuel Eto'o and Deco back from injury, stay second and coach Frank Rijkaard will want to stay close to Real ahead of "El Classico" at Camp Nou on Dec. 23.
"It was not a brilliant game but we won and Eto'o and Deco came back from injury so it was very important," Rijkaard said.
Villarreal slip to fourth after as the wheels appear to be starting to come off their title bid following a 1-0 home defeat by Real Betis.
"Betis did not deserve to take the three points," Villarreal coach Manuel Pellegrini said. "We played well against a team that scored with their only chance in the match."
"We tried everything but it is difficult against a team with 10 men behind the ball," he said.
With Thierry Henry still out injured, Barca coach Rijkaard started with Eto'o, Ronaldinho and Lionel Messi in attack.
With Real defeating Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, the pressure was on Barcelona and they had a horror start with Cristian firing La Coruna ahead after just two minutes to stun the home fans.
Taiwan kept their hopes of advancing to next year’s World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Saturday, backed by solid pitching. Taiwan last night played against Nicaragua. As of press time, Nicaragua was leading 6-0. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan on Saturday kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen struck out one and allowed no hits, except for a hit-by-pitch over
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tonight for the final berth at the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome on Sunday. The home team’s loss on Sunday means Nicaragua finish first in the qualifier round in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to next year’s finals. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier on Sunday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan finished third while South Africa placed at the bottom with
Taiwan kept its hopes of advancing to the 2026 World Baseball Classic (WBC) alive with a 9-1 victory over South Africa in a qualifier at the Taipei Dome last night, backed by solid pitching. Bouncing back from Friday’s struggles on the mound, when Taiwanese pitchers surrendered 15 runs to Spain, Team Taiwan kept the visiting team in check, allowing just one run in the bottom of the fourth inning. The win was crucial for Taiwan, as a loss would have eliminated the team from contention for the next WBC. Starting pitcher Sha Tzu-chen (沙子宸) struck out one and allowed no hits, except for
The Chinese Professional Baseball League (CPBL) is considering reducing its pitch clock by two seconds to help players better adjust to the rules applied at the World Baseball Classic (WBC). The proposal aims to shorten the pitch timer from 25 seconds to 23 seconds with the bases empty, and from 20 seconds to 18 seconds with runners on base. Currently, the WBC mandates that pitchers deliver a pitch every 18 seconds with the bases empty and 15 seconds with runners on base. The issue was raised during a pre-season CPBL managers’ meeting on Tuesday by Rakuten Monkeys bench and batting
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