Barcelona warmed up for next Sunday's tussle against Real Madrid with a 3-0 victory over Valencia on Saturday but it came at a cost with Argentine star Lionel Messi ruled out of El Classico with a foot injury.
Messi, the club's top-scorer with eight goals, limped off shortly before half-time and Barcelona confirmed that an injury to his left foot will rule him out of the mouthwatering title tussle.
Cameroon striker Samuel Eto'o brought some relief to his team by scoring his first league goals of the season as Barcelona moved to just one point behind Real who were due to play Osasuna last night.
PHOTO: REUTERS
Eto'o had been out since the end of August with a serious knee injury but showed his value with a brace in the 12th and 26th minutes to make it three goals in four days.
Eidur Gudjohnsen added a third.
It was only Barcelona's second away win of the season.
For Valencia it was a sixth defeat at their Mestalla Stadium where some home fans left after Gudjohnsen's goal after the hour mark.
Valencia coach Ronald Koeman was hoping to plot the downfall of the club where he is still adored -- making close to 200 appearances and scoring the winning goal in the 1992 European Cup final -- but was not helped with the loss of striker David Villa to injury.
In contrast, Barca coach Frank Rijkaard had the luxury of omitting Ronaldinho with Spanish international midfielder Andres Iniesta included to provide more steel.
After just three minutes, Eto'o had a great chance but his lack of match sharpness showed with his control poor.
But in the 13th minute he more than made amends with a brilliant individual goal.
Showing quick feet to shift the ball Eto'o fooled two defenders and drove a fierce left-footed shot into the corner.
It was just a matter of time before the second goal arrived and it did on 26 minutes with Eto'o producing a clincial finish from a great Messi pass.
Messi then limped off but it did not stop Barca with Gudjohnsen completing the scoring on 61 minutes.
Espanyol plan to be challenging for a Champions League place come the end of the season and they are well on course following a 1-0 win over Levante lifted them to fourth place in Saturday's other game.
A goal from Jarque after eight minutes clinched the points as last season's UEFA Cup finalists moved level with Atletico Madrid.
Levante fell to their 13th defeat in 16 games and are eight points from safety.
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
Team Taiwan avoided missing the World Baseball Classic (WBC) for the first time by defeating Spain 6-3 in a do-or-die game in Taipei last night. After narrowly escaping a mercy-rule loss to Spain in the WBC Qualifiers opener on Friday last week, the home team — winner of last year's WBSC Premier12 title three months ago — got their revenge against the 2023 European champions at Taipei Dome. "It felt quite different from when we won the Premier12," Taiwan captain Chen Chieh-hsien (陳傑憲) said after the game, recalling the ups and downs the team has experienced over the past few days. Unlike in
LONG TIME COMING: With the addition of Marcus Smart, the Washington Wizards finally held a team to under 100 points, the last team this season to do so The Detroit Pistons on Monday won their seventh straight game in the NBA with in-form Cade Cunningham making 32 points and grabbing nine rebounds in a 106-97 win over the Los Angeles Clippers. The Pistons, who are in the playoff position, moved to 32-26, their best record at this stage of a season for 17 years. It was an all-round effort from Detroit with Tobias Harris adding 20 points and Jalen Duren making 19 rebounds along with his 12 points. It was a tight contest until Detroit pulled away late in the third quarter to tie their longest winning streak since the 2014-2015
Soccer fans in England and Wales might be allowed to spend more time in pubs if their teams go far at the UEFA European Women’s Championship being held in Switzerland in July. The British government is launching a four-week consultation to discuss whether pubs can extend their opening hours from 11pm to 1am should England or Wales reach the semi-finals or final of Euro 2025. The British secretary of state for the home department has the power to extend licensing hours for occasions of “exceptional international, national or local significance,” the government said on Monday. England’s women’s team — whose players are nicknamed
RSS