Barcelona's title hopes are hanging by a thread, with Frank Rijkaard's team eight points behind Real Madrid after a late goal from Jon-Dahl Tomasson helped Villarreal to a 2-1 win at Camp Nou on Sunday.
With 11 games left Barca need a minor miracle to overhaul Real, 2-1 conquerors of Espanyol on Saturday, and prevent their arch-rivals from retaining the Spanish championship.
Xavi Hernandez looked to have snatched a point for Barca after he cancelled out Marcos Senna's first half penalty but Danish substitute Tomasson struck the winner nine minutes from time.
PHOTO: EPA
"We played very poorly," admitted Barca president Joan Laporta. "They dominated us for almost the whole match apart from a brief period in the second half."
"We can still win this league as we are in the same position we were five games ago. There are games left and points to play for so there is hope," he said.
It was a famous win for Villarreal who have completed a league double over the Catalans and are now only four points behind in third.
PHOTO: EPA
Two weeks ago Barcelona were just two points behind Real but successive defeats to Atletico Madrid and Villarreal could have ended their title hopes.
Rijkaard has guided Barca into the quarter-finals of the Champions League and the semi-finals of the Kings Cup but losing the league title to Real again may prove the final straw for the Barcelona board.
Barca were without Lionel Messi, sidelined for six weeks with a leg injury, but their attacking trident of Thierry Henry, Ronaldinho and Samuel Eto'o still made fearsome reading for the Villarreal back four.
With Carles Puyol missing, Ronaldinho took over as captain.
The home side dominated possession but Victor Valdes hauled down Guille Franco in the box and Senna braved the home whistling to convert the spot-kick.
Xavi equalized on 67 minutes but substitute Tomasson produced a shock winner as Villarreal won at Camp Nou for the first time in six years.
Earlier, Sevilla bounced back from their midweek Champions League exit with Luis Fabiano's 20th goal of the season sealing a 2-1 comeback win over Levante.
Sevilla coach Manolo Jimenez watched in agony as his team crashed out of the Champions League on penalties to Fenerbahce five days ago and was under fire as he struggles to fill the shoes of Juande Ramos -- now at Tottenham.
Levante went ahead through Rahamat Riga after just four minutes but Seydou Keita equalized and Fabiano struck a second half winner.
Sevilla move up to sixth and close to within two points of the top four with the win taking advantage of the fact that Atletico Madrid and Espanyol both lost.
Brazilian forward Fabiano leads the goalscoring charts with 20 and his efforts have seen him linked with a move to Real Madrid.
Racing Santander are a surprise Champions League contender and they moved level on points with fourth-placed Atletico following a 3-0 win over Real Betis.
Argentines Ezequiel Garay and Aldo Duscher, the player who famously broke David Beckham's metatarsal prior to the 2002 World Cup, were both on target for Racing.
Valencia and Deportivo La Coruna shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw at the Mestalla in a match-up between two fallen giants.
Depor, Champions League semi-finalists in 2004, are two points clear of the relegation zone after the hard-earned point while Valencia are ninth.
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
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
Team Taiwan are set to face Spain in a win-or-go-home match tomorrow for the final berth at next year's World Baseball Classic (WBC), despite losing to Nicaragua 6-0 in the WBC qualifier at the Taipei Dome yesterday. The home team's loss means that Nicaragua finishes No. 1 in the qualifier round held in Taipei with a perfect 3-0 record and advances to the games. After crushing South Africa 9-1 earlier yesterday, Spain took second place in the four-team qualifier with a 2-1 record. With a 1-2 record, Taiwan, competing under the name Chinese Taipei, finished third, while South Africa placed at the bottom
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