Samuel Eto’o and Gonzalo Higuain both scored four goals in an incredible Saturday night of soccer as Barcelona thrashed Valladolid 6-0, while Real Madrid labored to a 4-3 triumph over Malaga.
Barcelona romped to their eighth successive Spanish league victory over Valladolid to stay two points clear of defending champions Real at the summit.
With the help of the unstoppable Lionel Messi, Cameroon international Eto’o scored four times — in the 12th minute, 30th minute, 42nd minute and 44th minute — in an unforgettable first half at the Camp Nou before Eidur Gudjohnsen and Thierry Henry got on the score sheet in the second period.
PHOTO: AP
Eto’o seems to love the first 45 minutes having scored a 23-minute hat-trick in a 5-0 demolition of Almeria at the end of last month and his quadruple against Valladolid means he leads the goalscoring charts with 13 goals in 10 games.
“The victory was the most important thing, not how many goals we score,” Eto’o said. “We produced a great performance tonight and are doing well. It wasn’t easy, as Valladolid are a good team and brave opponents.”
Asked how he would celebrate his four-goal haul, Eto’o replied: “I will celebrate at home.”
The African came off 15 minutes from time to a standing ovation as the home fans did Mexican waves to celebrate a thrilling win that could have been in two figures had Henry taken a glut of chances. Barca are averaging more than three goals a game this season, having scored 34 goals in their first 10 matches.
Earlier, Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain had fired Real Madrid to the top of the table with his own quadruple, including two penalties, against Malaga.
Real looked to be heading for an embarrassing home defeat, after Sergio Ramos had been sent off for stamping close to halftime and Antonio Apono had fired Malaga into a 3-2 lead with a 70th-minute penalty. But the 20-year-old Higuain, out to impress new Argentina coach Diego Maradona, rescued Real, scoring the equalizer straight from the kick-off and then a dramatic penalty winner on 78 minutes after his initial spot-kick had been saved.
“He [Higuain] is clearly playing in his favored position [center-forward] where he can use his speed and dribbling ability,” Real coach Bernd Schuster said. “I am delighted how things are going for him at the moment, although I told him that he could change his penalty-taking style a little.”
Higuain now has nine goals for the season and is set for a run in the team with Ruud van Nistelrooy sidelined with a knee injury. Schuster showed his faith in Higuain, playing him ahead of captain Raul Gonzalez, who was dropped for the Malaga match after a poor display against Juventus.
Going behind three times will concern Schuster, but the German preferred to focus on the spirit shown by his 10 men.
“Despite having a man less, we still went in search of the win,” the former Getafe coach said. “Of course, I would prefer to win in a different way, but this victory is a great morale boost for the team.”
Asked about Ramos’ red card for stamping, Schuster replied: “The red card surprised me and I don’t want to say anything else.”
After losing 2-0 to Juventus in their midweek Champions League home match, the Santiago Bernabeu crowd wanted a convincing display from their team.
They didn’t quite get that, but the three points will do for Real.
Schuster has been criticizing referees throughout this season, but Real certainly had their slice of fortune against poor Malaga, with question marks over both of their penalties.
Scoring three times at Real’s ground and having nothing to show for it was heartbreaking for Malaga, who attacked from the first whistle.
“I am disappointed not to have won,” Malaga coach Antonio Tapia said.
“We produced a magnificent display from start to finish. We played good football, scored three goals and deserved to win,” he said.
Doping fears prevented former US Open champion Emma Raducanu from treating insect bites on the eve of the Australian Open, she said, with players increasingly wary about ingesting contaminated substances. The British player was speaking in the wake of high-profile doping cases involving Iga Swiatak and Jannik Sinner. “I would say all of us are probably quite sensitive to what we take on board, what we use,” the 22-year-old said, recalling an incident on Friday. “I got really badly bitten by, I don’t know what, like ants, mosquitoes, something. I’m allergic, I guess,” she added. The bites “flared up and swelled up really a
The NHL postponed the Los Angeles Kings’ home game against the Calgary Flames on Wednesday with several massive wildfires burning across the greater Los Angeles area. The Kings and Flames were scheduled to play on Wednesday night at the Kings’ downtown arena. The NBA’s Los Angeles Lakers were scheduled to host the Charlotte Hornets in the same arena last night. “Our hearts are with our entire Los Angeles community,” the Kings said in a statement. “We appreciate the hard working first responders who are diligently working to contain the fire and protect our community. We appreciate the league’s support in keeping our
TWO IN A WEEK: Despite an undefeated start to the year playing alongside Jiang Xinyu of China, Wu Fang-hsien is to play the Australian Open with a Russian partner Taiwan’s Wu Fang-hsien yesterday triumphed at the Hobart International, winning the women’s doubles title at the US$275,094 outdoor hard-court tournament, while McCartney Kessler lifted the trophy in the women’s singles. Fourth-ranked Wu and partner Jiang Xinyu of China took 1 hour, 15 minutes to defeat Romania’s Monica Niculescu and Fanny Stollar of Hungary, 6-1, 7-6 (8/6) at the Hobart International Tennis Centre, their second title in a week. Wu and Jiang on Sunday won the women’s doubles title at the ASB Classic in Auckland, beating Serbia’s Aleksandra Krunic and Sabrina Santamaria of the US. Their winning ways continued in Australia as they stretched
EL CLASSICO: La Liga champions Real Madrid would face Barcelona in the Super Cup final tomorrow. Barca secured their final spot after a 2-0 win over Bilbao on Wednesday Real Madrid would chase a record-equaling 14th Spanish Super Cup title in the final against Barcelona after second-half goals by Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo helped them to a 3-0 win over Mallorca in the semi-finals on Thursday. England midfielder Bellingham broke the deadlock after the hour mark with a low shot into the middle of the goal before Mallorca defender Martin Valjent’s own goal doubled the lead in stoppage time followed by a Rodrygo strike from close range. Spanish champions Real are to play Barcelona for the trophy tomorrow after goals by Gavi and Lamine Yamal earned Barca a 2-0 win over
RSS