Diego Forlan scored twice as Atletico Madrid won 4-1 against Valencia, who ended the game with nine men on Sunday in the Spanish league.
The result means Valencia stay third on 46 points and Atletico move up to 11th on 30.
David Silva put Valencia ahead in the 20th minute, dribbling round goalkeeper David de Gea and carefully placing his shot.
Forlan equalized with a penalty in the 30th after Carlos Marchena was ruled to have handled the ball in the area. Referee Perez Burrull did not punish the infraction until Atletico’s players persuaded him to consult with the fourth official.
Sergio Aguero gave Atletico the lead with a header from a Simao Sabrosa corner in the 78th.
Forlan scored again in the 85th and Jose Manuel Jurado added the fourth in injury time.
On Saturday, Barcelona beat Malaga 2-1 to stay top of the league.
Real Madrid had led the standings temporarily by winning 5-1 at Tenerife earlier.
Earlier on Sunday, Joseba Llorente scored the winner as Villarreal beat Deportivo La Coruna 1-0.
The forward struck in the 35th minute to lift Villarreal into eighth in the standings on 32 points.
Also, Mallorca went fifth on 40 points after winning 2-1 at Valladolid with a late goal from Julio Alvarez. Victory closed the gap on Sevilla, who are fourth on 43 points after earning a 0-0 draw with only 10 men for most of the second half of their game against Athletic Bilbao.
Diego Castro scored an 80th minute penalty to give Sporting Gijon a 3-2 win against Osasuna, Xerez drew 1-1 with Espanyol and Almeria won 2-0 at Racing Santander.
Atletico attacked from the start with Simao Sabrosa hitting the post in the third minute while Forlan and Jose Antonio Reyes also came close with early efforts.
With the score even and Valencia a man down following Marchena’s expulsion, Atletico looked likely to score again.
Just before half-time Aguero was through with only goalkeeper Cesar Sanchez to beat. However, the Argentina striker miskicked, sending the ball into the stands.
Sanchez made a spectacular save from a Sabrosa free-kick in the 55th before making another stop minutes later from Reyes.
However, Valencia still pushed for the winner and coach Unai Emery replaced Joaquin Sanchez with another attacking midfielder, Pablo Hernandez.
Luis Miguel Brito was unlucky to be expelled 10 minutes from the end for a tackle on Juan Valera.
As the clock ticked down Valencia tired and Atletico’s forwards took full advantage to put the game out of reach.
Villarreal played with their trademark fluidity but struggled to find the net.
Nilmar, who provided the pass for Llorente’s goal, came close to scoring himself with a superb strike that goalkeeper Daniel Aranzubia just got a hand to shortly before half-time.
However, Villarreal had to resist some late pressure from La Coruna to secure the three points.
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
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
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
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