Gonzalo Higuain’s hat-trick fired Real Madrid back to the top of La Liga on Sunday after three sublime goals from his Argentina teammate Lionel Messi had briefly lifted Barcelona back above their arch-rivals.
The Spanish giants, level on 65 points from 26 matches, pulled further away at the top as Barca defeated third-placed Valencia 3-0 at the Camp Nou and Real Madrid romped to a 4-1 victory at struggling Real Valladolid in the late kickoff.
Real led champions Barca on goal difference and Valencia were 18 points back on 47. Sevilla, who drew 1-1 with Deportivo Coruna on Saturday, were fourth on 44.
PHOTO: REUTERS
After a draw and a defeat in their previous four La Liga matches, Barca needed a convincing performance at the Camp Nou to get their title defense back on course and again it was league top scorer Messi who made the difference.
The European champions found it difficult to exert their customary dominance in a goalless first half before Messi weaved through the Valencia defense in the 56th minute and fired a low shot past goalkeeper Cesar Sanchez.
Substitute Thierry Henry then set Messi up for his 21st and 22nd goals of the campaign.
The first came after Messi cut in from the right and curled the ball into the far corner and the second from a dinked effort that left Sanchez on the seat of his pants.
“Messi is the best player in the world and makes everything easier,” assistant Barca coach Tito Vilanova, on the bench in place of the suspended Pep Guardiola, told a news conference.
A trademark Cristiano Ronaldo free-kick set Real on their way in the 28th minute in Valladolid before Higuain scored his 17th, 18th and 19th goals of the campaign.
A mistake from goalkeeper Iker Casillas gifted relegation-threatened Valladolid a goal in the 58th when the Spain captain’s attempted clearance ricocheted into the net off Real defender Raul Albiol.
Barca and Valencia were both missing their leading strikers with Zlatan Ibrahimovic suspended after his sending-off in Almeria and David Villa sidelined with a shoulder injury.
In earlier matches, a goal in each half from Joseba Llorente and Damian Escudero gave Villarreal a 2-0 home win over bottom side Xerez.
Tenerife notched up only their sixth win of the campaign, beating visiting Espanyol 4-1, relegation-threatened Racing Santander and Real Zaragoza drew 0-0 and a Fernando Soriano strike gave Almeria a 1-0 home victory over Malaga.
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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