Barcelona edge Real Sociedad 2-0, Real Madrid held by Valencia

May 10, 2015

Madrid, May 10: Barcelona was one victory away from clinching the Spanish league title after Real Madrid fell four points adrift on Saturday, when Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty in a 2-2 home draw to Valencia.

Barcelona

Barcelona cruised to a 2-0 win over Real Sociedad at Camp Nou to put the pressure on Madrid with only two more rounds to play.

Madrid appeared set to keep pace after Gareth Bale and Ronaldo hit the woodwork early, but Paco Alcacer and Javi Fuego struck for Valencia before goalie Diego Alves smothered Ronaldo’s spot kick in first-half injury time.

Pepe and Francisco “Isco” Alarcon leveled for Madrid in a dramatic second half at the Santiago Bernabeu that concluded with Valencia clinging to a draw that may cost the hosts the title.

Barcelona can dethrone Atletico Madrid with a win at its Vicente Calderon in the next round. If, and when, that match is played. The final two rounds are in doubt after the Spanish federation announced it was suspending all matches from next Saturday in protest at a proposed law regulating the sale of broadcasting rights.

After a second slip to fourth-place Valencia this season, Madrid’s best chance for silverware depends on overturning its 2-1 loss against Juventus in their second-leg Champions League semifinal on Wednesday.

“It’s very difficult for us now, but we have to wear these colors with pride, and try to win our games,” Pepe said. “We have to pick ourselves up for Wednesday’s match.”

Bale curled a free kick off one corner of the goalframe in the 14th, and four minutes later Ronaldo thumped a header off the other as Madrid looked set to romp.

But that was when Jose Gaya, the 19-year-old left back who ended months-long rumors of a move to Madrid by extending his contract on Friday, placed a perfect cross for Alcacer to stab under goalkeeper Iker Casillas in the 19th.

The Madrid crowd then received the double blow of midfielder Toni Kroos leaving with a left-thigh injury a minute before Fuego was left unmarked to head in Dani Parejo’s free kick in the 26th.

After Madrid’s Javier Hernandez also hit the post, Gaya gave Madrid a lifeline when he fouled Bale in the box just before halftime, but Alves increased his fame as a spot kick specialist by saving Ronaldo’s try.

Pepe powered in a header from James Rodriguez’s corner kick to halve the difference in the 51st.

Valencia had settled down in defense when Isco curled in a long-range strike with six to go, sparking a last-gasp push by Madrid that ended only with the final whistle.

“The result isn’t good, but the match was the complete opposite,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “We fought until the end and had many chances to score … three balls off the woodwork, a missed penalty … but it wasn’t enough.”

Sociedad was fortunate to escape a scoreless first half at Camp Nou, but Neymar broke through in the 51st with his 35th goal of the season after Lionel Messi’s pass was headed on by a defender for the Brazilian to nod home.

Substitute Pedro Rodriguez netted from an acrobatic bicycle kick to secure the points with five minutes left, in a rare moment to shine for the forward who has spent most of the campaign on the bench.

“These three points were vital,” Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said. “The outcome was never in doubt. My players never let up for even a second.”

Barcelona’s 1-0 loss at Sociedad on Jan. 4 marked the low-point of the Catalan club’s season. Since then, it has won 28 of its last 30 games, and is in the running for three trophies — having reached the final of the Copa del Rey, and with one foot in the Champions League final after beating Bayern Munich 3-0 this week. Their second-leg semifinal is on Tuesday.

There was also drama in the fight to avoid relegation as Albert Lopo’s last-gasp header to salvage Deportivo La Coruna a 1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao altered three teams’ place at the bottom of the table.

Deportivo, Eibar and Granada, which earlier beat already-relegated Cordoba 2-0, were left tied on 31 points. But the tiebreakers meant Deportivo escaped the drop zone, while Granada was left in 18th and Eibar fell to 19th.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
February 29,2020

Feb 29: India were all out for 242 in their first innings following a stunning battling collapse, triggered by paceman Kyle Jamieson on the opening day of the second cricket Test against New Zealand at the Hagley Oval, here on Saturday.

India were steady at 194 for five at tea but lost wickets in quick succession after the play resumed. Jamieson returned figures of 14-3-45-5.

Hanuma Vihari top-scored for India with his combative 55 while Prithvi Shaw (54) and Cheteshwar Pujara (54) hit contrasting half-centuries.

Virat Kohli's (3) poor run continued while his deputy Ajikya Rahane (7) also fell cheaply.

India lost last five wickets for 48 runs, of which 26 were contributed by last-wicket pair of Mohammed Shami (16) and Jasprit Bumrah (10).

Brief Scores:

India 1st innings: 242 all out in 63 overs. (H Vihari 55, P Shaw 54, C Pujara 54 batting; Kyle Jamieson 5/45, Tim Southee 2/38, ).

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
May 12,2020

New Delhi, May 12: Virat Kohli's natural talent makes him a cricketing equivalent of Roger Federer while Steve Smith's mental fortitude matches that of Rafael Nadal, said South African swashbuckler AB de Villiers comparing the two contemporary greats.

In an instagram chat with former Zimbabwe seamer Pommie Mbangwa, de Villiers spoke about the two batsmen, who are easily the game's biggest crowd-pullers right now.

"It's a difficult one, but Virat is definitely the more natural ball-striker, there's no doubt about that," de Villiers said during his interaction on 'Sports Hurricane'.

"In tennis terms, I'd say he's more like a (Roger) Federer whereas Smith is like a (Rafael) Nadal. Smith is mentally very strong and figures out a way of scoring runs - he doesn't look natural, but he ends up writing records and doing amazing things at the crease.

"I think mentally, Smith is one of the best I have ever seen. Virat has also scored runs all over the world and won games under pressure," de Villiers,himself a modern day great, said.

De Villiers also felt that when it comes to chasing, Kohli is a shade ahead of Tendulkar.

"Sachin is a role model for both of us (him and Kohli). The way he stood out in his era, the things he achieved and with the grace he did all that is a great example for everyone," de Villiers said.

"And I think Virat will also say that he set the standards for us to follow.

"But personally, in a chase, I'd say Virat is the best I've seen in my life. Sachin was amazing in all formats and all situations, but Virat comes out on top while chasing."

The world knows Kohli as a prolific cricketer but for de Villiers, he is a friend, who has interests beyond cricket and is spiritual at one level.

"He's much deeper than just a cricket player...I think most people realise after a while that there's more to life than just cricket," de Villiers said.

"...Virat's always been a thinker, he experiments (with) a lot of things, he loves trying new things out - gym wise, what he puts in his mouth. He thinks a lot about life after life - what's to come, the different religions, we talk about everything."

De Villiers said that he also shares a great bond with Indian captain's actor wife Anushka Sharma, conversing on a lot of issues including family life.

"We go pretty deep and his missus as well, Anushka, we have very deep conversations, which is fantastic. We talk about children and family. We're waiting for that first little Kohli to come.

"It's a good friendship and we always find a way to talk about cricket as well, but 90 per cent of the time we talk about other stuff. It's refreshing and in the middle of a very intense IPL tournament," he shared.

IPL, for de Villiers, is not just a tournament but also about friendships that he cherishes.

"Obviously, when it comes to the IPL in India, it's been more than friendship," De Villiers said, when asked who his best friends in cricket are.

"Virat obviously - not only during the IPL, we chat throughout the year, which means it's different than just the IPL or cricketing friendship.

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.
News Network
June 27,2020

Jun 27: India's Test batting mainstay Cheteshwar Pujara cannot describe in words the influence that Rahul Dravid has had on his life but says he will always remain grateful to him for teaching the importance of switching off from cricket.

Often compared to Dravid, who was considered the 'wall' of Indian cricket, Pujara said he is thankful to Dravid for teaching him how to keep personal and professional lives separate.

"He helped me understand the importance of switching off from cricket. I had the same thought, more or less, but when I spoke to him, it gave me a lot of clarity about it and I was sure of what I needed to do," he told ESPNcricinfo.

"I also saw in county cricket how they keep personal and professional lives separate. I value that advice a lot. Many people consider me to be focused. Yes, I am focused, But I also know when to switch off. There is life beyond cricket."

In his illustrious international career, Dravid amassed 13288 runs in 164 Tests and 10889 runs in 344 ODIs. He also captained India in 79 ODIs, winning 42 of them, which includes the world record of 14 successive wins while chasing.

"I cannot say in one line what Rahul bhai means to me. He has always been an inspiration, and will remain one," Pujara said.

His mental fortitude and batting technique is often compared to Dravid but Pujara said "despite my enchantment with him" he never tried to "copy him."

"There is a similarity in our games, but that's not because of my fascination with him. That came mainly through my experiences with Saurashtra, where I learned that scoring a hundred alone isn't enough, you have to carry your team," he said.

"That is how I learned responsibility - it is about helping my team to raise a big total, and for that I ought to attach importance to my wicket. I learned that from my junior cricket days with Saurashtra, which was a weaker team in domestic cricket."

Comments

Add new comment

  • Coastaldigest.com reserves the right to delete or block any comments.
  • Coastaldigset.com is not responsible for its readers’ comments.
  • Comments that are abusive, incendiary or irrelevant are strictly prohibited.
  • Please use a genuine email ID and provide your name to avoid reject.