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.

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News Network
June 3,2020

Colorado, Jun 3: Formula One boss Chase Carey has said that races will go ahead even if a driver tests positive for coronavirus.

His remarks come as organisers revealed a revised 2020 calendar and the schedule for the first eight races was put in the public domain.

"An individual having been found with a positive infection will not lead to a cancellation of a race. We encourage teams to have procedures in place so if an individual has to be put in quarantine, we have the ability to quarantine them at a hotel and to replace that individual," the official website of Formula One quoted Carey as saying.

"Some things we'd have to talk through and work through. The array of 'what ifs' are too wide to play out every one of them, but a team not being able to race would not cancel the race. I do not think I could sit here and lay out the consequences," he said.

Carey added the organisers will be having the necessary procedures in place so that the race does not get cancelled if a driver ends up testing positive for coronavirus.

"But we will have a procedure in place that finding infection will not lead to a cancellation. If a driver has an infection, teams have reserve drivers available," Carey said.

"We would not be going forward if we were not highly confident we have necessary procedures and expertise and capabilities to provide a safe environment and manage whatever issues arrive," he added.

The Formula One 2020 season will be beginning with the Austrian Grand Prix in July.

F1 currently expects the opening races to be closed events but hopes that fans will be able to attend again when it is safe to do so.

The season will kick off with the Austrian Grand Prix at the Red Bull Ring on July 5, followed a week later by a second race on the same track.

The Hungarian Grand Prix will follow a week after that, before a break. There will be then two back to back races at Silverstone, followed by the Spanish Grand Prix in Barcelona.

The Belgian Grand Prix will follow that, with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza a week later on September 6.

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News Network
January 27,2020

Auckland, Jan 27: : K.L. Rahul made an unbeaten 57 Sunday to steer India to a seven-wicket win over New Zealand in the second Twenty20 international and to a 2-0 lead in the five-match series.

Rahul and Shreyas Iyer put on 86 for the third wicket as India cruised past New Zealand's total of 132-5 with 2.3 overs to spare. Shivam Dube (13 not out) hit a six from the bowling of Tim Southeein in the 18th over to lift India to 135-3.

Iyer made 58 not out and Rahul 56 as India beat New Zealand by six wickets with an over to spare in the first match of the series.

New Zealand made 203-5 batting first in that match but on Sunday, on the same pitch, it struggled to achieve any real momentum. During the second match the pitch played much slower and India bowled expertly to restrict New Zealand's total.

Martin Guptill made 33 in a 48-run opening partnership with Colin Munro and Tim Seifert made an unbeaten 33 at the end of the innings but New Zealand wasn't able to reach a total that could stretch India's deep batting lineup.

Rohit Sharma (8) and captain Virat Kohli (11) were out relatively cheaply but Rahul and Iyer (44) sped India towards a comprehensive victory.

Dube came to the crease shortly before the end and quickly brought the match to a conclusion.

"I think we backed up the first match with a very good performance today, especially with the ball," Kohli said. "We demanded that the bowlers stood up and took control of what we wanted to do out there.

"I think our line and length and the way we wanted to bowl on that wicket, sticking to one side of the wicket and being shorter was a very good feature of us as a team and helped us restrict a very good New Zealand team."

New Zealand's total was inadequate, even on a slower pitch, and India almost toyed with the home side as it made its way to a comfortable win.

New Zealand named the same team that lost the first match of the series and batted after winning the toss, just as it batted when it was outplayed in the first match of the series.

The match raised further questions about the coaching and captaincy of the New Zealand team after its humiliating test series loss in Australia last month. New Zealand showed again Sunday it hasn't the talent to compete with the best teams in the world.

"As a batting unit we probably needed another 15 or 20 to make that total more competitive," said New Zealand captain Kane Williamson. "But credit to the way the India side bowled, they're a class side in all departments and they put us under pressure throughout that middle period."

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News Network
April 12,2020

Mumbai, Apr 12: Always eager to share his vast knowledge and experience, cricket icon Sachin Tendulkar has interacted with 12,000 doctors on sports injuries.

In his over two decade long illustrious career, Tendulkar suffered many health issues, the most prominent being the tennis elbow injury.

The veteran of 200 Tests and 463 ODIs, got to know through one Dr Sudhir Warrier, an orthopaedic surgeon, that several young doctors across the country were utilising the lockdown time to effectively gain knowledge on sports injuries through live webinars.

A session on sports injuries was held on Saturday and Tendulkar, knowing that his experiences will help these doctors, volunteered to be a part of it.

Tendulkar, accordingly, interacted with around 12,000 doctors, who attended the session.

It is reliably leanrt that the 46-year-old legend said he was grateful to the medical fraternity for their service.

During the session, the young orthopaedic doctors got to know how the requirements and treatment outcomes of athletes are different from regular patients, sources said.

Dr Warrier moderated the session with Dr Nitin Patel, physiotherapist, who has worked with Indian cricket team and IPL franchise Mumbai Indians.

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