BARCELONA, Spain -- Malaga held on to beat Athletic Bilbao 1-0 to kick off the Spanish league on Saturday after new coach Javi Gracias winning debut was almost
spoiled by two of his players earning red cards in a wild finale.
Antonio Valencia Jersey . Gracias first victory with Malaga was followed by positive starts for Valencia manager Nuno
Espirito Santo, Espanyols former player-turned-manager Sergio Gonzalez and
Joaquin Caparros at Granada. A 10-man Valencia salvaged a 1-1 draw at Sevilla
with a late goal, while Sergio Garcia scored in stoppage time as a 10-man
Espanyol drew 1-1 at Almeria. Granada managed to come from behind to beat
visiting Deportivo La Coruna 2-1. Malaga scored in the 34th minute when Luis
Alberto converted the rebound from his own penalty after goalkeeper Gorka
Iraizoz blocked his spot kick. The season opener was far from spectacular, but
Malagas balanced defence did well to neutralize Bilbaos talented set of
attacking players. "We werent brilliant, just efficient," said Gracia, who took
over Malaga after his Osasuna was relegated last season. "We didnt have
possession of the ball, it was theirs. But I think that through 96 minutes we
played defence well. We played the last minutes in disadvantage and we kept
fighting." Roque Santa Cruz earned the penalty to set up Albertos winner by
poaching Carlos Gurpeguis backpass and drawing a foul from Iraizoz in the area.
Malaga limited Bilbao to Mikel Ricos header by the far post in the 65th and
Guillermo Fernandezs header into the arms of goalie Carlos Kameni in the 87th.
That was until tempers flared near the end, when Malaga lost two players with
direct red cards and gave Bilbao its best chance of the match. Sergio "Duda"
Barbosa was first sent off for shoving Bilbaos Iker Muniain to the turf in the
88th, and Vitorino Antunes compounded that error by earning his exit with a
dangerous tackle to cut down Fernandez two minutes into stoppage time. Iraizoz
came forward in the final minute and thought he had grabbed an unlikely
equalizer when he headed into the net, but the referee disallowed the goal
because a line judge apparently ruled a Bilbao player offside on the free kick.
Even Gracia praised Iraizoz and questioned the referees decision to annul the
keepers goal. "I saw a great goal by Gorka," said Gracia. "I saw the line judge
lift his flag, but I dont know why." Bilbao must quickly regroup from its
stumble. The Basque club hosts Napoli on Wednesday in the second leg of their
Champions League playoff after they drew 1-1 in their first meeting. In Seville,
Valencias Pablo Piatti went close in the eighth with a shot that bounced off
both posts, but forward Aleix Vidal put Sevilla ahead in the final minute of the
first half following Victor "Vitolo" Machins precise long pass to spring Carlos
Bacca on the break. Sevilla lost goalkeeper Antonio "Beto" Bastos to a left
thigh injury in the first half. He was replaced by signing Mariano Barbosa.
Valencia played a man down from the 66th after Rodrigo de Paul received a direct
red card for elbowing Vidal in the face, ending the Argentines European debut
just one minute after he had gone on as a substitute. Sevilla, however, failed
to take advantage of the sending off, and Valencia substitute Lucas Urban
chested a deflected shot over the goal line in the 88th to secure a point.
Espanyol appeared to be finished after defender Aritz Arbilla got his second
booking in the 33rd minute and Almerias Fernando Soriano fired the ball in off
the upright in the 52nd. But Garcia controlled a long pass with his chest before
unleashing a low shot that grazed a defender and squirmed inside the post four
minutes into injury time. Granada rallied to ruin Deportivo La Corunas return to
the top flight on a night when neither goalkeeper had a good day. Deportivo
struck first in the 20th when Granada goalie Stole Dimitrievski let Ivan
Cavaleiros shot slip by. Granada forward Ruben Rochina levelled with a long
strike in the 55th before defender Jean-Sylvain Babin completed the comeback in
the 77th when he flicked in a free kick while keeper German Lux made no effort
to reach either the cross or his header.
David De Gea Manchester Jersey .com) - Lloyd Sam struck in stoppage time on Wednesday as Red Bull New York hung on for a
crucial 1-0 win over Atlantic Cup rivals D.
Marouane Fellaini Manchester Jersey . PETERSBURG, Fla.For two of Canada’s top football prospects, the audition for the
NFL isn’t over yet. TSN has learned Yale running back Tyler Varga and UNLV
defensive tackle Brett Boyko have been invited to the NFL Combine next month.
Varga, a Kitcheener, Ontario native, is fourth on the CFL Scouting Bureau
rankings, while Boyko, who is from Saskatoon, is first in the rankings.
Paul Pogba Manchester Jersey. Varga participated in the Senior Bowl last week and recorded two touchdowns.
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