BARCELONA, Spain -- Barcelonas title defence took a blow when it stumbled to a 1-0 defeat at Valladolid, missing the chance to move top of the Spanish
standings on Saturday ahead of its Champions League clash with Manchester City
at Camp Nou.
Patrick
Ewing Jersey . Atletico Madrid took advantage of Barcelonas latest slip by
winning 2-0 at Celta Vigo courtesy of David Villas two goals in a three-minute
span to move ahead of Barcelona and level on points with Real Madrid at the top
of the standings. Once the league pacesetter, Barcelona has won just two of its
last seven away league games and trails its title rivals by one point before
Madrid hosts Levante on Sunday. Lionel Messi was the only Barcelona player who
looked sharp, while his teammates were plagued by uncharacteristic passing
errors and again proved brittle at the back. Valladolid outplayed the defending
champions early and midfielder Fausto Rossi netted the winner in the 17th
minute. The relegation-threatened side then did well to protect three points
against the star-studded visitors for the remainder. After its strong start this
season under first-year coach Gerardo Martino, Barcelona has dropped points in
five of the last nine rounds. "As long as it is mathematically possible we will
keep fighting," said Martino, whose team visits Madrid in two weeks. "We are not
in our best form, and we have to rediscover it within 15 days. We are worried
because the league title is being decided right now." Before the clasico,
however, Martino will have to regroup his team against City on Wednesday.
Barcelona will be looking to protect its 2-0 lead in the second leg of their
Champions League last-16 tie. Valladolid started the round in the drop zone, but
the big win -- only its fifth in 27 rounds -- provisionally pulled it out of
danger. "Its an incredible result," said Rossi, who was at Valladolid on loan
from Juventus. "All together we can save this team." Also, last-place Real Betis
gave a boost to its slim hopes of staying up by beating Getafe 2-0 in Seville,
while Villarreal lost 2-0 at Granada to falter in the race for fourth place.
After Barcelona lost 3-1 at Real Sociedad in its last league away match, Martino
aligned his best 11 available without Andres Iniesta, who didnt travel with the
team for undisclosed personal reasons. Even so, Barcelona lacked its regular
cool composure from the start and failed to dominate possession until it was
trailing in the score. Holding midfielder Sergio Busquets, usually so sure with
the ball, erred on three passes before the 25-minute mark. By that time
Valladolid had threatened Barcelonas area and taken the lead when Rossi finished
off a rebound after both his first attempt and Javi Guerras follow-up had hit
defenders. Messis solo effort saved by goalkeeper Diego Marino in the 10th was
all the visitors could muster in the first half hour. Messi, who showed no signs
of his apparent vomiting from Argentinas 0-0 draw against Romania this week,
used a burst of speed to break free in the 48th, only to be denied again by
Marino. Messi got little help. Neymar had a quiet match and sailed his only
scoring chance over the bar before he was substituted. Atletico was without
suspended leading scorer Diego Costa. That meant Villa, who was dropped from
Spains squad for its friendly with Italy, got the nod up front. And after a dull
first half, the former Barcelona striker notched his 12th and 13th league goals
of the campaign. Villa first pounced on a poor pass by Celtas Jonathan Castro,
dodged Andreu Fontas last-ditch tackle, and drilled the ball beyond goalkeeper
Yoel Rodriguez in the 62nd. He slotted in his second goal to seal the victory
two minutes later. "Every point is important and we have to go forward game by
game," said Villa. "Each game is a final and we have to win them all." Atletico
hosts AC Milan on Tuesday in the last-16 of the Champions League after winning
their first meeting 1-0. Betis won thanks to first-half goals from forwards Leo
Baptistao and Ruben Castro to keep the hapless Getafe winless in 12 consecutive
rounds and only one point from relegation.
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off a high outlet pass saved by teammate Ramon Sessions.VANCOUVER --
Daniel Sedin scored twice before leaving on a stretcher after taking a hit from
behind as the Vancouver Canucks concluded what has been a disastrous season with
a 5-1 victory over the Calgary Flames on Sunday. Frank Corrado, with his first
in the NHL, Ryan Kesler and Yannick Weber also scored for Vancouver (36-35-11),
while Jacob Markstrom made 21 saves for his first victory with the Canucks. The
result of a game that meant very little was overshadowed by a nasty incident
late in the second period when Daniel Sedin was checked in the numbers by
Calgarys Paul Byron and stayed down before being stretchered off. Sedin appeared
to be moving his fingers, but there was no immediate update on his status. Byron
was assessed a five-minute penalty for boarding and a game misconduct. The team
said Sedin was taken in stable condition to hospital to undergo further
evaluation. "He exhibited signs of movement to his extremities and showed
improvement from initially being hit," the statement read. "No assessment will
be made until completion of this evaluation." Henrik Sedin added two assists for
Vancouver, which goes into the off-season with more than a few question marks
after missing the playoffs for the first time in six years. Johnny Gaudreau
scored in his first NHL game and Karri Ramo stopped 18 shots for Calgary
(35-40-7) as the Flames wrapped up a 2013-14 campaign that saw the team miss the
post-season for the fifth straight spring. Vancouver scored twice in the first
period and stretched its lead to 3-0 at 9:12 of the second on Corrados first
career goal on a shot from the top of the faceoff circle through traffic past
Ramo. Kesler then ripped his 25th of the season at 13:49 to make it 4-0 for
Vancouver before Gaudreau scored his first in the NHL at 15:22, when a
deflection in front went off his stick and past Markstrom to get Calgary on the
board. The 20-year-old Gaudreau won the Hobey Baker award earlier this week as
the top player in U.S. college hockey after the native of Salem, N.J. recorded
35 goals and 42 assists in 39 games this season with Boston College. After Sedin
was taken off the ice before the hushed Rogers Centre crowd, Weber scored on the
ensuing power play to make it 5-1 at 18:55, with Vancouver rookie Michael
Zalewski picking up an assist for his first point in the NHL.
John
Starks Knicks Jersey. Markstrom, who came over as part of the
Roberto Luongo trade with the Florida Panthers last month, made a nice save on a
Sean Monahan breakaway early in the third but had a relatively quiet night. The
summer should be interesting for both Calgary and Vancouver. The Flames need a
new general manager after firing Jay Feaster in December, while the Canucks are
also on the lookout for a new GM following Mike Gillis dismissal last week. The
Flames have not made the playoffs since 2008-09 but came into this season with a
young roster and zero expectations. The club got off to a rough start, but
played much better in the New Year, a surge that coincided with the line brawl
against Vancouver in January that saw Canucks head coach John Tortorella try to
get into the Flames locker-room. The Canucks, meanwhile, were in a playoff spot
at Christmas but stumbled badly for a 20-game stretch midway through the season
because of injuries and an inability to adapt to Tortorellas system. Whether or
not the embattled coach remains behind the bench next season could be one of the
first decisions for newly minted president of hockey operations Trevor Linden.
With playoff weather outside as temperatures reached 15 C in Vancouver on
Sunday, there was more of a pre-season atmosphere with both teams playing for
pride and little else. The Canucks gave up two separate 2-on-1 breaks to the
Flames fourth line early in the first period but survived that scare to score
the opening goal at 7:14. Vancouvers David Booth, while falling to the ice,
swatted at a rebound in front that bounced off Daniel Sedin and past a surprised
Ramo. Markstrom then made a couple of nice saves on a Calgary man advantage
midway through the period before the Canucks doubled their lead at 13:57 on a
power play of their own when Sedin chipped home his 16th of the campaign. It
marked Sedins first two-goal game of the season and first since Feb. 24, 2013 --
a span of 101 games. Notes: The Canucks inducted former head coach and general
manager Pat Quinn into the Ring of Honour high above the ice surface prior to
the game. Quinn led the Canucks team that lost in Game 7 of the 1994 Stanley Cup
final to the New York Rangers. ... Canucks players are scheduled to meet the
media on Monday morning at Rogers Arena.
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