Iniesta inspires Barcelona derby win
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Barcelona's David Villa runs for the ball against Espanyol goalkeeper Kameini during their Spanish first division soccer match at Nou Camp stadium in Barcelona May 8, 2011. (Xinhua/Reuters Photo) |
FC Barcelona will be crowned champions of the Spanish La Liga if they are able to draw away to Levante on Wednesday night after beating local rivals Espanyol 2-0 in the Camp Nou Stadium on Sunday.
In light of Real Madrid's win in Sevilla on Saturday night, it was impossible for Barca to assure the title in front of their own fans this weekend, but Pep Guardiola's side have the incentive of being able to prepare for the Champions League final at the end of the month, to try and assure the crown as soon as possible.
After a tight opening period, Andres Iniesta put Barcelona ahead, taking advantage of an error from young defender Jordi Amat to win the ball, before winning the ball and beating Carlos Kameni with a low shot.
David Villa could have scored his side's second before halftime, but the Spain international shot wide with just Kameni to beat.
Barcelona didn't have to wait long, however, before doubling their lead and it was Gerard Pique who scored with a header after 48 minutes.
Pablo Osvaldo went close on a couple of occasions as Espanyol tried to get back into the game against their neighbors, but on both occasions his shots went straight into the hands of a well positioned Victor Valdes.
As time ran out a party atmosphere began to descend on the stands of the Camp Nou stadium as the Barcelona fans began to celebrate after what has been a fantastic week for the club after they knocked hated rivals Real Madrid out of the Champions League on Tuesday night.
The atmosphere got even better when Eric Abidal came on as a substitute with 20 minutes remaining for his second appearance since undergoing a cancer operation in March.
Abidal and his companions left the pitch to chants of " champions, champions" and if they are not mathematically champions on Sunday, they will be in all certainty on Wednesday.
Sunday kicked off with a midday match between Mallorca and Villarreal. The game, which was an experiment to attract TV audiences in Asia, was however, a dull affair with few chances, although both sides seemed content with the 0-0 draw, which strengthens Villarreal's position in fourth place and edges Mallorca closer to safety.
The day also saw Osasuna take a huge step towards avoiding relegation as they fought back from a goal down to win 3-1 in Zaragoza.
Angel Lafita put Zaragoza 1-0 ahead in the first half, but second half strikes from Javier Camunas, Sergio Fernandez and Kike Sola saw Osasuna take all three points and leave Zaragoza fourth from bottom of the table.
The majority of the weekend games were on Saturday and Real Madrid kept the title race alive for a bit longer as Cristiano Ronaldo scored four goals as his side won 6-2 away to a Sevilla side that had started the day fifth in the La Liga.
Former Sevilla player Sergio Ramos had opened the scoring for Madrid after 20 minutes, before Ronaldo and Kaka added further goal before halftime.
Ronaldo scored three more in the second half, while Alvaro Negredo scored twice for a Sevilla side missing a host of key players through injury,
Elsewhere in Spain, Saturday saw Valencia cruise to a 3-0 win at home to Real Sociedad thanks to two goals from the in form Roberto Soldado and a strike from Jonas Goncalvez. The win means Valencia have a five point lead over Villarreal in the race to assure a place in the group stage of the Champions League.
Athletic Bilbao took a big step towards Europe with a 3-2 win at home to Levante. Athletic looked to be cruising after goals from Gaizka Toquero, David Lopez and Fernando Llorente put them 3- 0 ahead.
However, the Basques relaxed in the closing minutes and Levante scored twice through Cristian Stauni and Nano to make for a nervous closing five minutes for the home fans.
Following Sevilla's defeat, Athletic Bilbao are fifth after Atletico Madird's quest to qualify for Europe suffered a major setback as they lost 3-0 at home to Malaga.
Jose Rondon and Julio Cesar Baptista scored first half headers to put Malaga ahead, while Enzo Maresca added the third in the closing moments. Without the injured Thiago Cardoso, Atletico lacked creativity in midfield and also lost defender Luis Perea for the rest of the season with a muscle injury.
Almeria's descent to the second division this Saturday was confirmed after goals from Adrian Colunga and Pedro Rios condemned them to defeat away to Getafe, who themselves climb out of the bottom three.
Hercules look doomed to join Almeria in the second division after losing 3-2 at home to Racing Santander, for who Giovanni Dos Santos scored two more goals.
There was controversy in Gijon where Sporting equalized against Deportivo la Coruna with a 96th minute penalty scored b David Barral. Adrian Lopez had twice put Deportivo ahead, but two penalties, the first scored by Ayoze Garcia assured a share of the points that edge Sporting towards safety and Deportivo towards relegation.
