Messi’s 400th goal lifts Barca, win for Real

Monday, 20 April 2015 00:51 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Reuters: Lionel Messi hit his 400th goal for La Liga leaders Barcelona deep into stoppage time to seal a 2-0 win over Valencia on Saturday while Real Madrid maintained their pursuit by defeating Malaga 3-1. Barca have 78 points, two more than second-placed Real, with six games to go. Uruguay striker Luis Suarez continued his lethal form with a clinical low strike inside the area after being set up by Messi with less than a minute on the clock. Suarez’s goal followed his midweek double that clinched a 3-1 victory in the Champions League quarter-final first leg at Paris St Germain.

Valencia missed a golden chance to equalise against Barca in the 10th minute when Dani Parejo’s penalty was saved by Claudio Bravo after Gerard Pique had barged into the back of Rodrigo Moreno. Paco Alcacer also hit the post for the visitors as Barca hung on and then, in a second half played at a slower tempo, Messi struck the woodwork with a free kick before the Argentine finally scored late on the counter attack. “These are moments when you can get involved and save the situation,” Bravo told reporters. “We were up against a very strong side in all areas of the pitch and it followed a match in Paris where we had to put in a lot of work. Sometimes you have to do what you can to win a game when your game isn’t at its best.” James Rodriguez cracked a 25-metre drive into the top corner but Real’s win came at a cost with Gareth Bale and Luka Modric going off injured. Real went ahead when Sergio Ramos volleyed home a CristianoRonaldo free kick after 24 minutes. Chances begging Chances went begging for both sides including a penalty miss by Ronaldo who hit the post after Samuel Castillejo had brought down Rodriguez. Rodriguez extended Real’s lead with a fine effort after 69 minute but they had barely stopped celebrating when Malaga pulled a goal back with a header from the unmarked Juanmi. Javier Hernandez then set up Ronaldo to score from close range in injury time. Bale lasted only two minutes before limping off with an apparent calf injury. He is set to undergo tests as will Modric who was substituted after 59 minutes with a knee problem. “Hopefully they are not too serious and will be fit to play Atletico,” Rodriguez told reporters. Real face Atletico on Wednesday with the scoreline 0-0 after the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final. “It was a tough game against Malaga but we won and that is what is important,” Rodriguez said. “I have said before that you have to suffer and we are going to fight until the end to try and win the league.” Atletico’s Antoine Griezmann scored twice, including a spectacular overhead kick, to secure a 2-1 win over Deportivo La Coruna that strengthened their grip on third place. Griezmann struck with a perfectly executed bicycle kick after Jose Maria Gimenez headed the ball back into the box after five minutes played and then made it 2-0 by slotting home a loose ball. Atletico looked firmly in control but lost concentration at the back when Oriol Riera headed in with 12 minutes left and they were put under pressure in the closing stages. Aritz Aduriz’s double, the first goal a penalty, led eighth-placed Athletic Bilbao to a 4-0 rout of 10-man Getafe. Getafe defender Emiliano Velazquez was dismissed for upending Borja Viguera and Aduriz netted the resulting spot kick just before halftime.

Ecclestone gives Azerbaijan the all-clear

Reuters: Formula One has no qualms about holding a grand prix in Azerbaijan next year despite concerns raised by rights activists, the sport’s commercial supremo Bernie Ecclestone said on Sunday. “Baku? No problem. That’s going to be another good race,” the 84-year-old told reporters at the Bahrain Grand Prix, another controversial fixture that follows on from China in a crowded calendar. This year is the 11th Bahrain Grand Prix, with the 2011 race cancelled after an uprising by the Shi’ite Muslim majority to demand reforms in the strategic Gulf kingdom triggered a subsequent crackdown. Formula One, heavily criticised by campaigners over the years, this week quietly published a statement of respect for human rights in which it agreed to carry out due diligence on future hosts.

Asked whether he would now “check out the human rights record in Baku”, Ecclestone responded: “We have. I think everybody seems to be happy. Doesn’t seem to be any big problem there.” Azerbaijan, governed by President Ilham Aliyev since he succeeded his father in 2003, has been courted by the West as an alternative to Russia in supplying oil and gas to Europe. Rights groups accuse the government of muzzling dissent and jailing opponents, charges it denies. Formula One signed a contract with Azerbaijan last year for a 2016 Grand Prix of Europe around the streets of Baku. Azerbaijan is also due to host the inaugural European Games this year after failed bids for the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics. While Baku stands to become the latest addition to the calendar, after Russia last year and the return of Mexico this season, the future of some of the sport’s most historic venues remains in doubt. Germany has been removed from this year’s calendar due to financial reasons, but is due to return next year, while Monza’s contract to host the Italian Grand Prix expires in 2016. “We have to wait and see. They don’t have an agreement. Bit like Germany really,” said Ecclestone when asked about the situation in Italy. The prospect of Monza, a temple of Italian motorsport since the 1920s, dropping off the calendar would be unthinkable for most F1 fans but Ecclestone gave no indication that he was prepared to soften his stance. “I tell you something. I was told that when we didn’t have a race in France actually. And Germany now,” he said. “We’ve got some good replacements, haven’t we?”

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