ACTUALITE |
18.03.2002
Spanish first division reports
MADRID
Brief reports of matches played in the Spanish first division on Sunday:
ALAVES 2 ATHLETIC BILBAO 3
Jordi Cruyff struck twice inside the first 12 minutes to give his side a flying start in an action-packed Basque derby that saw Alaves finish the game with just eight men.
But the home side self-destructed after Magno Mocelin was red-carded five minutes from the break. Bilbao levelled with quick goals from Tiko and Ismael Urzaiz while Alaves were reduced to nine men when striker Ruben Navarro was dismissed in injury time.
Things went from bad to worse in the second half when Oscar Tellez was sent off after conceding a penalty 15 minutes from time leaving Aitor Larrazabal to smash home from the spot and give Bilbao the win.
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CELTA VIGO 3 LAS PALMAS 2
Celta made hard work of it to take their second win in a row against a plucky Las Palmas side.
Things started well enough for the Galicians when Catanha hit his fourth goal in two games to give them an early lead with skipper Alexander Mostovoi adding another before the break.
But Las Palmas hit back in the second half with a well-struck curling free kick from Orlando and a header from Paqui and it took a superbly-struck volley from Valery Karpin to secure the win for Celta in the 76th minute.
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RAYO VALLECANO 2 VALENCIA 1
Lowly Rayo dashed Valencia`s hopes of heading the standings for a fifth week running after they dished out a thoroughly-deserved defeat to Rafael Benitez`s high-fliers.
Miguel Angel Angulo gave Valencia the lead against the run of play when he headed in a neat pass from Salva Ballesta on 28 minutes, but Rayo played the better football and levelled when Mauricio Pellegrino headed into his own net just before the break.
Defender Sergio Corino struck the winner when he powered in a header from a Michel corner 13 minutes after halftime and despite playing the last quarter with just 10 men following the sending off of Pablo Sanz, Rayo held on comfortably to claim a vital win.
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REAL SOCIEDAD 1 ESPANYOL 0
New coach Roberto Olabe, who replaced John Toshack at Real earlier this week, got off to a winning start and had the added satisfaction of seeing his side move above the relegation zone on goal difference.
Yugoslav striker Darko Kovacevic got the crucial goal on 19 minutes when he latched on to a superb through-ball from Javi de Pedro, drew the keeper wide and sent his angled shot inside the far post.
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REAL ZARAGOZA 1 REAL BETIS 1
A piece of quick-thinking from striker Mate Bilic ended Zaragoza`s run of three defeats in a row, but it was not enough to prevent his side slipping into the relegation zone.
The Croatian player turned inside two defenders and cracked a fine shot into the far corner on 26 minutes. But Betis hit back in the second half with in-form striker Dani notching his fourth goal in three games when he stabbed home from close range.
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SEVILLA 0 MALAGA 2
A second half double from Dely Valdes gave Malaga the edge in the mid-table clash between the two Andalucian sides.
The Panamanian striker picked up his first after keeper Antonio Notario failed to hold a Dario Silva shot on 59 minutes and claimed his second when he headed in from a corner just over a quarter of an hour later.
Sevilla have now lost their last five games in a row.
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TENERIFE 0 REAL MALLORCA 0
A draw will do nothing to ease the tensions of two sides that are battling to avoid the drop from the top flight. Scoring opportunities were few and far between with both sides giving the impression that they were more concerned with defending than with scoring goals.
Tenerife have now extended their unbeaten run to four games under new coach Javier Clemente, but they will need to string together some wins if they are to extricate themselves from the drop zone.
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VILLARREAL 2 VALLADOLID 2
Villarreal left it late to claw a crucial home draw that keeps them just above the relegation zone. Fernando hit his 13th goal of the season to give Valladolid the lead from the penalty spot on 10 minutes and Luis Garcia made it 2-0 when he tapped in at the far post after good work by Fernando Sales.
But Villarreal hit two goals in the last eight minutes to level. Javier Calleja guided in at the far post after a flick-on from a corner and Rodolfo Arruabarrena popped up to notch the equaliser after keeper Ricardo had palmed a Victor shot into his path.
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Played Saturday:
BARCELONA 1 REAL MADRID 1
Real looked to be on course for their first league win in Barcelona in 19 years after Zinedine Zidane had given the defending champions the lead on 39 minutes following some good work by Raul.
But a determined, if uncoordinated, Barcelona fought back in the second half and playmaker Xavi levelled when his 30-metre strike bounced in front of keeper Cesar and ballooned off his hand into the net on 59 minutes.
Raul and Xavi both hit the bar in the second half, but neither side really deserved to take the win. - - - -
OSASUNA 1 DEPORTIVO CORUNA 3
In-form striker Diego Tristan fired in a first half hat-trick to secure a comfortable win for Depor and keep them in touch with the leaders.
He grabbed his first after just seven minutes on the clock when he snapped home a Lionel Scaloni cross. Just over 10 minutes later he coolly dinked the ball over the keeper to claim his second and he notched his hat-trick from the penalty spot on 32 minutes.
Osasuna`s Australian international striker John Aloisi got a consolation from the penalty spot with the very last kick of the game.
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