Rayo Vallecano 0-5 Barcelona: Brilliant Blaugrana run riot in Madrid

Tito Villanova and his team never looked like losing, and continue their incredible start to the domestic season with another victory, with Messi and Xavi reaching landmarks.

 

Barcelona made it five wins out of five away from home as it dispatched Rayo Vallecano 5-0 at Estadio Teresa Rivero on Saturday to maintain its place atop the Liga standings.

David Villa opened the scoring in the 20th minute with a cool finish, but despite intermittent threat from the home side, Lionel Messi surged the Blaugrana further ahead with a thumping effort three minutes into the second half, his 300th senior goal for club and country. 

Xavi ended the game as a contest when he struck his 50th La Liga goal in the 79th minute before Cesc Fabregas added the visitors' fourth goal almost immediately after, and Messi sealed matters with his second a minute before time.

Barca have now won eight of their opening nine games, and sit three points clear of Atletico Madrid, who square off against Osasuna on Sunday, while Rayo meanwhile remain mired in 13th place on 10 points.

With Carles Puyol, Gerard Pique and Javier Mascherano all absent, Adriano was chosen to start in central defense alongside Sergio Busquets, whose vacated midfield spot was filled by Alex Song.

Paco Jemez was also forced to shuffle his pack at the back, as Rodri replaced the suspended Mikel Labaka, while Jordi Amat was ruled fit enough to start in defense.

Rayo did a good job of unsettling the Blaugrana early on, forcing them into a few mistakes in possession and winning a succession of corners.

Fabregas avoided a potentially dangerous call when he tripped Leo Baptistao on the edge of the area, before the midfielder himself was then denied a penalty after being barged in the back by Cassado when attacking a ball into the box.

But Barca, despite its less than spectacular beginning, surged ahead in the 20th minute with one of its first real attacks of the game. Fabregas won possession in midfield and, spottingVilla’s run from the left flank, teed up the Spanish striker, who coolly slotted into the corner.

Villa had an attempt at another a few minutes later, but after finding himself in space at the edge of the box, could only direct his shot low within the reach of Ruben.

Messi then sent a free-kick just wide, but Barca struggled to press home its advantage as the pressure from Rayo off the ball forced it outside of its tiki-taka comfort zone. In fact, the home side began to cause a few wobbles in the Blaugrana backline as the first half drew to a close.

Piti sent a half-volley just over the bar after attacking the ball on the edge of the area before Andrija Delibasic wasted Rayo’s best chance of the half, firing straight at Victor Valdes after finding himself with a clean run on goal.

Barca came out of the interval firing, though, and stormed into a two goal lead barely three minutes after the restart. Martin Montoya’s overlapping run was spotted by the driving Pedro, and the young right back squared to Messi, who thumped past Ruben from just inside the box.

However, Rayo looked to hit back quickly. Alejandro Dominguez’s cross was not properly cleared, leaving Javi Fuego with a clear shot that was well saved by Victor Valdes. Delibasic attacked the resulting corner at the near post, but could only flick his header over.

Valdes again denied Fuego from close range before Messi squandered a chance to put the game beyond any doubt after going clear thanks to a bad back-pass, but his lob over Ruben was well off target.

Barca put the game to bed with full time approaching. First, a surging run and cross from Alba was met with a fine finish from Xavi inside the area, who slotted expertly into the far corner in the 79th minute.

Fabregas made it 4-0 seconds after the restart, sidefooting Pedro’s center home, beforeMessi added a fifth in the 89th minute after rounding Ruben from close range to put the finishing touches on an emphatic win for Barca, whose near-perfect start to the season continues.

Chelsea 2-3 Manchester United: Van Persie, Hernandez and card-happy Clattenburg end Blues' unbeaten run

Roberto Di Matteo's team's lead is reduced to a point as the team suffers its first league defeat of the season in controversial circumstances.

LONDON - On an afternoon strewn with goals, red cards, drama and controversy, Manchester United climbed to within one point of the league summit with a 3-2 victory over nine-man Chelsea.

Roberto Di Matteo’s team recovered from 2-0 down to make it 2-2 early in the second half but had Branislav Ivanovic and Fernando Torres sent off before substitute Javier Hernandez scored a 75th minute winner from what appeared to be an offside position.

A David Luiz own goal and Robin van Persie’s ninth goal of the season had put United in command after 12 minutes but Chelsea responded in style, with Juan Mata’s free kick and Ramires’ header either side of the break.

Just as the visiting gained control, Ivanovic and Torres were sent off within five minutes of one another midway through the second period, ensuring the home side played the last 22 minutes with only nine men.

United took full advantage, but it needed a controversial goal from Hernandez to give Sir Alex Ferguson’s team their first win at Stamford Bridge in a decade.

With John Terry serving the second match of a four-game domestic suspension, Chelsea picked the same starting 11 that won so handsomely at Tottenham in its previous Premier League engagement. United brought in Tom Cleverley to partner Michael Carrick in central midfield and Ashley Young got the nod on the left flank in his first league start in two months.  

Before the action began, all eyes were on the pre-match handshake. Rio Ferdinand and Ashley Cole drew a line under all that has happened over the past year by ignoring their lingering grievances to shake one hands.

It was Cole’s defending, rather than his manners, that soon came under the microscope. Both of United’s goals inside the opening 12 minutes were forged on his flank as the visiting side focused on the lack of protection the left back was getting in front of him.

After four minutes, Rooney received the ball out wide and his expert cut back was whacked right footed against the post by van Persie but the rebound struck the helpless Luiz and bounced past Petr Cech for an own goal.

Eight minutes later, Van Persie was unerring with the accuracy of his second right-footer. Antonio Valencia spotted him unmarked in the box and, with complete concentration on the task, the former Arsenal man slotted in his sixth goal at Stamford Bridge.

The statistics suggested Chelsea had a mountain to climb. Before today, United had been two or more goals up in 346 Premier League games and never lost, winning 336 and drawing 10.

With Rooney playing more as a third central midfielder than a second striker, the home side initially found it hard to break down what was a 4-5-1 formation.

But Chelsea raised its game leading up to the break, forcing three athletic saves from David De Gea before Mata made Rooney pay for hauling down Eden Hazard outside the box with a beautiful curling free kick after 44 minutes.

The home side had the bit between its teeth at the start of the second half as it reminded United whose house it was.

After 53 minutes, United failed to clear following more excellent play from Mata and Ramires rose above Cleverley to emphatically head in Oscar’s byline cross for the equalizer.

It all unraveled for Chelsea after that point. Ivanovic deservedly received a red card for a professional foul on Young after 63 minutes, cynically clipping the winger as he raced through on goal.

Inexplicably, Fernando Torres followed the right-back down the tunnel five minutes later. The Spaniard received a second yellow for simulation, even though replays clearly showed there was contact from Jonny Evans.

Down to nine men, Chelsea struggled to contain United but the officials ensured Roberto Di Matteo’s post-match press conference would be an all-ticket affair by failing to spot that Hernandez was offside when he tapped in the winner.

Mallorca 0-5 Real Madrid: Higuain & Ronaldo fire Los Blancos to easy win

Los Blancos never looked like losing, and put the hosts to the sword with a complete display to reduce the gap to Barcelona to eight points

Real Madrid got back to winning ways with a comfortable 5-0 victory over Mallorca in their La Liga clash at the Iberostar Stadium on Sunday.

After a disappointing 2-1 loss at Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League midweek, Los Blancos put in a professional performance from start to finish, and sailed to all three points.

Gonzalo Higuain opened the scoring with a classy finish after eight minutes, before Cristiano Ronaldo added a second goal in the 22nd minute.

The pair would come to the fore again in the second half, as Higuain slotted home the third with 20 minutes remaining, with Ronaldo drilling home the visitors' fourth goal three minutes later.

Substitute Jose Callejon made it 5-0 with virtually the last kick of the game, as Madrid cruised to victory and moved up to fourth place in the standings, though it still trails leader Barcelona by eight points.

With Marcelo, Fabio Coentrao and Alvaro Arbeloa all sidelined through injury, Michael Essien was chosen to start at left back in a depleted defence for Jose Mourinho’s team.

Joaquin Capparos had no such dilemma, naming an unchanged XI from the side that went down 3-2 away to Sevilla last week.

Madrid needed only eight minutes to take the lead. Angel Di Maria’s pass seemed routine for Anderson Conceicao, but the Brazilian allowed the ball to deflect into the box, where Higuain pounced on the loose ball and blasted into the back of the net with the outside of his boot.

Ronaldo also seemed eager to get in on the action early on when he went close with a pair of long-range efforts, the first smothered by Dudu Aouate, while the second flew just over the bar.

Mallorca though, was not content to lay down and submit to Madrid, and managed to hold a few spells of pressure in the opposition half. Emilio Nsue came closest for the home side, after he evaded Sergio Ramos on the left and clipped towards the far post, but Iker Casillas was alert to tip over.

Nsue would be made to rue that miss in the 22nd minute, as a breathtaking move saw Madrid race into a two goal lead. Di Maria worked the ball towards Higuain at the top of the box, and the Argentine squared to Ronaldo, who turned swiftly past his marker and drilled into the bottom corner.

Though Mallorca threatened intermittently and created a few half-chances of their own, Madrid was simply flowing on the counterattack, with Mesut Ozil and Luka Modric in fine form.

The home side’s tendency to push numbers forward made it especially vulnerable on the break, and Madrid could have probably had a third goal before halftime had it been more ruthless when in sight of Aouate’s goal.

Madrid though took the foot off the gas pedal in the second half, and seemed content to hold possession and extinguish any momentum that Mallorca could muster, rather than press forward for a third goal.

There was a little more purpose and intent surrounding Caparros’ men when they advanced forward, but chances remained elusive as Madrid’s defense was able to hold firm.

And with the clock closing in on 70 minutes, Higuain put the result beyond any doubt, latching on to Ronaldo’s through ball and slotting past Aouate to put the finishing touches on another superb Madrid break.

The visitors would strike a deadly blow on the counter four minutes later, and Higuain would turn provider once more, slipping in Ronaldo with a superb pass, from which the Portuguese drilled straight home.

With only seconds remaining, Callejon rounded off matters with a simple tap-in from Ozil's cutback, as Madrid finished in style to continue its push up the Liga table.

Berlusconi sentence reduced to 12 months

The former Italian Prime Minister was imprisoned for four years on Friday, but has seen that punishment cut as a result of a legal loophole

AC Milan president Silvio Berlusconi has had his jail sentence reduced to just 12 months, thanks to the application of a 2006 Amnesty Law aimed at reducing overcrowding in prisons.

The 76-year-old was originally handed a four-year jail sentence and a fine of 10 million euros on Friday, for his part in a tax fraud scandal.

Berlusconi, along with 10 others, was on trial after it was alleged that the defendants were involved in a scheme to purchase American movies for his company, Mediaset, through an offshore firm and had failed to properly declare payments so as to avoid taxes.

It was also claimed that Berlusconi had relicensed the films, and pocketed the difference, making the Milan supremo some 250 million euros.

The Italian has been involved in a number of legal procedures to do with his business ventures, but has either been cleared, or the cases have been dropped due to time constraints.

Berlusconi, who was not in court on Friday to hear the verdict, served as Prime Minister of Italy between 1994 and 1995, 2001 and 2006, and 2008 and 2011, but recently announced that he would not be running for a fourth term.

Gabriel Muniz Enaroma Dribble Messi Between the legs

The Brazilian Miracle Enaroma, Gabriel Muniz met the Barca squad and had a chance to dribble Lionel Messi. Gabriel with no feet kicked the ball between the legs of Messi and showed some skills with the ball in the air. The Brazilian boy who was born without feet to a genetic malformation has occurred Wednesday at the Sports City and got pictures with all the players of the first team of FC Barcelona, ​​where he was received with great affection and admiration. HD. Months ago, this guy had the pleasure of testing in the club and now managed to meet 'The Flea'. In addition to the campus was also the entire computer, while I had been in the Champions League duel on the stage with the president Sandro Rosell. Both Gabriel and Messi promised to meet again in two years in the World Cup Brazil 2014

El Shaarawy: We are all behind Allegri

The promising attacker has stressed that the beleaguered coach still has the faith of the dressing room, regardless of the team's poor results this season

Stephan El Shaarawy has made it clear that AC Milan coach Massimiliano Allegri still has his squad's full support as they are determined to get back on track with the 45-year-old at the helm.

Allegri's position has come under fire following the Rossoneri's disappointing start to the 2012-13 campaign, but his players remain confident the former Cagliari boss is the right man for the job.

"We are all with him, every single player. We supported him in the beginning and that hasn't changed. That's all that counts. Everything else that's written is nonsense," El Shaarawy toldLa Gazzetta dello Sport.

He added, "I know that it might be hard to believe, but the atmosphere in the dressing room is very calm. The coach is confident, and so are the team and the club.

"We will get out of this situation. We all know that we have a great team and deserve to sit higher in the table."

Milan will be looking to return to winning ways on Saturday when it hosts Genoa.

Guti: I wish Messi played at Real Madrid

The 35-year-old has voiced his admiration for the Argentina star, while also praising Los Blancos ace Cristiano Ronaldo and criticizing Jose Mourinho

Former Spain international Guti feels that Barcelona attacker Lionel Messi deserves to win the FIFA Ballon d'Or following his fine performances this term, and wishes that the diminutive magician would wear the Real Madrid jersey.

essi has already netted 15 goals in 13 official appearances for Barca this term after breaking numerous records in the first half of the year, and Guti believes it would only be right to reward him with the prestigious individual award.

"I would give the Ballon d'Or to Messi. The only problem is that he plays for Barcelona. I would like to see him at Real Madrid," Guti stated to Punto Pelota.

The former Madrid midfielder then had his say on Cristiano Ronaldo's situation at the Blancos, and stressed that the Portugal international should be treated with affection.

"Cristiano is fundamental for Madrid. He needs to be given a lot of love. He has been in incredible form and that'll make him happy," Guti said. "He's a very special player and is a key figure at Madrid."