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Barcelona loses 2-1 to Osasuna in Spanish league
Valdo Lopes scored and Patxi Punal added a penalty on Sunday to give Osasuna a 2-1 victory over leader FC Barcelona in the Spanish league.
- NDTVSports
- Updated: February 25, 2007 10:39 AM IST
Read Time:4 min
Madrid:
Valdo Lopes scored and Patxi Punal added a penalty on Sunday to give Osasuna a 2-1 victory over leader FC Barcelona in the Spanish league. Barcelona's defeat at El Reyno de Navarra stadium was its fourth in the league this season and left it nine points clear of Valencia and Real Madrid with 11 games remaining. The defending champions fell behind 2-0 and had midfielders Edmilson and Thiago Motta sent off in the second half. Substitute Henrik Larsson scored in the 72nd. Barcelona stayed with 61 points, followed by Valencia and Real Madrid with 52 each. Osasuna is next with 49, four more than Celta Vigo. Bilbao moves out of relegation In other games, Alaves and Athletic Bilbao moved out of the relegation zone with victories. Alaves beat Sevilla 2-1 and Bilbao edged Cadiz 1-0. Also, it was: Mallorca 1, Villarreal 1; Real Betis 1, Malaga 1; Zaragoza 1, Getafe 2; and Atletico Madrid 2, Racing Santander 1. On Saturday, Madrid drew 0-0 at Valencia, Espanyol beat Celta 2-0, and Real Sociedad edged Deportivo La Coruna 1-0. Barcelona, which drew 1-1 with Chelsea on Tuesday to secure its berth in the Champions League quarterfinals, wasn't allowed to settle by a rugged, committed Osasuna. The defending champion fell behind in the 19th minute through a mistake by goalkeeper Victor Valdes. He dropped Ludovic Delporte's outswinging free kick and midfielder Valdo sidefooted the ball into the goal before it had touched the ground. Osasuna doubled its lead in the 59th through midfielder Punal's penalty, awarded after Edmilson was adjudged to have tripped striker Savo Milosevic. The Brazilian received his second yellow card of the game. Larsson, who had missed an easy chance three minutes after he replaced Ludovic Giuly in the 64th minute, had better luck shortly after when he fired home after receiving Ronaldinho's defense-splitting pass. Nine-men squad Barcelona was reduced to nine men when Motta scythed substitute Achille Webo just before the final whistle. Osasuna's win was its first at home since its stadium name changed at the end of last year. Osasuna won all nine games this season under the previous name of El Sadar, but hadn't won in its four previous games following the switch. Javier Saviola gave Sevilla an 11th-minute lead at Alaves' Mendizorroza stadium when he swiveled to volley home David Alves' cross from the right. Sevilla had defender Aitor Ocio ejected six minutes later for handling in the penalty area. Goalkeeper Andres Palop saved Nene's penalty kick, though. The Brazilian midfielder made up for the earlier miss by equalizing with a fierce shot in the 25th, and striker Rodolfo Bodipo won the game from close range before halftime. The Basque team had Bodipo and defender Juanito Gutierrez each sent off for elbowing offenses in the closing stages. Sevilla in sixth place Alaves rose to 17th place with 26 points and ended a winless run of three games. Sevilla, which was attempting to rise to fourth place, stayed sixth with 44. Bilbao substitute Roberto "Tiko" Martinez scored an injury-time penalty which gave the team a narrow win over fellow struggler Cadiz. It was coach Javier Clemente's 200th league game in charge. Bilbao defender Fernando Amorebieta was sent off in the 17th minute, while Cadiz's Alejandro Varela also received a red card for the handling offense which led to the spot kick. Villareal in seventh Villarreal, which advanced to the Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday, gained a draw at Mallorca and stayed seventh. Guillermo Pereyra headed the home team ahead after only 65 seconds, with Jose Mari Romero leveling for Villarreal in the 23rd. Real Betis dropped to 18th place and added to its relegation fears with a draw against last-place Malaga. David Rivas headed the hosts into a 21st-minute lead, with Antonio Hidalgo leveling for Malaga in the 74th. Getafe forward Veljko Paunovic scored twice after Diego Milito's 13th goal of the season gave Zaragoza a 35th-minute lead. The Serbian scored in the 39th and was elbowed in the face 10 minutes later by Alvaro Maior, which resulted in the Zaragoza defender's dismissal. Paunovic netted again in the 59th. Atletico captain Fernando Torres began a flurry of goals when he scored with a 64th-minute penalty. Santander protested the referee's decision, leading to a red card for visiting coach Manuel Preciado. Santander leveled six minutes later through midfielder Damia Abella's header only for Atletico defender Pablo Ibanez to head in his side's winner in the 73rd. Atletico midfielder Gabi Fernandez was ejected in injury time. (AP)Topics mentioned in this article
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