BARCELONA, Spain -- Levante struck early and relied on its staunch defence when reduced to 10 men to beat Osasuna 2-0 at home in the Spanish league on Saturday.
Marty Mcsorley Kings Jersey . Levantes win extended its unbeaten streak to eight consecutive rounds and provisionally
lifted it ahead of Sevilla and Valencia into seventh place. First-year coach
Joaquin Caparros had set the goal of avoiding relegation for Levante this
season, but after 26 rounds the Mediterranean minnow is closer to earning a
Europa League berth than worrying about the drop. "My team is a pain to play
against," said Caparros. "With 10 players we tripled our effort and (goalkeeper
Keylor) Navas, with the way he is playing, kept us calm at the back. "We can
play better or worse, but this team always gives it its all. Its all soul."
Midfielder Papakouly Diop gave Levante the lead at Ciutat de Valencia Stadium
just four minutes in when his long-range strike bounced past goalkeeper Andres
Fernandez and inside the far post. Forward Ruben Garcia doubled the hosts
advantage by fending off Damia Abella to control a long free kick before turning
and firing the ball home. Levante played the last half hour with 10 men after
Victor Casadesus saw a direct red card for a hard tackle from behind on Alvaro
Cejudo, but even though Osasuna finally mustered its first shot on goal it never
threatened to come back. "Its disheartening to play against Levante when they
are ahead in the score," Osasuna coach Javi Gracia said. Levante visits league
leader Real Madrid in the next round. Elsewhere, Elche beat Celta Vigo 1-0
thanks to a late goal by Carles Gil, Malaga drew 1-1 at home with Valladolid,
and Getafe was held to 0-0 by visiting Espanyol. Elches Manuel del Moral and
Eduardo Albacar both sent the ball off the goalframe in the first half before
Rafina tilted the match in Celtas favour through his skilful dribbling and
passing. But Gil combined with Ferran "Coro" Corominas to break free in the box
and net the winner six minutes from time to give Elche its first victory in four
rounds and move the promoted side six points from the drop. Valladolids draw at
Malaga left it in the relegation zone, three points behind Malaga and Almeria.
Malagas Roque Santa Cruz was left unmarked to head in the 13th-minute opener,
but Valladolid dominated the rest of the match after Javi Guerra went close in
the 20th. Midfielder Daniel Larsson equalized 10 minutes later after Manucho
knocked down a long cross by Antonio Rukavina for the Swede to score. "Our fans
are nervous and I understand them," said Malaga coach Bernd Schuster, whose team
has one victory in its last nine games. "We got the first goal, which is very
important, but then we had the wrong attitude and take a breather (instead) of
looking for a second." Getafes drab draw with Espanyol meant its winless streak
grew to 11 straight games dating to November. It also lost goalkeeper Miguel
Moya to a leg injury in the second half. Espanyol stayed in 10th place. Madrid
leads Atletico Madrid and Barcelona by three points. Madrid visits Atletico on
Sunday, when Barcelona hosts Almeria. Also, Real Sociedad plays at Sevilla,
Villarreal hosts Real Betis, and Valencia visits Rayo Vallecano. Athletic Bilbao
routed Granada 4-0 on Friday to hold onto fourth place and the final Champions
League spot.
Teddy Purcell Jersey . Sterling was banned for life and fined US$2.5 million by the NBA on Tuesday for racist comments the
league says he made in a recorded conversation. Nash, who plays for the rival
L.A. Lakers, spoke as a representative of current NBA players at a press
conference assembled by Sacramento mayor and National Basketball Players
Association adviser Kevin Johnson.
Jake Muzzin Kings Jersey . Hughes, 30, is a former Major Leaguer with the Baltimore Orioles, having played in 14 games with
the Os in 2010. He played with Class AA Binghamton of the Eastern League in the
New York Mets system last season.MANCHESTER, England - Frank Lampard showed his
value to Manchester City on Thursday by clinching a 3-2 victory over Sunderland
just one day after extending his deal with the club until the end of the
season.After City threw away a 2-0 lead, the 36-year-old Lampard spared Citys
blushes with a milestone goal in the 73rd minute. The former Chelsea midfielder
moved to fourth place on the Premier Leagues all-time scoring leaderboard by
netting for the 176th time in the division, heading in from Gael Clichys
cross.By now Lampard was due to be getting ready for his Major League Soccer
career with Citys new sister club New York City FC. But Man City announced late
on Wednesday that Lampard would be staying until the end of the season to be
part of the second-place teams title push.A dull contest burst into life after
Yaya Toure broke the deadlock with a stunning strike after 57 minutes. Four more
goals followed in the next 16 minutes as Stevan Jovetic added a second for City
and Sunderland hit back through former City players Jack Rodwell and Adam
Johnson.It then fell to substitute Lampard to score his seventh goal for
City.What unfolded in the second half came in remarkable contrast to the first
half.City, who had Willy Caballero in goal in place of the rested Joe Hart,
dominated possession but Sunderland played deep.City created an early opening
with Jovetic flashing a shot wide after combining with David Silva but their
opportunities were limited.Toure, who gave City control of midfield after being
rested for Sundays 2-2 draw with Burnley, sliced one chance from distance well
wide and high.
Peter Budaj Jersey. City tried to up the tempo in the second half, and Jesus Navas shot wide within a minute of the
restart, but the game appeared to be changing little until Toure finally
struck.City again seemed to be getting little joy as they looked to prize an
opening in the Sunderland defence - but Toure opted for power. The Ivory Coast
midfielder, who heads off to the African Cup of Nations next week, was lurking
just outside the area when he raced onto Jovetics lay-off and smashed a shot
into the top corner.City then seemed to have made the game safe as Jovetic
released Clichy down the left and then sprinted into the area to take his return
pass and beat Costel Pantilimon with a neat flick.But with the game having
suddenly come to life, Sunderland produced a remarkable response to level with
two quickfire goals.Emanuele Giaccherini extended Caballero with a good shot but
Rodwell got a firm header to Larssons cross from the resulting corner to pull a
goal back.City lost its discipline and was pulled apart moments later as
Sunderland attacked again.Ricardo Alvarez drove the ball across the box and
Zabaleta felled Billy Jones attempting to stop the inrushing defender. Johnson
made no mistake from the penalty spot.But after Sundays frustration against
Burnley, Lampard prevented a repeat.Lampard might even have had further goals as
he twice forced Pantilimon to save.
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