PhatzNewsRoom.com News Room and Blog

Lionel Messi of Barcelona, right, celebrates with teammate David Villa after scoring against Rayo Vallecano at Camp Nou on March 17, 2013 in Barcelona, Spain. (David Ramos/Getty Images)

(PhatzRadio / CBC Sports) — Lionel Messi extended his Spanish league scoring record to 18 straight games with a brace in Barcelona’s 3-1 win over visiting Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, making sure the leader avoided a letdown after its historic Champions League comeback against AC Milan.

Messi set up David Villa to score Barcelona’s opener in the 25th minute, and Villa returned the favour in the 40th for Messi to take his first goal.

Villa linked up with Messi again in the 57th as the Argentina forward used a delicate chip shot to net his league-leading 42nd goal of the season and put the result beyond doubt.

“The three goals were all similar and I am just happy to have participated in all three to give us the win,” Villa said.

The victory restored Barcelona’s 13-point lead over Real Madrid, with Atletico Madrid a further one back after winning 2-0 at Osasuna thanks to Diego Costa’s double.

Messi scored Barcelona’s first two goals in Tuesday’s 4-0 win over Milan as it became the first team to overturn a 2-0 first-leg away loss in the Champions League and reached the quarterfinals.

Villa also polished off a memorable week that started with him scoring the goal that gave Barcelona the lead on aggregate against Milan.

“It was a complicated game because of the effort we made the other day,” Villa said. “You could see that we hadn’t had time to rest, and that’s tough against a team like Rayo that comes at you as compared to many other teams that try to close up when they play here.”

Goal-scoring machine

It was Messi’s 19th multi-goal game of the season. His 210th and 211th league goals took the 25-year-old Messi past Pahino into seventh place on the career scoring list.

The four-time world player of the year scored 50 goals in the league last season to shatter a milestone that Madrid’s Cristiano Ronaldo had left at 40 the year before. He now has 10 more games to shoot for his own mark.

Elsewhere, Malaga wasted a chance to regain its hold on fourth place by slipping to a 2-0 loss to visiting Espanyol, while Sevilla rolled to a 4-0 win at home over 10-man Real Zaragoza.

Levante, meanwhile, drew 1-1 at Granada three days after its exit from the Europa League.

After Messi had clipped the crossbar with a free kick, Rayo helped Barcelona break through by giving away the ball near midfield. Seconds later, Messi was dribbling by a defender and steaming into the area, where he laid off for Villa to rifle the ball into the far corner of the net.

Rayo has been the revelation of the league this season thanks to its possession-based attack. And even though it trailed the pacesetters, the minnow continued to dispute the ball and attack Barcelona’s area.

But Villa and Messi combined to double the hosts’ lead when the Spain striker played Messi clear on the left side of the box. Messi promptly took aim and drove the ball under goalkeeper Ruben Martinez.

Villa assisted Messi one more time after riding his marker on the break and passing for Messi to dribble forward before lofting the ball over a backtracking defender and the helpless Martinez with his left foot.

Villa was making his fourth straight start after struggling to find minutes for Barcelona earlier this season after returning from a long layoff due to a broken leg.

“I’m happy to play again and to help the team with a goal,” he said. “I’m a striker and that is what we are required to do. The rest of the season is ahead of us and I hope I can continue doing my part.”

Substitute Raul Tamudo pulled one back for Rayo in the 70th after being booed moments before by the Camp Nou crowd for his years at crosstown rival Espanyol.

Barcelona was without Xavi Hernandez, out with a nagging muscle injury, and captain Carles Puyol, who will be sidelined anywhere from 6-12 weeks after a second arthroscopic surgery on his right knee in 11 months.

Its injury worries mounted in the 22nd when defender Adriano left with a muscle tear in his right leg, ruling him out for 4-6 weeks.

Last-place Deportivo La Coruna beat Celta Vigo 3-1 on Friday. On Saturday, it was: Real Madrid 5, Mallorca 2; Real Sociedad 4, Valladolid 1; Valencia 3, Real Betis 0; and Getafe 1, Athletic Bilbao 0.

Chelsea topples West Ham, Fulham beats Tottenham: EPL

(PhatzRadio / CBC Sports) — Chelsea seized the third automatic Champions League qualification place from Tottenham on Sunday as Frank Lampard netted his 200th goal for the west London club.

Lampard set Chelsea on its way to a 2-0 victory over former club West Ham, while Dimitar Berbatov also punished his old team as Fulham inflicted Tottenham’s second successive loss with a 1-0 victory.

While Manchester United has the title effectively wrapped up, the chase for the Champions League spots is still tense with Tottenham now just four points ahead of fifth-place Arsenal after having seen a 12-match unbeaten run end at Liverpool last Sunday.

Chelsea is four points behind second-place Manchester City, whose faint title hopes appeared to end by losing at Everton on Saturday to fall 15 points behind United.

The most heated game on Sunday was Wigan’s 2-1 victory over Newcastle, with coaches from both teams sent to the stands after a halftime scuffle over an ugly tackle on Newcastle defender Massadio Haidara that went unpunished.

There was a sending off, however, at Sunderland where Norwich held on for a 1-1 draw despite playing an hour with 10 men after goalkeeper Mark Dunn saw red.

It was a more sedate match at Stamford Bridge, with the only flash point coming when West Ham fans appeared to throw coins at Lampard after he scored, but failed to hit the midfielder.

Lampard, who left West Ham in 2001, opened the scoring in the 19th minute by rising to meet Eden Hazard’s dinked ball and head past goalkeeper Jussi Jaaskelainen.

Lampard’s 12th goal of the season put him just two behind Bobby Tambling’s Chelsea record of 202, but his future after this season remains uncertain with no offer of a new contract.

“Everyone keeps talking about the goal-scoring record,” the 34-year-old Lampard said. “I would rather people kept quiet. The important thing is trying to score goals to win games.”

The second goal came five minutes into the second half, with Hazard completing a neat interplay with Juan Mata and rounding off a successful week for Chelsea.

A comeback at Manchester United in the FA Cup last Sunday to force a replay was followed up by a Europa League victory over Steaua Bucharest to reach the quarterfinals on Thursday.

“We are in good form,” Lampard said. “There is a good feeling around the place and we need to carry it on until the end of the season.”

Tottenham needs to rediscover the form that propelled it to third if it is to capture one of the four Champions League spots.

Berbatov found the net seven minutes into the second half with a mis-hit shot that flew past goalkeeper Hugo Lloris.

“The effort and commitment were there,” Tottenham manager Andre Villa-Boas said. “Probably the organization wasn’t, and it is down to us to get to business and correct that.”

While Tottenham is looking to the Champions League, Wigan is trying to avoid dropping into the League Championship as it sits in the relegation zone, three points from safety with a game in hand over Aston Villa.

Arouna Kone boosted Wigan’s survival prospects by slotting in a stoppage time goal to clinch the victory over Newcastle.

Newcastle players had been appealing for handball on Maynor Figueroa but they were more furious in the first half when Callum McManaman’s wreckless knee-high challenge on Haidara was not punished by referee Mark Halsey.

Haidara had to be carried off on a stretcher and was taken to a hospital for evaluation, and Newcastle’s anger spilled over into a halftime scuffle with assistant manager John Carver sent to the stands along with Wigan coach Graham Barrow.

Wigan had gone in front in the 18th through Jean Beasejour, with Davide Santon equalizing for Newcastle in the 72nd.

“The tackle was awful, and we’ve lost the game in the last minute to what I think is a handball, and also got a boy going to hospital,” Newcastle manager Alan Pardew said.

At Sunderland, Norwich was leading 1-0 through Wes Hoolahan’s close-range header when Bunn was dismissed on the half-hour for handling outside his area.

It got worse for Norwich five minutes before halftime when defender Sebastien Bassong conceded a penalty, and Craig Gardner levelled from the spot. Norwich is now 10 points above of the relegation zone and Sunderland is seven points clear.

Napoli edges Atalanta, AC Milan downs Palermo: Serie A

(PhatzRadio / CBC Sports) — Napoli kept its slim Serie A title hopes alive with a 3-2 win over Atalanta on Sunday, while AC Milan maintained its challenge for second by beating struggling Palermo 2-0, with both goals coming from Mario Balotelli.

Goran Pandev scored the winner for Napoli nine minutes from time after it had twice been pegged back by Atalanta.

Edison Cavani scored the other two, breaking a drought of eight games in all competitions — the longest in his time at Napoli.

“It was important to get back to winning ways, as we did not deserve to be in this difficult moment,” Cavani said. “Now we must enjoy this victory, which will allow us to work in a more relaxed environment. We are doing well and want to go as far as possible.”

Milan bounced back from a 4-0 Champions League loss at Barcelona as Balotelli fired home an early penalty before doubling his tally in the second half with his seventh goal in six games since his arrival from Manchester City.

“We won, which was the important thing,” Balotelli said. “It went badly in Barcelona, but we have recovered.”

They both still have a long way to go to get anywhere near Francesco Totti’s tally after the Roma captain scored his 226th league goal in Roma’s 2-0 win over Parma.

Totti has now surpassed former Swedish great Gunnar Nordahl’s tally and is alone in second place on Serie A’s all-time scoring list, 48 behind Silvio Piola’s record.

Napoli is nine points behind defending champion Juventus, with Milan two points further back, with nine rounds remaining.

“It doesn’t matter, we will catch Napoli next week,” Balotelli added. “We must continue working as a squad. We might not play like Barcelona, but we can reach their level, as we beat them at San Siro.”

Elsewhere, Fiorentina beat 10-man Genoa 3-2 to keep its Champions League hopes alive.

After Juventus beat Bologna 2-0 to move provisionally 12 points clear on Saturday, Napoli — which had picked up just four points in five games — knew it needed a victory to stay in touch.

It got off to a great start when Cavani converted a penalty following Luigi Giorgi’s foul on Juan Camilo Zuniga after just three minutes.

Atalanta levelled with a bizarre own goal from Paolo Cannavaro. German Denis’ cross was comically miskicked by Giacomo Bonaventura from five yards but he backheeled it onto Cannavaro and it ricocheted into the net.

Cavani restored Napoli’s lead in the 65th, squeezing a shot in between two defenders for his 20th league goal of the season.

It looked as if Denis had ended his old club’s title hopes when he levelled eight minuted later, but Pandev sidefooted home a late winner for his first goal since October.

Milan also got off to the perfect start when Balotelli won and scored an eighth-minute penalty after he was pulled down by Salvatore Aronica.

Cristian Zapata was lucky not to get sent off in the 32nd minute when he cleared Paulo Dybala’s long ball with his arm. Zapata was the last man and appeared to have prevented a clear goalscoring chance but the referee only showed him a yellow card.

Balotelli doubled his tally in the 66th, tapping in from close range after Palermo goalkeeper Stefano Sorrentino spilled M’Baye Niang’s cross.

Tough week for Palermo

Palermo remains rooted to the bottom of the table, as its miserable week continued following a fourth coaching change.

Desperate to avoid relegation, the last-place club rehired Giuseppe Sannino on Tuesday but it remains five points off Genoa, which is still very much in danger after a third successive defeat.

Alberto Aquilani returned from a ban to give Fiorentina a 33rd-minute lead.

Daniele Portanova headed in the equalizer in the 58th but Fiorentina was back in front four minutes later when Alexandros Tzorvas dropped Manuel Pasqual’s cross and Juan Cuadrado tapped it into the net.

Luca Antonelli levelled again for Genoa but it was forced to play the last 15 minutes with 10 men after Andrea Bertolacci was sent off following a second booking.

Moments later a corner went in off Genoa defender Mattia Cassani’s shoulder and Fiorentina held on for victory, which keeps it three points behind Milan.

Inter Milan is also in the running for the final Champions League spot, but its game at Sampdoria was postponed due to bad weather. Torino’s match went ahead in heavy snowfall as it beat 10-man Lazio 1-0. Substitute Jonathas scored with his first touch of the game, 12 minutes from time.

The snow was so bad that play had to be halted for several minutes during the second half to clear the lines around the goal and penalty area.

Lazio played with 10 men for 75 minutes after Michael Ciani was booked twice in 43 seconds.

Roma, Lazio and Inter are all level on 47 points.

Erik Lamela gave Roma a seventh-minute lead before Totti’s historic second-half goal from a free kick.

Totti and Simone Perrotta hit the crossbar for Roma, while Gabriel Paletta did so for Parma.

Siena, which started the season with a six-point penalty following a match-fixing scandal, is now just a point behind Genoa after a drab goalless draw against Cagliari, earlier on Sunday.

Pescara, which is level at the bottom of the table with Palermo, lost 2-0 at home to Chievo Verona with very late goals from Adrian Stoian and Cyril Thereau.

Soccer Recap: Messi extends scoring streak to 18 in Barcelona’s win / La Liga, EPL and Serie A is a post from: PhatzRadio.com

Related Links:

• No Related Links