Barcelona, Spain (My Sportsbook) - Barcelona overcame a red card and a one- goal deficit to salvage a 1-1 draw against Valencia Saturday at Camp Nou. With the point, Barca extended its lead atop the table to 10 points over Real Madrid, Valencia, and Espanyol. Zinedine Zidane's last-minute goal gave Real a 3-2 at Racing Santander Saturday. Espanyol plays at Numancia on Sunday. Valencia, the defending La Liga champions, took the lead in the 63rd minute through Stefano Fiore. The midfielder chipped Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes after running onto a deflection. Valdes' evening got worse as he was sent off in the 73rd minute for handling the ball outside the box. Backup Rubens came on in goal, and Xavi headed off the field. Despite being reduced to 10 men, Barcelona continued to press and earned a penalty kick in the 79th minute when Ronaldinho was taken down in the area. The Brazilian superstar finished what he started as he converted the equalizer. Meanwhile, Real Madrid found itself down 2-1 at Racing Santander in the 51st minute. But captain Raul tied the game at two in the 61st minute off a Luis Figo cross. Zidane headed home the dramatic game-winner in injury time as Real moved up to second on goal differential. In the only other La Liga match of the day, Levante and Albacete played to a 1-1 draw.
|