12-28-2019, 12:58 AM
BARCELONA, Spain -- Diego Costa sparked Atletico Madrids exhilarating 2-1 comeback at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday, while Lionel Messi converted a late penalty to keep Barcelona one point behind the Spanish league leaders with a contentious 1-0 win at Espanyol. Morris Claiborne Jersey . Cristiano Ronaldo scored as well before Gareth Bale netted a brace as Real Madrid routed Rayo Vallecano 5-0 at home, breaking a rare two-game losing streak and keeping their team within three points of the pacesetters. A tireless Diego Costa cancelled out Iker Muniains opener before Koke "Jorge" Resurreccion followed with a 55th-minute header to keep Atletico on course in its search for its first league title since 1996. Messi made sure Barcelona stayed right behind Atletico with seven games left by slotting in a spot kick in the 77th when Espanyol defender Javi Lopez handled in the area. Ronaldo leads the league with 28 goals through 31 games. Diego Costa is next with 25, trailed by Messi with 23. Barcelona hosts Atletico on Tuesday in the Champions League quarterfinals, a preview of their meeting in the last round of the Spanish league season. Diego Costa was a nightmare for Bilbaos defence, and could have had at least one more goal given the number of opportunities he fought hard to create. He did help leave Bilbao with 10 men by earning a second yellow card for Aymeric Laporte in the 86th. "Diego Costa is huge for us," said Koke. "We have seen that from the start of the season and I only hope he keeps it up. We knew that we were visiting a tough ground and the game was like we expected. Diego (Costa) had space to roam and we found him. Then we turned it around." Muniain took advantage of a rare defensive lapse by Atletico to hit six minutes in when he chased down a pass touched on by Aritz Aduriz and used one touch to lob the ball over onrushing goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. Atleticos answer came in the 22nd when Koke intercepted Ander Iturraspes ill-advised pass and left Diego Costa alone to beat goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz. After Diego Costa almost struck again seconds after the restart, Koke played Filipe Luis wide and ran forward to nod his returned cross into the net to momentarily silence the raucous San Mames crowd. Diego Simeones side still needed Courtois one-handed stretch to swat away Adurizs header with 10 minutes to play. Simeone called his teams game the "best of the season." "We are aware of the great match we played," said Simone. "We went straight at recovering the ball and exploiting the space up front for Diego (Costa). We didnt waste time despite falling behind. We always knew how we wanted to play." Bilbao was left in fourth place and in control of the last Champions League spot with a six-point advantage over Sevilla after it lost 1-0 at Celta Vigo from Manuel "Nolito" Agudos 87th-minute penalty. Espanyols physical style kept Messi and the crosstown visitors in check until Lopez was whistled, allowing Messi to score the spot kick for his eighth goal in his last four games and save Barcelona from a costly draw. Barcelona was fortunate, however, that the referee did not see the ball hit Lopez after Dani Alves cross first ricocheted off Neymars arm, as television replays appeared to show. "Derbies are always tough, and this was a tense game with lots of interruptions, fouls and controversy," Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets said. "Three weeks ago we were in a difficult situation. Now we are in a privileged one and control our fate. I hope it stays like that until the last game against Atletico." Espanyol played the last seven minutes and injury time with 10 men after goalkeeper Kiko Casilla used his hands outside the box. Lopez had to take over goalkeeping duties with Espanyols three substitutes already made and played admirably, making two saves. Ronaldo and Bale were the main attractions in an otherwise dreary, rainy, and lopsided match at the Santiago Bernabeu. Ronaldo opened from Bales pass in the 15th before setting up Dani Carvajal in the 55th. Bale scored twice on the break in the 68th and 70th. Substitute Alvaro Morata curled in Madrids fifth in the 78th. Johnny Robinson Jersey . Canadas 5-1 loss to Finland in the semifinal ranks as the tournaments most-watched game with a record 2.7 million viewers, the largest ever for a World Juniors game played outside of North America, and winning Saturday as the most-watched program on Canadian television. Eric Fisher Jersey . Then Klay Thompson put his foot on the gas. Thompson scored 19 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and Harrison Barnes scored 14 points in his season debut to help the Golden State Warriors to a 106-93 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night. http://www.customchiefsjersey.com/custom...2266n.html . Replay backed him up. Adeiny Hechavarria immediately followed the ruling with a go-ahead sacrifice fly for the Miami Marlins, who held on to beat the Seattle Mariners 3-2 on Sunday completing a three-game sweep.Wales will be without Joe Allen for the World Cup Qualifier against Georgia in Cardiff on Sunday. The 26-year-old Stoke midfielder suffered a hamstring injury in the early stages of the second half in Thursdays 2-2 draw with Austria in Vienna.Allen had given Wales the lead with a stunning half-volley in the first half, his second goal in two Group D qualifying matches having also netted in the 4-0 victory over Moldova in September. Allens absence is a further blow for Wales boss Chris Coleman with fellow midfielder Aaron Ramsey still sidelined with a hamstring problem. Watch Joe Allen open the scoring for Wales against Austria with a sublime volley. The extent of Allens injury is unclear but he may miss Stokes next Premier League match, at home to Sunderland, on October 15.Coleman is hopeful that will not be the case though, and he expects Allen to be fit for the visit of Serbia in November. Wales manager Chris Coleman Weve had a scan and something showed up, so you have to be very careful with it, said Coleman. Jerrel Wilson Jersey. If he has a good week he may play for Stoke next weekend, but this one is too soon for him. So from between now and then what he does is going to be very important. Lets make sure hes looked after properly and hes ready for the next one.Allen, who joined Stoke from Liverpool in July for just over £13m, has scored in his last two matches for his new club against West Brom and Manchester United. Highlights from Group D as Wales faced Austria in the European Qualifiers for the 2018 World Cup. You can watch Englands tour of Bangladesh, plus Premier League football and the Japan Grand Prix on Sky Sports. Upgrade now and enjoy three months at half price! Also See: Wales latest Wales fixtures Wales stats Table Live on Sky ' ' '