Barcelona see off Villarreal to return to top of La Liga
BARCELONA: Champions Barcelona reclaimed top spot in La Liga by overcoming a dogged Villarreal side to win 2-0 at home with goals from stalwart defender Gerard Pique and youngster Carles Alena taking them above Sevilla who drew with Alaves.
Pique headed the Catalans in front in the 36th minute, connecting with a cross from the lively Ousmane Dembele who produced another decisive display after scoring Barca’s late equaliser against Atletico Madrid last week. Villarreal are hovering above the relegation zone but they produced an admirable display and nearly took the lead when Gerard Moreno seized on a mix-up between goalkeeper Marc-andre ter Stegen and defender Clement Lenglet but was able only to strike the outside of the near post.
Homegrown midfielder Alena, 20, came off the bench to score his first league goal for Barca in the 87th minute and seal the win, racing on to a through ball from Lionel Messi and producing a confident finish. “We completely dominated the play in the first half despite them hitting the post but we lacked a bit of dynamism in the area but we were rewarded with Pique’s goal,” Barca coach Ernesto Valverde told reporters.
“In the second half, we lacked the ball and when that happens, we suffer a lot. We gave little away because we were organised but we do not feel comfortable playing that way.”
Barca lead the standings with 28 points after 14 games, while Sevilla are second on 27 after drawing 1-1 at Alaves. Atletico Madrid are third on 25 after being held to a 1-1 draw at Girona.
Barca had dropped off the top of the table following last week’s 1-1 stalemate at Atletico in which they had struggled for creativity.
They lacked spark against Villarreal too, badly missing the control that midfielder Arthur Melo provided in recent weeks. NEW DELHI: Delhi Dynamos’ dim hopes of making it to the knockout stages of the Indian Super League (ISL) received a further setback when they were beaten 4-2 by Mumbai City at the Jawaharlal Nehru Stadium here on Tuesday.
In a frenetic start to the game, Dynamos took the lead courtesy an own goal by Mumbai City’s Souvik Chakrabarti in the third minute. After Lallianzuala Chhangte was sent through on the left flank, the Dynamos winger sent in a cross that was inadvertently deflected into the goal by Souvik.
Bolstered by the positive start, Dynamos threatened again with Chhangte and Nandhakumar Sekar both exploiting space on the wings. However, the hosts were unable to make much of their raids into Mumbai’s half and the visitors managed to prevent further damage.
The game turned on its head early in the second half when a handball by Dynamos right-back Pritam Kotal saw the visitors earn a penalty, which was converted by Mumbai forward Rafael Bastos.
At the hour mark, Mumbai took the lead after a failed headed clearance by Dynamos centre back Martin Crespi. The Spaniard’s attempt looped over goalkeeper Albino Gomes’ head and into the back of the net.
Three minutes later, Dynamos levelled with Crespi’s fellow centre back Gianni Zuiverloon heading home a cross from Rene Mihelic.
In contrast to the first half, the hosts’ defence was leaving gaps at the back and Mumbai’s Raynier Fernandes exploited it when he received a pass from Paulo Machado at the edge of the box. Cutting in from the left, he shot past Gomes to restore Mumbai’s lead. Machado also hit the final nail on Dynamos’ coffin when he finished off a cross from fullback Arnold Issoko.
Mumbai move up to fourth in the standings with 17 points from nine games.
“In the first few minutes, we were not in the game. In the second half, I changed a few things and we saw on the pitch the Mumbai City that I like,” head coach Jorge Costa said, reflecting on the victory.
Bottom-placed Delhi Dynamos, on the other hand, are effectively out of the top-four race after taking just four points from 10 games.
“The target now is to win every single game left. We have not won a single one so far and have to work hard to change that,” Dynamos coach Josep Gombau said.