PIQUE HEADS IN LATE EQUALISER TO KEEP BARCA UNBEATEN
BARCELONA: Gerard Pique headed home a late equaliser for Barcelona against Catalan rivals Espanyol to earn his side a 1-1 draw in Cornella and maintain their unbeaten La Liga record on Sunday. The defender, whistled throughout after making provocative comments which upset Espanyol fans after Barcelona knocked their rivals out of the King’s Cup in January, buried Lionel Messi’s free kick.
Ernesto Valverde had started the Argentine on the bench as he rotated his side but threw Messi on in the second half as Barcelona struggled to break down a stubborn Espanyol on a waterlogged pitch in driving rain.
Gerard Moreno headed home Sergio Garcia’s i nch-perfect cross in the 66th minute to give Espanyol hope of repeating their King’s Cup first-leg win over Barcelona but Pique had the final say to move his side provisionally 12 points clear at the top of the table.
ZIDANE ‘DISGUSTED’ AFTER REAL HELD 2-2
MADRID: Real Madrid’s disappointing season was further soured by a 2-2 La Liga draw at Levante on Saturday, a result that left embattled coach Zinedine Zidane “disgusted”. Zidane’s side twice threw away the lead with Giampaolo Pazzini’s 89th minute equaliser earning Levante a point and leaving the defending champions fourth in the standings, 19 points behind leaders Barcelona.
Madrid started the year poorly but consecutive league wins over Deportivo La Coruna and Valencia had given Zidane hope that his team might be turning a corner, until they slipped up again against a hard-working Levante.
The coach was furious that his team made two defensive errors which led to both Levante goals, the first converted by Emmanuel Boateng before Pazzini’s late intervention.
Madrid captain Sergio Ramos broke the deadlock but then played Jose Luis Morales onside in the build up to Levante’s first equaliser three minutes before halftime. Then Pazzini, a deadline day loan signing from Verona, was allowed to charge between Dani Carvajal and Raphael Varane to score on his debut after Isco had restored Madrid’s advantage. “I’m disgusted with the result, it’s hard to take,” Zidane told reporters. “After our second goal we had to control the ball, nothing else, and defensively we were not good.