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BARCELONA, Spain -- Barcelona was undone by Real Sociedads potent attack 3-1 to relinquish the provisional Spanish league lead to Real Madrid after it eased to a 3-0 win over Elche on Saturday. jerseys cheap nfl . Barcelona coach Gerard Martino tried to reinforce his defence by playing with two holding midfielders in Sergio Busquets and Alex Song. But Song scored an own goal in the 32nd minute in the first of several defensive lapses that doomed the defending champions. Lionel Messi equalized in the 36th, but Antoine Griezmann restored the hosts advantage after an error by defender Marc Bartra in the 54th before setting up David Zurutuza in the 59th with Barcelona turned into bystanders. Barcelona and Atletico Madrid trail Madrid by three points. Atletico plays on Sunday. Gareth Bale scored from a blistering long-range strike to help Madrid win its third straight game without Cristiano Ronaldo, who was finishing a three-game suspension. Madrid midfielder Asier Illarramendi opened the scoring at the Santiago Bernabeu in the 34th. Bale then squashed Elches timid second-half surge with a blast from about 25 metres in the 72nd before substitute Isco Alarcon sealed the victory in the 81st. Bale was having a discreet outing until his superb strike to secure the three points that made Madrid the overnight pacesetters. The Wales winger received the ball unmarked outside the area, sized up the goal, and unleashed a dipping strike that goalkeeper Manuel Herrera barely grazed before it hit the underside of the bar and bounced in. "I said My goodness, what a goal when I saw the ball pass by," Madrid fullback Dani Carvajal said. Madrid will visit Schalke 04 on Wednesday in the Champions League final 16 enjoying an unbeaten streak of 26 games in all competitions. Madrid then plays at crosstown rival Atletico next weekend in a highly anticipated league meeting. Also, Celta Vigo fought back for a 1-1 draw at home against 10-man Getafe to leave the visitors winless in the last 10 rounds. Martino was dismissed by the referee during halftime, and the Barcelona manager had to witness the rare sight of his team being thoroughly dismantled in the second half from the Anoeta Stadium stands as the festive home fans soaked up their big win. The victory moved Sociedad one point out of fourth place and Spains last Champions League spot as the Basque side deployed its best version of its up-tempo attack. Sociedad was unlucky not to widen the final margin when a disheartened Barcelona appeared to tire in the final minutes. Carlos Vela almost capped his outstanding performance in the 81st only for the ball to hit the post. Barcelona went into the match in San Sebastian after affirming its European credentials with a dominant win at Manchester City this week. But this stinging defeat confirmed the change in course in the league title race over the past two months, leaving Madrid in command and waiting to see if Atletico can keep up when it visits Osasuna on Sunday. Martinos move to start Song ended up backfiring when Gorka Elustondo muscled by him to meet Sergio Canales cross, which Elustondo appeared to graze with his head before it hit Song in the chest and landed in the net. Messi combined with Martin Montoya to level when Sergio Busquets craftily let Montoyas pass run between his legs for Messi to rifle it inside the upright of Claudio Bravos goal. It was Messis seventh goal in his last five games in all competitions and his 14th goal in league play despite missing over two months to injury. Sociedad, however, went back ahead to re-ignite its supporters when Bartra headed Bravos goalkick back toward his own area, where Vela was quick to pounce and crossed for Griezmann to volley the ball beyond Victor Valdes and record his 15th league goal. Griezmann then spotted Zurutuza arriving in a second wave, and the midfielder beat Valdes to the cross and knocked the ball in. wholesale nfl jerseys .Y. - Dustin Tokarski stopped all 43 shots he faced as the Hamilton Bulldogs blanked the host Syracuse Crunch 3-0 on Saturday in American Hockey League action. jerseys from china . The London club made the announcement in a statement, naming the German as its new manager on an 18-month contract. While Fulhams statement failed to mention Meulensteens fate, the Dutchman later told BBC Radio 5 that he had been relieved of his duties at Fulham.NEW ORLEANS -- John Jenkins lay on the court with his hands over his face as Vanderbilt teammates celebrated all around, exuberant after beating No. 1 Kentucky 71-64 for the programs first Southeastern Conference tournament title in more than 60 years. The Wildcats might not really care about the SEC tournament. The Commodores did. Jeffery Taylor scored 18 points, Jenkins added 17 and Vanderbilt rallied with a 16-2 run over the final 5 minutes to end the Wildcats 24-game winning streak that lasted more than three months. "Their 24 game winning streak. Their name on the front of their jersey doesnt matter to us," Vanderbilts Lance Goulbourne said. "Whoever was in our way, we were going to play as hard as we could to try to win that championship." Festus Ezeli also had 17 points for Vanderbilt (24-10), which was playing in its first SEC tournament final since 1951, the year of its only other championship. The Commodores pushed ahead in the final minutes with a few timely shots, but mostly with suffocating defence. Kentucky (32-2) didnt score a field goal over the final 8:04 and shot just 35.9 per cent from the field (23 of 64). "We played really solid defence all game," Taylor said. "The coaches came up with a great game plan and we followed that for the most part. Also, you have to be a little lucky. They missed some open looks." The Wildcats might still win a championship this season, but it wasnt in the SEC tournament. Even with the loss, Kentucky will almost certainly earn a No. 1 seed in the NCAA tournament when the brackets are announced later Sunday. Kentucky coach John Calipari said the loss didnt dampen his enthusiasm for this team, but it did serve as a wake-up call. "Maybe now everybody realizes were not invincible," Calipari said. "Were like everybody else out there. Were going to have to execute, play hard and with some aggressiveness and intensity or we will get beat." Darius Miller scored 16 points in a surprise start for Kentucky while Terrence Jones and Anthony Davis both added 12. Davis had 10 rebounds and three blocked shots, but he got into some rare early foul trouble that limited his effectiveness. Calipari has repeatedly told anyone who will listen that he doesnt care about conference tournaments, viewing them as a nuisance before the NCAA tournament because of the three-games-in-three-days griind. cheap nfl jerseys. "I wish this would have happened yesterday so we got home a day earlier," Calipari said. And while Kentucky had bouts of good play, it was Vanderbilt that put together a much more consistent performance, one that left Commodores coach Kevin Stallings sitting alone on the bench, his face buried in a towel. Vanderbilt had already played Kentucky close twice this season, and the Commodores were up to the challenge once again. Taylor scored 13 first-half points and Jenkins hit three 3-pointers as the Commodores pushed out to a 26-18 but had to settle for a 37-37 tie at halftime. As is their custom, Kentuckys fans completely took over the SEC tournament and turned New Orleans Arena into a home venue, roaring when Miller was announced as a surprise starter. But even with that emotional lift, Vanderbilt had more energy in the first half and the Wildcats were constantly battling from behind. Millers eight first-half points and a couple of timely 3-pointers by Kyle Wiltjer helped Kentucky keep things from getting out of hand. There wasnt much separation in the second half until about halfway through, when Jones had two powerful dunks to put Kentucky up 54-49 and get the crowd into it. It looked like Kentucky might pull away, but then the entire teams shooting touch suddenly went frigid. After a dunk by Miller with 8:04 left, the Wildcats missed 14 consecutive shots from the field to lose for the first time since Dec. 10. "We missed every single shot down the stretch," Calipari said. "And when I say every shot, I mean every shot." Vanderbilt worked its way back from a seven-point deficit with 5:25 remaining, tying the game at 62-all on Ezelis tip-in with 1:56 left and taking the lead for good when freshman Kedren Johnson converted a three-point play. The loss spoiled the Wildcats perfect season against SEC competition. Kentucky is 18-1 against SEC opponents. Vanderbilt has won four of five games heading into the NCAA tournament and is certainly confident after beating the No. 1 team in the country. "Its unbelievable. Im so happy right now," said Vanderbilts Steve Tchiengang, who was wearing a basketball net and Mardi Gras beads around his neck in the aftermath. "I feel so blessed to be around these guys and this coaching staff. Its just an awesome feeling. I really cant explain it. Its unbelievable." cheap jerseys ' ' ' |
