Sunday, January 16, 2011

Barca Opens Lead Over Real

Today FB Barcelona cruised to an almost-effortless 4 - 1 victory over Malaga, opening up a 4 point lead over rivals Real Madrid in the race for the Primera Division title.  Andres Iniesta, David Villa and Pedro all scored in the first half, and the Blaugrana were comfortably in control by the mid-point.  In the second half, Malaga managed to make it interesting with a scoring free kick, but just minutes later David Villa scored his second goal of the match, and that ended the fireworks.  With this win, FC Barcelona have now won 13 league matches in a row.

In related news, Cules everywhere will be pleased to know that Real Madrid effectively lost a match against Primera Division botton-feeders Almeria today, with a 1 - 1 tied score.  They almost lost the match outright-- Leonardo Ulloa scored for Almeria in the 59th minute, and Real had to scramble to even the score.  Substitute Esteban Granero tied things up for Real in the 77th minute, but despite a furious attack by Real, Almeria held on for the draw.  Sometimes a draw can be a win, and that certainly was the case today for both Almeria and front-runners FC Barcelona. 

This outcome costs Real dearly in the Primera Division race, setting them back more points than they can now make up in a single match.  That means that now FC Barcelona controls its own destiny--so long as they keep winning, no one can catch them now.