MADRID: Gerard Pique salvaged a 1-1 draw for La Liga leaders Barcelona at city rivals Espanyol on Sunday, keeping their bid for an unbeaten campaign on track, while Atletico Madrid edged out Valencia to cut the gap at the top to nine points.
Ernesto Valverde’s men were in danger of falling to their first league defeat of the season when Gerard Moreno nodded the hosts ahead midway through the second half, but centre-back Pique met a Lionel Messi corner in the 82nd minute to snatch a point.
Barcelona are now nine points clear at the top of the table from Atletico Madrid, who beat third-placed Valencia 1-0 at the Wanda Metropolitano.
They were far from at their fluent best against a stubborn Espanyol whose point drags them eight clear of the relegation zone, although Philippe Coutinho came close to scoring his first goal since joining from Liverpool last month when he struck the crossbar in the first half.
Atletico took advantage of Barcelona’s draw to revive their slim title hopes, as Angel Correa produced a moment of magic to win the game.
Neither side managed to create many chances in a sloppy first half, with Saul Niguez seeing a long-range effort palmed away by Valencia goalkeeper Neto, while Simone Zaza dragged a shot wide for the visitors.
But Correa stunned Neto with a magnificent long-range strike when nothing appeared on in the 59th minute, with the ball flying into the top corner from 25 yards out to give the 22-year-old Argentinian his sixth league goal of the season.
Valencia plugged away but never truly threatened an equaliser, with Diego Simeone’s hosts doing enough to keep Barca looking over their shoulders.But star forward Antoine Griezmann was whistled by the home fans late on, when he opted to run down the clock instead of pushing for a second goal.The Frenchman has had an up-and-down relationship with the Atletico supporters since saying last year he wanted to leave the club in the future.
from The News International - Sports http://ift.tt/2Bf8qO6
