Real stay top in Spain after derby rally
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Real defeated local rivals Atletico Madrid by 3-2 in the city of Madrid in spain on March 28, 2010. [Xinhua Photo] |
Real Madrid came back from a goal down against local rivals Atletico Madrid to win 3-2 and stay top of the Spanish La Liga.
Real went into the game knowing that Barcelona had won in Mallorca on Saturday night and fell a goal behind after 10 minutes as Jose Antonio Reyes scored a left footed shot.
Everything changed in the second half for Barca. Xabi Alonso scored from close range after 49 minutes and Alvaro Arbeloa added a second following a great cross-field pass from Alonso.
It looked to be all over when Gonzalo Higuain scored a third goal just after the hour, but Diego Forlan scored a penalty to give Atletico some hope of saving a point in the closing minutes.
Atletico, however, failed to create any clear chances in the final 10 minutes.
Barcelona came through one of the toughest away games of the season with a 1-0 win away to Mallorca.
Mallorca had previously won all of its home games except for this campaign and went close twice in the first half, hitting the post throuh Aritz Aduriz and Borja Valero.
Zlatan Ibrahimovich then made Mallorca pay after 62 minutes with a close range shot following a corner. It was a great win for Barcelona, who had begun the match with Leo Messi on the substitutes' bench.
The bad news was the thigh injury suffered by Andres Iniesta, who will now miss the Champions League quarter final first leg against Arsenal.
Antonio Alvarez made his debut as Sevilla coach following last week's sacking of Manolo Jimenez, but his presence changed nothing as Sevilla crashed to a 3-0 defeat in Villarreal.
Villarreal played fast, fluid football and was 2-0 up after just 18 minutes thanks to Rossi and Joseba Llorente.
