Barcelona slips up in pursuit of record breaking Real Madrid
15.12.2014 17:30
Barcelona failed to keep pace in the La Liga title race with record breaking Real Madrid Saturday after being held goalless at Getafe.
With the pressure on after Real's 4-1 win at Almeria, its 20th straight, Barca just could not find the way past the home defense.
It trails its arch-rival by four points but could close the gap ahead of the Christmas break in Spain as Real is headed to Morocco Sunday to play in FIFA's Club World Cup and will miss next weekend's round of fixtures.
"The draw isn't a great result," Barcelona captain Xavi Hernandez told AFP. "There's still a long way to go in the league, but admittedly it's a step backwards," he added.
The Catalan giant was missing Brazilian star Neymar through an ankle injury but otherwise fielded a strong side in the Coliseum Alfonso Perez
Luis Suarez -- still searching for his first La Liga goal for his new club -- went close in the first half after turning an effort just wide, while both sides had penalty appeals for handball turned down.
Lionel Messi almost broke the deadlock after the break but saw a free kick rattle the crossbar and he also headed over from a good position.
It was a rare failure to register on the score sheet for Messi, all the more galling after his scoring rival Cristiano Ronaldo scored a late double in Real's victory the previous evening.
Ronaldo had been a largely peripheral figure for 80 minutes until adding two fine late strikes to earlier goals from Isco and Gareth Bale for the European champions.
It took his tally in La Liga to 25 for the season. Garcia Rabasco had given Almeria hope with a thumping strike to level Isco's opener and Real also had Iker Casillas to thank for saving a second half penalty to keep his side in front.
Chelsea continues to set a hot pace in the English Premier League, bouncing back after a 2-1 defeat to Newcastle last weekend to beat 10-man Hull 2-0 at Stamford Bridge Saturday.
Eden Hazard put Jose Mourinho's men ahead early, but the home side was helped by the controversial dismissal of Hull's Tom Huddlestone's for a challenge on Filipe Luis on the hour mark.
Diego Costa wrapped up the three points with his 12th of the season soon afterwards.
t left Chelsea three points clear of reigning champion Manchester City, who continued its fine recent form with a 1-0 victory at bottom side Leicester City.
Former Chelsea star Frank Lampard scored the winning goal for City, his 175th in the EPL, in the first half.
But the visitors lost Edin Dzeko and Vincent Kompany to worrying injuries ahead of the busy Christmas program in England.
Third-placed Manchester United is now eight points behind its city rival ahead of a crunch home match against Liverpool Sunday.
Bayern Munich's march to yet another Bundesliga title continues unchecked, thrashing Augsburg 4-0.
It left Bayern 10 points clear of Wolfsburg, the second-placed side playing Paderborn Sunday in an attempt to close the gap.
After a goalless first-half, visitors Bayern dominated after the break as Dutch ace Arjen Robben netted twice while Medhi Benatia and Robert Lewandowski were also on target.
Meanwhile, Bayern's traditional rival Borussia Dortmund slipped back into the relegation zone with a 1-0 defeat at fellow struggler Hertha Berlin.
Former Dortmund player Julian Schieber scored the only goal of the match against his old club, who slip to 16th with only four wins from 15 Bundesliga games this season.
(CNN)
ANN.Az
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