Barca crush Getafe 6-1
Lionel Messi notched his 35th league goal of the season as
an understrength Barcelona strolled to a crushing 6-1 home win against Getafe
that put them 12 points clear of Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga on
Sunday.
Alexis Sanchez and David Villa made the most of a rare place
in the starting lineup with goals either side of Messi's strike and Andres
Iniesta, Cristian Tello and Gerard Pique were also on the scoresheet as a
rampant Barca racked up a 20th victory in 23 matches to move on to 62 points.
Atletico were upset 2-1 at Rayo Vallecano in Sunday's late
kick-off and stay on 50 points, four ahead of third-placed Real Madrid, who
thrashed Sevilla 4-1 at the Bernabeu on Saturday thanks to a Cristiano Ronaldo
treble.
"We are not going to repeat all the praise we have
showered on him (Messi)," Barca sporting director Andoni Zubizarreta said
in an interview with Spanish TV broadcaster Canal Plus.
"Alexis and Villa gave us a lot of speed and created
spaces and showed they are also capable of putting the ball away," the
former Barca and Spain goalkeeper added.
"Some of the players who don't feature so often were
very impressive."
Barca's interim coach Jordi Roura, standing in for Tito
Vilanova who is recovering from throat surgery, rested several key players for
Getafe's visit to the Nou Camp, including Spain trio Pedro, Cesc Fabregas and
Sergio Busquets.
They were also missing playmaker Xavi through injury, with
Thiago Alcantara and Iniesta running the show in midfield in the absence of
their Spain team mate.
Unusually, Barca had been handed the midday kick-off slot
but the unfamiliar starting time failed to dampen the players' hunger for
victory in front of more than 85,000 fans thronging the giant arena and
enjoying the sunshine.
Alexis struck in the sixth minute, Messi made it 2-0 seven
minutes later and Villa put the game well beyond Getafe, who are 12th on 29
points, with a third just before the hour.
As Getafe started to wilt, Messi surged forward and laid the
ball off for substitute Tello to curl in a fourth 11 minutes from time before a
mistake from Jordi Alba let in Alvaro Vazquez to pull a goal back for the
visitors in the 83rd minute.
Nigeria Show
Nigeria ended almost two decades without success and
returned to their role as a continental heavyweight after edging Burkina Faso
1-0 in the African Nations Cup final on Sunday.
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Sunday Mba's volleyed goal five minutes before halftime
ended the fairytale run of the Burkinabe, who had exceeded all expectation by
advancing to their first final.
Nigeria proved too strong in the deciding match for the
workman-like Burkinabe, who were out-muscled and out-sprinted at Soccer City
and never looked like repeating the heroics that got them to the final.
Mba's goal came from a botched clearance that fell perfectly
for him but he conjured up a piece of brilliance by flicking the ball over the
head of defender Bakary Kone and then slamming it into the net with goalkeeper
Daouda Diakite rooted to his line.
It was one of just a few clear chances on the night, most of
them for Nigeria who looked a class above their game but outgunned opponents.
Nigeria, whose coach Stephen Keshi became the second man to
win the Nations Cup as both coach and player, might well have added two or
three more too the score with a little extra care in front of goal.
Brown Ideye had chances just after halftime and again with
eight minutes to go but overran the ball and Ahmed Musa slipped at a crucial
moment when he was put in the clear by Victor Moses.
Moses was also guilty of squandering opportunities on the
counter attack as Burkina Faso were kept pegged back in their own half.
John Obi Mikel in midfield ensured Nigeria had a tight grip
on the game, but there were half-chances for the Burkinabe and one moment when
they might have equalised when Wilfried Sanou shot a snap effort just across
the face of goal in the 73rd minute.
Burkina made a gallant effort near the end to try and snatch
an equaliser, as they had when the two teams met in the group phase at the
start of the tournament.
"You don't want to know what was going through my mind
in the closing minutes," said Keshi, whose team cleverly closed out the
game.
"Perhaps we were tired but I don't want to make
excuses," said Burkina Faso's coach Paul Put told reporters.
"I saw my team fighting to the last minute, I'm very
proud, all Burkinabe can be proud of these players."
The Nations Cup victory was Nigeria's third, following on
previous success in 1980 and in 1994, when Keshi was captain.
They now play in the Confederation Cup in Brazil where they
will face Oceania champions Tahiti, South American champions Uruguay and world
champions Spain.
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