Real hit 10 past nine-man Rayo, Atletico lose
Reuters
Real Madrid closed to within two points of La Liga leaders Barcelona after demolishing nine-man Rayo Vallecano 10-2 on Sunday while Atletico Madrid missed a chance to seize top spot outright by losing 1-0 at Malaga.
Gareth Bale landed the first four-goal haul of his career as Real bounced back in style from last weekend's 1-0 defeat at Villarreal, with Karim Benzema netting a hat-trick and Cristiano Ronaldo scoring twice.
Atletico had captain Gabi sent off 11 minutes into the second half at the Rosaleda and Malaga made the breakthrough three minutes from time when a Charles volley deflected into the net off Diego Godin.
Barca and Atletico are on 35 points, with the Spanish and European champions having played one game fewer. Real are third on 33.
Panathinaikos slip up as Olympiakos race 14 points clear
Graham Wood, Reuters
It was a case of one step forward and two steps back for Panathinaikos as they lost 1-0 at lowly Panthrakikos on Sunday, allowing arch-rivals Olympiakos Piraeus to march 14 points clear at the top of the Super League.
Andrea Stramaccioni's Panathinaikos went into the match on the back of two successive victories but they were undone in the Northern city of Komotini by Rogerio Martins' 28th-minute goal.
Olympiakos powered to their 14th win in 14 league matches on Saturday, defeating bottom club Kalloni 2-0 thanks to a double from Kostas Fortounis.
Marco Silva's league leaders now head into the Christmas break well clear at the top.
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Watford shock Liverpool, goal-shy West Ham held
Steve Tongue, Reuters
Nigerian international Odion Ighalo scored twice as a buoyant Watford won 3-0 at home to Liverpool on Sunday to consolidate seventh position in the Premier League, only one point behind the top four.
The lacklustre defeat by Watford was a bad blow for Juergen Klopp's side, who would have overtaken them with a win but remained ninth, having taken only one point from three games.
Not since April 1987 have Watford, promoted to the top flight this season, won four successive games at this level of English football.
"It was an amazing victory against an amazing team," Quique Sanchez Flores, Watford's manager, told the BBC.
In the day's other game, West Ham United stayed eighth after a fourth successive draw -- the last three of them goalless -- when they were held by managerless Swansea City, who are still in the bottom three.
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Barca sweep to another title in one-sided contest
Brian Homewood, Reuters
Barcelona swept to the Club World Cup title by outclassing South American champions River Plate 3-0 on Sunday, with Luis Suarez scoring twice after Lionel Messi had broken the deadlock in a one-sided contest.
There was a hint of handball about Messi's goal, although it did not appear to be intentional, as the Argentine brought down Neymar's pass and cleverly flicked the ball past Marcelo Barovero.
Uruguay forward Suarez took his tally in the tournament to five goals after his hat-trick in the semi-final win over Asian champions Guangzhou Evergrande, and 24 goals in as many games this season.
The European champions, fielding six South American players, were especially dominant in the second half when they repeatedly sliced through the River defence looking as if they could score with almost every attack.
source: www.abs-cbnnews.com
