FOOTBALL: Real crush Rayo, Barcelona win Club World Cup

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.

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Messi lifts Barca, five for record-breaker Ronaldo

MADRID - Lionel Messi came off the bench to earn Barcelona a 2-1 victory at Atletico Madrid on Saturday while Cristiano Ronaldo hit five goals in a 6-0 romp at Espanyol to become Real Madrid's record La Liga scorer.

Champions Barca, who started with talisman Messi as a substitute following the birth of his second son on Friday, fell behind after a tight first half at the Calderon when Fernando Torres sped clear to score in the 51st minute.

Neymar levelled four minutes later when he curled a sumptuous free kick into the top corner and the Brazil forward should have made it 2-1 in the 67th when his point-blank shot was cleared off the line by Diego Godin.

Neymar was also involved in the winner before the ball fell to Luis Suarez, who had struck the crossbar in the first half, and he slipped a pass into space for Messi to dink it past goalkeeper Jan Oblak with 13 minutes remaining.

The victory preserved Barca's perfect start to the season and they lead on a maximum nine points from three matches, three ahead of 2013-14 champions Atletico who are fifth.

"We played very well after going behind and we're very happy," Neymar told Spanish television.

"Messi is the best player in the world and when he comes on to the pitch everyone plays better."

Real have seven points in second place after Ronaldo, who like great rival Messi had drawn a blank in the opening two games, ended his early-season drought in emphatic style.

The Portugal captain turned in a blistering performance that took his tally in Spain's top flight to 230, overtaking former Real striker Raul's total of 228.

The 30-year-old FIFA Ballon d'Or winner scored in the seventh, 17th (penalty), 20th, 61st and 81st minutes while Karim Benzema struck in the 28th as Real put a hapless Espanyol to the sword.

Ronaldo, who hit five against Granada in La Liga last season, raced clear and finished calmly to set Real on their way before converting a penalty won by Gareth Bale.

Bale's centre from the left set up Ronaldo to volley in his third, equalling Messi's Spanish record of 32 hat-tricks, before he turned provider by crossing for Benzema to make it 4-0 inside half an hour.

Wales playmaker Bale set Ronaldo up again after a swift counter attack and substitute Lucas Vazquez made the assist for the former Manchester United man's fifth and Real's sixth.

"They (Espanyol) have a good team but when Cristiano has his day it's impossible," said Real's Portugal defender Pepe.

Spain forward Paco Alcacer scored in added time to give Valencia an unconvincing 1-0 triumph at promoted Sporting Gijon, a first win of the campaign lifting them to sixth place on five points. (Reporting by Iain Rogers, editing by Clare Lovell)

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Messi strikes to give Barca edge over Atletico

BARCELONA - Barcelona seized control of their King's Cup quarter-final tie against Atletico Madrid when Lionel Messi followed up his saved penalty to score and secure a 1-0 first-leg victory at the Nou Camp on Wednesday.

Barca dominated possession against the La Liga champions but Atletico defended stoutly and held the record Cup winners at bay until Juanfran fouled Spain team mate Sergio Busquets in the area six minutes from time.

Messi's effort from the spot was well saved by Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak, but the ball fell kindly for the Argentina captain and he tapped it into the net to give Barca the advantage ahead of next Wednesday's return in Madrid.

"It's a good result but the second leg is still to come and they are going to be 90 very intense minutes," Barca captain Andres Iniesta said in an interview with Spanish television broadcaster Canal Plus.

"We performed extremely well against an opponent which is very tough to overcome," added the Spain international.

"Not conceding a goal is an important achievement but it does not guarantee anything. We will try to do things well again in the return."

Villarreal or Getafe await in the last four and Villarreal gained the upper hand in their tie when captain Bruno Soriano, who had come off the bench half an hour earlier, curled in a free kick in the 85th minute at the Madrigal.

On the other side of the draw, Athletic Bilbao ground out a 0-0 stalemate at Malaga, while Sevilla play their first leg at Espanyol on Thursday.

After losing 3-1 at Barca in La Liga this month, Atletico produced a much improved defensive performance and were close to becoming only the second team to avoid conceding at the Nou Camp this season until Messi struck.

Luis Suarez, who has yet to spark since joining from Liverpool, had Barca's best scoring opportunity in the first half when he was picked out by Ivan Rakitic in the 36th minute but he skewed his first-time shot over the crossbar.

Atletico restricted Messi, fresh from a hat-trick in Barca's La Liga victory at Deportivo La Coruna at the weekend, to a single genuine chance when he also shot wildly over when well placed in the 12th minute.

The four-times World Player of the Year could have made it 2-0 in added time but fired a free kick from just outside the Atletico area narrowly over.

"It's a result that can be turned around," Atletico defender Miranda told Canal Plus.

"We have a good defence and we score in almost all our matches," added the Brazil international.

"With our fans behind us, who are always there when we need them, we will fight back."

(Writing by Iain Rogers, editing by Toby Davis/Patrick Johnston)

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