Short Soccer, October 29, 2012
Lionel Messi smashed through the 300-goal mark with a brace as Barcelona crushed Rayo Vallecano 5-0 in Madrid to go three points clear at the top of La Liga. David Villa, Xavi Hernandez and Cesc Fabregas got the other goals to put the pressure back onto second-placed Atletico Madrid, who were to entertain Osasuna overnight. Messi's goals were the 300th and 301st of his career, a total made up of 270 for Barca and 31 for Argentina in only 419 matches. They also took him to 13 in the league this season. AFP
Borussia Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp praised the Bundesliga champions for their professional performance to ground out a 2-0 win at frozen Freiburg in blizzard conditions. Dortmund took three points thanks to second-half goals by defender Neven Subotic and midfielder Mario Goetze. "In the good old days, your mother wouldn't allow you to go out and play in weather like that, but we had to go out and get on with it," said Klopp. "My team gave another outstanding performance. AFP
Defending champions Juventus extended their unbeaten streak to 48 games with a controversial 1-0 win at 10-man Catania in Serie A yesterday after the hosts had a goal disallowed. Catania thought they had taken a first-half lead when Gonzalo Bergessio fired in but the strike was ruled out. To add insult to injury, Nicklas Bendtner was in an offside position in the build-up to Arturo Vidal's second-half goal. Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon kept another clean sheet on his 500th Serie A appearance. AP
Sun Pegasus took a 1-0 lead over home side Southern in the first leg of Canbo Senior Shield quarter-finals at Aberdeen Sports Ground yesterday, thanks to a last-minute goal by second-half substitute Thiago Constancia. After the Brazilian midfielder headed home a Ju Yingzhi corner kick in stoppage time, the referee blew the final whistle, ending the unimpressive contest played before 350 fans. Pegasus coach Chan Chi-hong blamed the bumpy pitch, saying it made it difficult to set up attacks. But he admitted the victory came as a morale booster as they recorded only their second win of the season. Their mediocre run cost coach Chan Ho-yin his job last month. Southern coach Fung Hoi-man said the primary target of the newly promoted side would be keeping their place in top flight but losing the cup match in such a way was still hard to swallow. The two sides will meet in the second leg on November 28. Chan Kin-wa
