12-30-2019, 12:56 AM
BARCELONA, Spain -- Cristiano Ronaldo struck again in Real Madrids 5-0 rout at Almeria before going off injured, while Barcelona didnt miss sidelined star Lionel Messi as it eased past 10-man Granada 4-0 to retain the Spanish league lead on Saturday. Cheap Custom Braves Jersey . Not to be outdone, Atletico Madrid bettered its title rivals by demolishing 10-man Getafe 7-0 with Diego Costa returning from injury to score with a brilliant bicycle kick. "It was an almost perfect night," Atletico coach Diego Simeone said. Barcelona leads Atletico by three points with Madrid trailing the defending champions by six points. Mexico forward Carlos Vela found the net four times to rally Real Sociedad back from a two-goal deficit for a 4-3 victory against 10-man Celta Vigo to round out a free-scoring Saturday featuring 23 goals. Fresh from scoring four to lead Portugal past Sweden in their World Cup qualifying playoffs, Ronaldo extended his scoring run to eight straight games for club and country by grabbing Madrids third-minute opener. Ronaldo walked off the pitch in the 52nd with a suspected hamstring injury before Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale, Isco Alarcon and Alvaro Morata added goals. "It was for precaution," Ronaldo said. "Its nothing special. I was kicked in the first half and had the muscle a little stiff." Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said Ronaldo had "a problem with his hamstring" and he would undergo more tests on Sunday. Andres Iniesta and Cesc Fabregas earned and converted penalties to help injury-battered Barcelona overcome the absence of Messi and four more first-choice players. "Those of us who are left have to take care of ourselves," Iniesta said. "When we reach April or May it will be a question of having everyone doing their part." Ronaldo and Messi are their teams undisputed leaders and the two top scorers in the sport, but their teammates showed they have more than enough attacking talent to get by without them, especially against the lesser league sides, by combining for eight goals without the scoring aces. Ronaldo is vying to end Messis unprecedented run of four straight Ballon dOr awards. While Messi wont be back from a left hamstring tear until January, Ronaldo, if fit, will have one more chance to impress voters on Wednesday when Madrid hosts Galatasaray in the Champions League before voting for the 2013 award closes on Friday. Ronaldo had already directed two shots on target when he ran forward to toe Iscos bouncing cross inside the far post with his outstretched left boot for his league-leading 17th goal in 14 rounds. The goal tied Ronaldo with former striker Hugo Sanchez as the Madrids fourth all-time leading scorer in league play with 164 goals. Ronaldo did it in 149 games, while Sanchez needed 207. Raul Gonzalez holds the record with 228 goals. With Almeria showing some fight, Ronaldo left the match and went straight to the changing room. Benzema curled in a pass from Ronaldos replacement, Jese Rodriguez, in the 61st, Bale pounced on a defensive gaffe to seal the result in the 72nd, and Isco placed a long-range strike inside the post in the 75th. Morata chipped the goalkeeper six minutes later. Messi paraded his record third Golden Boot for most goals in Europes domestic leagues last season before taking his seat at Camp Nou. Without Messi, Xavi Hernandez, Dani Alves, Jordi Alba, and goalkeeper Victor Valdes, Barcelona still dominated a Granada side that had lost only once away this season, to remain unbeaten with a league record of 13 wins and a draw. "Barcelona was missing players? I didnt realize it," Granada coach Luis Alcaraz said. Granada, 2-0 behind, played a man down from the 66th after Manuel Iturra received his second booking. Vela started Sociedads comeback against Celta from 3-1 down by heading in a free kick in the 61st, and Celta defender Andreu Fontas was dismissed for his second yellow card four minutes later. Vela levelled at 3-3 in the 78th and held off his marker to collect Antoine Griezmanns lobbed pass to roll in the dramatic winner in the 81st. "You work hard each game to help as much as you can and today was a great day for me," Vela said. "And, fortunately, my goals got us the win, because if not it would have been bittersweet." Dale Murphy Jersey .C. - Goodyear has warned teams that increased speeds at Charlotte Motor Speedway will put a heavy emphasis on the right front tires in Saturday nights race a€” a potentially key development for drivers trying to advance in the Chase for the Sprint Cup Championship. Alex Jackson Jersey . First, Ivan Nova decided to have season-ending Tommy John elbow surgery. Then Michael Pineda was suspended for 10 games for using pine tar. http://www.custombravesjersey.com/ . -- Joe Thornton scored the tiebreaking goal with 5:39 left in regulation to help the San Jose Sharks overcome a two-goal deficit to beat the Pittsburgh Penguins 5-3 on Thursday night.SCOTTSDALE, Ariz. -- Phil Mickelson is going ahead with his Phoenix Open title defence after testing his ailing lower back on Wednesday at exclusive Whisper Rock. "I had a good practice session, though I didnt go full speed for much of it," Mickelson said in a statement. "I feel fine. I expect to play and play well." He first felt soreness two weeks ago in Abu Dhabi, and then withdrew from the Farmers Insurance Open on Friday after making the cut at Torrey Pines. He flew to Georgia to see back specialist Tom Boers and was told his facet joints locked up. Last year at TPC Scottsdale, the former Arizona State star opened with an 11-under 60 and matched the Phoenix Open record of 28 under. He was set to make his 25th start in the event that he also won in 1996 and 2005. Mickelson lived in the Phoenix area for 12 years. "If it was any other tournament Id skip it," Mickelson said this week. "But Im defending, its my second hometown and I love the event." Lefty also said he expects to play next week at Pebble Beach, where hes a five-time champion. He is skipping Riviera and the Match Play Championship because his oldest daughter has spring break a week earlier than his other two children. On Thursday at TPC Scottsdale, the 43-year-old Mickelson was scheduled to open play on the 10th tee in a morning group with Bill Haas and Ryan Moore. While Mickelson now lives near his hometown of San Diego, Torrey Pines winner Scott Stallings is setting up a winter base in Scottsdale. He also is joining Whisper Rock, the club where Mickelson and other tour players are members. "My wife and I are renting in Scottsdale at Grayhawk, so we are five minutes away from here," Stallings said. "I have been playing and practicing out of here, actually also at Whisper Rock -- went through the whole process and we are going to make somewhat of a winter home out here. Especially, with the vile weather thats been in the South, I dont miss that at all. We miss our families, but I dont miss that weather at all.&quuot; Stallings won Sunday in San Diego for his third tour title. Custom Babe Ruth Jersey. "That venue and that event was very special and a huge stepping stone in my career," he said. Stallings is getting over an illness that also hit his wife and son. "Honestly, if you asked me yesterday, Id say there is no way Im playing in the tournament," he said. "The Mayo Clinic and the tournament got me hooked up with some good doctors and nurses, all kind of IVs and fluid and stuff like that. Im a completely different person than I was yesterday." Patrick Reed is coming off a victory two weeks ago in California in the Humana Challenge. Riding a self-described "putting coma" at La Quinta, Reed opened with three straight 9-under 63s and closed with a 71 for a two-stroke victory. "The greens, when I first saw them, there were a couple brown spots on them, and I thought that meant it was going to be not rolling very true, but I didnt see any putts really hop," Reed said about TPC Scottsdale. "Whenever you have greens like that that are just really pure, just like they were at Humana, Im excited." Lee Westwood is making his first start in the event. He also played last week at Torrey Pines, in part because of the tours new wraparound schedule. "Normally, I would go play the Middle East swing. I would go and play Abu Dhabi, Qatar, and Dubai or two of those three," the Englishman said. "I decided not to go this year and wanted to play a few more events in the States. "If you dont play these, then youre giving up a big start, because they have played six before the season, so it started last year. So its like a quarter of the schedule gone if you dont start until Pebble or L.A., so it makes sense to play a couple of these." Mickelsons decision to play cost Ryo Ishikawa a spot in the field. The Japanese player tied for seventh last week at Torrey Pines, but didnt get into the Phoenix Open as a top-10 finisher because the field was full before that entry category. ' ' '