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April 22, 2013

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Espanyol punishes 9-man Getafe 2-0

ESPANYOL beat nine-man Getafe 2-0 for its third straight away victory in the Spanish league yesterday.

Joan Verdu finished off a well-orchestrated passing combination by his team culminating in Sergio Garcia's chested assist for the midfielder to volley home in the 37th minute.

Getafe was decimated by Borja Fernandez's second yellow card in the 52nd and Federico Fernandez's red card in the 72nd for a low tackle on Garcia. Fernandez's foul led to Christian Stuani netting Espanyol's second goal from the resulting freekick a minute later when he pushed in a short cross from Diego Colotto after Wakaso Mubarak found him in the area.

It was Getafe's first loss at Alfonso Perez Coliseum in 11 games. Both teams remain in mid-table.

On Saturday, Cesc Fabregas scored late to give Barcelona a hard-fought 1-0 win over Levante, while Real Madrid beat Real Betis 3-1 as both Spanish powerhouses prepared for the Champions League semifinals.

Barcelona's attack lacked the pace and creativity to break through Levante's disciplined defense until Fabregas struck six minutes from time.

"It was important to win this game, even though some people want to think that the league is no longer interesting," Fabregas said. "We know how much we have worked to win it, and we are going to keep fighting until the end."

David Villa had a golden chance to score for Barcelona in the 17th minute after Levante's Papakouly Diop fouled Andres Iniesta in the area. But goalkeeper Keylor Navas blocked Villa's spot kick and sprung to his feet in time to parry Fabregas' point-blank rebound attempt.

Barcelona responded after coach Tito Vilanova sent on Xavi Hernandez and Alexis Sanchez in the second half, with the Chile forward finding Fabregas in the area to rifle the ball just inside the far post before two defenders could close him out.

The victory kept Barcelona well on pace to reclaim the Spanish league title with a 13-point lead and six rounds to play. Barcelona has 84 points, and with 18 left to play for, it can match or surpass Madrid's record of 100 points from last season.



 

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