Sports

Suarez volley hands Barca win at Bilbao

Manager Benitez’s first La Liga outing sees Real draw 0-0 against Sporting

Reuters August 25, 2015

Barcelona’s Luis Suarez celebrates a goal during their Spanish first division soccer match against Athletic Bilbao at San Mames stadium. PHOTO: REUTERS

MADRID: Barcelona got their bid for a sixth La Liga title in eight years off to a winning start when Luis Suarez buried a fine volley shortly after halftime to secure a hard-fought 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

The Spanish and European champions’ victory at the San Mames, in which Lionel Messi had a first-half penalty saved, was sweet revenge for Barca following their 5-1 aggregate defeat by Bilbao in this month’s Spanish Super Cup.

It came at some cost, however, as both midfielder Sergio Busquets and fullback Dani Alves picked up injuries that ended their participation in the game.

“We know that these kinds of matches give us strength in our effort to win La Liga,” Suarez told Spanish television. “We also knew that Bilbao would be a very difficult, very tough opponent,” added the Uruguay striker.

Real held at Gijon

Rafa Benitez suffered an embarrassing setback in his first La Liga outing in charge of Real Madrid when they were held to a 0-0 draw at promoted Sporting Gijon in their opening match of the season on Sunday.

Real’s expensively assembled squad, including FIFA Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale, the world’s most expensive player, could not find a way past Gijon’s determined defence at the Molinon.

The hosts — whose resources are a fraction of those of their illustrious visitors — also created chances and when Arnaldo Sanabria headed against the underside of the crossbar in the first half, television replays showed it may have just crossed the goal line.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 25^th, 2015.

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COMMENTS (1)

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