After only dropping two points in the first half of the season, Barcelona suffered their first loss on Saturday as they went down 3-2 at Real Sociedad.
Copa del Rey quarter-finals, first leg
Málaga, reduced to ten men after Monreal was ordered from the field, held Barcelona to a 2-2 draw at the Neu Camp. Messi and Puyol were the scorers for Barcelona, Iturra and Camacho for the Blue and Whites.
Málaga 1-3 Barcelona
Málaga slip down to fifth place after Betis beat Levante 2-0 and the Blue and Whites went down 3-1 to runaway leaders Barcelona. Messi, Fabregas and Thiago were the scorers for Barcelona, Buonanotte curling a late free kick into the top corner of the net for a consolation goal.
Osasuna 0-0 Real Madrid
La Liga looks pretty much like a one-horse race at this stage, roughly the midpoint of the season. Real Madrid did themselves no good with a 0-0 draw at Osasuna and could find themselves 18 points adrift of their arch-rivals by the end of the weekend.
Real Madrid 4-3 Real Sociedad
Real Madrid made a bright start, Benzema scoring after two minutes, but were reduced to ten men after just six minutes of their match against Real Sociedad after goalkeeper Adán was dismissed for bringing down Carlos Vela inside the area.
Deportivo 1-0 Málaga
Pizzi scored the only goal of the match, picking up a bad back pass, to condemn the Blue and Whites to defeat although they are still holding on to fourth place in La Liga.
XXVIII Christmas Mile results
The XXVIII Christmas Urban Mile was won by (male) Adrián Cantos of the Nerja Athletics Club in a time of 4 mins 32 seconds and (female) Almudena Rodríguez of Nogalquez in a time of 5 mins 18 seconds.
Málaga 3-2 Real Madrid
Málaga secured their first victory over Real Madrid in twenty years, winning the match 3-2. Isco and Santa Cruz were the scorers for the Blue and Whites, Benzema and an own goal from Sanchez for Madrid. The question of whether Málaga would be trying as hard knowing that wherever they finish they will not be playing in Europe appears to …
Barcelona 4-1 Atlético Madrid
Barcelona are now nine points clear at the top of La Liga after beating second placed Atlético Madrid 4-1 on Sunday. Messi bagged a brace with Correia and Busquets scoring one each in a dominant performance by the Catalans. Falcao was once again on the scoresheet for Atlético.
New records for Lionel Messi
Lionel Messi set a new record on Sunday as he scored both goals in Barcelona’s 1-2 win over Betis. The first goal equalled Gerd Muller’s 1972 record of 85 goals in a calendar year for club and country, the second set the new record.