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Suarez, Messi save Barca

January 29, 2018
Barcelona’s Lionel Messi celebrates scoring their second goal with Luis Suarez during their Spanish football league match against Deportivo Alaves at Camp Nou, Barcelona, Sunday. — Reuters
Barcelona’s Lionel Messi celebrates scoring their second goal with Luis Suarez during their Spanish football league match against Deportivo Alaves at Camp Nou, Barcelona, Sunday. — Reuters

MADRID — Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi came to the rescue again by scoring late as Barcelona avoided an upset at home and maintained its comfortable lead in the Spanish league Sunday.

The duo added to their scoring run in a come-from-behind 2-1 win against relegation-wary Alaves at Camp Nou Stadium, keeping the Catalan club 11 points in front of Atletico Madrid, which earlier defeated Las Palmas 3-0 at home.

The result extended Barcelona’s unbeaten streak in the league to 21 matches, its best mark since Pep Guardiola’s team did the same in the 2009-10 season.

“It was a complicated match,” Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said. “They made it difficult by taking the lead. We had to keep pressing until the end to get the victory.”

Sitting just outside the relegation zone, Alaves surprisingly went ahead with forward John Guidetti scoring midway through the first half. The visitors threatened constantly on the counterattack until Suarez evened the score with a volley from inside the area in the 72nd minute after a cross by Andre Iniesta.

Messi netted the winner with a well-struck free kick in the 84th, hitting the top corner.

Suarez and Messi have combined to score at least a goal each in seven of Barcelona’s last eight matches. Messi is the league’s leading scorer with 20 goals, followed by Suarez with 16.

Messi found the net 11 times in his last 12 games, while Suarez scored 12 goals in the last 10.

Philippe Coutinho made his debut as a starter, being replaced in the second half. The newly signed Brazil midfielder had played a few minutes in Barcelona’s win over Espanyol in the Copa del Rey Thursday.

Alaves was unsuccessful in two key appeals for hand ball during the game.

Fabinho strikes for Monaco

Fabinho struck to secure French champion Monaco an entertaining 2-2 draw at southern rival Marseille Sunday, while Malcom was at the center of a penalty controversy as Bordeaux stunned Lyon.

Both teams at the Stade Velodrome missed the chance to take second place from Lyon, with Paris Saint-Germain now 11 points clear at the Ligue 1 summit.

Keita Balde gave the visitor a fourth-minute lead, but Marseille center-back Adil Rami quickly leveled with a close-range header.

The host moved in front shortly after half-time as Valere Germain headed in against his former club.

But Fabinho waltzed through the hapless home defense to equalize for Monaco, denying Marseille a seventh straight win in all competitions and extending his team’s unbeaten league run to eight matches.

Senegal striker Balde, a close-season signing from Lazio, pounced on a loose ball to race clear and clip home his sixth league goal for Monaco and give them the perfect start.

But the lead lasted less than three minutes, as Monaco shot itself in the foot.

A low cross from Valere Germain caused havoc and Florian Thauvin put pressure on right-back Almamy Toure, who saw his clearance deflected straight into the air for Rami to nod in his first league goal for Marseille.

The game settled down after its frenetic start, but Rudi Garcia’s hosts should have forged ahead in the 27th minute when Dimitri Payet blazed over with the goal at his mercy.

Marseille completed the turnaround in the 47th minute, as Payet whipped in a free-kick and Germain stooped to send a diving header past away goalkeeper Danijel Subasic.

It was the 27-year-old’s 12th goal for OM since joining from Monaco last July.

The champions hit back four minutes later, though, as Brazilian midfielder Fabinho strolled straight through the middle of the Marseille backline and slotted the ball in off the post.

Monaco thought it had retaken the lead, but Jemerson’s header was ruled out by the linesman’s flag, despite the defender not being one of two visiting players in an offside position when Rachid Ghezzal swung in a freekick.

Both sides had chances to snatch all three points, with Marseille keeper Steve Mandanda denying Ghezzal and Germain volleying agonisingly wide, but neither could find the winner they needed to go second.

Brazilian star Malcom appeared to dive for a crucial penalty as 10-man Bordeaux upset high-flying Lyon 3-1 to give new coach Gustavo Poyet a winning start in Ligue 1. — Agencies


January 29, 2018
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