MADRID (AP) ― Lionel Messi scored his 61st goal of the season and had two assists, leading Barcelona over Getafe 4-0 Tuesday in the Spanish league and pulling the three-time defending champions within one point of first-place Real Madrid.Messi capped a superb exchange with Andres Iniesta with a rising shot into the top corner in the 44th minute. Messi leads the league with 39 goals, one shy of the record Cristiano Ronaldo set last season.Messi has scored in 12 of his last 13 games, totaling 24 g

April 11, 2012

LONDON (AP) ― Manchester United surged closer to a 20th English league title on Sunday, opening up an eight-point lead by beating Queens Park Rangers 2-0 while floundering neighbor Manchester City lost 1-0 at Arsenal.Having spent most of the season in City’s shadow in the Premier League, United has eclipsed its big-spending rival to take control of the Premier League title race.“We know what it takes to get over the finishing line first,” United defender Rio Ferdinand said. “We’ve got to use all

April 9, 2012

BARCELONA (AP) ― Lionel Messi scored twice to become the first player since 1973 with 60 goals in a season for a club in a major European league, leading Barcelona to a 4-1 win at Zaragoza on Saturday night.The three-time FIFA player of the year put Barcelona ahead 2-1 with a brilliant individual effort in the 39th, then converted a penalty kick in the 86th. The last player to reach 60 was Bayern Munich’s Gerd Mueller with 67 in 1972-73.Messi leads the Spanish league with 38 goals, one more than

April 8, 2012

LONDON (AP) ― Three years after angrily complaining about their semifinal loss to Barcelona, Chelsea will meet the four-time European champion once again for a berth in the Champions League final.Frank Lampard and Raul Meireles scored to lead Chelsea over Benfica 2-1 Wednesday night for a 3-1 aggregate win that sent them on to a matchup against Barcelona starting April 18.“They are the greatest team in the world,” Lampard said. “They are going to be favorites but we have a lot of belief in ourse

April 5, 2012

SAO PAULO (AP) ― The Brazilian government said construction at 2014 World Cup stadiums is on schedule in all 12 host cities.With 800 days to go until the World Cup, the government said Tuesday that five stadiums have more than 50 percent of work completed, while another five have more than 30 percent of construction ready. Two are just 20 percent completed ― the Beira-Rio stadium in the southern city of Porto Alegre and the Arena das Dunas in northeastern Natal.The report contrasts with numbers

April 4, 2012

MADRID (AP) ― Fernando Llorente’s brace helped Athletic Bilbao to a 4-2 comeback win at Schalke in the Europa League, while Atletico Madrid beat Hannover 2-1 in the other first-leg quarterfinal between Spanish and German teams on Thursday.After Llorente put Bilbao ahead in the 20th minute, Schalke’s Raul Gonzalez rallied the hosts back in front with two goals on each side of halftime.But Llorente headed in the leveler in the 73rd to turn the high-tempo contest in Bilbao’s favor for good, as Osca

March 30, 2012

WEST BROMWICH, England (AP) ― Papiss Demba Cisse scored twice as Newcastle won 3-1 at West Bromwich Albion on Sunday to maintain its push for a top-four finish in the Premier League and a Champions League berth.Cisse scored in the sixth and 34th minutes around Hatem Ben Arfa’s goal on a solo effort in the 12th. Substitute Shane Long scored for the hosts in the 52nd after a defensive mixup.Cisse has five goals in six league games since joining Newcastle in January from Germany’s Freiburg.Newcastl

March 26, 2012

LONDON (AP) ― Manchester City stumbled on the road yet again, needing a late deflected goal by Yaya Toure for a 1-1 tie at Stoke on Saturday that put rival Manchester United in position to open a three-point lead in the Premier League.Peter Crouch scored for Stoke in the 59th minute after his header was headed back to him by Jermaine Pennant. Crouch flicked the ball up to himself and then volleyed past goalkeeper Joe Hart from about 25 yards. Toure’s goal in the 76th hit Stoke’s Ryan Shawcross a

March 25, 2012

Fresh clashes erupted in the northern city of Port Said on Saturday, after a boy was shot dead in overnight fighting between Egyptian security forces and football fans protesting against a ban on their club.Protesters pelted rocks at the Suez Canal Authority, as security forces guarding the vital bu

March 25, 2012

MANCHESTER, England (AP) ― Carlos Tevez played in his first game since Sept. 27 and set up Samir Nasri’s late go-ahead goal, giving Manchester City a 2-1 comeback win against Chelsea on Wednesday night that kept pressure on Premier League leader Manchester United.Tevez entered in the 66th minute to a mixture of boos and cheers, his first appearance since he was suspended for refusing to warm up for a Champions League match at Bayern Munich. Tevez assisted on the tiebreaking goal in the 85th with

March 22, 2012

South Korean soccer star Park Ji-sung’s value is worth more than 14 billion won ($12.4 million), the highest among Korean soccer players, according to a report.The TransferMarkt, a soccer portal website, recently updated the profile of players based in Europe. According to the website, the Manchester United midfielder’s market value is 9.5 million euro, or approximately 14.2 billion won, down from 11.5 million euro in 2010. Lee Chung-yong of the Bolton Wanderers is the second highest valued Kore

March 21, 2012

BARCELONA (AP) ― Lionel Messi broke Cesar Rodriguez’s 57-year-old Barcelona career scoring record, getting his eighth hat trick of the season in a 5-3 Spanish league win over Granada on Tuesday night that increased his goals total to 234.Messi tied Cesar’s record on a left-footed shot in the 17th minute for his 232nd goal, then chipped the goalkeeper for a 3-2 lead in the 67th. He added a goal from a tight angle in the 86th, increasing his season total to a career-best 54.A three-time FIFA playe

March 21, 2012

ZURICH (AP) ― FIFA has warned Kenya it could lose points in its 2014 World Cup qualifying group because of a safety lapse at its national stadium.Fans were reported to have surged for shelter in a covered grandstand when rain fell before a qualifier against Seychelles at Nyayo National Stadium in Nairobi last November.Soccer’s governing body says its disciplinary committee ruled that Football Kenya Federation “failed to take all the necessary safety precautions” and was liable for “improper cond

March 20, 2012

LONDON (AP) ― English soccer player Fabrice Muamba began breathing on his own and responding to family members Monday, showing significant signs of recovery two days after going into cardiac arrest during a match.The 23-year-old Bolton midfielder collapsed on the field just before halftime at Tottenham on Saturday. His heart started beating on its own again only later in the hospital.For two days, amid an outpouring of global support, Muamba remained in critical condition in intensive care in a

March 20, 2012