The score finished level, but Radamel Falcao’s squandering of two simple chances will be particularly worrying for Diego Simeone, as the Colombian’s form has been patchy in recent weeks.
” Have you ever thought Xabi Alonso has a touch of Obi-Wan Kenobi about him? Or that Chris Kamara is Lando Calrissian in disguise? Well, as it’s 4 May aka Star Wars Day, talkSPORT.com has come up with 12 past and present footballers and managers who look a bit like characters from the intergalactic film franchise. Beam me up, Scotty (Parker) and May the Fourth be with you.
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12 For more football Star Wars look-alikes, click the arrow above, right! 12 ” ” 1 Eric Abidal stole the show on Saturday night when he made a triumphant return to football following a liver transplant. talkSPORT’s La Liga Lowdown looks at the best action from Spain In a game where Cesc Fabregas scored his first ever career hat-trick, it was going to take something special to steal the former Arsenal man’s thunder, but Eric Abidal did exactly that, with a triumphant return to football following his liver transplant in 2012. talkSPORT’s La Liga lowdown has more on the inspiring Frenchman, as well as Carlos Vela’s Real Sociedad demolishing Malaga, and Radamel Falcao’s Madrid derby woes below… King Eric retakes his throne as Cesc puts Mallorca to the sword Mallorca had already been demoted to the foot of the table before a ball was kicked at the Camp Nou on Saturday night, following Deportivo’s victory over Real Zaragoza earlier in the day, so it was always going to be a huge ask for the islanders against the Catalans, though they may have been given a glimmer of hope by the much-changed Barcelona line-up.
Unfortunately for Mallorca, unlike their lacklustre display away to Celta Vigo last weekend, Barcelona’s understudies were in inspired form, and Cesc Fabregas picked up Lionel Messi’s mantle with aplomb. The number four opened the scoring with a subtle finish following a one-two with Alexis Sanchez, and the provider turned scorer soon after by pouncing on a Fabregas rebound and showing an unusually calm head to stroke home.
Before the break Barcelona were celebrating again, with Alexis and Cesc linking up once more, and the latter scoring his second. Minutes later, the Chilean peeled off from the right flank, latched on to a ball over the top from Fabregas, and completed a quartet of goals and assists shared between the pair.
At half time the score was 4-0, and Mallorca must have thought they had entered the Twilight Zone; both Fabregas and Alexis have come under immense criticism by Barcelona’s supporters and media alike this season, yet on Saturday they played with the confidence and verve of team leaders. In the second half, the rout was complete, with Fabregas completing his first ever career hat-trick following strong recovery work from Andres Iniesta, who had been excellent throughout.
Barcelona were playing with a dose of energy, aggression and pace that they have severely lacked in La Liga recently, and indeed, some pundits have suggested that the extra motivation for the Blaugrana was the knowledge that if they put the game to bed early on, a very special moment would unfold as a result. That moment came to pass in the 70th minute, and instantly overshadowed the brilliance that had preceded it.
The Camp Nou began to cheer as soon as Eric Abidal stepped off the bench to warm up, with the anticipation building steadily and chants of ‘Abidal’ and ‘Abi’ filling the stadium. When he finally entered the field of play for Gerard Pique, the volume went to eleven; even Mallorca’s players stood and applauded, the beating they had just received rendered insignificant in an instant. Eric Abidal’s last game for Barcelona was an away trip against Atletico Madrid on February 26, 2012.
He made one more appearance, for France against Germany three days later, before being informed that he required a liver transplant following complications in his recovery from cancer of that organ in 2011.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/City_Football_Group His positivity in response was astonishing, but not surprising for those that had observed his similar optimism in the face of cancer the year prior. The difference however was that there would be no quick recovery, no triumphant Wembley final this time.
This time, the Frenchman had to work long and hard for over a year. Barcelona Sporting Director Andoni Zubizarreta admitted yesterday that, at the time of the operation, he thought that Abidal’s return would be impossible. Yet the impossible is exactly what he achieved.
Back to his powerful, towering self, for twenty minutes he brought the ball out from the back, enjoyed the moment, and even made one blistering run forward that should have been seen by team mate Gerard Delofeu. There was an immense feeling of relief, that the hard part was over. “I wanted to end my career on the pitch, not off it”, he told FC Barcelona’s official television channel after the match, admitting that he would like to continue for one or two more years depending on how things go.
Few would doubt his capacity to do so. To return to elite sport following cancer is unusual. To return to elite sport following an organ transplant is almost unheard of. King Eric, as the Barcelona supporters affectionately refer to him, has returned.
Radamel Falcao fails to settle the Madrid derby as Atletico slip further behind los Blancos Both sides in Sunday’s Madrid derby have been overachieving to varying degrees this season. Luis Garcia’s Getafe are genuine contenders for a Europa League place, while Diego Simeone’s Atletico managed to out-do Jose Mourinho and co. by holding second place for most of the campaign.
Recent results have been mixed for Simeone’s men, however, and after Madrid demolished Levante on Saturday, Atletico new that they needed a win to keep them within a point of their enemies, who sit in second. Not one for the purists, the derby match at the Coliseum was a scrappy affair, and one that Atletico should have been fairly comfortable with considering their love of a physical match.
Yet Atleti came out of the game worse off than Getafe, being reduced to nine men after both Diego Godin and Mario Suarez were given their marching orders in the second half. The score finished level, but Radamel Falcao’s squandering of two simple chances will be particularly worrying for Diego Simeone, as the Colombian’s form has been patchy in recent weeks.
Falcao’s failure to score consistently since February only makes Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo’s consistent brilliance seem even more super-human than before. Atletico now trail Madrid by three points. Real Sociedad show Champions League form while Malaga crumble On paper the most exciting game of the weekend was Malaga’s visit to Real Sociedad, with both sides competing for fourth place, and it didn’t disappoint.
The Basques have been wonderful to watch in the current campaign, their exciting blend of high energy, high quality football founded on an exceptionally strong batch of youth products and a handful of more experienced imports. One such import is former Arsenal man Carlos Vela, who rose high at the back post to send a header crashing beyond keeper Carlos Kameni for the opener.
Vela is understandably keen to stay at the Anoeta next year, and it is difficult to see Arsenal convincing him to return to the Emirates if they indeed activate a buy-back clause in his contract as is being suggested. La Real’s left-back Alberto de la Bella doubled their lead with a stunning strike from distance soon after, and their third goal in nine minute soon followed.
Antoine Griezmann latched on to a perfectly weighted diagonal ball by Imanol Agirretxe, steadied himself, then curled past Kameni. Malaga pulled one back through Pedro Morales before the break, the goal’s high quality in keeping with the others in the game. In the second half, Inigo Martinez killed the comeback with a diving header from a corner however, and Malaga were only saved from a fifth when Carlos Vela rattled the post and injured himself in the process.
With the Mexican off the Basques lost some bite up front, allowing Malaga to claw back some pride when Roque Santa Cruz showed off his aerial skills and headed in a second for the visitors. Despite cutting the deficit to two, there was no doubt that Manuel Pellegrini’s side had been outclassed, and Borussia Dortmund coach Jurgenn Klopp must have been watching on with a smile, as veteran centreback Diego Lugano, who is likely to step in to replace the suspended Weligton in Tueday’s Champions League clash, looked off pace and a clear weak link.
Real Sociedad, meanwhile, looked every bit a Champions League team, and should they make it into Europe’s premier competition next season, will no doubt become a favourite for neutrals along the way. Crisis-hit Valencia keep their Champions League life-line alive Financial crisis has been a reality for Valencia in recent seasons, but this week they were hit with an institutional crisis to go with it.
President Manuel Llorente’s resignation on Friday was a reflection of the turbulence behind the scenes at the Mestalla, and achieving Champions League football is the absolute minimum they need if they hope to stem the bleeding. Ernesto Valverde fielded a particularly exciting attacking line-up against Valladolid on Sunday in response to their need for three points, with Sofiane Feghouli, Roberto Soldado and Jonas joined by Sergio Canales.
Readers may remember Cabakes from his brief spell at Real Madrid a few years ago, when at the time he was considered the next big thing in Spain. Injury worries have curtailed his progress subsequently, but for large periods on Sunday he showed some of the promise that gained him accolades in previous years, going close twice on his favoured left foot.
Los Che eventually opened the scoring after Valladolid defender Mikel Balenziaga deflected in a Tino Costa corner, but Roberto Soldado squandered a glorious chance to double their lead in the second half when his penalty was saved by Dani Hernandez. Worryingly for Valencia, Soldado is still chasing his first goal in over a month.
Despite being reduced to 10 men, Oscar Gonzalez hit a thunderous postage stamp strike in the 71st minute to give Valladolid a fighting chance, and it looked like the game would end 1-1. Brazilian striker Jonas scored at the last possible opportunity however, heading home in the final minute of added time to give Valencia a much needed three points, keeping them in fifth and within two points of Real Sociedad.
Alan Hutton watch The Scottish Cafu spent large portions of Saturday’s clash with Barcelona chasing after Cristian Tello, who seemed to enjoy the foot race with his paler opponent. Hutton’s only other contribution of note was deflecting a ball away from the path of Cesc Fabregas with his hand, the Maradona-esque feigned header enough to fool the ref and avoid conceding a penalty and subsequent red card in the process.
That’s likely to be the last time Alan Hutton is legitimitely compared to Diego Maradona… Elsewhere: Granada 1-5 Real Betis, Deportivo 3-2 Real Zaragoza, Real Madrid 5-1 Levante, Celta Vigo 0-2 Rayo Vallecano, Osasuna 0-2 Espanyol. Monday’s game sees Sevilla host Athletic at the Sanchez Pizjuan. Expect the unexpected, with Marcelo Bielsa’s side consistently unpredictable this season. Is Messi essential for Barcelona against PSG, or has Fabregas proved that he can fill his role?
Are Atletico now destined to finish behind Real Madrid, and is Falcao in Ronaldo or Messi class? Let us know by leaving a comment below… “