ITPV » that was flicked on by Van Persie for Mata to stoop and head

BARCELONA, Spain - Lionel Messi has another scoring record in sight when Barcelona visits Almeria on Saturday looking to bounce back from consecutive losses that have cost it the Spanish league lead.Messi scored his 70th and 71st goals in the Champions League in a 2-0 win at Ajax on Wednesday to equal Raul Gonzalezs all-time record in Europes top-tier club competition.The Argentina forward can now match the Spanish leagues scoring milestone as he is just one goal short of Telmo Zarras mark of 251, a record the Athletic Bilbao great established in 1955.Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, will try to extend his club-record run of scoring in eight straight league appearances when the leaders hosts crosstown minnow Rayo Vallecano.Madrid leads Valencia and Atletico Madrid by one point, with Barcelona and Sevilla another point behind.Here are some things to know about round 11 of the Spanish league:___BALE BACK: Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has been facing questions about whether Gareth Bale, the winger Madrid bought for a world-record 100-million euros (then $132-million) last season, has a place in his starting 11.While Bale nursed a muscle injury, Madrid didnt skip a beat and won all five games, including a 3-1 victory over Barcelona.And with the Santiago Bernabeu crowd chanting the name of midfielder Francisco Isco Alarcon and thrilled with James Rodriguez, some have questioned whether Bale shouldnt be left on the bench.Ancelotti is not having any of it and said Bale will start against Rayo after coming on as a substitute against Liverpool.I see Bale is fine, Ancelotti said. I didnt start him because he is just back from injury. He felt fine. He will start on Saturday.___SUAREZ SEARCHING: While Messi dazzled in Amsterdam with his goals and incisive playmaking, new teammate Luis Suarez was left scoreless against his former club to remain without a goal in three games since returning from his four-month biting ban.Messi is not worried and expects the goals to come for Suarez once he settles in and learns Barcelonas possession-based style.We are happy Luis is with us and he is adapting to our philosophy, Messi said. This was his third game and we expect more from him given the class of striker he is.Suarez will have a good opportunity to get on track against an Almeria team that has lost three straight and is winless in all five games played at its Juegos Mediterraneos Stadium this season.___WINNING VALENCIA: Valencia has had a remarkable turnaround under new Portuguese coach Nuno Espirito Santo and new owner Peter Lim, the Singaporean investor.The team looks like it is halting years of decline after losing only once in the first 10 rounds.Valencia is in second place before hosting struggling Athletic Bilbao. The Basques have won two straight in the league, but are in 12th place and coming off a 2-0 loss to FC Porto on Wednesday that ended their chances of advancing in the Champions League.___TROUBLE AT ANOETA: Atletico visits a Real Sociedad side that is still trying to find a replacement for fired coach Jagoba Arrasate.Sociedad let Arrasate go with the team having won just once in 10 rounds. The club president said former Manchester United boss David Moyes is one of four candidates to take over.Antoine Griezmann will make his return to San Sebastian, where he played for five seasons before transferring to the defending champions in the off-season.___STEADY SEVILLA: Sevilla has won four straight home games in the league and welcomes relegation-threatened Levante.Coach Unai Emery has melded new arrivals Denis Suarez, Aleix Vidal and Gerard Deulofeu into a side led by Colombia striker Carlos Bacca to produce one of the leagues most versatile attacks.Levante, meanwhile, is tied with Granada for the fewest goals scored in the 20-team league with just six.Sevilla hosts Standard Liege in the Europa League on Thursday. Cheap NFL Jerseys Free Shipping . Early in the first period, Stuart pinched in from the blue line, hit Nash and was assessed a minor penalty for elbowing. Nash remained in the game for the rest of the first period, but did not return for the second. 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Instead, do feel free to complain if the roof is closed for any reason other than to allow a game to be played.MANCHESTER, England - Manchester United heaped more misery on Liverpool by beating its great rival 3-0 in the Premier League on Sunday, earning a sixth straight win to underline the transformation in fortunes of Englands two biggest clubs.Wayne Rooney and Juan Mata — from an offside position — scored to give United a 2-0 lead at halftime and Robin van Persie added the third in the 71st minute at Old Trafford.While third-place United remained eight points behind leader Chelsea to maintain its unlikely title challenge, Liverpool is mid-table and struggling to recreate the form that took the team to a runner-up finish last season.The score was harsh on Liverpool, with United goalkeeper David de Gea producing a string of brilliant saves to deny Raheem Sterling and substitute Mario Balotelli.The visitors were also unlucky that Mata was not signalled offside when he headed home to make it 2-0 in the 40th, puncturing Liverpools bright start.They were much more clinical when they needed to be, Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers said. For their goalkeeper to get man of the match tells you everything.But these are worrying times for Rodgers. He is lacking a clinical finisher in the absence of the injured Daniel Sturridge, his defence is in a mess and he has doubts about his first-choice goalkeeper Simon Mignolet, who was dropped here for Brad Jones. It ended a miserable week for Liverpool, which was eliminated from the Champions League on Tuesday.Without hitting anywhere near top form, United is perhaps making the title race a three-team fight. Louis van Gaals side has no European or English League Cup commitments to clog up its schedule this season.Having spent around $250 million bolstering its squad in the last off-season, a title challenge is probably the least Uniteds fans and owners expect — although none of the summer signings even started against Liverpool. Van Gaal is gettting results with the players he inherited from David Moyes, and with a dose of fortune.ddddddddddddWinning now six matches in a row is fantastic but we have to improve our playing style, said Van Gaal, who played Rooney in centre midfield. And I am saying that nearly every week.Six days after scraping a 2-1 win at Southampton, United took the lead in the 12th — just 25 seconds after Sterling, playing as a lone forward, was denied by De Gea in a one-on-one chance. United counter-attacked, Antonio Valencia played the ball between Joe Allens legs on the right wing and crossed for Rooney to apply a side-footed finish inside the near post.Liverpool was crisper with its passing and had more possession, but squandered a number of openings before Mata doubled the lead.Again, it was good delivery from the flanks, with Ashley Young whipping in a cross from the left that was flicked on by Van Persie for Mata to stoop and head in from close range at the far post.You need luck, but you can force the luck, Van Gaal said. We are forcing the luck and that was not the case at the start of the season.Sterling was presented with another great chance at the start of the second half after pouncing on Jonny Evans weak back-pass. The England international darted to the left of De Gea, who made up the ground to block Sterlings tame left-footed shot.De Gea then tipped Balotellis shot onto the bar in his best intervention before Van Persie made it 3-0. Dejan Lovren miscued his clearance from Rooneys cross and the ball went straight to Mata, who passed to his right for Van Persie to slot home.There was still time for De Gea to deny Balotelli again and ensure United reversed the 3-0 score from the corresponding fixture last season in March.We had enough chances to get something and it epitomized what our season has been, Rodgers said. We have nowhere near enough goals in the team. ' ' '