adminBarcelona suffered a first home defeat of the season when they lost 3-2 against Valencia after finishing with 10 men in La Liga on Saturday, leaving the door open for Madrid rivals Atletico and Real to move above them. It appeared to be service as normal when Alexis Sanchez put Barcelona ahead early on but strikes either side of halftime by Daniel Parejo and Pablo Piatti put Valencia in the driving seat.
Lionel Messi equalised with a penalty after 54 minutes but the hosts were caught out again on the counter and Francisco Alcacer put the visitors back in front.
Barcelona continued to struggle at the back and Jordi Alba was dismissed for a second yellow card with 12 minutes left. The result left the Catalans with one win from their last four league matches.
“It’s a long time since we lost here and it comes at a bad time. Valencia made the most of their chances and we couldn’t do any more,” midfielder Sergio Busquets told reporters. We started well and it continued for the first half hour with a lot of chances to score but then Valencia came into it more and we lost our way.”
The victory is a boost for Valencia’s European hopes after they had picked up two points from their last three matches.
Meanwhile, former Spain coach Luis Aragones died, aged 75, early on Saturday morning in a clinic in Madrid, doctor Pedro Guillen confirmed.
Aragones had been in hospital after being taken ill and passed away at approximately 06:00CET on Saturday, Dr Guillen confirmed Radio Nacional.
Aragones was in charge of the victorious Spain side at Euro 2008, having previously coached a host of major clubs in Spain, most notably Atletico Madrid on four occasions, as well as Barcelona and Valencia.- AFP.
Online Reporter