Sunday, April 7, 2013

Barcelona, Real Madrid win before Champions League quarters - TSN

BARCELONA, Spain -- Cesc Fabregas scored his first hat trick to shine in place of the injured Lionel Messi, powering Barcelona to a 5-0 thrashing of Mallorca in the Spanish league on Saturday.

The Catalan club's festive night got even better in the 70th minute when Eric Abidal went on for his first game with Barcelona since a liver transplant last year.

"Tonight is for Abi," said Fabregas. "Any other night would have been for me, but without a doubt this one is for Eric after all the difficult days he has been through."

Cristiano Ronaldo, meanwhile, went on as a substitute to seal Real Madrid's 5-1 victory over Levante as both powerhouses warmed up for their second leg Champions League quarterfinals.

Messi is trying to recover from a right hamstring injury for Paris Saint-Germain's visit on Wednesday with their series poised at 2-2.

But if he does not make it, Barcelona showed it has other scoring options in Fabregas and Alexis Sanchez, who netted a double and set up Fabregas' first two goals.

Madrid visits Galatasaray on Tuesday with a 3-0 advantage in its tie of Europe's final eight, while Malaga is at Borussia Dortmund after a 0-0 draw in their first leg.

Elsewhere, high-flying Real Sociedad romped to a 4-2 win over Malaga in San Sebastian, and Deportivo La Coruna provisionally escaped last place by beating visiting Real Zaragoza 3-2.

Fabregas opened in the 20th from his "false nine" position working a superb one-two with Alexis to break down Mallorca's defence and nonchalantly roll the bar into the far corner of the net.

Alexis fired in a rebound of a shot by Fabregas two minutes later, and then wove another passing combination with Fabregas for the midfielder to slot under goalkeeper Dudu Aouate in the 37th.

Fabregas lobbed a pass for Alexis to toe in Barcelona's fourth goal in the 39th, and Andres Iniesta set up Fabregas to get his treble less than a minute into the second half.

Abidal's previous game with Barcelona's first team was on Feb. 26, 2012 before doctors determined he needed a transplant.

"I'm happy to play again after a year, I was eager to come back," said Abidal. "As coach (Tito Vilanova) said, I needed to take my time and work my back without pressure."

Levante started well enough, but Madrid had too much firepower to keep it at bay, and maintained its dominant form before heading to Turkey.

But Gonzalo Higuain's exquisite volley of Xabi Alonso's pass pulled Madrid level five minutes later, and Kaka grabbed the lead in the 39th with a spot kick after Christian Lell handled in the area.

"The team was playing well but after the 1-0 anything could have happened," said Ronaldo. "(My teammates) responded well with two goals. Then I came on and contributed with a goal and an assist. We're all happy."

Levante coach Juan Ignacio Martinez also made three substitutions to refresh his attack, but the plan backfired as his defence finally crumbled under Madrid's pressure and turned a dignified loss into a humbling rout.

Fourth-place Sociedad extended its league-best run to 20 straight games with only one loss, and increased the gap over Malaga to four points.

Carlos Vela opened for Sociedad with his 13th goal this season in the 21st. Left back Alberto de la Bella blasted in a long strike three minutes later, and Antoine Griezmann made it 3-0 in the 30th.

Pedro Morales scored for the visitors in the 43rd. Defender Inigo Martinez headed in Sociedad's fourth in the 51st, before Roque Santa Cruz struck for Malaga in the 70th.

Deportivo's third straight victory left it just one point behind Zaragoza, which is clinging to safety after not winning a game so far in 2013.

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