Barca cruise home in Vallecas to pressure Real and Atletico

Barca cruise¹ home in Vallecas to pressure Real and Atletico

 MADRID, Oct. 27 (Xinhua) -- FC Barcelona moved 11 points clear of Real Madrid and three ahead of Atletico Madrid after a 5-0 win away to Rayo Vallecano in the Spanish Primera Liga on Saturday.

Rayo made a lot of the early running in their small Vallecas Stadium, but fell behind to a well-taken David Villa² coach after 20 minutes. Once again Cesc Fabrigas was the provider.

Leo Messi doubled Barca's lead with a precise³ left foot shot two minutes into the second half and although Rayo threatened on occasions⁴ and never let their heads drop, Xavi Hernandez made it 3-0 with 11 minutes left and Cesc Fabrigas added a fourth two minutes later.

Rayo coach Paco Jemez had said on Friday that he would have felt embarrassed if he side sat back and defended as Glasgow Celtic had during their unlucky 2-1 defeat in the Champions League on Tuesday night, but he may have regretted those words when Messi netted his second of the night two minutes from time.

The result piles the pressure on Real and Atletico Madrid, who both place on Sunday: Real travel to Mallorca, while Atletico entertain bottom of the table Osasuna.

Saturday kicked off with third place Malaga drawing 0-0 away to Espanyol. Malaga rested several players after their Champions League win over AC Milan on Wednesday night and the result was a game in which there are few chances in either goalmouth.

An early goal from Salva Sevilla kept Betis close to the top of the table thanks to a 1-0 win at home to a very irregular Valencia side, who are still struggling to put together a convincing run of form.

Finally the return of the Galician derby to the Primera Liga lived up to expectations with a tense game between Celta Vigo and Deportivo la Coruna. Mario Bermejo put Celta ahead early in the first half but 37-year-old Juan Carlos Valeron leveled before the break.

Celta then had to play for most of the second half with a man less after Gustavo Cabral was shown two yellow cards in three minutes by referee⁵ Undiano Mallenco. However, the home side, cheered on by their fans were able to hold on the remaining 40 minutes to ensure honors⁶ were even at the end.

1 cruise   

v.巡航，航游，缓慢巡行；n.海上航游

参考例句：

• They went on a cruise to Tenerife.他们乘船去特纳利夫岛。
• She wants to cruise the canals of France in a barge.她想乘驳船游览法国的运河。

2 villa   

n.别墅，城郊小屋

参考例句：

• We rented a villa in France for the summer holidays.我们在法国租了一幢别墅消夏。
• We are quartered in a beautiful villa.我们住在一栋漂亮的别墅里。

3 precise   

adj.精确的，恰好的，极清楚的

参考例句：

• At that precise moment, Miss Pulteney came into the office.就在那时，普尔特尼小姐走进了办公室。
• A scientist must be precise in making tests.科学家做试验必须精确。

4 occasions   

n.机会( occasion的名词复数 )；时刻；原因；需要

参考例句：

• The prosecution stated that intercourse had occurred on several occasions. 控诉方称发生过数次性交。
• He has been late on numerous occasions. 他已经迟到过无数次了。

5 referee   

n.裁判员．仲裁人，代表人，鉴定人

参考例句：

• The team was left raging at the referee's decision.队员们对裁判员的裁决感到非常气愤。
• The referee blew a whistle at the end of the game.裁判在比赛结束时吹响了哨子。

6 honors   

n.礼仪；荣典；礼节； 大学荣誉学位；大学优等成绩；尊敬( honor的名词复数 )；敬意；荣誉；光荣

参考例句：

• He aims at honors. 他力求名誉。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• We did the last honors to his remains. 我们向他的遗体告别。 来自《简明英汉词典》