Second-half surge leads Barca past Valencia 2-1

Posted Sunday, October 17, 2010 by YAHOO Sport

BARCELONA, Spain (AP)—Andres Iniesta and Carles Puyol led a second-half surge as Barcelona rallied for a 2-1 victory over Valencia to move up the Spanish league standings on Saturday.

Iniesta started the fightback from Pablo Hernandez’s first-half goal as the Barcelona midfielder swapped passes with Xavi Hernandez before slotting a 47th-minute equalizer under Cesar Sanchez.

Xavi, who was returning from injury, orchestrated the 63rd-minute winner as Puyol sharply headed his centering cross past Sanchez into goal.

Real Madrid's Mesut Ozil f…

AP - Oct 3, 5:08 pm EDT

Real Madrid's Cristiano Ro…

AP - Oct 3, 4:15 pm EDT

Real Madrid's Angel Di Mar…

AP - Oct 3, 4:14 pm EDT

FC Barcelona's coach Josep…

AP - Oct 3, 2:55 pm EDT

Mallorca's Michael Laudrup…

AP - Oct 3, 2:55 pm EDT

FC Barcelona's Lionel Mess…

AP - Oct 3, 1:42 pm EDT

Sevilla's Diego Perotti fr…

AP - Oct 3, 12:43 pm EDT

Sevilla's players celebrat…

AP - Oct 3, 12:28 pm EDT

Sevilla's Fernando Navarr…

AP - Oct 3, 11:32 am EDT

Sevilla's Diego Capel, ri…

AP - Oct 3, 11:31 am EDT 1 of 10 World Soccer
The victory took Barcelona to 16 points alongside Valencia, but Real Madrid can take the outright lead in the standings with a victory over Malaga later Saturday. Madrid has 14 points.

Earlier, Sabrosa Simao and Diego Costa scored in each half as Atletico Madrid beat neighbor Getafe 2-0.

David Villa suited up against his former club for the first time since his summer transfer, while the Catalan side also counted on Xavi after the midfielder recovered from tendinitis.

Still, it was the visitors who created more early as Roberto Soldado tipped away from goalkeeper Victor Valdes in the ninth minute but Maxwell cleared the danger.

Villa’s first opportunity came in the 20th but his two chances were blocked, while Sanchez denied Xavi’s curler three minutes later.

Villa flashed an opportunity past Cesar but wide of goal just before the visitors took advantage of Barcelona’s vulnerable defense on the counterattack for the 38th-minute opener at the Camp Nou Stadium.

Jeremy Mathieu burst into space down the left side to find Hernandez in front of goal to push it past Valdes despite the Catalan ‘keeper getting a hand to it.

Valdes kept Valencia from stretching its lead with a save to Hernandez’s shot from the edge of the area in the 41st, while Mathieu blocked a Lionel Messi try at the other end just before the close of the half.

Barcelona came alive in the second half, starting with Iniesta’s well-worked goal.

While helpless to stop Puyol’s goal, Cesar was instrumental in keeping Valencia close and ensuring a frustrating night for Villa. The 39-year-old ‘keeper denied Villa’s header in the 59th, came out to take away from Villa in a 1-on-1 situation in the 61st, and made a fine diving save soon after.

“It was a game of two halves,” Iniesta told Canal Plus TV. “In the second we had the ball. That was the key to the match, when we had the ball we were much more comfortable.”

Valencia couldn’t muster much of an attack late as Barcelona controlled, with Cesar also denying Messi from close range.

Getafe enjoyed good pressure to start the match at Vicente Calderon Stadium but a foul on Atletico’s Jose Antonio Reyes on the edge of the area set up the 37th-minute opener. Simao curled a free kick over the defensive wall and off the post, with the ball bouncing off the back of diving goalkeeper Jordi Codina into goal.

Atletico struggled to create chances without strikers Sergio Aguero and Diego Forlan in the starting lineup, although Forlan went on as a second-half substitute. But it was Juan Valera’s quick dart along the right side that set up Diego Costa to sidefoot into the top of the net in the 73rd to seal the derby match between the Spanish capital clubs.

Atletico improved to 13 points, while Getafe stayed on 10.

In other seventh-round matches on Sunday, it’s: Racing Santander vs. Almeria; Deportivo La Coruna vs. Osasuna; Levante vs. Real Sociedad; Mallorca vs. Espanyol; Athletic Bilbao vs. Zaragoza; and Sporting Gijon vs. Sevilla.

Hercules plays Villarreal, which has 15 points, on Monday.