Late goals keep Real in the hunt

Late strikes from Michael Owen and Ivan Helguera enabled Real Madrid to scramble to a 2-1 win at Osasuna that kept them in touch with arch-r...

Late strikes from Michael Owen and Ivan Helguera enabled Real Madrid to scramble to a 2-1 win at Osasuna that kept them in touch with arch-rivals Barcelona at the top of the Primera Liga on Sunday.

Trailing 1-0 to a Pierre Webo strike with just 13 minutes left, Owen threw himself at the ball to head home from close range and moments later Helguera stabbed in from a metre after Osasuna keeper Richard Sanzol spilled a David Beckham free kick.

The victory, Real’s seventh in a row, left them four points behind Barcelona after 23 games. Sevilla leapfrogged Valencia into third place, a distant nine points behind Real, after a double from Brazilian striker Julio Baptista helped them to a 2-1 win at home to Villarreal on Sunday, a first defeat in 10 games for the Mediterranean side.

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Valencia, Real Betis and Espanyol are level further three points back. Betis moved up to fifth after a 4-4 draw at Athletic Bilbao in the game of the day, and a candidate for game of the season. Betis roared into a 3-0 lead after just 25 minutes, Brazilian striker Ricardo Oliveira completing two beautiful counter-attacks and a fine solo goal from midfielder Joaquin.

Osasuna outfought Real in midfield, dominated possession and had not been for two sharp saves from their keeper Iker Casillas, Real would have been two goals down after the first 20 minutes.

The RJD’s key face and Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Tejashwi Yadav, party supremo Lalu Yadav’s son, will again contest from his stronghold Raghopur.

Amid Mahagathbandhan crisis, RJD unveils list of 143, drops 36 MLAs, focuses on ‘M-Y’

Political Pulse6 hr ago

The RJD, lead player of the Mahagathbandhan, released its full list of 143 candidates for the November Bihar Assembly elections. Its key face Tejashwi Yadav will contest from Raghopur, and 41 sitting MLAs have been renominated. The party has dropped 36 sitting MLAs and fielded young leaders, signaling a bid to consolidate its core Muslim-Yadav vote base. The Congress has fielded 60 candidates.

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