Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino dedicated his side’s crucial 1-0 win away to Espanyol on Saturday in the Catalan derby to stricken goalkeeper Victor Valdes.
The Spanish international looks to have played his last game for the club after suffering cruciate ligament damage in Barca's 3-0 win over Celta Vigo on Wednesday.
Valdes had already signalled his intention to leave the club when his contract expires in June and will now also miss the World Cup in Brazil.
“I would like to on behalf of all of us – the technical team, players, staff – to send our support to Victor. We hope his recovery will be quick and obviously we dedicate this victory to him,” Martino said.
“This team is used to bad news, both on and off the pitch, for a while now and their way to respond is on the pitch as they have always done.”
Barca could not afford to be weighed down by the news of Valdes' injury as they travelled to local rivals Espanyol amid the tightest Primera Liga title race in years.
They ground out a vital win as Lionel Messi’s penalty kick 14 minutes from time was enough to hand them a second 1-0 win over Espanyol this season.
“Derbies are always derbies and you have to win them,” Martino said.
“It doesn’t come easy and they are always tight games, for that reason this was a risky away game for us and we value the three points even more.”
The Catalans now firmly have the destiny of the title in their own hands as they host Atletico Madrid on the final day of the season.
However, Martino is taking nothing for granted after suffering a shock defeat to relegation-threatened Valladolid earlier this month.
“What is left continues to be very difficult and very important,” he said. “We still have seven finals left between now and the end of the league season and in those games we will also have with us the memory of our defeat in Valladolid.”
It was a thrilling 4-3 win over Real Madrid at the Santiago Bernabeu last weekend that put Barca right back in the fight for the title, and midfielder Sergio Busquets insists they are determined not to let their advantage slip.
“Real Madrid had the advantage, the Bernabeu was an ultimatum for us and we recovered. That is the mentality of the team and we need to continue like that,” he told Canal Plus.
“Now we are in a privileged position and we depend on ourselves. Hopefully that will be the way things continue until the final game against Atletico Madrid.”
sports@thenational.ae
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Jawan
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Israel Palestine on Swedish TV 1958-1989
Director: Goran Hugo Olsson
Rating: 5/5
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SPECS
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BIRD%20BOX%20BARCELONA
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If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
It’ll be summer in the city as car show tries to move with the times
If 2008 was the year that rocked Detroit, 2019 will be when Motor City gives its annual car extravaganza a revamp that aims to move with the times.
A major change is that this week's North American International Auto Show will be the last to be held in January, after which the event will switch to June.
The new date, organisers said, will allow exhibitors to move vehicles and activities outside the Cobo Center's halls and into other city venues, unencumbered by cold January weather, exemplified this week by snow and ice.
In a market in which trends can easily be outpaced beyond one event, the need to do so was probably exacerbated by the decision of Germany's big three carmakers – BMW, Mercedes-Benz and Audi – to skip the auto show this year.
The show has long allowed car enthusiasts to sit behind the wheel of the latest models at the start of the calendar year but a more fluid car market in an online world has made sales less seasonal.
Similarly, everyday technology seems to be catching up on those whose job it is to get behind microphones and try and tempt the visiting public into making a purchase.
Although sparkly announcers clasp iPads and outline the technical gadgetry hidden beneath bonnets, people's obsession with their own smartphones often appeared to offer a more tempting distraction.
“It's maddening,” said one such worker at Nissan's stand.
The absence of some pizzazz, as well as top marques, was also noted by patrons.
“It looks like there are a few less cars this year,” one annual attendee said of this year's exhibitors.
“I can't help but think it's easier to stay at home than to brave the snow and come here.”
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan
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The Perfect Couple
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Liev Schreiber, Jack Reynor
Creator: Jenna Lamia
Rating: 3/5
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbocharged four-cylinder
Transmission: Constant Variable (CVT)
Power: 141bhp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: Dh64,500
On sale: Now
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Fitness problems in men's tennis
Andy Murray - hip
Novak Djokovic - elbow
Roger Federer - back
Stan Wawrinka - knee
Kei Nishikori - wrist
Marin Cilic - adductor
TOUR RESULTS AND FIXTURES
June 3: NZ Provincial Barbarians 7 Lions 13
June 7: Blues 22 Lions 16
June 10: Crusaders 3 Lions 12
June 13: Highlanders 23 Lions 22
June 17: Maori All Blacks 10 Lions 32
June 20: Chiefs 6 Lions 34
June 24: New Zealand 30 Lions 15
June 27: Hurricanes 31 Lions 31
July 1: New Zealand 21 Lions 24
July 8: New Zealand v Lions
SQUADS
India
Virat Kohli (captain), Rohit Sharma (vice-captain), Shikhar Dhawan, Ajinkya Rahane, Manish Pandey, Kedar Jadhav, Dinesh Karthik, Mahendra Singh Dhoni (wicketkeeper), Hardik Pandya, Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, Yuzvendra Chahal, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Shardul Thakur
New Zealand
Kane Williamson (captain), Martin Guptill, Colin Munro, Ross Taylor, Tom Latham (wicketkeeper), Henry Nicholls, Ish Sodhi, George Worker, Glenn Phillips, Matt Henry, Colin de Grandhomme, Mitchell Santner, Tim Southee, Adam Milne, Trent Boult
MATCH INFO
Day 2 at the Gabba
Australia 312-1
Warner 151 not out, Burns 97, Labuschagne 55 not out
Pakistan 240
Shafiq 76, Starc 4-52
MATCH INFO
FA Cup final
Chelsea 1
Hazard (22' pen)
Manchester United 0
Man of the match: Eden Hazard (Chelsea)