Soldado bags brace as Valencia beat Malaga
Reuters - Sunday 18 December 2011, 22:42
Valencia tightened their
grip on third place in La Liga when Roberto Soldado struck twice
in a 2-0 home win over Malaga as another Atletico Madrid defeat
heaped pressure on coach Gregorio Manzano on Sunday.
A day after Real Madrid moved three points clear of
champions Barcelona at the top after 16 games, Soldado's 10th
and 11th goals of the campaign put Valencia four behind Barca
and four ahead of fourth-placed Levante who lost 2-1 at Granada.
Barca were in action at the Club World Cup in Japan earlier
on Sunday, claiming their second triumph in three years with a
crushing 4-0 defeat of Brazilian side Santos.
Soldado, a former Real Madrid striker, has been making a
strong case for a recall to the Spain squad for next year's
European Championships and both goals were fine examples of the
striker's art.
Jonas played the ball into space in the 36th minute at
Valencia's Mestalla stadium and Soldado rounded Malaga
goalkeeper Willy Caballero before powering the ball into the
net.
His second came after neat work on the left wing from Jordi
Alba and he volleyed spectacularly home at the far post to
double the home side's lead with around half an hour left.
Soldado sent a message of support after the game to former
Valencia striker David Villa, who broke his leg playing for
Barca at the Club World Cup on Thursday.
If Spain's all-time top scorer is not fit for Euro 2012,
coach Vicente Del Bosque may turn to Soldado to fill the gap and
the Valencia fans were chanting 'Soldado for the national team!'
on Sunday.
"It's nice that the fans sing that and it makes me happy as
it means I am scoring and the team is playing well," Soldado
told Spanish television.
SERIOUS PERIL
Ambitious Qatar-owned Malaga, one of the biggest spenders in
the transfer market in the close season, dropped to seventh,
level on 24 points with Sevilla, who were thrashed 6-2 by Real
on Saturday, but behind the Andalusians on goal difference.
Surprise packages Osasuna, who have won four of their last
five matches, climbed to fifth on 25 points thanks to Sunday's
2-1 win against Villarreal in Pamplona.
Atletico's impatient fans have been voicing their
frustration with Manzano and the club's board and Sunday's 2-0
reverse at home to Real Betis left Madrid's second club in 10th
and their coach, known as 'the professor', in serious peril.
Manzano, in his second stint in charge at Atletico, said he
had not considered stepping down.
"If I had seen that the team did not have strength, if I had
seen that the team did not have soul, commitment and intensity
we would all be more concerned," he told a news conference.
"You have to look at the attitude of the players and the
effort they put in," he added. "Today's result was not a just
one."
In Sunday's other game, Racing Santander drew 0-0 at home to
fellow strugglers Real Sociedad.