No change in Spanish league as top three all win in matchday 12

 MADRID, Nov. 18 (Xinhua) -- Both FC Barcelona and Real Madrid won their respective games in matchday 12 in the BBVA Primera liga on Saturday night as they ensured the 8 point gap between them for another week.

Leo Messi scored his 77th and 78th goals of 2012 as Barcelona saw off a combative¹ Zaragoza 3-1. Alex Song also scored for Barca after Paco Montanes had leveled Messi's opener for Barcelona.

Real Madrid responded with a 5-1 win at home to an Athletic² Club Bilbao side affected³ by injuries and suspensions. Jon Autenetxe put through his own goal to open the scoring before Sergio Ramos and Karim Benzema made it 3-0 before the break.

Ibai Gomez pulled a goal back for Athletic, who were then denied a clear penalty after handball by Fabio Coentrao, before further goals from Mesut Ozil and Sami Khedira rounded off the night for Madrid.

Atletico Madrid also kept up the pace as an Arda Turan goal after 61 minutes gave them a 1-0 win in Granada.

Atletico were reduced to 10 men after Mario Suarez was sent off for two yellow cards, but hung on to stay second in the table, three points behind Barca.

There was tension ahead of the Seville derby on Sunday night with two policemen injured and almost 30 arrests after clashes between fans from Sevilla and Betis.

Betis travelled to their rivals home ground fourth in the table, but were blown away in the first half as Jose Antonio Reyes and Federico Fazio scored two goals each before halftime.

Ruben Perez was sent off for Betis 17 minutes into the second half, before Castro pulled a goal back for the visitors, but Ivan Rakitic's late strike made the final score a humiliating 5-1 in Sevilla's favor.

Deportivo La Coruna slipped deeper into trouble as the result of another rock solid display by Levante, who remain battling for a place in Europe thanks to a 2-0 win in Deportivo's Riazor Stadium.

Obi Martins and Jose Barkero scored Levante's goals, although Levante's task was made easier when Deportivo midfielder Alejandro Bergantinos was forced to replace Dani Aranzubia in goal after Aranzubia was sent off with eight minutes left.

Mallorca ended a six game losing streak⁴ with a 1-1 draw away to Celta Vigo. The game saw Tomer Hemed put Mallorca ahead in the first half before Park Chu Young equalized for the home team in the second half.

Getafe came back from a goal down to defeat Valladolid 2-0 thanks to goals from Alexis Ruano and Angel Lafita, who scored the home side's goals in the last 17 minutes.

The weekend kicked off on Saturday with bottom of the table Osasuna drawing 0-0 at home to Malaga, who have taken just one point from their last three matches and who had goalkeeper Willy Caballero to thank for a series of saves which stopped them slipping to a third successive league defeat.

Referee⁵ De Cerro Grande was the protagonist⁶ in the game between Valencia and Espanyol after showing a total of 11 yellow cards and two direct red cards, both of which went to Espanyol players, Hector Moreno and Sergio Garcia.

The game had looked to be heading for a 1-1 draw after Samuel Longo had cancelled out Jonathan Valle's opener for Valencia, but in the last minute De Cerro Grande gave Valencia a penalty for handball for Moreno, who was sent off for denying a goal-scoring opportunity with Garcia following him down the tunnel for his protests.

Roberto Soldado stepped up and ensured Valencia took all three points while Espanyol drop to bottom of the table.

1 combative   

adj.好战的；好斗的

参考例句：

• Mr. Obama has recently adopted a more combative tone.奥巴马总统近来采取了一种更有战斗性的语调。
• She believes that women are at least as combative as are.她相信女性至少和男性一样好斗。

2 athletic   

adj.擅长运动的，强健的；活跃的，体格健壮的

参考例句：

• This area has been marked off for athletic practice.这块地方被划出来供体育训练之用。
• He is an athletic star.他是一个运动明星。

3 affected   

adj.不自然的，假装的

参考例句：

• She showed an affected interest in our subject.她假装对我们的课题感到兴趣。
• His manners are affected.他的态度不自然。

4 streak   

n.条理，斑纹，倾向，少许，痕迹；v.加条纹，变成条纹，奔驰，快速移动

参考例句：

• The Indians used to streak their faces with paint.印第安人过去常用颜料在脸上涂条纹。
• Why did you streak the tree?你为什么在树上刻条纹？

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 protagonist   

n.(思想观念的)倡导者；主角，主人公

参考例句：

• The protagonist reforms in the end and avoids his proper punishment.戏剧主角最后改过自新并避免了他应受的惩罚。
• He is the model for the protagonist in the play.剧本中的主人公就是以他为模特儿创作的！