Iniesta, Benat shine in Spanish La Liga

 MADRID, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- Andres Iniesta and Benat Etxebarria demonstrated splendid performances in Spanish La Liga this week.

Iniesta produced a majestic¹ display of football to set up three goals and score another as Barcelona won 4-0 away to Levante.

The midfielder produced his magic in 18 minutes at the start of the second half in a game that had been 0-0 at the break and promised to be very complicated for the league leaders, before he set up Leo Messi for two goals, fired home from the edge of the area and rounded off his night with a defense² splitting pass for Cesc Fabrigas to add a fourth.

The win took Barca 11 points clear of Real Madrid, who lost 1-0 away to Betis on Saturday night thanks to Benat's 17 minute shot from the edge of the area.

Real Madrid were below par³ on the night as they slipped to their third defeat of the season after failing to break down a determined⁴ Betis, who recovered their pride following last week's 5-1 humiliation⁵ against local rivals, Sevilla.

Atletico Madrid, however, showed no sign of slackening the pace as they brushed past Sevilla in the Vicente Calderon stadium.

The game was decided⁶ in the first half when Federico Fazio was sent off after committing a penalty which Radamel Falcao scored. Emir Spahic scored an own goal with five minutes remaining in the half and Koke made it 3-0 before the break.

Joao Miranda added a fourth in the closing minute to take Atletico eight clear of Real Madrid ahead of next Saturday's visit to the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

Sunday kicked off with Espanyol crashing to another home defeat with a shambolic display against Getafe, who could have won by a greater margin⁷ that the 2-0 final result.

Pedro Leon opened the scoring after 15 minutes and the fact the result was in doubt until Mane added a second in the last minute was down to Getafe's poor finishing rather than anything decent from Espanyol, whose coach Mauricio Pochettino is in clear danger of losing his job.

Athletic⁸ Bilbao can count themselves unlucky to only draw 1-1 at home to Deportivo la Coruna. Oscar de Marcos opened the scoring for Athletic in the first half, but Abel Aguilar

Saturday also saw Malaga thrash Valencia 4-0 in the Rosaleda Stadium with a totally dominant⁹ performance. The match between two sides who have reached the last 16 of the Champions League were expected to produce a tight game, but Valencia's away form again let them down.

Trailing to a first half goal from Francisco Portillo, Valencia failed to react after the break and received further goals from Javier Saviola, Roque Santa Cruz and former Valencia player, Izco ended a difficult night for the visitors, while ending a run of just one point from three games.

Saturday kicked off with Rayo Vallecano continuing their impressive home form at the expense of Mallorca.

The game looked to be heading for a 0-0 draw before Leo Baptistao scored a fine solo goal with four minutes left and he then produced a run into the Mallorca penalty area to set up Andrija Delibasic for a simple finish in the last minute of the game to leave Mallorca with one point from eight matches.

Granada are also in trouble after Manucho's 63rd minute goal condemned¹⁰ them to a 1-0 defeat away to Valladolid, who move into the top half of the table.

The round of matches began on Friday with a 0-0 draw between Real Sociedad and Osasuna.

1 majestic   

adj.雄伟的，壮丽的，庄严的，威严的，崇高的

参考例句：

• In the distance rose the majestic Alps.远处耸立着雄伟的阿尔卑斯山。
• He looks majestic in uniform.他穿上军装显得很威风。

2 defense   

n.防御，保卫；[pl.]防务工事；辩护，答辩

参考例句：

• The accused has the right to defense.被告人有权获得辩护。
• The war has impacted the area with military and defense workers.战争使那个地区挤满了军队和防御工程人员。

3 par   

n.标准，票面价值，平均数量；adj.票面的，平常的，标准的

参考例句：

• Sales of nylon have been below par in recent years.近年来尼龙织品的销售额一直不及以往。
• I don't think his ability is on a par with yours.我认为他的能力不能与你的能力相媲美。

4 determined   

adj.坚定的；有决心的

参考例句：

• I have determined on going to Tibet after graduation.我已决定毕业后去西藏。
• He determined to view the rooms behind the office.他决定查看一下办公室后面的房间。

5 humiliation   

n.羞辱

参考例句：

• He suffered the humiliation of being forced to ask for his cards.他蒙受了被迫要求辞职的羞辱。
• He will wish to revenge his humiliation in last Season's Final.他会为在上个季度的决赛中所受的耻辱而报复的。

6 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

7 margin   

n.页边空白；差额；余地，余裕；边，边缘

参考例句：

• We allowed a margin of 20 minutes in catching the train.我们有20分钟的余地赶火车。
• The village is situated at the margin of a forest.村子位于森林的边缘。

8 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。

9 dominant   

adj.支配的，统治的；占优势的；显性的；n.主因，要素，主要的人(或物)；显性基因

参考例句：

• The British were formerly dominant in India.英国人从前统治印度。
• She was a dominant figure in the French film industry.她在法国电影界是个举足轻重的人物。

10 condemned   

adj. 被责难的, 被宣告有罪的 动词condemn的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He condemned the hypocrisy of those politicians who do one thing and say another. 他谴责了那些说一套做一套的政客的虚伪。
• The policy has been condemned as a regressive step. 这项政策被认为是一种倒退而受到谴责。