Sport

Deco comes to the rescue after Canizares mistake

Champions Barcelona narrowly avoided a second defeat in a row when they came from a goal down to claim a 2-2 draw at home to …

Thu Sept 22 2005 - 01:00

Champions Barcelona narrowly avoided a second defeat in a row when they came from a goal down to claim a 2-2 draw at home to Valencia in the Primera Liga last night.

Valencia keeper Santiago Canizares gifted the Catalans the equaliser 10 minutes from time when he dropped a Ronaldinho cross and the ball fell to Deco who drilled home to earn his side a point.

Celta Vigo moved a point clear at the top of the table after a double from Brazilian striker Fernando Baiano gave them a 2-1 victory at Villarreal who are anchored to the bottom of the table with just two points from four games.

Surprise package Getafe are in second place, a point behind Celta, after their 1-1 draw at home to Real Mallorca.

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Bernd Schuster's Getafe side are level on points with Deportivo Coruna who drew 1-1 at home to Real Betis.

Meanwhile, French midfielder Patrick Vieira grabbed the winner as Juventus won 1-0 at Udinese in Serie A last night to make it four wins out of four for the champions.

Fabio Capello's team lead by two points from Fiorentina, who won 3-1 at Lecce, and Palermo who beat visiting Reggina 1-0.

AC Milan bounced back from defeat at Sampdoria on Sunday to secure a 2-0 win at home to Lazio with early goals from European Footballer of the Year Andriy Shevchenko and Brazilian Kaka.

Argentine defender Walter Samuel scored on his league debut for Inter Milan who won 1-0 at Chievo, while Shabani Nonda was on target twice for AS Roma in their 4-1 win at home to Parma.

Meanwhile, Hamburg SV struck late to snatch a 2-1 win at struggling VfB Stuttgart and move up to second place in the Bundesliga on Wednesday.

Bayer Leverkusen also won 2-1 at home to Cologne, a second successive win under caretaker coach Rudi Voeller, but there was more disappointment for Schalke 04, held 1-1 at Nuremberg.

Hamburg took the lead with a long-range strike from Rafael van der Vaart in the 32nd minute.

Stuttgart equalised with a Mario Gomez tap-in after the break but David Jarolim scored two minutes from time with a shot that ballooned in off the keeper to seal the win.

Bayern Munich lead the standings with a perfect 18 points from six matches, following their 1-0 win at Eintracht Frankfurt on Tuesday, with Hamburg now second on 14.

Werder Bremen, beaten 2-1 by Borussia Moenchengladbach on Tuesday, slipped to third with 13 points.

Hertha Berlin moved up to fourth with 11 points thanks to a last-gasp 3-2 win at home to MSV Duisburg on Wednesday, with Leverkusen climbing to fifth on 10 points.