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Late Winner by Alba Moves Barcelona Closer to League Title

Barcelona's Spanish defender Jordi Alba celebrates scoring a goal during the Spanish league football match between FC Barcelona and CA Osasuna at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on May 2, 2023. (AFP)
Barcelona's Spanish defender Jordi Alba celebrates scoring a goal during the Spanish league football match between FC Barcelona and CA Osasuna at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on May 2, 2023. (AFP)
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Late Winner by Alba Moves Barcelona Closer to League Title

Barcelona's Spanish defender Jordi Alba celebrates scoring a goal during the Spanish league football match between FC Barcelona and CA Osasuna at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on May 2, 2023. (AFP)
Barcelona's Spanish defender Jordi Alba celebrates scoring a goal during the Spanish league football match between FC Barcelona and CA Osasuna at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona on May 2, 2023. (AFP)

Barcelona kept wasting its chances against 10-man Osasuna at Camp Nou.

Its top attackers all squandered good opportunities to break the deadlock, with Ansu Fati, Pedri, Ousmane Dembélé and Robert Lewandowski failing to find the target despite clear chances.

It took a veteran defender to come through and move the Catalan club a step closer to its first Spanish league title in four years.

Jordi Alba scored an 85th-minute winner not long after coming off the bench to give Barcelona a hard-fought 1-0 win against 10-man Osasuna on Tuesday.

The victory gave Barcelona a 14-point lead over second-place Real Madrid, which later lost 2-0 at Real Sociedad. The combination of results means that the Catalan club can clinch the title as early as next weekend.

“It was a very big step for us, but we suffered too much, wasted too many clear chances to score,” Barcelona coach Xavi said.

Both Madrid and Osasuna are focused on Saturday’s Copa del Rey final between the clubs in Seville. Madrid is also focused on the semifinals of the Champions League against Manchester City, with the first leg taking place in Madrid on May 9.

Osasuna coach Jagoba Arrasate rested several regular starters against Barcelona ahead of the club's first Copa final since 2005.

Barcelona last won the league in 2019 to cap a run that included eight league titles in 11 seasons. That was the team's last league trophy with Lionel Messi, who left in 2021 amid the club's financial struggles to join Paris Saint-Germain.

It was Barcelona's third straight win at home. It had gone through a tough stretch recently but victories against Atletico Madrid and Real Betis at Camp Nou helped it maintain its comfortable lead at the top.

Osasuna played a man down from the 26th after central defender Jorge Herrando, who was making his first-division debut, was shown a straight red card for pushing Pedri from behind to stop a breakaway. The ensuing free kick taken by Raphinha glanced off the crossbar.

Pedri had nearly scored from close range before the red card, but Barcelona wasn't able to create many more significant chances in the first half after going a man up, finishing with no attempts on target going into the break.

Frenkie de Jong, Fati, Dembélé and Lewandowski all came close in the second half before the 34-year-old Alba finally broke the deadlock with a low shot with the outside of his left foot after a set up by De Jong inside the area. Alba had entered the match less than 10 minutes earlier.

It was the 25th clean sheet in the league for Barcelona, which had lost playmaker Gavi in the 36th with an apparent muscle injury. He was replaced by Fati.

Osasuna had won three of its last five league matches but was coming off a home loss against Sociedad.

Sociedad later hosts Madrid hoping to strengthen its hold on fourth place and the final Champions League place. It has a five-point gap to fifth-place Villarreal, which visits relegation-threatened Valencia on Wednesday.

Madrid falls

Former Madrid player Takefusa Kubo scored in the 47th and Ander Barrenetxea added another goal in the 85th as Sociedad gave Madrid its second loss in three league rounds and strengthened its hold on the final Champions League place.

Madrid played a man down from the 61st after defender Dani Carvajal was sent off for a foul. The defending champions were coming off a 4-2 win against Almeria but had lost 4-2 at Girona in the previous round.

It was the second straight win for fourth-place Sociedad, which is unbeaten in four consecutive games. It opened an eight-point gap to fifth-place Villarreal, which visits relegation-threatened Valencia on Wednesday.

Elche relegated

Last-place Elche became the first team relegated to the second division after a 2-1 loss at Almeria.

The result left the club with 16 points, 17 behind 17th-place Valencia, the first team outside the relegation zone.

Elche, with only three wins from 33 matches, hadn't played in the second division since 2019-20. It routed Rayo Vallecano 4-0 in the previous round to end a run of six consecutive losses.

Almeria, which had lost three of its last four matches, moved to 14th place, three points clear of the relegation zone.

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Nadal Retires at Davis Cup after he Loses and Spain is Eliminated

Rafa Nadal of Spain waves during a tribute received after the Spanish doubles match against the Netherlands during the Davis Cup quarterfinal between Netherlands and Spain at the Jose Maria Martin Carpena Sports Palace in Malaga, Spain, 19 November 2024. EPA/JORGE ZAPATA
Rafa Nadal of Spain waves during a tribute received after the Spanish doubles match against the Netherlands during the Davis Cup quarterfinal between Netherlands and Spain at the Jose Maria Martin Carpena Sports Palace in Malaga, Spain, 19 November 2024. EPA/JORGE ZAPATA
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Nadal Retires at Davis Cup after he Loses and Spain is Eliminated

Rafa Nadal of Spain waves during a tribute received after the Spanish doubles match against the Netherlands during the Davis Cup quarterfinal between Netherlands and Spain at the Jose Maria Martin Carpena Sports Palace in Malaga, Spain, 19 November 2024. EPA/JORGE ZAPATA
Rafa Nadal of Spain waves during a tribute received after the Spanish doubles match against the Netherlands during the Davis Cup quarterfinal between Netherlands and Spain at the Jose Maria Martin Carpena Sports Palace in Malaga, Spain, 19 November 2024. EPA/JORGE ZAPATA

Rafael Nadal bit his lower lip and his reddened eyes welled with tears as he stood alongside his Davis Cup teammates for Spain's national anthem Tuesday before what he — and everyone — knew might be the last match of his career.

Hours after Nadal's 6-4, 6-4 loss to Botic van de Zandschulp of the Netherlands was over, the evening did turn out to represent the 22-time Grand Slam champion's farewell to professional tennis, because the Dutch eliminated the Spaniards in the quarterfinals just after midnight, The Associated Press reported.

And it was during an on-court, post-match ceremony to honor Nadal that he cried and cried, at the singsong chorus of “Raaa-faaa” from the spectators, at the video showing highlights from his more than two decades on tour and the collection of recorded tributes from current or former players such as his Big Three rivals Roger Federer and Novak Djokovic, Serena Williams, Conchita Martinez and Andy Murray, and stars from other sports such as golf's Sergio Garcia or soccer's David Beckham.

“The titles, the numbers, are there, so people probably know that, but the way I would like to be remembered is as a good person from a small village in Mallorca,” the 38-year-old Nadal told the flag-waving, sign-toting crowd at the sold-out Palacio de Deportes Jose Maria Martin Carpena. “Just a kid that followed their dreams, worked as hard as possible. ... I have been very lucky.”

He had said beforehand that his feelings would need to be put on hold, that this week was about attempting to claim one last trophy for his country, not about pondering his impending retirement, which he announced last month would come after this event.

But he acknowledged after playing that "the emotions were difficult to manage,” and that he felt nerves out there amid the roars of an adoring audience that mostly showed up for one player and one player only.
After Nadal, a 14-time French Open champion, was beaten on the indoor hard court in southern Spain, he became a cheerleader for his heir apparent, Carlos Alcaraz, who evened the matchup against the Netherlands at 1-all by getting past Tallon Griekspoor 7-6 (0), 6-3 in the other singles match. But then van de Zandschulp and Wesley Koolhof clinched the victory for the Dutch by defeating Alcaraz and Marcel Granollers 7-6 (4), 7-6 (3) in the deciding doubles match.
Even if Spain had managed to get past the Netherlands, Nadal said that if he were his team's captain, he wouldn't pick himself to play again in the semifinals after that performance against the 80th-ranked van de Zandschulp.
At least he was in a joking mood after the result put a stop to his 29-match winning streak in Davis Cup singles. The only other blemish on his record, which stood at 29-1 entering Tuesday, came in his 2004 debut.
“I lost my first match in the Davis Cup, and I lost my last one,” Nadal said with a wide grin. “So we close the circle.”
When a forehand found the net to close his last match, Nadal walked to the net for a quick hug with his opponent.
“That was a tough, tough match to play,” said van de Zandschulp, noting that he idolized Nadal while growing up.
In certain ways, this was, unmistakably, the Nadal that van de Zandschulp — and so many others — can remember. The white headband, marked with the red bull logo Nadal made famous. The white tape wrapped around all four of his left, racket-holding fingers. The water bottles by his sideline bench, placed just so.
There was the occasional ace right on a line. The occasional serve-and-volley foray. The occasional over-the-shoulder putaway. And, yes, the occasional uppercut and scream of “Vamos!” There also were — neither to Nadal’s or most of the 9,200 spectators’ liking — several points where he looked like a once-dominant figure diminished by age and injuries.
Nadal was just not able to bring his best, no matter how many chants of “Ra-fa!” or “España!” or “Si, se puede!” (“Yes, you can!”) broke out, no matter how many scarves reading “Gracias, Rafa!” or red-and-yellow Spanish flags of all sizes filled the arena.
This version of Nadal had hip issues, including surgery in June 2023, and abdominal problems that combined to limit him to only 24 matches over the past two years. He went 12-8 in singles in 2024.
The match against van de Zandschulp — who upset Alcaraz at the US Open — was Nadal’s first outing that counted since early August at the Paris Olympics. He lost there in the second round of singles to Djokovic and bowed out in the doubles quarterfinals alongside Alcaraz.
Nadal and Alcaraz practiced with each other hours before the start of play. The day, much like the entire Davis Cup leadup, was largely about memories of, and praise for, Nadal.
“You know very well what you have meant to the tennis world,” said Spain's captain, David Ferrer, who lost to Nadal in the 2013 French Open final. “We will miss you a lot.”
Nadal’s appeal was found in how he played tennis, relentless and striking each shot as if it might be his last, and the humility he displayed away from competition. No one cared for him as much as his fellow Spaniards. He is a national hero, transcending sports, and that was clear from the love expressed over and over via shouts and standing ovations — when Nadal entered the court, when he won a point, when his match ended, and so on.
“When we heard the news that Rafa was retiring, this really became something special — a chance to see the greatest sportsman in the country’s history,” said Luis Julve, a 19-year-old college student who made the trip from Madrid with his mother and aunt.
When the matches, the ceremony, the night and his career were over, Nadal hugged his teammates and left the court, pausing to wave goodbye to his fans one last time.
“The truth is that nobody ever wants to arrive at this moment,” Nadal said. “I’m not tired of playing tennis, but it’s my body that doesn’t want to play anymore, so I have to accept the situation. Honestly, I feel super privileged for having been able to make a career out of my hobby, and for having played for much longer than I could ever have imagined."