after a 3-0 start. Kevin Martin added 23 points, but the Wo

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BARCELONA, Spain -- Cristiano Ronaldo scored his Spanish league-leading 25th goal to give Real Madrid a lacklustre 1-0 win at Malaga on Saturday, when the pacesetters extended their unbeaten run to 30 consecutive matches in all competitions. Diego Costa made sure Atletico Madrid stayed within three points of its crosstown rivals by scoring his 22nd league goal of the season in a 1-0 win at home over Espanyol. Ronaldo netted the winner in the 23rd minute, and a tired Madrid was fortunate Malaga failed to muster a comeback after pushing the visitors into their area for the final 10 minutes. Third-place Barcelona will enter Sundays match against Osasuna seven points behind Madrid with the two powerhouses set to clash in the Spanish capital next weekend. Madrids win was tarnished by the loss of Karim Benzema to a right thigh injury after colliding with Ronaldo in the first half. "We suffered, above all in the second half," Madrid midfielder Xabi Alonso said. "They pressed us and it was tough for us to move the ball. These are three important points. There are 10 games left and we have to play each one like its the last." Elsewhere, Rayo Vallecano beat Almeria 3-1 to provisionally escape the relegation zone with a third consecutive victory, while Celta Vigo earned an entertaining 1-0 win at Levante. The opening stage of the match at La Rosaleda Stadium saw a vibrant back-and-forth exchange before Ronaldo put Madrid ahead with a wonderful solo effort. The Ballon dOr winner looked to be hemmed in by two defenders on the edge of the area, but he took three touches to his right and lashed a bouncing strike beyond goalkeeper Willy Caballero. Ronaldos goal gave him 39 goals in 36 games in all competitions this campaign. Ronaldo went close twice more shortly after, first being blocked by Caballero and then sending Gareth Bales lobbed pass into the side netting before he ran into Benzema. Benzema was treated on the sideline by team doctors before he asked to be substituted, ceding his spot to Angel Di Maria, in the 31st. Former Malaga standout Francisco "Isco" Alarcon, who joined Madrid this summer, wasted a golden chance in the 51st when he sent the ball sailing high after Di Maria set him up for a one-on-one with Caballero. Isco was applauded by his former fans when replaced by Jese Rodriguez less than 10 minutes later. Madrid, so dominant in the first half, lost control of the ball and Malaga tilted the match in its favour led by tireless forward Nordin Amrabat. But defender Sergio Sanchez blasted his teams most promising opportunity to level high in the 76th. "This team is consistent game after game," Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "We are ready for the clasico." But before receiving fierce rival Barcelona, Madrid hosts Schalke on Tuesday with one foot in the Champions League quarterfinals after winning their first meeting 6-1. The first half at Vicente Calderon Stadium was ruled by the defences and featured a good save each by Atleticos Courtois Thibaut and Espanyols Kiko Casilla. Diego Costa broke through in the 55th when he received a throughball from David Villa, easily fended off Diego Colottos timid attempt to slow him down, and fired the ball past Casilla. Courtois took a hard hit to the head when Jhon Cordoba inadvertently kneed him, but the Belgian recovered and four minutes later in the 77th David Lopezs bouncing strike struck his head before falling wide of the post. "Espanyol played a great game and complicated our lives a lot," Diego Costa said. "But that just makes us stronger." Rayo won thanks to Joaquin Larriveys double after Alberto Bueno headed in the opener. Fernando Soriano scored for Almeria. Rayo rose three points above danger. Almeria was left in the drop zone along with Valladolid and Real Betis before they play on Sunday. Celta forward Manuel "Nolito" Agudo scored from a well-orchestrated counterattack in the 19th. David Barral missed a penalty for Levante in the 61st. The loss was Levantes first in seven straight home games. Both teams stayed in the middle of the standings. Rickie Lambert Liverpool Jersey . Kelli Stack and Alex Carpenter also scored for the Americans, who avoided a repeat of Finlands upset at the Four Nations Cup in Lake Placid, N.Y., in November. Finnish goalie Noora Raty made 58 saves in that one, but the three-time Olympian could stop just 40 of 43 U. Nathaniel Clyne Liverpool Jersey . -- Jesse Lussier scored 8:24 into overtime as the Halifax Mooseheads erased a four-goal deficit to beat the host Val-dOr Foreurs 6-5 on Tuesday in Quebec Major Junior Hockey League playoff action. http://www.liverpoolsoccerpro.com/Authe ... ol-Jersey/. -- Top-ranked Stacy Lewis birdied the last three ........... and five of the final six Thursday for an 8-under 64 and a share of the lead with Mi Jung Hur in the Yokohama Tire LPGA Classic. Kolo Toure Liverpool Jersey . Granada defender Diego Mainz barged into the back of Villa to send the Spain striker to the ground inside the area and Costa stepped up to the spot to score his 12th league goal in the 38th minute. Costa showed no effects of the news that his Brazilian citizenship may be revoked after he elected to play for Spains national team, as the forward was a constant threat for Atletico and forced several saves from goalkeeper Roberto. Alberto Moreno Jersey . Simona Halep of Romania claimed the fifth title of her career by beating Samantha Stosur of Australia 7-6 (1), 6-2 in the womens final. After trading sets, Gasquet trailed 4-3 in the decider but broke back to 4-4 in a game that went to seven deuces with Kukushkin constantly failing on his forehand shots. MINNEAPOLIS -- The Golden State Warriors held their breath when they watched star guard Stephen Curry walk gingerly off the court in the third quarter. Then Klay Thompson put his foot on the gas. Thompson scored 19 of his 30 points in the fourth quarter and Harrison Barnes scored 14 points in his season debut to help the Golden State Warriors to a 106-93 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Wednesday night. "It just shows that were not all about Steph," said Thompson, who hit five 3-pointers in the final quarter. "Stephs one of the best players in the NBA, but sometimes people think we rely on him too much. And its not fair to him and were a deep team this year." David Lee had 22 points and 15 rebounds and Andre Iguodala scored 20 points for the Warriors (4-1), who entered this season brimming with confidence following last years run to the second round of the playoffs. "We showed that one of our best guys goes down, were going to do it collectively and as a team, and play unselfish," Thompson said. "Its hard to replace what he does. You really cant do it, but we try to do our best and we did a good job of it tonight." Curry had just five points on 2-for-8 shooting with seven assists in 24 minutes and sat out the fourth quarter with a bruised left foot and a sore right knee. He said he would "probably" play on Friday. "Just a tough, unfortunate injury, but Ive got guys I believe in and our versatility showed," Warriors coach Mark Jackson said. "Andre showed how important he is, comfortable at moving over, handling the basketball and facilitating our offence. Hopefully Steph will be fine and we continue to march on." Kevin Love had 25 points, 16 rebounds and six assists for the Timberwolves, who have lost two straight after a 3-0 start. Kevin Martin added 23 points, but the Wolves bench was outscored 27-10. The Wolves shot 37.8 per cent and turned the ball over 19 times in a humbling loss. The Wolves are hoping to use the Warriors surprising run last seasonn as a model to end their nine-year playoff drought this year.dddddddddddd But they found out that they have a long way to go to compete with a team that is quickly asserting itself as one of the best in the West. The Warriors shot 50 per cent, outrebounded the Wolves 49-40 and held Minnesota to just 10 points off 21 Golden State turnovers. "Were a better team than that defensively," Love said. "There were a lot of times where, I was guilty of it too, but I was throwing my hands up and was like, Where is the weakside help." When Thompson found the mark, Curry wasnt needed. Thompson was 2 for 9 in the first half, but hit his first seven shots of the second half to help the Warriors pull away. With backup shooting gua1rd Alexey Shved off to a terrible start, Wolves coach Rick Adelman had no choice but to try 5-foot-11 J.J. Barea on the 6-7 Thompson. Predictably, Thompson just rose right up and shot over the little guy, drilling 3 after 3 in the second half. He scored 11 straight points for the Warriors in the fourth quarter, the last a soft jumper for a 94-80 lead, and the Warriors never looked back. Barnes missed the first four games with left toe inflammation. He was a game-time decision, but he entered the game with just over 5 minutes to go in the first quarter and made an immediate impact. He hit two quick jumpers and scored on a pretty reverse layup to ignite the uncharacteristically sluggish Warriors offence, and the second unit chewed the Wolves bench up to start the second quarter. "The whole thing changed," Wolves coach Rick Adelman said of the second unit. "We have to find a way to keep things going and be more productive and that just didnt happen." NOTES: Rubio had another rough night. He had seven points on 2-for-8 shooting with seven assists and four turnovers. ... Curry, a career 90 per cent free throw shooter, missed one in the second quarter. He missed 29 last season. ... Barnes had a vocal cheering section behind one basket. He grew up in Ames, Iowa, about a 3-hour drive from the Twin Cities. Wholesale NFL Jerseys ' ' '