. 4 Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium lost to Katarzyna Piter of P

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BARCELONA, Spain -- Atletico Madrid moved one step closer to its first Spanish league title in 18 years on Sunday with a 1-0 victory at Valencia, while Lionel Messi completed an emotional 3-2 comeback win for Barcelona at Villarreal two days after the death of former coach Tito Vilanova. Atletico midfielder Raul Garcia scored with an impressive header in the 43rd minute, and its defence did the rest as it gave Valencia no chance to rally at its Mestalla Stadium. Diego Simeones side moved six points clear of Real Madrid, which has a game in hand, while Barcelona remained within four points after coming from two goals down to beat Villarreal in its first game since the death of Vilanova. Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets wept as the two teams gathered at the centre circle before kickoff at El Madrigal Stadium to observe a minutes of silence for Vilanova, who died on Friday after a battle with cancer, having led Barcelona to the league title last season. Vilanova was honoured similarly across Spains first division this weekend. Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta said his team had been "very affected" by Vilanovas death, who was honoured this weekend by more than 50,000 people who attended a memorial site at Camp Nou. "It has touched all of us," Iniesta said. "I will take with me the example he set for us, both when he was with us and after." Ruben "Cani" Gracia and Manuel Trigueros scored from counterattacks for Villarreal to go 2-0 up by the 55th minute. But Villarreal then self-destructed with own goals by Gabriel Armando in the 65th and Mateo Musacchio in the 78th, both redirecting passes by Dani Alves into their teams net. Messi finally beat goalie Sergio Asenjo after Busquets and Cesc Fabregas combined to set the forward up to net his 27th league goal of the campaign and reach the 40-goal mark in all competitions for the fifth straight season. Earlier, Garcias ninth goal of the league season kept Atletico on course for its first league title since 1996. With a better head-to-head record against Madrid, Atletico can clinch the domestic crown by winning two of its remaining three games. It first plays at Levante, then hosts Malaga, and finally travels to Barcelona. "We have two very powerful teams behind us that will surely win all their games and we cant relax for even one day," Simeone said. "I ask my team to go forward with the same sense of calm knowing the importance of each result." Atletico can now focus on the Champions League semifinals as it travels to Chelsea on Wednesday after a 0-0 draw in the first leg. Again, Atletico snuffed out their opponents attack for a ninth straight victory. The pacesetters have only conceded one goal during their winning run while scoring 14. Atletico resisted Valencias early push and then went forward in search of an opening goal that came just before halftime. Garcia used an exquisite flick of the head -- with his back to goal -- to lift Gabi Fernandezs lobbed pass over goalkeeper Vicente Guaita and bouncing in off the post. Atletico defender Juanfran Torres was shown a direct red card for tackling Pablo Piatti in stoppage time. Also, Athletic Bilbao routed 10-man Sevilla 3-1 at home to deal a blow to its main rival for fourth place and Spains last Champions League berth, while Almeria fought back for a 2-1 win at nine-man Espanyol to move to within two points of safety. Forward Markel Susaeta got the Basques rolling in the fifth minute by scoring a rarely seen goal directly from a corner kick, curling the ball from the corner flag inside the near post to beat goalkeeper Antonio "Beto" Bastos. Right back Andoni Iraola then served two crosses for Iker Muniain to volley in the 54th and Ander Herrera to head home moments after Sevillas Diogo Figueras picked up a second booking in the 72nd. Kevin Gameiro scored Sevillas consolation goal in the 79th. The win lifted Bilbao six points clear of fifth-placed Sevilla. "This win over Sevilla is huge, but this isnt over," said Bilbao manager Ernesto Valverde. "We are knocking on the door. We are three points away from the Champions League, which would be a dream for everyone." Renato Sanches Portugal Jersey . Second-seeded Sloane Stephens of the United States made lighter work of her day as she beat 2009 champion and Swiss wild card Timea Bacsinszky 6-3, 6-3. Two seeds fell: No. 4 Kirsten Flipkens of Belgium lost to Katarzyna Piter of Poland 6-4, 6-2, and No. Renato Sanches Jersey . The game marks the rare occasion when two homegrown running backs, Jon Cornish of the Calgary Stampeders and Andrew Harris of the B.C. Lions, will start in the West Divisions battle for a Grey Cup berth. http://www.soccerportugalshop.com/world ... ll-jersey/. Lack replaced an injured Roberto Luongo late in the first period then watched defenceman Chris Tanev score the winning goal midway through the third as the Vancouver Canucks defeated the Jets 2-1 in a tight NHL game. Pepe Portugal Jersey .Heres Ralph the Dog with the crew here at TSN jumping into the James Duthie TradeCentre selfie: Happy to drop by! RT @TSN_Sports: @tsnjamesduthie: Take this Ellen. Ricardo Carvalho Jersey . The move will give Hentgen the "time needed to support his family and his fathers current health issues," the Blue Jays said in a release. Hentgen spent 10 of his 14 big-league seasons with the Blue Jays, winning a Cy Young Award in 1996.Despite the fact that he is currently sidelined with a broken hand, Hockey Canada is confident Connor McDavid will be ready to play at the World Junior Hockey Championship. Im not worried about him. Hell be ready to play, said Team Canada management group member Bruce Hamilton on Monday in Montreal after the news conference to introduce the selection camp invitees. McDavid has another doctors appointment on Dec. 9. Everything seems to be progressing positively, said Canada director of pplayer personnel Ryan Jankowski.dddddddddddd Hockey Canada announced its 29-man roster for the final evaluation camp that starts Dec. 11 in Toronto. The Erie Otters superstar, who is widely regarded as the best hockey prospect in years, broke his hand in a fight with the Mississauga Steelheads Bryson Cianfrone on Nov. 11 and is expected to miss five-to-six weeks with the injury. McDavid was a member of the 2014 World Junior squad that finished fourth in Malmo, Sweden. China Jerseys ' ' '