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Messi scores 2 in 7th straight start

Dec. 13, 2012 - 19:25 By Korea Herald
MADRID (AP) ― Lionel Messi scored two goals for the seventh straight game he started, raising his total for the year to 88, as defending champion Barcelona won 2-0 at second-tier Cordoba in the first leg of the fifth round of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday night.

Messi scored in the 11th and 74th minutes. Last weekend, the three-time FIFA Player of the Year broke Gerd Mueller’s record of 86 goals in a year for club and country, set in 1972.

Celta Vigo upset visiting Real Madrid 2-1. The host built a 2-0 lead on goals by Mario Bermejo in the 56th and Cristian Bustos in the 78th before Cristiano Ronaldo latched onto an overhead pass from Xabi Alonso to score a potentially important away goal for Real in the 86th.

Madrid’s second leg is Jan. 9, with Barcelona’s the following day.

Atletico Madrid beat Getafe 3-0 despite resting forward Radamel Falcao, and Sevilla won 5-0 at Mallorca. In the second leg of the fourth round, third-tier Eibar tied 1-1 at Athletic Bilbao to advance 1-0 on away goals.

England

Swansea needed an own goal by defender Seb Hines in the 81st minute to beat second-tier club Middlesbrough 1-0 and advance to the League Cup semifinals.

The ball struck Hines from a corner kick and went past goalkeeper Jason Steele, sending Swansea through to only a third semifinal in top-flight cup competitions in its 100-year history.

Swansea joins Bradford and Aston Villa in the final four. The final quarterfinal is between Chelsea and Leeds next week.

Italy

Sebastian Giovinco scored in the 57th minute, and Juventus advanced to the Italian Cup quarterfinals by beating Cagliari 1-0.

Juventus midfielder Arturo Vidal limped off with an apparent right knee injury in the 16th minute, and forward Nicklas Bendtner was carried off on a stretcher in the 43rd with a muscle problem. Antonio Conte coached his first home match since a four-month suspension for match-fixing, stemming from when he coached Siena two seasons ago.

France

Michel Bastos scored in the 83rd minute to give first-place Lyon a 1-1 tie against visiting Nancy in the French league. Jordan Loties had put 19th-place Nancy ahead in the 74th minute.

Lyon (10-2-5) has a three-point lead over second-place Paris Saint-Germain (9-3-5) heading into Sunday’s game between the leaders in Paris.

Third-place Marseille (10-5-2), which trails PSG on goal difference, won 2-1 at Bastia.