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Almeria, Spain (SportsNetwork.com) - Barcelona snapped a two-game slide in La Liga play by rallying for a 2-1 victory over Almeria at the Estadio Mediterraneo on Saturday. The Catalans entered the contest in poor form after dropping back-to-back matches in league play to slip from their perch atop the table, and things appeared to heading further south after Thievy Bifouma handed Almeria a 37th- minute lead by slotting a shot past Claudio Bravo on the counter. The hosts held the advantage until the 73rd minute when Neymar got on the end of Luis Suarezs square pass and tucked home the equalizer with a nifty finish. Barcelona ultimately found a winner eight minutes from time and it was Suarez again playing the role of the architect. The Uruguayan delivered an inch- perfect cross to the back post where Jordi Alba was arriving to guide the pass into the back of the net with a first-time finish. It wasnt a vintage Barcelona performance, but it was enough for the fabled club to stop the rot and climb to 25 points on the season. The Catalans climb to second place in the table after Real Madrid cruised to a 5-1 demolition of Rayo Vallecano at the Bernabeu later on Saturday. Gareth Bale and Sergio Ramos put the hosts in good stead with first-half goals, though Alberto Bueno managed to pull one back for Rayo before the intermission. The second half, though, belonged to Madrid as Toni Kroos, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo notched a goal apiece to put the club back atop the table on 27 points. Malaga claimed a 2-1 home win over Eibar on Saturday to improve to 21 points on the season. The visitors took the lead through Mikel Arruabarrenas opener in the 42nd minute, but Juanmi leveled the score in the 53rd before a 90th-minute penalty from Nordin Amrabat handed Malaga the vital victory. Also on Saturday, Celta Vigo was held to a 0-0 home draw by Granada while Elche claimed a point from a 0-0 draw at Getafe. . Setting United on its way to a 2-0 victory, Rooney sent the ball high from inside the halfway line over goalkeeper Adrian after just seven minutes. "Its just instinct, Ive turned and had a quick look and seen the goalkeeper off his line," Rooney said. . Atletico Madrid made it three wins from three thanks to a double from in-form striker Diego Costa in a 3-0 victory at Austria Vienna, leaving the Spanish side on the brink of the last 16 already to continue its brilliant start to the season. http://www.cheapravensshoponline.com/Yo ... ns-Jersey/. Argentina, who have yet to beat New Zealand in 17 meetings, rocked the All Blacks with an early converted try to backrower Juan Manuel Leguizamon and led 7-0 after five minutes. But Smiths double in the 23rd and 26th minutes - when Argentina was reduced to 14 men by the sin-binning of hooker Eusebio Guinazu - turned the tide of the match and set up New Zealands third straight Championship win. . Hes the same player he always was, only now his efforts are being rewarded. The rookie manager has made a habit of heaping praise on others when things are going well, and accepting criticism when they arent. But in the case of Hurtado, its what the coach is NOT saying that may be the secret to a superb run of form. . Speaking on Leafs Lunch with Bryan Hayes and Jamie McLennan on Thursday, Bernier said it was "very hard" at times being entrenched behind Jonathan Quick and is now excited at the prospect of getting an opportunity to compete with Reimer for the top spot with the Leafs.REGINA - Quarterback Darian Durant doesnt care how his team wins football games — as long as they keep winning. Debuting their signature alternate neon green jerseys on Saturday, Durants Saskatchewan Roughriders posted a fourth straight victory with a 16-11 win over the Montreal Alouettes in a game that proved to be an offensive struggle for both teams. While the Riders last two wins havent exactly been pretty, Durant said he is happy to take the points. "Were winning and were beating some pretty good teams," said the 31-year-old QB, who completed 19 of 30 pass attempts for 221 yards. "As long as we win games, it doesnt matter how you win it. I think our day will come where we fill up the stat sheet. But if we win then Im happy." Durant hooked up with Rob Bagg on a 30-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the fourth quarter to give the home team a 12-4 lead that proved to be the difference in the game. "It was a perfectly thrown ball and it seemed to hang in the air forever. I just had to run and go get it," said Bagg, who caught six passes for 90 yards. "We ran a similar play several times earlier in the game and Darian is just great at reading the play and putting the ball in a good spot." Montreals Duron Carter kept the sellout crowd of 33,427 in their seats rather than heading for the exits late in the fourth quarter. Carter returned a missed field goal attempt 123 yards for a touchdown with 3:14 remaining and brought the Als to within two at 12-10. With his offence scuffling, Montreal head coach Tom Higgins eleccted to kick the single point rather than attempt a two-point convert that could have tied the score.dddddddddddd. "There was way too much football left to be played," Higgins explained. "A two-point convert, youre looking at a 50-50 or 60-40 (percentage of success). I chose to take the 99.9 per cent chance in that we were going to score the single point and that we were going to get the football back. "We werent going for the tie. We wanted to win this football game." Instead, the Als dropped their fifth consecutive contest and now sport a 1-6 record. The Riders (5-2) have moved into a tie for third place in the CFLs West Division standings. Montreals struggles on offence continued on Saturday. The offence has mustered just one touchdown since Week 3. Alex Brink started at quarterback in place of the injured Troy Smith and was 19-for-31 passing for 187 yards and one interception. He also posted a team-high 32 yards rushing. Carter caught seven passes for 69 yards, but the Als offence didnt sniff the end zone on this night. "You have to score in this league in order to be able to win," Higgins said. "Thank goodness we scored on special teams. Obviously, yes, it is a concern. But you have to feel some sense of relief in the fact that we moved the football. I think we started to press a little in the second half and it wasnt as smooth for Alex as it was in the first half." Montreal will visit the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Friday, while the Riders will travel to Vancouver to take on the B.C. Lions on Sunday. ' ' '