Barca 'give away' points at Valencia

Barcelona, Dec. 18: Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez said his team "gave away two points" to Valencia in a tense 1-1 draw on Sunday in La Liga.

The champions moved third, a point clear of Atletico Madrid, but trail Real Madrid by four and surprise leaders Girona by six, having played one game more than all three sides.

Atletico fell 2-0 at Athletic Bilbao earlier Saturday but the Catalans could not take full advantage in an entertaining clash on the east coast. Joao Felix sent Barcelona ahead in the second half after a slick team move, but Hugo Guillamon's fine strike pegged them back.

The draw takes Valencia 10th, with Baraja's side significantly more solid than last season when they battled relegation.

Athletic Bilbao powered to a convincing 2-0 victory over a flat Atletico Madrid on Saturday in La Liga to close the gap on the top four.

Gorka Guruzeta and Nico Williams struck second-half goals to deservedly secure the points for Los Leones, who dominated at a jubilant San Mames.

Atletico have lost four games in La Liga this season, each away from home, while winning all eight matches they have played at their Metropolitano stadium.

Struggling Sevilla, 16th, fell to a humiliating 3-0 home defeat by Getafe and then sacked coach Diego Alonso.

City squander lead

Luton captain Tom Lockyer suffered a cardiac arrest that forced the abandonment of his team's Premier League match at Bournemouth on Saturday as Manchester City threw away a 2-0 lead against Crystal Palace.

Luton's game on the south coast was halted midway through the second half with the score at 1-1 as defender Lockyer received medical treatment before he was carried off to applause. The Premier League confirmed the match had been abandoned and Luton later said the Wales international was in a stable condition in hospital.

The incident in Bournemouth overshadowed a dramatic game at the Etihad, where champions City were cruising towards victory before conceding two late goals.

City enjoyed nearly three-quarters of possession in the first half but had only Jack Grealish's goal to show for their dominance.

They seemed destined to move to within one point of Premier League leaders Liverpool, when Rico Lewis thumped the ball into the bottom left corner in the 54th minute.

But Palace scored against the run of play to give themselves hope in the 76th minute when Jeffrey Schlupp shrugged off the attentions of the City defence and crossed for Jean-Philippe Mateta to poke home.

And the home fans watched in horror when referee Paul Tierney pointed to the penalty spot after Phil Foden fouled Mateta.

Michael Olise made no mistake, slotting home in the 95th minute to make it 2-2 and boos rang around the Etihad at the final whistle.

Michael Keane and Amadou Onana scored as Everton won their fourth straight league game, beating struggling Burnley 2-0 to lift themselves seven points clear of the relegation zone.

Chelsea beat bottom club Sheffield United 2-0 to register just their third home league win of the season, thanks to goals from Cole Palmer and Nicolas Jackson.

Newcastle claimed all three points against 10-man Fulham at their St James' Park stronghold, with 17-year-old Lewis Miley among the scorers in a 3-0 win.