Madrid, January 4:

Spanish international midfielder Andres Iniesta marked his comeback from injury with a crucial goal as leaders Barcelona defeated Real Mallorca 3-1 on Saturday to continue where they left off before Christmas.

A first victory in 2009 took Barca 11 points clear of Valencia, who moved up to second with a 3-1 triumph over Atletico Madrid. Spain’s Euro 2008 heroes David Villa and David Silva, who grabbed a brace, were the goalscorers for Valencia rendering Diego Forlan’s penalty irrelevant.

It was Atletico’s first defeat in 16 games in all competitions and champions Real Madrid, a point behind in fifth, can go above their city rivals with a win against Villarreal. Real are 15 points behind Barca and desperately need three points at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Barca had fallen behind to a 15th-minute strike from Aritz Aduriz, but goals from Thierry Henry and Iniesta turned the game around. Iniesta, a star of Spain’s Euro 2008-winning squad, had been injured since the beginning of November, but came on as a 67th-minute substitute and netted eight miuntes later after a pass from Eidur Gudjohnsen.

Mallorca, struggling above the relegation zone, also had former Liverpool man Josemi sent off late on after Iniesta humiliated him with a neat drag back. Yaya Toure completed the scoring at the Nou Camp in stoppage time as he evaded two challenges before ramming the ball home.

FA Cup

LONDON: The third round of the FA Cup, England’s foremost football cup competition, is famous for delivering shocks as teams from the lower leagues upset the big names of the Premier League. The 2009 competition proved no different on Saturday as big-spending Manchester City were dumped out of the Cup in a 3-0 defeat at Eastlands by Nottingham Forest, a team struggling at the bottom of the Championship. Perhaps just as surprisingly, Che-lsea’s poor league form at Stamford Bridge spilled over into the Cup as they failed to finish off Southend in a 1-1 draw.

Elsewhere, Stoke City were stunned 2-0 at League One side Hartlepool, while Bolton Wanderers were the third Premier League side to go out, beaten by fellow top-flight side Sunderland.

Portsmouth and West Bromwich Albion were both held to draws by lowly oppositions, but both Arsenal and Premier League leaders Liverpool eased through to the next round. Robin van Persie scored twice as Arsenal eased to a 3-1 win over Plymouth while Albert Riera and Fernando Torres scored for Liverpool in their 2-0 victory over Championship side Preston at Deepdale.

Portsmouth were held to a goalless draw by Championship side Bristol City, while West Brom could only draw 1-1 at home with Peterborough. Hull City and Newcastle United will also replay at St James’s Park after a goalless draw, but Everton, Middlesbrough, Fulham and West Ham United all progressed to the fourth round. — DPA