Laufende Spiele » the Twins scored in the fourth on a double by E

MADRID -- A meaningless goal is still a goal, especially for someone who really needs a boost.Neymar had been enduring his worst scoring drought since arriving in Barcelona, but he got one in his teams 5-3 friendly win over Al Ahli in Qatar on Tuesday.That could be just the spur he needs.In Sundays Spanish league game against Espanyol, Neymar will be trying to score his first goal in an official match since he signed a three-year contract extension with Barcelona almost two months ago.Neymars last goal for the Catalan club came in the 4-0 win over Manchester City in the group stage of the Champions League on Oct. 19, two days before the new contract was signed to keep the Brazil striker in Barcelona until June 2021.Neymar failed to find the net in the eight matches since then, the longest scoreless streak in his four seasons in Spain.He also hasnt scored since finding out about a month ago that he and his father are each facing a two-year prison sentence and a fine of more than $10 million on corruption charges related to alleged irregularities during his transfer from Brazilian club Santos to Barcelona. They deny wrongdoing.In his debut season in 2013-14, Neymar went six consecutive games without scoring a goal two separate occasions. He never went more than four games without a goal the following season, and in 2015-16 he didnt score in five games in a row late in the season.Although Neymar hasnt been playing poorly, his missed chances have attracted attention. None more than the one in the 68th minute of the clasico against Real Madrid at Camp Nou a few weeks ago, when he had an open shot from close range to give Barcelona a 2-0 lead but sent his strike over the crossbar. Madrid scored an equalizer in the 90th.Neymars missed opportunity might have cost Barcelona the game, but it also kept him from showing his support for Brazilian club Chapecoense, whose players and delegation members died in a plane crash in Colombia.If I had scored I would have shown a Chapecoense jersey, Neymar said. Its what I could have done at that moment to show my support to the relative of those who died.Its been a sub-par season for Neymar compared to a year ago, when he scored 14 goals in his first 17 games. He ended with 31 goals and made the short list for the best player of the year award, finishing behind Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the voting.The 24-year-old Neymar has only six goals after 17 official games this season. He did not make FIFAs shortlist this time, and finished fifth in the Ballon dOr award announced Monday.Neymar started the season with Barcelona later than usual because he played for Brazil at the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, leading the hosts to their first soccer gold medal.He didnt play the last two games for Barcelona because of suspensions -- against Osasuna in the Spanish league and Borussia Moenchengladbach in the Champions League. The coinciding yellow-card suspensions led to some criticism in Spanish media as they gave Neymar extended time off, although he had to spend time undergoing physiotherapy for a minor muscle ailment.Another Barcelona striker who could benefit from the friendly in Qatar is Paco Alcacer, who finally scored his first goal since being signed by the Catalan club this season. He hadnt scored in 10 games with Barcelona and many fans had already been criticizing him.Barcelona is six points behind Spanish league leader Madrid, which is off this weekend because its in Japan for the Club World Cup.---Tales Azzoni on Twitter: http://twitter.com/tazzoni Anthony Martial Jersey . It just didnt show when he hit the ice. Berra made 42 saves and Kris Russell scored at 1:32 of overtime, lifting the Calgary Flames to a 3-2 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks on Sunday night. Eric Bailly Jersey . Rousey will put her perfect 8-0 record and hardware on the line against another undefeated fighter, 7-0 Sara McMann in the main event of UFC 170, which will be held at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas Nevada on February 22nd. http://www.jerseymanchesterunitedsoccer.com/womens-matteo-darmian-manchester-united-jersey/ . Fellow centre Pavel Datsyuk remains out because of a concussion. Zetterberg has 11 goals and 19 assists for a team-high 30 points, and Datsyuk has a team-high 12 goals and 11 assists. Fred Manchester United Jersey . -- For the first time in two months, an opponent was standing up to Alabama. Juan Mata Manchester United Jersey .C. -- Chris Thorburn thinks one of the reasons the Winnipeg Jets have been successful under new coach Paul Maurice is that theyre playing together as a team. MINNEAPOLIS -- The Braves have struggled to score runs this year, ranking last in the majors in that department. As a result, its been rare that an Atlanta starting pitcher has been gifted an early lead to work with.Thanks to Freddie Freeman, the Braves bucked both trends Wednesday night.Freeman homered, doubled and tied a career high with five RBI as the Braves held off the Twins 9-7 for a two-game sweep.Atlanta finished the game with 16 hits, with each player in the lineup getting at least one.It was nice to see that, nice to get on board early, Freeman said. We were able to continue it all the way to the fifth and sixth inning. Thats all we needed tonight. The bullpen was fantastic.Freeman went 4 for 4 with a walk, driving in five runs for the fifth time in his career. His 18th homer gave the Braves a 7-0 lead in the fourth inning.The Twins closed to 8-7 in the sixth on an RBI grounder by Joe Mauer. Nick Markakis singled home a run in the Atlanta eighth.Mike Foltynewicz (4-4) got the win despite giving up seven runs and 12 hits in 5 1/3 innings. Jim Johnson pitched the ninth for his fourth save.Hard-throwing righty Mauricio Cabrera also played a big role out of Atlantas bullpen. He struck out three batters in 1 1/3 innings, hitting 101 mph on the Target Field radar gun.Cabrera picked up a big strikeout of Miguel Sano to end a Twins threat in the sixth and pitched a scoreless seventh inning to keep it a one-run game.We talked the other night about bringing him into stressful innings, Braves interim manager Brian Snitker. I think more than probably 80 percent of the times Ive brought him in, its been game on the line or a big situation. His presence is really, really good.Twins starter Tyler Duffey (5-8) was chased in the second. The right-hander gave up five runs on eight hits, including a two-run homer by Jeff Francoeur in the first inning.It was the second straight outing in which Duffey has lasted less thhan three innings.ddddddddddddIts really frustrating when it piles up like that, and you give up the singles, and you give up the hard-hit ball, Duffey said. Watching a game like that, we come back fighting like that, end up losing, and it started with me.Atlanta and Minnesota entered the series with the two worst records in the majors. The Braves are 35-66, the Twins are 37-63.The Braves are now 9-5 in regular-season matchups against the team it lost to in the 1991 World Series.Freeman added a two-run homer in the fourth off Michael Tonkin. It was the third four-hit game of the season for Freeman, who leads the Braves with 106 hits.A day after getting shut out, the Twins scored in the fourth on a double by Eddie Rosario. Kurt Suzuki added a two-run homer later in the inning.We pecked away at them, got back into the game, Twins manager Paul Molitor said. They added on a couple that proved to be the difference at the end of the game. But we had chances right down to the end.BRAVES MAKE A DEALPrior to the game, Atlanta dealt right-hander Lucas Harrell and left-hander Dario Alvarez to the Texas Rangers for infield prospect Travis Demeritte.Demeritte, 21, represented the United States in this months All-Star Futures Game in San Diego. In 88 games with High A High Desert, he batted .272 with 25 home runs and 59 RBI.In five starts with the Braves this year, Harrell was 2-2 with a 3.38 ERA. Alvarez made 16 relief appearances this season for Atlanta and had a 3.00 ERA in 15 innings.UP NEXTBraves: Return to Atlanta to begin a four-game series against Philadelphia beginning Thursday. Right-hander Matt Wisler (4-10, 4.92 ERA) will start for the Braves.Twins: Host Baltimore on Thursday for a makeup of a game that was rained out on May 9. Right-hander Kyle Gibson (3-6, 4.67) starts for Minnesota. ' ' '