Keita, Xavi rescue 10-man Barca against Sporting

Seydou Keita and Xavi Hernandez came to the rescue to give 10-man Barcelona a crucial 3-1 victory over Sporting Gijon on Saturday which cut the gap on leaders Real Madrid to seven points. Mali international Keita popped up to curl in a left-footed shot from the edge of the area with 12 minutes remaining, before Xavi finished Sporting with two minutes left. Earlier Andres Iniesta had opened the scoring for Barca before David Barral took advantage of a Gerard Pique red card to bring the Asturian side back into the game. Barcelona were without Lionel Messi who was serving his first ever suspension for a fifth yellow card.