BARCELONA — Lionel Messi extended his record streak by scoring in his 12th consecutive Spanish league game to give leader Barcelona a 1-1 draw at Valencia Sunday, while Atletico Madrid remained perfect at home through 20 games in all competitions. Midfielder Ever Banega struck first for Valencia in the 33rd, only for Messi to level for the visitors from the penalty spot six minutes later. Former Valencia star David Villa had Barcelona's best chance late but failed to finish on the break before goalkeeper Victor Valdes made an excellent save to deny Roberto Soldado two minutes from time and ensure a point for each side. It was Barcelona's second draw in five days after being held 1-1 by archrival Real Madrid in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semifinal. But it still boasts a league record of 19 wins, two draws and one loss and leads Madrid by 16 points after the defending champions' 1-0 loss at Granada Saturday from Cristiano Ronaldo's first career own goal. Second-place Atletico cut into Barcelona's hefty lead by beating Real Betis 1-0 to reduce the gap with the pacesetters to nine points. Elsewhere on Sunday, Malaga was held to a 1-1 home draw by Real Zaragoza in the return of forward Julio Baptista after a 16-month layoff with a broken right foot, while Sevilla beat visiting Rayo Vallecano 2-1 as it continued to show improvement under new coach Unai Emery. Real Sociedad rolled to a 3-0 victory over 10-man Mallorca. Gerrard England's best Steven Gerrard was on Sunday named as England's player of the year for 2012 after winning over 40 percent of a fans' vote, the Football Association announced. The 32-year-old Liverpool star edged out Danny Welbeck and Ashley Cole to clinch the award. England captain Gerrard became his country's sixth cap centurion in November when he chalked up his 100th appearance in the meeting with Sweden. "I still feel fresh, looking forward to the next game as much as my debut. Every time you put the England shirt on, it is a proud moment," said the Liverpool midfielder. Colombia Under-20 champ Colombia won the South American Youth Championship for the third time when they beat Paraguay 2-1 in the soccer tournament's final match in Argentina. Paraguay, Uruguay and Chile, who finished behind Colombia in that order in the six-nation title group on Sunday, will join the winners in the Under-20 World Cup in Turkey from June 21 to July 13. — Agencies
