Spanish leader Barcelona defeated crosstown rival Espanyol 1-0 Saturday in its last domestic game of 2009 before traveling to the Club World Cup. Barcelona couldn't have asked for a better sending off for its Club World Cup date against Mexico's Atlante Wednesday as the European champion goes for its sixth major trophy since May on the heels of a sixth straight victory. Zlatan Ibrahimovic made no mistake in beating goalkeeper Carlos Karmeni with a 39th-minute penalty shot into the top corner after Xavi Hernandez was fouled. Ibrahimovic matched Valencia's David Villa with his league-high 11th goal, sending Espanyol crashing to its fourth straight defeat in the 151st meeting between the teams. Barcelona leads the standings with 39 points. Real Madrid has 31, Valencia 28, Sevilla 27 and Deportivo La Coruna 25. Later Saturday, Madrid faced a tough test against No. 3 Valencia without stars Cristiano Ronaldo and Kaka. Earlier, Mikel San Jose and Markel Susaeta scored second-half goals to lead Athletic Bilbao to a 2-1 win at Zaragoza, which could only manage Carlos Diogo's injury-time score. Athletic has 23 points and Zaragoza, which has lost three straight, is 17th with 12 points, one back of Espanyol. Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes leapt to tip Francisco Chica's swerving drive over after 15 minutes, but that was Espanyol's only sniff of goal as the host dominated in the run-up to the opening goal. Kameni saved from Thierry Henry before Maxwell shot high just before the opener. Barcelona broke through after the 38th, when Xavi dropped inside the area after slight contact with Jose Baena as the two dueled for a cross. Kameni anticipated well in the 49th to stop Ibrahimovic, whose quick touches and slick passes troubled Espanyol's defense throughout. The crosstown rivals kept poking away with long shots with Javier Marquez shooting wide just before Valdes easily caught from Ivan Alonso in the 63rd after the Espanyol striker failed to take advantage of his side's best chance from close so far. Bari stuns Juve In Rome, Juventus' troubles continued with a 3-1 loss at newly promoted Bari Saturday, with playmaker Diego missing a penalty kick for the 27-time Serie A champion. Juventus was eliminated from the Champions League Tuesday after a 4-1 home loss to Bayern Munich. The Bianconeri beat Serie A leader Inter Milan last weekend but now risk falling further behind the four-time defending champion. Inter has 35 points, AC Milan 31 and Juventus 30. Inter visits Atalanta Sunday and Milan hosts Palermo. Earlier, Napoli and Cagliari played to a 3-3 draw featuring a frenetic finish. Bari and Napoli moved into a six-way tie for fifth with 24 points each. With 51,849 fans on hand for Juventus' first visit to the San Nicola stadium in nine years, Riccardo Meggiorini put Bari in front seven minutes in, taking advantage of failed defensive coverage. David Trezeguet equalized for Juventus in the 23rd but Paulo Barreto restored Bari's lead with a penalty kick in the 44th, Diego missed his spot kick way over the bar in the 68th and Sergio Almiron sealed the victory for Bari in the 81st. Cristian Molinaro and Mauro Camoranesi exited for Juventus with apparent injuries, and the game was likely the last for Juventus goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon before knee surgery Sunday.
