BARCELONA, Spain -- Cristiano Ronaldo helped Real Madrid roll to a 3-1 win over Athletic Bilbao Sunday hours before the Spanish club announced it had signed Gareth Bale to pair him with the Portugal forward in one of the most formidable attacks in football. Not to be overshadowed by Bales imminent arrival, Lionel Messi needed 41 minutes to score his 23rd career hat trick for Barcelona in a thrilling 3-2 victory at Valencia. Barcelona sports director Andoni Zubizarreta was one of the first to extend his welcome to the new reinforcement of the defending champions fierce rivals. "(Bale) is coming to add his part to this great league," Zubizarreta said. "A player of his talent shows that this league is strong. He will improve the competition." Silent just after its match against Bilbao, Madrid later announced Bale was leaving Tottenham and signing a six-year contract, ending the longest transfer saga of the off-season one day before the market closed. Having gone scoreless in Madrids first two wins to start season, Ronaldo headed in Madrids second goal in first-half injury time to add to Francisco "Isco" Alarcons 26th-minute opener from Karim Benzemas pass. Benzema assisted Isco again in the 73rd for his third goal in as many games since joining from Malaga this off-season. "Things are going well considering we have just started the season, three for three so far," said the 21-year-old Isco. "We are getting better game by game. Thats our goal." Messi started his treble in the 11th when Sergio Busquets intercepted a pass and shuffled the ball to Cesc Fabregas, who then used one touch to send Messi charging into the area and over goalkeeper Diego Alves before rolling the ball home. The sequence of Busquets robbing the ball, Fabregas assisting, and Messi scoring repeated itself in the 39th. Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino had said after Barcelonas 0-0 draw against Atletico Madrid earlier this week that he wanted Messi and Neymar to link up more in attack. Martino got what he had asked for when Neymar picked out Messi arriving down the middle of the area to slice his pass into the net for his league-leading fifth goal in two games after sitting out one match due to a muscle problem. But just when it appeared Barcelona would romp, Valencia striker Helder Postiga used an acrobatic volley to pull one back in the 44th before he scored with a header from a corner kick in first-half injury time. Neymar was involved twice more in almost getting Messi another goal, only to see the Argentine miss both late chances before goalkeeper Victor Valdes was forced to tip the shot by Valencia substitute Jonas off his post four minutes from time. "The concern that Messi and Neymar didnt combine in their first game together, well, they solved that in 24 hours," Martino said. Barcelona said Busquets ended the match with pain in his right leg and will undergo tests. Elsewhere, Atletico won 2-1 at Real Sociedad thanks to David Villas goal in the 27th and assist for Jorge "Koke" Resurreccion to add a second in the 56th. Sociedads Xabi Prieto halved the final difference in the 69th in a clash between two teams set to make long-awaited returns to the Champions League. Atletico, Barcelona, Madrid and promoted Villarreal are the only teams with three wins in as many rounds. Espanyol, meanwhile, remained unbeaten after drawing 0-0 at home with the winless Real Betis, and Malaga drew 2-2 at Sevilla after Kevin Gameiro equalized twice for the hosts. Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti started Diego Lopez instead of Iker Casillas for the third straight match, but the goalkeeper could do nothing to stop substitute Ibai Gomez from getting Bilbaos consolation goal in the 79th. Ancelotti said that defender Fabio Coentrao was staying at the club after changing his mind over a transfer. Bilbao midfielder Ander Herrera did not play a day after his club said it had rejected an offer for him from Manchester United. Coach Ernesto Valverde said that his benching had nothing to do with the interest from United and that he expected Herrera to stay. Before the match started, Madrid dismantled a stage it had set up inside the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium last weekend for Bales presentation. It will go back up early on Monday for the Wales winger to be paraded in front of his new fans. Isco poked his first goal under goalkeeper Iago Herrerin after Benzema set him up with a scooped pass made easier by Bilbaos Andoni Iraola who failed to move forward with the rest of the defensive line, leaving Isco onside to take the ball alone in the box. "Isco is playing very well, it looks like he has been playing here a long time," Ancelotti said. Ronaldo extended the hosts lead by running free to head Angel Di Marias dipping free kick into the corner of the net. Isco fired in Madrids third after controlling Benzemas short cross with one touch and scored to ensure Bilbao would suffer its first loss of the season following two victories. Arden Key Jersey . Cilic cruised to victory, beating the seventh-seeded Seppi 6-1, 6-3 in just 72 minutes. He faced only one break point, winning 24 out of 29 points played on the first serve. Jordy Nelson Jersey . -- Isaiah Pead took a stutter step forward, then raced to the left sideline and travelled 60 yards up the field before finally getting tripped up by a leg tackle. http://www.officialauthenticraidersstore.com/authentic-customized.html . Pekovic had an MRI test Tuesday on his right ankle that revealed bursitis, which is inflammation of the fluid-filled pad that cushions the joint. Rashaan Melvin Raiders Jersey . Others describe it as taking the parrot for a walk. Arden Key Raiders Jersey . -- Miami Dolphins defensive co-ordinator Kevin Coyle defended the management style of coach Joe Philbin in the wake of the teams bullying scandal.Last week I broke the numbers down for all 20 Premier League teams on how they perform when they are leading in games this season. This week we flip the script as I run the numbers on how Premier League teams perform when they are losing games. Manchester Uniteds 2012-13 season will always be known as Sir Alex Fergusons final campaign as manager. Yet, if the Scot hadnt retired it would have been known as one of the most remarkable title-winning seasons in league history. Uniteds 29 points gained from losing positions was the second most in Premier League history (Newcastle of 2001-02 had 34) and easily the most achieved by the eventual winners. Obviously, a team that wins a lot of games, which it takes to win a title, does not spend too much time losing so cannot acquire too many points for this category. Last season, Manchester United were different. In Fergies final year, United trailed in more matches (16) than Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City. In total they went behind 22 times but, remarkably, cancelled out those deficits 17 times (77 per cent of the time) and in nine of the 16 matches they not only levelled but also went on to win the match. Uniteds ability to score goals and be more efficient, thanks largely to a healthy Robin Van Persie, ensured they spent little time behind, leaving less time for anxiety to settle in, which has happened this season. In total last season United trailed for 419 Premier League minutes out of the 3,420 officially played (injury time counts as 45 and 90) for a losing percentage of just 12.2 per cent despite them losing in 42 per cent of their matches. This season, United have already trailed in 416 Premier League minutes out of the 1,890 officially played for a losing percentage of 22 per cent. In total, they have been behind in 10 of their 21 games (47.6 per cent) but have managed to win just three, draw one and lose six. It is no surprise that United are unable to continue last seasons statistic, a clear outlier, when it comes to how they play when losing and it is interesting to note that six losses, from 10 games losing in, currently puts them at a 40 per cent rate in terms of not losing a game they were trailing in. Rivals Manchester City have trailed the least amount of time this season and this is one of the leading indicators to show their dominance. Manuel Pellegrinis men have trailed for just 119 minutes this season, which averages out to less than six minutes per game. Here is a look at all of the teams in the Premier League in order of least amount of time trailed and how they have played when losing this season. 1. Man City - 119 mins (6.3 per cent) - City went behind in five of their first 11 games but in the last two months have trailed for just seven minutes, when Vincent Kompany levelled Phillippe Coutinhos opening goal on Boxing Day. City have six points from losing positions, winning against Liverpool and Everton when behind. 2. Arsenal - 203 mins (10.7) - Much of Arsenals improvement this season can be put down to them not conceding the games opening goal. Arsenal have gone behind a PL-low six times this season, stopping the early goals conceded that haunted them last season. This still needs to be worked on against the top teams (Man City twice, Chelsea twice and Man Utd all scored first half goals last season to go ahead 1-0 and both Manchester teams did it this season). Arsene Wengers team have so far reduced their total minutes losing dramatically this season (from 18 per cent to just over 10 per cent) taking the panic away that often came into their game when things didnt go their way. The sample size is small but in the five games they have trailed in, Arsenal have one win, one draw and three losses. 3. Chelsea - 232 mins (12.3) - Last season no team trailed less than the Blues, yet their frailties shone through once they went behind. Some of the frailties remain but the team is much better this season when they trail, currently leading the league with 14 points won from losing positions (4W, 2D, 3L). It has been that ability to excel, when behind, that has given them the confidence to look more and more like title contenders in recent weeks. Jose Mourinho continues to tinker with his shape as he tries to get his team more solid and after trailing in eight of 12 games from September to early December, Chelsea have now only trailed for 14 minutes combined in their last six matches and, like Man City, those minutes turned into a victory over Liverpool. 4. Everton - 259 mins (13.7) - The Toffees are having a great season and had to be this high by virtue of their low position in minutes led during last weeks study. Roberto Martinezs men have lost a league-low two matches but even more impressive is their conversion rate at cancelling out leads - a whopping high of 78 per cent, achieved by coming from behind seven times from the nine times they have trailed this season. That is even higher than what United managed last season. 5. Liverpool - 278 mins (14.7) - Liverpools five losses is too many for the short amount of time they have spent behind. This is because they have yet to win a match this season in which they trailed in, losing five and drawing three of those eight games. This needs to improve if they want to cement a top-four spot. 6. Tottenham - 363 mins (15.4) - Spurs won three games in December from a losing posiition.dddddddddddd The first two - at Fulham and Sunderland - were enough to convince Chairman Daniel Levy that the performances werent good enough under Andre Villas-Boas. The third one - at Southampton - convinced Levy to hire caretaker boss Tim Sherwood full-time. Spurs havent trailed in a game since. 7. Man United - 416 mins (22) - Four more minutes behind will give them more time spent chasing a game than the entire last season. Watching United closely when trailing this season has been fascinating. Yes, they have gained 10 points from losing positions but the performances in those games - Sunderland (a), Stoke (h), Spurs (a) Hull (a) - werent very good, unlike last season when they were, quite easily, the better side for a lot of their games, even when trailing. For United to climb the table they do not look like a team good enough to consistently get key points from losing positions. 8. Hull City - 470 mins (24.9) - Last weeks study showed Hull have spent a high number of minutes in the lead and, consequently, that has helped them spend so few time behind, No surprise, for a team in need of more goals, that one win and 10 losses come from the 11 games they trailed in. 9. West Ham - 475 mins (25.1) - This will surprise many but not any Hammer fans. Far too many games have been lost late this season for Sam Allardyce but he can find positives in the fact that his team have spent almost three-quarters of the season not losing. When they are losing, however, the picture is dull, achieving just one point from the 12 games theyve been losing in. 10. Stoke - 484 mins (25.6) - Stoke already have as many wins from losing positions (two) than last season. They showed fight in a crazy 5-3 game on Sunday to Liverpool, getting it back to 2-2, but played 79 of those 90 minutes behind. That pushed their percentage to over 25 per cent and away from the 22 per cent that was with them before, which matched their total from last season under Tony Pulis. 11. Newcastle - 535 mins (28.3) - The Magpies would be higher on this list and have a better per cent had their equalizer against Man City on Sunday been allowed to stand. Alan Pardew had many reasons to be frustrated but one not mentioned was that it appeared his team had levelled a deficit for just the third time in 10 attempts this season. They have trailed in just eight games this season but have gone on to lose seven of them. 12. Southampton - 564 mins (29.8) - The Saints have gone behind more times this season than West Ham, West Brom, Stoke, Norwich and Cardiff yet stand well above them in the league table. Part of that reason is their conversion rate at cancelling out leads - 50 per cent (8 of 16). 13. West Brom - 584 mins (30.9) - For a struggling team, WBAs conversion rate at cancelling leads is impressive (7 of 15 - 47 per cent) and suggests they should stay away from the bottom three this season. 14. Cardiff - 611 mins (32.3) - Cardiff are last in the league in minutes led but can take pleasure in knowing that last season the three relegated teams were in the bottom three in minutes trailed. 15. Aston Villa - 639 mins (33.8) - Last season Villa trailed in just 27.5 per cent of their matches despite losing over 44 per cent of their games (17 of 38). This season their losing record is similar but, expectedly, the minutes trailed has increased with it. In fact, it would be much higher had Villa not managed to cancel out seven of their 17 deficits so far (41 per cent). 16. Swansea - 663 mins (35) - In 2012-13, Michael Laudrups men trailed for just 595 minutes all season. Already they have passed that mark through 21 games. Winning just one of 19 games last season pointed to this increase, if things worsened, and struggles with Europa League demands and injuries has contributed to them losing in more games. Through a season and a half, under Laudrup, Swansea have now trailed in 33 games and won just one of them. 17. Crystal Palace - 717 mins (37.9) - Palace were the last team to pick up a point from a losing position when they drew against Norwich on New Years Day. Their play has improved under Tony Pulis but a conversion rate of 13 per cent in cancelling out leads (2 of 16) must improve if they want to avoid relegation. 18. Fulham - 721 mins (38.1) - Martin Jols Fulham were made for this study. Get behind and they rarely, if ever, won. Simple. Last season they trailed in 22 games, drew four and lost 18. In the thirteen games he managed this season, they trailed in 10 and lost nine. Slow clap for the one win against Crystal Palace. New manager Rene Meulensteen did in a week, what Jol couldnt do in 18 months, over the holidays, with wins over Norwich and Hull, showing good signs for the future. 19. Norwich - 732 mins (38.7) - When you struggle to score and preach a need for a defensive philosophy your job cannot be secure if you are in charge of a team this low on the list. Chris Hughton has guided his team to one win in 14 games that theyve trailed in this season. 20. Sunderland - 744 mins (39.4) - Sunderland, West Ham and Crystal Palace all have a PL-low one point gained from losing positions. Last season Fulham showed this doesnt mean you will get relegated but it does heighten the need to stay away from losing scenarios as often as possible. Gus Poyet has so far managed to do that in seven of the 14 games he is taken charge of. Wholesale HoodiesNFL Shirts OutletJerseys NFL WholesaleCheap NFL Jerseys Free ShippingWholesale Jerseys CheapCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaWholesale JerseysWholesale NFL JerseysCheap NFL Jerseys ChinaCheap NFL Jerseys ' ' '