La Liga
AN EXPENSIVE MISTAKE? NO PLACE FOR GRIEZMANN AS BARCELONA TITLE HOPES FADE
Barcelona’s hopes of retaining the Spanish title look to be slipping away after Tuesday’s 2-2 draw with Atletico Madrid, and the decision to leave Antoine Griezmann on the bench for almost the whole game appeared to sum up the malaise which has taken hold in the Catalan capital.
Twice Barcelona led against Atletico at the Camp Nou only to be pegged back and forced to settle for a third draw in their last four La Liga outings which leaves them a point behind leaders Real Madrid having played a game more.
The scenario was a repeat of last weekend, when Quique Setien’s team were ahead twice away at Celta Vigo only to draw 2-2. Real can now go four points clear by beating Getafe on Thursday (July 2), while also boasting the head-to-head advantage over their title rivals.
And yet while Barca desperately needed three points against Atletico, Setien saw no reason to send on Griezmann until the 90th minute.
The French World Cup winner was also only brought on as a late substitute against Celta, but Tuesday amounted to a humiliation for Griezmann against his former club, who sold him for €120 million (S$190 million) last summer.
Sergi Roberto and 17-year-old Ansu Fati had already come on before Setien turned to Griezmann as a last-minute replacement for Arturo Vidal.
When asked about the bit-part role to which his former player was restricted, Atletico coach Diego Simeone’s reply was as cutting as it was short. “Speechless”, said the Argentine.
“It is true that it is hard bringing him on like that, for a player of his level. But the circumstances forced me to do it,” said Setien.
“I could have taken a different decision, not brought him on for example, but you always have the hope that a player like him can win you the game.”
Setien added that he would not be apologising to the 29-year-old and claimed the player would understand why he was left out.
Nevertheless, Setien’s handling of Griezmann can only increase the pressure on the coach, who has not won over those who doubted his ability to succeed at the Camp Nou after he was appointed in January.
Having excelled under Simeone at Atletico, Griezmann always appeared an unnatural fit for Barcelona, wedded to their 4-3-3 formation or variations thereof. The Frenchman looks even more out of place with Luis Suarez back fit to team up with Lionel Messi in attack.
Messi scored his 700th career goal on Tuesday. Griezmann, meanwhile, has just eight goals in La Liga this season, his lowest return since netting seven for Real Sociedad in 2011/12.
He has scored just one league goal in 2020, not enough when you are one of the most expensive footballers of all time.
More importantly for Setien, a third straight title looks beyond Barcelona.
When appointed in January, the 61-year-old ex-Betis coach admitted he could not promise to make his team win. “But I promise that my team will play well,” he said.
They are not even doing that, and it is impossible to watch this Barca side and not long for the glorious football played by Pep Guardiola’s team almost a decade ago now, or even Frank Rijkaard’s dazzling side of several years before that, when Messi was just emerging.
“I am used to finding myself in difficult situations. I might not be as happy as I was at the beginning, but inside I am doing fine,” Setien said, while insisting that the dressing room was behind him.
Time is running out already for Setien, not least because time is running out for Messi to win trophies with Barca.
The Argentine, who has 22 La Liga goals this season, has just turned 33. Missing out on what would be an 11th La Liga crown in 16 years would be one thing, but the pressure is building towards the latter stages of the Champions League, due to be played in August.
Messi and Barca have not won that trophy since 2015. They still need to get through a last-16 second leg against Napoli in order to qualify for the final eight in Lisbon.
-AFP
Raphinha knew there was no reason to panic as Barcelona struggled to break down Espanyol on Thursday and said it was only a matter of time before the “golden feet” of Lamine Yamal steered them to a title-winning victory with a glorious goal.
Yamal, 17, took the ball on the right touchline and made a superb lateral run across the edge of the box before unleashing a curling strike between two defenders and into the top corner to break the deadlock early in the second half.
The stunning strike set Barca on course for a 2-0 win that secured the LaLiga title, with Real Madrid seven points back with only two games left to play.
“We didn’t have many clear chances but we have a kid in there who sometimes pulls something out of the golden feet he has and he gave us peace of mind to stay in the game more calmly,” Raphinha said.
“In January some people were saying we would fight to be third. We have confidence in ourselves. That’s the key. We trust in the work and in what we know we can do.”
Raphinha has scored 18 league goals this season, including a brace in Saturday’s crucial 4-3 win over Real Madrid, and was quick to credit the trust shown in him by coach Hansi Flick.
The Brazilian tripled his goal tally from last season and also has the third-highest number of assists in the competition with nine, three less than leader Yamal.
“The most important thing was the confidence of the coach. Knowing at the start of the season that he was counting on me, a person who controls the team … it changes you in the end,” he said.
-Reuters
Former Spain midfielder Xabi Alonso is set to become the next Real Madrid manager on a three-year deal when he leaves Bayer Leverkusen after this season, Spanish media reported on Monday.
Alonso, 43, is expected to replace current Real boss Carlo Ancelotti, who is being lined up for the vacant Brazil job ahead of the 2026 World Cup, soccer sources told Reuters.
Despite the Italian having a year remaining on his contract, Real’s underwhelming season and his desire to coach Brazil have led to a mutual agreement to part ways, the sources added.
Alonso, who said earlier this month that he was leaving Leverkusen after guiding them to the double last term, will join Real before the inaugural Club World Cup in the United States from June 14 to July 14, multiple media reports said.
Alonso, who also played for Liverpool and Bayern Munich, last season steered Leverkusen to their first Bundesliga title, ending the Bavarians’ 11-year domination, and they also won the German Cup and German Super Cup.
Reports of Ancelotti’s likely departure come as no surprise after Real’s 4-3 defeat at Barcelona in a thrilling ‘El Clasico’ on Sunday left his side on the brink of a trophyless season.
The 65-year-old Italian, who returned for a second stint at Real in June 2021, led the Spanish giants to two Champions League and LaLiga doubles, the latest of which came last season.
He is the most successful manager in the club’s history with a total of 15 trophies and the first coach to claim titles in Europe’s top five leagues.
However, this season Real were knocked out of the Champions League in the quarter-finals by Arsenal and allowed Barca to fight back and win 3-2 in the Copa del Rey final.
Second-placed Real are seven points adrift of Barcelona, who could secure the league title on Wednesday without kicking a ball if Real fail to win at home to Mallorca.
Regardless of Real’s result, a Barca victory in the city derby away to Espanyol on Thursday would clinch the title.
An official announcement regarding a managerial change is expected before Real’s last game of the season at home to Real Sociedad on May 25.
-Reuters
Schmuelgen/File Photo
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It was mission accomplished, said Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti after his side fought back from two-goals behind to snatch a rip-roaring 4-4 draw on Tuesday for a 5-4 aggregate win that put them through to the Copa del Rey final.
Ancelotti brushed off questions about a sub-par performance by his side and praised his players’ effort in what he considered a highly entertaining encounter.
“We have achieved our goal today which was to reach the final and there is not much time to think about it,” Ancelotti told a press conference.
“It was an entertaining game with some mistakes and a lot of good things. It was fun and we are in the final.
“I never saw ourselves out of it because anything can happen at the Bernabeu. When we have to come from behind, we never give up. We never give up, especially at home, with the fans by our side.”
Ancelotti said David Alaba was not to blame after he deflected two balls into his own goal, calling it “bad luck” by the Austrian defender, but urged his defence to play with better focus moving forward.
“It’s not good to concede four goals in a game,” Ancelotti said.
“Right now we are a team that has a lot of effectiveness up-front, but little balance.
“However, we can’t ignore what we did in attack, scoring four goals against Real is not that easy. I think we are doing quite well.”
Real Madrid, who have won the Spanish Cup only once in over a decade, will play either Barcelona or Atletico Madrid in a mouth-watering final in Seville next month.
Atletico fought back to hold Barca to a thrilling 4-4 draw ahead of Wednesday’s second-leg in Madrid.
-Reuters
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