La Liga
Unbeaten Real Madrid defeat Barcelona in Clasico to top La Liga
Reigning champions Real Madrid beat Barcelona 3-1 in the Clasico to overtake their fierce rivals at the top of La Liga on Sunday.
Karim Benzema opened the scoring in the 12th minute by converting a rebound after Marc-Andre ter Stegen saved from Vinicius Junior, with Fede Valverde drilling home the second from the edge of the box before the break.
Ferran Torres pulled one back for Barcelona in the final stages after good work by Ansu Fati, but Rodrygo won and converted a late penalty to ensure Carlo Ancelotti’s side inflicted Barcelona’s first domestic defeat of the season.
Madrid ended the Catalans’ seven-game winning streak in the league and added to the still-raw pain of their struggles in Europe, where they are on the verge of Champions League elimination.
Barcelona, who spent heavily in the summer to try and catch up with their rivals, now trail them by three points. The Catalans had conceded just one league goal in eight games before the Clasico but shipped double that tally in the first half, leaving Madrid as the division’s only unbeaten side.
After a damaging draw with Inter Milan midweek that left Barcelona’s European hopes hanging by a thread, Xavi made changes.
Jules Kounde returned after injury to strengthen the defence, with veteran defender Gerard Pique, who made a costly error against the Italians, dropping out. Frenkie de Jong and Alejandro Balde also came into the side.
Xavi’s counterpart Ancelotti had fewer decisions to make, with Valverde getting the nod over Rodrygo on the right of the attack, while Andriy Lunin started in goal with Thibaut Courtois not ready to return after suffering sciatica.
Last season, Barcelona’s best moment came at the Bernabeu, as Xavi’s side earned a surprising 4-0 win, but this visit found them at their lowest ebb since the Spanish World Cup winner took charge.
Benzema on the money
Vinicius probed in the opening stages down the left flank against the unconvincing Sergi Roberto and that was where Madrid’s opening goal came from after 12 minutes.
The masterful Toni Kroos held off Sergio Busquets and threaded a neat pass down the wing, with Vinicius leaving Roberto for dead. Ter Stegen denied the Brazilian winger, but Benzema was on hand to slam home the rebound.
The French forward had gone five games without a goal, but ended his drought on the big stage, showing typically perfect timing as he is expected to win the Ballon d’Or in Paris on Monday.
The visitors should have levelled when Raphinha fired a cross along the six-yard box which De Jong missed and then Lewandowski, at full stretch, sent high over the crossbar.
The Polish striker, La Liga’s top scorer on nine goals, could barely believe he had missed, although he might have been offside.
Vinicius was booked for complaining about a push from Roberto as Barcelona began to earn a foothold in the game, but another individual error quickly pulled it away from them.
Eric Garcia’s loose header found Vinicius in a dangerous area and Madrid toyed with Barcelona’s defence, dragging them one way before Ferland Mendy passed the ball back across for Valverde to drill home from the edge of the area.
Madrid continued to push forward after the break and Benzema curled home a third, but it was ruled out for offside.
At the other end Lewandowski sent a free-kick into the wall and appealed for a penalty after Dani Carvajal collided with him in the box, but the referee was not interested.
Substitute Fati angled a strike wide from outside the area but Madrid were largely comfortable, sitting back and keeping Barcelona at arm’s length until Torres struck.
Fati’s brilliant run and cross for the Spanish winger gave Barcelona a lifeline, but Madrid sealed the win when Garcia trod on Rodrygo in the area and he beat Ter Stegen from the spot. – 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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