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La Liga

Kessie’s stunner hands Barcelona comeback win over Real Madrid

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LaLiga – FC Barcelona v Real Madrid – Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain – March 19, 2023 FC Barcelona’s Franck Kessie scores their second goal REUTERS/Juan Medina

LaLiga leaders Barcelona’s pursuit of a 27th Spanish title gained momentum after substitute Franck Kessie scored a stunning goal in added time to secure a 2-1 comeback win over Real Madrid on Sunday.

Barca took a huge step towards winning their first league title in four years by beating the champions for a third successive time. The result left second-placed Real 12 points adrift of the leaders.

Roared by almost 100,000 fans in a sold-out Camp Nou, Barca were the better side and earned a well deserved win against a Real Madrid side that at times seemed resigned to their fate.

“We have to be honest… We never gave up, but we are already four games behind them. Nothing is impossible, but the truth is that it’s very difficult (to win the title),” Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois told Movistar Plus.

It was an electrifying game from the start with Barcelona pressing high and they almost scored in the sixth minute with a point-blank header by Raphinha that Courtois brilliantly stopped with a reflex save using his right fist.

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From the rebound, Sergi Roberto fired a fierce shot inches over the bar.

But it was Real who took an early lead four minutes later after a Vinicius Jr cross deflected off defender Ronald Araujo and went inside his own goal.

But Barcelona were quick to regroup and they took control of game.

Andreas Christiansen could have scored twice from two corners and Raphinha, who was arguably Barcelona’s most dangerous player, attempted an angled shot from the edge of the area that Courtois denied with another great save.

Real seemed content to sit on their lead but their strategy backfired. At the stroke of halftime, their defence failed to clear the ball from the box and Sergi Roberto quickly pounced to fire an unstoppable strike to the left of the goalkeeper.

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Barcelona did not take the foot off the gas after the break and created several opportunities but it was Real substitute Marco Asensio who netted a goal that could have changed the script in the 81st minute.

However, his close-range effort was ruled out by the VAR after the replay showed he was fractionally offside.

Barca kept pushing for the winner and finally got it in added time when Alejandro Balde raced down the left channel and crossed to Kessie who was left unmarked in the far post. He unleashed an unstoppable first touch strike to give Barca the win of the season.

-Reuters

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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La Liga

Mission accomplished as Real Madrid reach cup final, Ancelotti says

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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.”

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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.

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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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La Liga

Prosecutors seek jail term for Real Madrid coach Ancelotti over alleged tax fraud

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Real Madrid’s legendary coach Carlo Ancelotti will go on trial next week for allegedly failing to declare income to Spain’s tax office, the Madrid court which will hear the case has said.

Prosecutors are seeking a jail term of four years and nine months for the 65-year-old Italian, accusing him of having cost Spain’s treasury more than one million euros ($1.1 million) in undeclared earnings from image rights in 2014 and 2015.

The trial will begin on Wednesday and it is expected to last two days, a spokesman for the court said.

Ancelotti, who as a coach has won a record five Champions League trophies including three with Real, must be present for the hearings, he added.

Prosecutors accuse him of only declaring in his tax returns the personal remuneration received from Real Madrid during those two years even though he himself declared himself to be a tax resident in Spain and indicated his home was in Madrid.

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They accuse Ancelotti of allegedly setting up a “confusing” and “complex” system of shell companies to hide his extra earnings from his image rights as well as from other sources such as real estate.

A Spanish court in 2023 ordered Ancelotti to stand trial over the affair, but did not set a date.

Ancelotti dismissed the affair last year as “an old story that I hope will be resolved soon” when he was asked about the case.

He took over at Real Madrid in 2013, leaving in May 2015, before being appointed at Bayern Munich the following year.

The former Italy international midfielder, who as a player won the European Cup twice with AC Milan, later managed Napoli and Everton before returning to Real Madrid in 2021.

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Aside from his success in the Champions League he has won domestic league titles with Madrid and Milan, in England with Chelsea, in Germany with Bayern Munich and in France with Paris Saint-Germain.

-AFP

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La Liga

Spain’s former soccer chief Rubiales says he will appeal court ruling

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 Luis Rubiales in court on day one of Rubiales trial - National Court, Madrid, Spain, February 3, 2025. Chema Moya/Pool via Reuters/File Photo 

 Spain’s former soccer chief Luis Rubiales told Reuters on Thursday he would appeal a court ruling which found him guilty of sexual assault for kissing player Jenni Hermoso without her consent.-

-Reuters

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