La Liga
ETEBO ‘RELISHES’ FIRST GOAL IN LA LIGA FOR GETAFE
Super Eagles’ and Getafe midfielder, Oghenekaro Etebo, is at the moment on cloud nine after his maiden goal for his club in La liga restart that earned the team a draw with Eibar at the Coliseum on Saturday.
The loaned player from English Championship side, Stoke City have been having impressive outing with the club but yet to register any goal despite appreciable assist to his credit took to Instagram on Sunday to celebrate the feat.
“Happy to get my first Getafe goal. Heads up lads,” Etebo posted on Instagram.
The feat, made him the 21st Nigerian to score in the Spanish top-flight, joining an illustrious list that includes the likes of Ikechukwu Uche, Finidi George, Emmanuel Amuneke, Mutiu Adepoju, Odion Ighalo, Obafemi Martins and Rashidi Yekini.
The 24-year-old, who was part of the Nigeria’s bronze winning football team to the last Olympics in Brazil, according to reports, was in the firld for 69 minutes, produced 41 touches on the ball, and 16 accurate passes (64%) with one shot on and off-target.
Etebo gave his side the lead after driving in the ball home from Angel Rodriguez’s assist in the 30th minute.
Unfortunately, the lead was short lived as Charles Dias equalised just before the half-time whistle with a header after Sergi Enrich knocked the ball into his path.
The encounter was Etebo’s ninth league appearance for Getafe since his arrival in January. He has played in every game bar against Athletic Bilbao and Valencia, in which he was injured and was unfit to make the match day squad in the game before the last match.
Of the nine outings, six have been starts.
Before last Saturday’s first ever goal for his club in Spain, he had previously played for Las Palmas on loan from Portuguese side Feirense. He was also a January loan signing and made a total of 14 appearances.
His presence was, however, not enough for the Canary Islands outfit to stay up in La Liga as they finished in 19th place.
Getafe’s draw with Eibar means they were unable to close the gap to fourth-place Sevilla, who drew with Barcelona at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan on Friday night. The gap now stands at four points.
Jose Bordalas’ side is now unbeaten in their last four La Liga matches, drawing three and losing one. Their last victory came in a 1-0 win Mallorca on March 1, a week before the league was suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic.
Their next assignment is an away trip to Real Valladolid on Tuesday.
Barcelona turned the Clasico into a coronation on Sunday, swatting aside Real Madrid 2-0 at a roaring Camp Nou to claim their 29th LaLiga title.
Hansi Flick’s side moved to an unassailable 91 points, 14 clear of second-placed Real with three games remaining.
The triumph capped a dominant campaign in which they lost only four league matches. Villarreal are third on 69 points.
Real arrived needing victory to keep their wafer-thin title hopes alive, but Marcus Rashford crushed those aspirations just nine minutes into the game.
Antonio Rudiger fouled Ferran Torres just outside the box, and Rashford bent a superb free kick into Thibaut Courtois’ top-left corner, giving Barcelona the early lead and sending the home crowd into raptures.
Nine minutes later, Barcelona doubled the lead. Fermin Lopez crossed into the area, and Dani Olmo produced a clever backheel that sent the ball into the path of Torres, who rifled a fierce strike into the top corner.
The win completed back-to-back league titles for Flick, who also delivered the LaLiga and Copa del Rey double in his first season last year.
Both sides were heavily depleted. Barcelona were without Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Jules Kounde from the starting lineup.
Real’s list of missing players was longer, with Eder Militao, Dani Carvajal, Ferland Mendy, Arda Guler and Rodrygo all absent. Federico Valverde also missed out after suffering a head injury following a midweek changing-room fight with team-mate Aurelien Tchouameni, with both players fined 500,000 euros over the incident.
Kylian Mbappe did not travel because of a leg muscle injury, forcing manager Alvaro Arbeloa to start Vinicius Jr alongside academy striker Gonzalo, with Jude Bellingham and Brahim Diaz pushing forward in support.
Real threatened through Vinicius and Gonzalo before halftime, but Barcelona carried the greater menace. Courtois kept the visitors alive with fine saves from Torres and Rashford before the interval.
Barcelona continued to press after the break, Rashford repeatedly tormenting left back Fran Garcia down the right, while Courtois produced another sharp stop with his left foot to deny Torres from point-blank range in the 56th minute.
Bellingham had a goal ruled out for offside in the 62nd minute, and Joan Garcia was quick to deny Vinicius in a one-on-one, preventing the Brazilian from lifting the ball over him.
Real kept probing late on, but there was little bite in their attack, and Barcelona calmly saw out the win before the title celebrations began.
“This title is even more special because we won it at home against Real Madrid. Now it’s time to enjoy it with the fans,” Frenkie de Jong told Spanish broadcaster Movistar Plus.
“Every title has to be celebrated in style. Especially LaLiga, which is a year-long competition. We’ve clearly been the best in Spain.”
-Reuters
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Real Zaragoza goalkeeper Esteban Andrada was sent off for punching Huesca captain Jorge Pulido in a fiery Spanish second division clash on Sunday that descended into a mass brawl, with Huesca keeper Dani Jimenez dismissed for punching Andrada.
Zaragoza’s Dani Tasende was also dismissed after a VAR review of the brawl.
With tensions simmering in a relegation scrap, Argentine Andrada lost his composure moments before the final whistle. Ignoring the run of play, he approached Pulido and struck him in the face with his right hand, sparking chaotic scenes eight minutes into stoppage time.
It was an ugly flashpoint in a match already short on finesse and heavy on nerves, and could carry serious consequences for the goalkeeper.
Huesca manager Jose Luis did not attempt to defend the scenes.
“It’s hard to explain; I think it’s a complete loss of control. I can put myself in their shoes, given what was at stake and all. But it’s unjustifiable. It’s just that I don’t know what to do or how to stop it; a brawl breaks out,” he said.
“It’s ugly; this was supposed to be a celebration of Aragonese football. I’d like people to talk about the match, even though it was ugly, with little play but a lot of hard work.”
Oscar Sielva’s goal secured a 1-0 win for Huesca, lifting them to 36 points in 19th place, while Zaragoza remain second-bottom on 35.
-Reuters
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Joan Laporta has been re-elected as Barcelona president after winning over 68 percent of the vote and will begin his second consecutive term, and fourth overall, from July 1, the club said on Sunday.
The 63-year-old took office in March 2021 and stepped down last month in line with club statutes in order to seek re-election.
Laporta described the election as a “celebration of democracy and civic responsibility” and said the tasks ahead included finishing work on the Camp Nou and strengthening the men’s team.
-Reuters
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