La Liga
Barcelona starts critical 3-game home stint for Koeman
Ronald Koeman got a reprieve. Now he needs to make it last.
A visit from Valencia on Sunday kicks off a three-game home stint that the Barcelona coach said must mark a turnaround for his beleaguered team.
After facing Valencia, Barcelona will host Dynamo Kyiv and Real Madrid within a week.
The run of games at Camp Nou comes after an international break that gave Koeman a chance to regroup following a tumultuous period for a team struggling to win without Lionel Messi.
Two weeks ago, Koeman’s job was considered in serious jeopardy after Barcelona had lost both of its Champions League games by an identical 3-0 score. Barcelona headed to the Spanish capital to play Atlético Madrid amid widespread reports that the club leadership was scouting for a replacement for its coach.
However, instead of firing him, club president Joan Laporta ended days of silence by reaffirming Koeman as coach, asking fans to be patient as the club tries to repair its hard-hit finances that have made it difficult to retain its top stars. The public backing of Koeman came hours before another painful loss: a 2-0 defeat at Atlético that left Barcelona with only three wins in seven Spanish league games this season.
Koeman has pleaded for more time so he can get back injured players to help an attack that is struggling to produce goals without Messi and Antoine Griezmann. Forwards Ousmane Dembelé, Martin Braithwaite and Sergio Agüero are all sidelined with injures. Ansu Fati and Philippe Coutinho have recently returned from long injury layoffs.
Agüero appears ready to make his debut for Barcelona since leaving Manchester City this offseason as a free agent. He had been sidelined with a right thigh problem until he played a friendly with Barcelona on Wednesday.
But Koeman also acknowledged that any Barcelona coach must produce results and pointed to this week’s tripleheader as key.
Next weekend’s match against Madrid will certainly be critical for Koeman, whose team lost both “clásicos” last season. But before that, his team faces a must-win game against Dynamo on Wednesday. Barcelona is last in its Champions League group and at risk of failing to reach the knockout rounds for the first time in two decades.
Valencia should also offer a difficult test. The team that had struggled to find its identity ever since the exit of coach Marcelino García in 2019 has only lost twice in eight games under José Bordalás. Bordalás earned a reputation as a defensive mastermind at Getafe, where he forged a competitive team despite its limited individual talents.
Barcelona enters the match in ninth place, albeit with a game in hand, right behind Valencia in eighth.
Laporta will also face an important hurdle on Sunday when his board will submit its budget, and its plan to seek financing for a remodeling of Camp Nou, to a vote by delegates of the member-owned club.
POSTPONED MATCHES
Real Madrid and defending champion Atlético Madrid both had their matches scheduled for this weekend postponed to give players on international duty with South American nations more rest time.
Madrid’s game against Athletic Bilbao and Atlético’s match against Granada will be played at dates to be determined.
The postponed matches give Real Sociedad the chance to take the league lead with a draw or win against Mallorca. The team from San Sebastián is in third place, level on points with leader Madrid and second-place Atlético.
Forward Mikel Oyarzabal leads Sociedad with six goals, second in the league behind Madrid’s Karim Benzema with nine.
-AP
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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