La Liga
Barcelona throw away 3-0 lead
Barcelona threw away a three-goal lead to draw 3-3 at Celta Vigo in LaLiga on Saturday (Nov 6) in a chaotic game which underlined the scale of the task facing incoming coach Xavi Hernandez.
Celta captain Iago Aspas completed a remarkable second-half comeback from the hosts by scoring in the fifth minute of added time after he had pulled their first goal back in the 52nd and Nolito had struck in the 74th to set up a tense finish.
Teenage forward Ansu Fati had given Barca the lead in the fifth minute and captain Sergio Busquets extended their advantage with a low strike from outside the area in the 18th before Memphis Depay added a third in the 34th.
But Barca experienced a huge drop off in performance in the second half and Celta’s stunning comeback extended the Catalans’ winless streak to four league games.
Barca are ninth in the standings with 17 points after 12 games while Celta are 14th on 12.
The Catalans began the day by finally confirming that midfield great Xavi would succeed the sacked Ronald Koeman as coach next week, announcing the appointment at 1:45AM local time.
Caretaker coach Sergi Barjuan named an identical starting 11 to the team that had won 1-0 at Dynamo Kyiv in the Champions League thanks to a strike from Fati and the 19-year-old got his side off to an ideal start by curling into the far corner.
Barca grew in confidence and began to play the type of flowing football they were renowned for in the days when Xavi ruled their midfield.
Their third goal was the pick of the bunch, a sweeping move which began with a goal kick and ended with Dutch forward Depay glancing in a Jordi Alba cross into the net.
A near-perfect first half for the Catalans was soured by an injury to Fati and they were overpowered by Celta in the second period.
Celta’s Thiago Galhardo had a goal ruled out soon after the restart and Aspas pulled them back into contention by pouncing when Barca keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen spilled a cross into his path.
Nolito then had a goal disallowed for a handball but quickly made amends by scoring with a diving header, helped by some passive defending from Barca.
The Catalans looked like they were begging for the final whistle for the remaining minutes as Celta continued to pour forward and after they had missed several chances to score Aspas landed the equaliser with a sumptuous first-time finish from the edge of the area.
-Reuters
A Spanish court on Wednesday handed Brazil coach Carlo Ancelotti a one-year prison sentence for failing to pay tax on his image rights revenues in 2014 when the Italian was Real Madrid manager, according to a statement.
Ancelotti, who managed Real Madrid from 2013 to 2015 and between 2021 and 2025, was cleared of a similar charge in 2015, as the court could not prove he had stayed long enough in Spain to incur tax liabilities, the court added. He moved to London after Real Madrid sacked him in May 2015.
Under Spanish law, any sentence under two years for a non-violent crime rarely requires a defendant without previous convictions to serve jail time.
The 66-year-old former Bayern Munich, AC Milan and Chelsea manager is the latest of several soccer celebrities to be investigated and convicted by the Spanish tax authority for alleged tax fraud.
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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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