La Liga
Carlo Ancelotti delighted to become Real Madrid’s most successful manager
Real Madrid’s Intercontinental Cup triumph on Dec 18 marked a remarkable milestone for Carlo Ancelotti, as the Italian became the manager with the most titles in the club’s history with a total of 15 trophies.
After his side breezed past Mexican club Pachuca 3-0 in a one-sided contest at the Lusail Stadium in Qatar, he surpassed the late Miguel Munoz, whom he equalled in August by winning the European Super Cup against Atalanta.
“There are so many of them (titles) and I’m delighted, really happy… it’s a success story,” a smiley Ancelotti told Spanish television channel Telecinco.
“Today I really liked the attitude from the players. Up front, they made the difference, Vinicius Jr had a great game. Offensively we did well.
“We have a lot of quality. Kylian (Mbappe) had a good game, Rodrygo scored the second… We are very happy because we won a title far from home and in the middle of a busy season.”
The 65-year-old has one of the most-decorated CVs in world football.
When he was lured back to Real for a second spell three years ago, following the departure of club great Zinedine Zidane, he knew that his only mission was to increase Real’s trophy haul and he has not disappointed.
Ancelotti became the first manager to capture titles in each of Europe’s top five leagues – England, Spain, Germany, Italy and France – and has guided Real to two Champions League and La Liga doubles in three seasons.
His Real silverware includes three Champions League titles, two Club World Cups, three European Super Cups, two Spanish League titles, two Spanish Cups, two Spanish Super Cups and, now, one Intercontinental Cup title.
The latest victory was a fairly easy contest, as Mbappe opened the scoring in the 37th minute before Rodrygo doubled Real’s lead early in the second half. Vinicius sealed a comfortable win with a late penalty.
Mbappe returned to the line-up in after missing the weekend’s 3-3 draw with Rayo Vallecano due to a hamstring injury suffered in the Champions League win at Atalanta last week.
He swept in from close range to break the deadlock after brilliant play from Vinicius, who won the Fifa Best men’s Player of the Year award a day earlier after missing out on the Ballon d’Or.
Former West Brom and Newcastle forward Salomon Rondon led the attack for Concacaf Champions Cup winners Pachuca, but they never truly looked capable of an upset and Rodrygo’s fine curling strike put Real in total control.
It was allowed to stand after the referee consulted the pitchside monitor even though Jude Bellingham was in an offside position and appeared to be interfering with the goalkeeper’s line of vision.
Vinicius added a third from the penalty spot six minutes from time following another VAR (video assistant referee) review after Lucas Vazquez was chopped down in the Pachuca box.
“In this part of the season I was a bit anxious but this will change in 2025 I’m sure,” added Ancelotti. “It’s important for us to get to Christmas alive. I think we’ve grown a lot and that gives us confidence for 2025.”
This was the first edition of the Fifa-backed Intercontinental Cup, which broadly maintains the previous format of the Club World Cup and features the six continental champions.
The latter is being expanded to include 32 teams in 2025 and will now be played every four years. A past version of the Intercontinental Cup ran from 1960 to 2004 involving the champions of Europe and South America.
Real won that competition three times and then lifted the Club World Cup on a record five occasions.
They are to due to play Pachuca again at the 2025 Club World Cup in the United States, as well as an Al Hilal team including Neymar, and Red Bull Salzburg.
Real host Sevilla in La Liga on Dec 22 in their final game of the year. They will return to the Middle East in early January for the four-team Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.
-Reuters/ AFP
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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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