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.
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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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.”
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.
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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