La Liga
Samuel Chukwueze’s goal not enough for Villarreal as late goals ensure Barcelona win away
Barcelona scored twice in the closing stages for a 3-1 triumph at Villarreal on Saturday as they won away for the first time this season and handed new coach Xavi Hernandez a second successive LaLiga triumph.
Memphis Depay calmly went around goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli to score a dramatic 88th-minute goal that restored their lead and Philippe Coutinho added a stoppage-time penalty as Barcelona advanced to 23 points, seven behind leaders Real Madrid who play Sevilla on Sunday.
Villarreal had fought back through Samuel Chukwueze to equalise after 76 minutes after Frenkie de Jong’s early second-half effort had seen Barcelona open the scoring.
Villarreal, beaten at home by Manchester United in the Champions League on Tuesday, remain in 12th spot in the standings with 16 points from 14 matches.
Barcelona’s victory followed a fortuitous 1-0 win over Espanyol last week in Xavi’s coaching debut and a goalless draw with Benfica in the Champions League in midweek.
“We dominated less than I expected but in the end we found the goal with Memphis. They are three golden points. You also have to be lucky. Villarreal did not deserve to lose,” Xavi said.
Barcelona needed the intervention of the Video Assistant Referee to confirm De Jong’s goal after it had been initially ruled offside.
Jordi Alba thrashed the ball in from the left side and it looked as if Depay was offside before he got a touch that was blocked by home goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli but rebounded fortuitously for De Jong to tap home.
The VAR check found Depay had been onside to give Barcelona a 48th-minute lead.
Villarreal fought back to equalise through Chukwueze and were pressing their advantage in search of a late winner when they were caught by a counter-attack, with Depay collecting the ball, rounding Rulli and slotting in from a tight angle to restore the lead.
A handball then allowed substitute Coutinho the chance to make sure of the victory right at the end of the game.
Earlier on Saturday, Rayo Vallecano moved into fifth as they held Valencia to a 1-1 away draw, with Isi Palazon scoring for their visitors midway through the second half after Valencia had gone ahead in the opening 20 minutes through Carlos Soler’s penalty.
Iago Aspas scored the winner as Celta Vigo claimed a 2-1 triumph at Deportivo Alaves to end a run of three successive draws and move further away from the relegation zone.
Getafe remain second from bottom but did get an away point when they held Mallorca to a goalless draw.
-Reuters
Barcelona said their request for a permit to return to the Camp Nou for Sunday’s LaLiga match against Real Sociedad has been denied, with the city council highlighting safety and security issues with the revamped venue.
Barca had been hoping to return to a reduced-capacity Camp Nou with 27,000 spectators but have failed to obtain the necessary permits from Barcelona City Council.
Barca will instead host the match at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Montjuic, where they played during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons with renovations at Camp Nou now nine months behind schedule.
“We have spotted different elements that need to be fixed and have an impact in the safety and security of the stadium,” chief of civil protection Sebastia Massague said at a city council meeting.
Barca had to begin their LaLiga home campaign at the Estadi Johan Cruyff in their own training complex, where only 6,000 fans attended their match against Valencia on September 14, after a Post Malone concert left the Lluis Companys pitch in poor condition.
“The club is currently working on the new amendments that the council has shared today,” Barca said in a statement.
On Friday, the Catalan club also announced that their Champions League group stage match against Paris St Germain on October 1 would also take place at the Lluis Companys.
Barca are second in LaLiga, trailing leaders Real Madrid by five points but having played a game fewer.
-Reuters
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Villarreal midfielder Thomas Partey on Wednesday appeared in a London court and pleaded not guilty to charges of rape and sexual assault involving three women.
Partey, a Ghana international, is accused of five counts of rape relating to two women, plus a charge of sexual assault against a third woman, between April 2021 and June 2022.
The alleged offences took place when Partey played for Premier League soccer club Arsenal. He left the club this summer and signed for Spain’s Villarreal.
The 32-year-old appeared in the dock at Southwark Crown Court and spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth and enter his not guilty pleas.
Partey was released on bail ahead of his trial, which was listed for Nov. 2, 2026 and is due to take between six and eight weeks.
He was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59.2 million) in 2020 and became a key member of the English side’s first team, before his contract expired at the end of June.
Partey played for Villarreal in their Champions League game against Arsenal’s bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday night.
He came on as a second-half substitute and was booed loudly by the Spurs fans every time he touched the ball.
-Reuters
Villarreal and Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey, who has been charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, walks outside Southwark Crown Court, in London, Britain, September 17, 2025. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska
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Real Madrid on Tuesday denounced plans to stage a LaLiga match between Barcelona and Villarreal in Miami, warning the proposal could undermine football’s competitive balance and vowing to petition global governing bodies to block the move.
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) on Monday approved the December 20 fixture at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, which could become the first LaLiga match held abroad and the first European league fixture staged in the United States.
“Real Madrid wish to express to its members, supporters and football fans in general its firm rejection of the proposal,” the club said in a statement, revealing they have already urged FIFA, UEFA and Spain’s Higher Sports Council (CSD) to intervene.
The club accused the RFEF of making its decision “without informing or consulting the clubs participating in the competition” and argued that staging the match in Miami “violates the essential principle of territorial reciprocity” in home-and-away league formats.
Real further stated that the move would “alter the competitive balance” and grant “an unfair sporting advantage” to the clubs involved.
The club also warned that approving the proposal could compromise sporting integrity and “set an unacceptable precedent,” insisting any change of this nature should require “the express and unanimous agreement of all the clubs participating in the competition”.
The plan still requires approval from UEFA, US Soccer, CONCACAF and ultimately FIFA before LaLiga President Javier Tebas can realise his long-held ambition of taking Spanish football to the U.S.
-Reuters
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