La Liga
Unbeaten Real Madrid defeat Barcelona in Clasico to top La Liga
Reigning champions Real Madrid beat Barcelona 3-1 in the Clasico to overtake their fierce rivals at the top of La Liga on Sunday.
Karim Benzema opened the scoring in the 12th minute by converting a rebound after Marc-Andre ter Stegen saved from Vinicius Junior, with Fede Valverde drilling home the second from the edge of the box before the break.
Ferran Torres pulled one back for Barcelona in the final stages after good work by Ansu Fati, but Rodrygo won and converted a late penalty to ensure Carlo Ancelotti’s side inflicted Barcelona’s first domestic defeat of the season.
Madrid ended the Catalans’ seven-game winning streak in the league and added to the still-raw pain of their struggles in Europe, where they are on the verge of Champions League elimination.
Barcelona, who spent heavily in the summer to try and catch up with their rivals, now trail them by three points. The Catalans had conceded just one league goal in eight games before the Clasico but shipped double that tally in the first half, leaving Madrid as the division’s only unbeaten side.
After a damaging draw with Inter Milan midweek that left Barcelona’s European hopes hanging by a thread, Xavi made changes.
Jules Kounde returned after injury to strengthen the defence, with veteran defender Gerard Pique, who made a costly error against the Italians, dropping out. Frenkie de Jong and Alejandro Balde also came into the side.
Xavi’s counterpart Ancelotti had fewer decisions to make, with Valverde getting the nod over Rodrygo on the right of the attack, while Andriy Lunin started in goal with Thibaut Courtois not ready to return after suffering sciatica.
Last season, Barcelona’s best moment came at the Bernabeu, as Xavi’s side earned a surprising 4-0 win, but this visit found them at their lowest ebb since the Spanish World Cup winner took charge.
Benzema on the money
Vinicius probed in the opening stages down the left flank against the unconvincing Sergi Roberto and that was where Madrid’s opening goal came from after 12 minutes.
The masterful Toni Kroos held off Sergio Busquets and threaded a neat pass down the wing, with Vinicius leaving Roberto for dead. Ter Stegen denied the Brazilian winger, but Benzema was on hand to slam home the rebound.
The French forward had gone five games without a goal, but ended his drought on the big stage, showing typically perfect timing as he is expected to win the Ballon d’Or in Paris on Monday.
The visitors should have levelled when Raphinha fired a cross along the six-yard box which De Jong missed and then Lewandowski, at full stretch, sent high over the crossbar.
The Polish striker, La Liga’s top scorer on nine goals, could barely believe he had missed, although he might have been offside.
Vinicius was booked for complaining about a push from Roberto as Barcelona began to earn a foothold in the game, but another individual error quickly pulled it away from them.
Eric Garcia’s loose header found Vinicius in a dangerous area and Madrid toyed with Barcelona’s defence, dragging them one way before Ferland Mendy passed the ball back across for Valverde to drill home from the edge of the area.
Madrid continued to push forward after the break and Benzema curled home a third, but it was ruled out for offside.
At the other end Lewandowski sent a free-kick into the wall and appealed for a penalty after Dani Carvajal collided with him in the box, but the referee was not interested.
Substitute Fati angled a strike wide from outside the area but Madrid were largely comfortable, sitting back and keeping Barcelona at arm’s length until Torres struck.
Fati’s brilliant run and cross for the Spanish winger gave Barcelona a lifeline, but Madrid sealed the win when Garcia trod on Rodrygo in the area and he beat Ter Stegen from the spot. – AFP
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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