Real Madrid clip Espanyol 3-1, eye Liverpool and clasico

Real Madrid's Brazilian forward Vinicius Junior (C) shoots to score during the Spanish league between Real Madrid CF and RCD Espanyol at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in Madrid on March 11, 20223. (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 12 March 2023
Follow

Real Madrid clip Espanyol 3-1, eye Liverpool and clasico

  • Carlo Ancelotti’s team reduced Barcelona’s lead to six points before the front-runner visits Athletic Bilbao on Sunday

BARCELONA: Vinicius Junior sparked Real Madrid’s 3-1 comeback win over Espanyol in the Spanish league on Saturday, keeping leader Barcelona within reach before the rivals meet next weekend.

Joselu Mato put Espanyol ahead at the Santiago Bernabeu in the eighth minute. But Vinicius equalized in the 22nd and Eder Militao headed Madrid in front for good minutes before halftime.

Substitute Marco Asensio added a third goal in stoppage time as Madrid ended a three-game winless run across the league and the Copa del Rey.

Carlo Ancelotti’s team reduced Barcelona’s lead to six points before the front-runner visits Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

Karim Benzema missed the game as he rested to recover from an ankle problem. Before the game, Ancelotti said he expected his striker to be ready to face Liverpool in the Champions League on Wednesday. Madrid holds a 5-2 advantage from the first leg of the round of 16.

Madrid will then visit Barcelona on March 19 in a clasico that will likely weigh heavily on the title fight.

“It was a game we had to win at any cost,” Ancelotti said. “This week is important with the Champions League and the clasico, and now we can face it with good momentum.”

Ancelotti insisted his players quickly turn their focus on Liverpool. Even though his team has a three-goal cushion, the coach said the rematch of last season’s European final could be a game “full of traps.”

MERCILESS MADRID

Espanyol, who were left in 13th place, took the lead when Joselu scored with a fine touch of his left boot. Joselu became the league’s second-leading scorer, along with Getafe’s Enes Unal, with 12. Only Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski has more at 15.

But when Madrid’s Vinicius got going, Madrid never gave Espanyol much of a chance to pull off the upset.

The Brazil forward looked hemmed in by Espanyol when he received the ball on the left side of the area. But a quick change of direction toward the center opened up just enough of a window for him to thread a shot between four defenders before it went in off the post.

“We were calm enough to come back from a goal down,” Vinicius said after his team-best 19th goal across all competitions.

When Madrid had Espanyol scrambling again, Militao jumped over his marker at the near post to head in a short cross by Aurélien Tchouameni.

Diego Martinez sent on extra attackers for Espanyol in the second half, but Madrid went closest to another goal when Rodrygo struck a free kick off the crossbar in the 75th.

Asensio rounded off the win after defender Nacho Fernandez dribbled forward and set him up.

“We were in the match until the final minutes,” Joselu said. “We gave it all we had, but Real Madrid shows no mercy.”

DOWN TO EIGHT

Last-placed Elche grabbed a point in stoppage time when Tete Morrente scored to draw 1-1 against a Valladolid that finished with eight players.

Cyle Larin struck in the fourth minute for his fourth goal in seven appearances for Valladolid since the Canada forward arrived in January.

But Valladolid lost their hold on the game when Darwin Machis was injured and had to leave after coach José “Pacheta” Rojo made all his substitutions.

After Morrente scored, two Valladolid players — Roque Mesa and Martin Hongla – were sent off for second bookings.

Iago Aspas scored his 10th and 11th league goals to lead Celta Vigo to 3-0 over Rayo Vallecano. His second goal was superbly executed by a touch of the outside of his left foot to float the ball over the goalkeeper from a tight angle.

Justin Kluivert’s goal in the 74th minute gave Valencia a 1-0 win over Osasuna and helped to lift it out of the relegation zone. Osasuna Sergio Herrera goalie saved a penalty by Hugo Duro in injury time


Ex-Turkiye international Turan appointed Shakhtar boss

Updated 1 min ago
Follow

Ex-Turkiye international Turan appointed Shakhtar boss

  • Turan, 38, has signed a contract until 2027
  • “I’m proud to have joined Shakhtar,” Turan said

ISTANBUL: Ukrainian club Shakhtar Donetsk have announced former Turkiye midfielder Arda Turan as their new head coach, replacing Marino Pusic.

Turan, 38, has signed a contract until 2027 after taking unfancied Eyupspor to a sixth-place finish in the Turkish top flight.

Next season, 15-time Ukrainian champions Shakhtar will feature in the Europa League first qualifying round having won the domestic cup earlier this month.


“I’m proud to have joined Shakhtar — a great club with a rich history and great traditions,” Turan said in a Shakhtar statement.

“We are deeply motivated to win trophies — both in Ukraine and in European competitions.”

Shakhtar were forced to leave their home ground, the Donbass Arena in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine, after Russian-backed separatists seized control of the region in 2014.

Their home league games take place in the western city of Lviv.

They held their Champions League games this term in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

Turan retired from playing in 2022 after spells with Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Galatasaray. He also won 100 caps for his country.


Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi team up to launch a football club in Uruguay

Updated 28 May 2025
Follow

Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi team up to launch a football club in Uruguay

  • Suarez announced on Tuesday he has founded a professional soccer team in his native Uruguay
  • The team formerly known as Deportivo LS will now be called LSM

MONTEVIDEO: Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi have been partners on the pitch for several years. Now they’re teaming up off it as businessmen.

Suarez announced on Tuesday he has founded a professional football team in his native Uruguay, and he is bringing his Inter Miami teammate along on the project.

Suarez, the all-time scoring leader of Uruguay’s national team, explained in a video posted on his social media accounts that the team formerly known as Deportivo LS will now be called LSM and will start playing professional football in the Uruguay’s fourth division.

“Deportivo LS are a family dream that began in 2018. We have grown a lot with more than 3,000 members,” Suarez said. “I want to offer Uruguayan football, the place I love and where I grew up as a child, opportunities and tools for teenagers and children to grow.”

The 38-year-old Suarez retired from international football last September, played with Messi at Barcelona for six seasons, and they’ve been teammates the past two years with Inter Miami.

“I’m proud and happy that you chose me, so I hope to contribute everything I can to continue growing and, above all, to be by your side in this,” said Messi, who was sitting alongside Suarez in the video.

It’s still unclear what Messi’s role will be in the project, although local media reported that he will be a partner. It was also reported that Alvaro Recoba, a former player for the Uruguay national team and Inter Milan, will be the team’s coach.

The announcement also launched the club’s Instagram account, which had over 40,000 followers two hours after its creation.

Suárez and his family opened an 20-acre sports complex in 2018 in Ciudad de la Costa on the outskirts of Montevideo. It has numerous activities for more than 3,000 members.

The club have a synthetic turf stadium with a capacity for 1,400 spectators, among other fields.


Chelsea’s Maresca says Conference League ‘best competition in the world’

Updated 27 May 2025
Follow

Chelsea’s Maresca says Conference League ‘best competition in the world’

  • “Probably the most complicated thing this season about the Conference (League) has been to convince the players that for us it was the best competition in the world,” Maresca said
  • “And the reason why was because it was the competition that we were in“

WROCLAW, Poland: Enzo Maresca said he had to convince his Chelsea players this season that the UEFA Conference League was the “best competition in the world” as he prepares his men to face Real Betis in Wednesday’s final.

The Premier League club are seeking to end their campaign with a flourish in Wroclaw after securing a Champions League spot for next season.

If they beat Betis in Poland, Chelsea would become the first club to win all four major UEFA tournaments, having previously won the Champions League, Europa League and the now-defunct Cup Winners’ Cup.

Maresca, in his first season as manager at Stamford Bridge, said had been forced to stress the importance of Europe’s third-tier club competition to his players.

“Probably the most complicated thing this season about the Conference (League) has been to convince the players that for us it was the best competition in the world,” he told reporters on Tuesday.

“And the reason why was because it was the competition that we were in.”

Chelsea are two-time European champions but have not won silverware since lifting the Champions League in 2021.

“We cannot play Champions League if we are at the Conference (League), or we cannot play Europa (League). We are in the Conference, so for us it was the most important competition, and we need to try to win that.

“If we are able to win, I think it’s a good thing, especially because we continue to build a winning mentality.”

Chelsea have reached the final in eye-catching style, scoring a competition-record 38 goals so far and winning 11 of their 12 matches.

Maresca rounded on his critics after his youthful side secured fourth spot in the Premier League on Sunday with a 1-0 win at the City Ground, even using an expletive.

His team were within touching distance of eventual Premier League champions Liverpool in mid-December before stumbling badly, but results picked up again toward the end of the campaign.

On Tuesday he described Sunday’s eruption as an “outburst” in the heat of the moment.

“From our point of view, they (critics) were not talking in the right way,” he said.

“And the reason why is because, yes, we are young, yes, we are the youngest squad in the history of the Premier League, but at the same time, they are men.

“So I also used what critics had said to say, ‘Guys, today (Sunday) is a chance that we can say that we are not young, we are mature enough, we can compete and we can do the right things’.”

The former Leicester boss said sealing a Champions League place for next season had been a huge relief.

“We feel much better,” he said. “I said a few times during the season that for me it was already a good season for different reasons.

“It can become a very good season if we finish top four, top five and if we are able to win the final tomorrow.

“The first target is there. We achieved that last Sunday and hopefully we can achieve tomorrow the second one.”


Stiller out, Burkardt in for Germany’s Nations League games

Updated 27 May 2025
Follow

Stiller out, Burkardt in for Germany’s Nations League games

  • Burkardt will join the team at their training base in Herzogenaurach on Friday
  • The 24-year-old Burkardt has played three games for Germany

BERLIN: Germany coach Julian Nagelsmann has called up Mainz forward Jonathan Burkardt to his squad for upcoming Nations League games after Stuttgart’s Angelo Stiller dropped out with an injury.

Burkardt will join the team at their training base in Herzogenaurach on Friday, the German soccer federation said Tuesday, in preparation for the Nations League semifinal against Portugal in Munich on Wednesday, and the final or third-place playoff against either Spain or France four days later.

The 24-year-old Burkardt has played three games for Germany. He was the Bundesliga’s top-scoring German player with 18 goals for Mainz this season.

Stiller, who starred for Stuttgart as the team won the German Cup on Saturday, dropped out with a recurrence of the ankle ligament injury that had kept him out for two weeks previously.

The DFB said Stiller has “not completely healed.”

Stiller was involved in three of Stuttgart’s four goals as they defeated Arminia Bielefeld 4-2 in the cup final.


Newcastle losing another sporting director as Mitchell to step down

Updated 27 May 2025
Follow

Newcastle losing another sporting director as Mitchell to step down

  • Mitchell was leaving “due to health reasons” and his departure was “by mutual consent,” NUFC said
  • “The club are in great hands on and off the pitch,” Mitchell said

NEWCASTLE: Newcastle are losing another sporting director after the Premier League club announced Paul Mitchell is stepping down next month.

Mitchell took the position only last July following the departure of Newcastle’s previous sporting director, Dan Ashworth, to Manchester United.

Mitchell was leaving “due to health reasons” and his departure was “by mutual consent,” Saudi-backed Newcastle said on Tuesday.

There were reports of tension between Mitchell and Newcastle manager Eddie Howe at the start of this season.

Newcastle won the English League Cup in March for their first major domestic trophy in 70 years, and finished in fifth place in the Premier League to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

“The club are in great hands on and off the pitch,” Mitchell said, “and are in a fantastic position to continue building.

“I’d like to wish everyone connected with Newcastle United a bright and successful future.”

Mitchell previously worked for Tottenham, Leipzig and Monaco.