Tag: LA LIGA

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LA LIGA: REAL MADRID BEAT SEVILLA TO EASE PRESSURE ON ZIDANE.

Real Madrid beat Sevilla 1-0 in La Liga to alleviate some pressure on manager Zinedine Zidane.

An own goal by Sevilla keeper Yassine Bounou secured all three points for Los Blancos.

Madrid, who rise to third in the La Liga table, are four points away from league leaders Real Sociedad, while Julen Lopetegui’s Sevilla are fifth in the division.

Zidane went into the match under pressure following two successive defeats, to Shakhtar Donestk in the Champions League and Sevilla in La Liga.

Zidane’s side almost took the lead inside a minute after Vinicius Jr. was played through on goal by Rodrygo, but the winger shot wide from a tight angle.

Sevilla missed their chance to go ahead in the 33rd minute after Jesus Navas’s cross found the head of defender Jules Kounde, but the defender missed the target and couldn’t guide it past goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois.

But after the break Vinicius Jr.’s shot was turned in by Bounou to send Real into the lead.

Bounou is the first goalkeeper to score an own goal in La Liga this season and the first Sevilla goalkeeper to score an own goal in the competition in the 21st Century.

After the match Vinicius Jr. claimed that the goal should be awarded to him and not for Bounou.

“It’s mine, of course! I took the shot,” he said. “The win today is really important for our confidence.

“It’s a difficult place to play against a good team. We had some games where we played well but didn’t win, and today we won… We didn’t have any doubts today.”

Meanwhile, manager Zidane said that his team deserved to win and praised the performance.

“They’re three really important points. But beyond that, it’s the game we played, from the first minute to the last. We suffered a bit in the second half but our first half was really good. We deserved it, against a really good opponent who can cause you problems,” he said.

“It’s important for the next game. It’s been a complicated moment lately, today we have to enjoy it and be happy. They’re three points, now we have to rest well and think about what comes next.”

Zidane spoke about the criticism both he and his team have received despite claiming victory against Sevilla.

“It’s like that. It won’t change much. When you lose, there’ll be criticism. Today we have to think positive. We have to keep looking for consistency. The rest won’t change.”

Real next face Borussia Monchengladbach in the Champions League on Wednesday before hosting city rivals Atletico Madrid on Saturday.

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REAL MADRID 1-2 ALAVES: ALAVES BEAT REAL AT BERNABEU FOR THE FIRST TIME IN 20 YEARS.

Alaves earned a shock win over Real Madrid on Saturday evening at the Bernabeu, climbing to ninth in the La Liga table while Real Madrid stay fourth.

There were goals from Joselu and Lucas Perez for Alaves, who got their first away win against Real Madrid since May 2000.

Madrid got a goal back late through Casemiro, but it wasn’t enough, and to add to Zinedine Zidane’s woes, Eden Hazard limped off the pitch in the first half.

The unusual start to the season continues as the likes of Real Sociedad and Atletico Madrid lead the LA Liga ta me while giants of the Spanish league Real Madrid and Barcelona stand aloof.

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JANUZAJ STARS AS REAL SOCIEDAD EXTENDS THEIR LEAD ON LA LIGA TABLE.

Real Sociedad moved three points clear at the top of La Liga after Alexander Isak’s goal proved the difference in a 1-0 win over Cadiz.

Isak headed in Adnan Januzaj’s cross shortly after the hour mark at the Ramon Carranza to secure a sixth consecutive league victory for La Real.

An excellent start to the season shows no sign of abating, with Imanol Alguacil’s side now three points clear of second-placed Atletico Madrid, albeit having played two games more.

They have scored an impressive 21 goals from their opening 10 matches, the highest tally in the league, and conceded only four.

After travelling to AZ Alkmaar in the Europa League on Thursday, Real Sociedad play at home to Villarreal, who sit third and are the league’s other surprise high-fliers.

Defeat means Cadiz sit sixth, just above Sevilla after a strong start for the newly-promoted side.

Getafe, who had Irish youngster Ryan Nolan among their substitutes, were earlier held to a goalless draw by Eibar.

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LUIS SUAREZ TESTS POSITIVE FOR COVID-19; URUGUAYAN TO MISS CLASH AGAINST BARCELONA.

Luis Suarez has tested positive for coronavirus, the Uruguayan Football Association (AUF) confirmed on Monday (local time).

The association has also confirmed that the Atletico Madrid striker is currently following self-isolation guidelines. As a result of this positive result, Suarez will miss Uruguay’s World World Cup qualifying match against Brazil later today.

The striker will also miss Atletico Madrid’s match against Barcelona in La Liga on Saturday.

The AUF has also notified that goalkeeper Rodrigo Munoz and backroom staff member Matias Faral have also tested positive for coronavirus.

“The Uruguayan Football Association reports that swabs have been carried out on all the members of the senior team, resulting in the players Luis Suarez, Rodrigo Munoz and the official Matias Faral having tested positive for Covid-19, while all other tests are negative,” the AUF said in an official release.

“The three members mentioned are in good health and the corresponding measures have already been implemented,” it added.

Suarez had registered a goal in Uruguay’s last World Cup qualifying match against Colombia on Friday. The side ended up winning the match 3-0.

The striker has also been in good form for Atletico Madrid as he has registered five goals in six games for the club.

Atletico Madrid is currently in the third spot in the La Liga 2020-21 standings.

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DAVID SILVA STARS AS REAL SOCIEDAD RETURNS TO FIRST ON LA LIGA STANDINGS.

David Silva scored his first goal for Real Sociedad to help them go back to the top of La Liga after a 4-1 win over Celta Vigo.

Silva headed La Real in front at Balaidos for his first goal since he left Manchester City in the summer, and his first in La Liga since he departed Valencia 11 years ago.

Mikel Oyarzabal made it two with his fifth of the season, a tally that also makes him the league’s top scorer so far.

Willian Jose then hit the net twice in the second half, either side of Iago Aspas converting a penalty, which gave Celta brief hope of a comeback.

Celta’s Jose Fontan was sent off for a second yellow card late on, to cap a disappointing afternoon for the home side, who sit 17th, without a win in six games.

But another impressive victory for Real Sociedad means they have won their last four league games on the bounce, with scorelines of 3-0, 3-0, 4-1 and 4-1.

They return to the top of the table, one point ahead Real Madrid, who had temporarily taken first place after their 4-1 win over Huesca on Saturday.

Atletico Madrid are third, three points off the leaders but with two games in hand.

Real Betis had earlier beaten Elche 3-1 to climb to seventh. Elche drop to 10th.

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BARCELONA 1-3 REAL MADRID: MODRIC, RAMOS INSPIRE LOS BLANCOS VICTORY AT CAMP NOU.

Real Madrid laid down a marker in the La Liga title race as they won 3-1 at Barcelona in the first Clasico of the season.

Fede Valverde gave Real the dream start with a fifth-minute strike, before Ansu Fati became the youngest ever scorer in this fixture just three minutes later from close range.

But Sergio Ramos converted a 63rd-minute penalty that he won after VAR intervened, before Luka Modric rounded off a deserved victory in the final seconds of normal time with the calmest of finishes.

In an entertaining game, Thibaut Courtois was alert to deny Lionel Messi before half-time but Barca remain 10th and are six.

After a nightmare week for Zinedine Zidane, Real started the clash in the best way possible. Karim Benzema’s through-ball was perfect for Valverde, who took advantage of lackadaisical Barca defending and finished beyond Neto.

But that joy was short-lived as Barca sliced through the Real defence with their first attack. Jordi Alba bent his run perfectly to beat the offside trap and carried the ball into the box, where he squared for Fati who had a simple finish.

Philippe Coutinho and Messi had already tried their luck from range when Messi saw Courtois produce a moment of magic after 24 minutes. The Argentine used deft feet to beat Ramos in the box and fired in a shot to the near post with his right foot. Courtois was alert and threw himself across the goal to push the ball away.

The game was being played at a frantic pace and Real went straight up the other end to create a chance of their own. Benzema saw his low effort pushed away by Neto after Kroos had found him 15 yards out from goal.

It was Barca who looked most likely to take the lead after half-time. Fati dragged a low shot just wide of Courtois’ right-hand post, before Coutinho failed to hit the target with a header at the back post – Fati again the creator for the hosts.

And they were made to pay for those misses on the hour-mark. Ramos theatrically threw himself to the floor in the box as Kroos’ free-kick drifted out for a goal-kick. It looked to be a dive in real time but replays showed Clement Lenglet had pulled his shirt.

After consulting VAR and the screen by the side of the pitch, referee Juan Martinez Munuera changed his decision and pointed to the spot. Ramos made no mistake from the 12 yards.

Despite Barca pressing for an equaliser, it was Real who continued to create the better chances. Toni Kroos saw a Neto double save keep him at bay, while Ramos met a deep cross with a fierce volley which was brilliantly kept out by the foot of the keeper.

Modric made sure of the three points with the calmest of finishes in the final minute of stoppage time. Neto smothered the ball at Vinicius’ feet but it fell to sub Rodrygo, who squared it for Modric. The Croat rounded Neto, before taking his time and finishing between two defenders guarding the line with the outside of his boot.

It was a deserved victory for Real, who put behind their difficulties against Cadiz and Shakhtar Donestk to produce a perfect away display. Barca were bright in spells, but question marks will be asked over Ronald Koeman’s reluctance to make substitutes earlier.

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CAMP NOU SHOULD BE NAMED AFTER MESSI – PIQUE.

Gerard Pique has said Barcelona should name the redeveloped Camp Nou after Lionel Messi when it is finished and suggested the forward should have been allowed to leave in the summer if that is what he wanted.

Messi, 33, sent a burofax in August informing Barca of his desire to leave. President Josep Maria Bartomeu refused to let him go, though, and when Messi realised a legal battle was his only way out of the club — he argued a clause in his contract allowed him to leave for free — he decided to stay.

Pique has revealed he sent Messi a message at the time pointing out that a new president and board of directors would be elected within a year. However, despite encouraging him to stay, the Barca defender said Messi had earned the right to decide his own future.

“I didn’t have much to do with Leo during that moment because it was a very personal decision,” Pique told Spanish reporters. “I remember one message I sent: ‘Leo, it’s one year, then new people will come in…’

“Leo has more than earned the right to make a decision and if he felt he should leave… as president I would have acted differently. A player that has given so much in 16 years, you’re obliged to reach an agreement with him.

“[But] how can it be that the best player in history gets up one day and sends a burofax because he feels he’s not being listened to? What’s happening? Leo deserves the lot. The new stadium should be named after him.

“We have to preserve our figures, not discredit them. I am surprised people like Pep [Guardiola], [Carles] Puyol, Xavi [Hernandez] and [Victor] Valdes aren’t at the club. Something is not being done right.”

Pique’s interview provided the latest glimpse into the rift that exists between the players and the board at Camp Nou. He admitted his own relationship with Bartomeu is not great, said he would not have sacked Ernesto Valverde and was critical of plans to impose club-wide wage cuts to mitigate the financial consequences of the coronavirus pandemic.

“Having won two leagues and being top, to sack [Valverde] halfway through the season, as a project, doesn’t seem very coherent — I didn’t think it was logical,” he said.

Following Valverde’s dismissal, Cadena Ser revealed Barca had paid a third-party company in charge of several social media account to smear people related to the club, including Pique and other current players. The saga became known as “Barcagate.”

“It’s an atrocity as a Barcelona player to see my club spending money — money they’re now asking for from us — to criticise not just external people with a previous relationship to the club, but players still here,” Pique added.

Barca are now requesting players take a pay cut to alleviate the effects of the health crisis on the club’s accounts.

Pique, 33, is one of four players to voluntarily sign a new deal which sees him take a hit on his salary this season before being remunerated in the latter years of the deal. However, he also signed a burofax sent to the club which criticised plans to push through salary cuts of up to 30% across the club.

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WE ARE STILL FAR BEHIND; LA LIGA PRESIDENT SAYS PREMIER LEAGUE STILL THE COMPETITION TO BEAT.

La Liga president Javier Tebas has conceded that the Premier League is still the No. 1 competition despite the growth of the Spanish league under his seven-year stewardship.

Tebas highlighted some of La Liga’s successes but also cited areas where English football has more economic power.

“We have expanded even to Mongolia and Greenland, it is a symbolic fact not so much an economic one as the revenues from there are minimal, but in short, since June, La Liga can be seen everywhere in the world,” Tebas said in an interview.

“Our next aim is that we want to beat the Premier [League]. We have La Liga offices all over the world, hundreds of people working with us. It is important to be present in the most populated and rich countries to promote, to try to expand, to find local sponsors that will help us grow economically.”

The economic gap between La Liga and the Premier League has narrowed since Tebas took the helm of the Spanish football league in 2013.

“In seven years we have multiplied La Liga’s worth,” Tebas said. “[Our] revenues from domestic TV rights have grown from €236 million, when I arrived in 2013, to almost €800m. The international ones have increased from €550m to almost €1.2 billion.

“We have a 40 [officially 46] million population, we don’t have the public that Great Britain has which is almost 70m. This counts when it comes to domestic TV rights. And then, for example, we still have to work on foreign markets, such as Asia, where we are growing but there is still a lot to do compared to the Premier [League].”

Tebas has faced resistance from Spain’s Football Federation and FIFA in his attempts to stage La Liga games in the United States.

La Liga signed a 15-year marketing agreement with Relevent Sports in order to promote the sport in North America and expand its brand.

Meanwhile, Tebas is hopeful that Barcelona captain Lionel Messi will continue playing in Spain beyond June 2021, when his contract expires.

Messi, 33, had wanted to leave Barca in August after growing increasingly unhappy at how the club was being managed but was forced to make a U-turn when the Catalan giants demanded his €700m release clause.

“Messi? I hope he will always stay in La Liga,” Tebas added. “I don’t know if from a personal standpoint he is better off leaving, certainly on the professional side he could earn even more, but considering how well he feels in Barcelona.”

La Liga lost Cristiano Ronaldo two years ago when the Portugal forward left Real Madrid to sign for Juventus in a €100m transfer while in the summer of 2017, Neymar left Barcelona to join Paris Saint-Germain in a world record €222m transfer.

“Cristiano Ronaldo left two years ago but we didn’t notice from an economic point of view,” Tebas said. “And we have always been preparing for the release of our best talents, for the generational change.

“It has already happened with Neymar and with Cristiano. We have signed contracts already for the next four years and no one has complained if Ney or Ronaldo left, they didn’t ask for their money back.

“On the contrary, we have grown in the sale of rights. Because there are other factors that matter, besides the names of the players. We have such stability that we continue calmly on our path”.

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I WAS BROUGHT TO TEARS BY BARCA EXIT- SUAREZ.

Atletico Madrid striker Luis Suarez has said he was brought to tears over the way his six-year stay at Barcelona ended.

Suarez, 33, joined Atletico last month after Barca told him he was no longer part of their plans despite having a year remaining on his contract.

The Uruguay international was one of several big-earners who moved on this summer as Barca attempted to reduce their wage bill to limit the financial repercussions of the coronavirus pandemic.

“There were other ways to tell me that they wanted to change things,” Suarez, who was informed he was surplus to requirements in a brief telephone conversation with new coach Ronald Koeman in August, said.

“The way it was done and the feeling that they’re kicking you out is what hurt the most. Those few days [before my Atletico debut on Sept. 27] were really hard.

“I cried because of everything I was going through. I didn’t take the message from the club about moving on well. More than anything because of the way they handled it, because you have to accept when a cycle has come to the end.”

Barca captain Lionel Messi was also angry at the way Suarez’s departure was handled. He posted a message on social media when his former teammate joined Atletico which was critical of the Catalan club’s board.

“The way [Barca] went about it wasn’t good and that annoyed Leo, too,” Suarez, who left Barca as the club’s third top scorer of all time with 198 goals, added.

“He knows what we’ve been through and how tough it was for us at that moment. I am not surprised he supported me in public because I know him so well. I knew the pain he felt.

“There are things that people don’t know, but going to Barcelona training and being sent to train on your own because you’re not involved in the 11 vs. 11 game they’re playing.

“My wife saw how sad and dejected I was. What I wanted was to laugh and be happy on the pitch again and I had no doubts when the possibility of signing Atletico came up.”

Suarez scored twice on his Atletico debut in a 6-1 win against Granada but has failed to net in back-to-back goalless draws against Huesca and Villarreal since.

However, he scored a penalty on Thursday as Uruguay kicked off their qualifying campaign for the 2022 World Cup with a 2-1 win against Chile.

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BARCA PREPARING FOR MORE PAY-CUTS.

Barcelona are reportedly on a collision course with their first team stars with the Spanish La Liga football giants needing players to take another pay-cut to ease their finances amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Players took a 70 percent pay-cut back in March to ensure non-playing staff received all of their wages with the pandemic shutting down the sport.

But in a week where the club announced losses of £88million, Marca report the club are seeking another pay-cut from players although it remains unclear whether that would give the squad the power to rescind contracts and walk away for free.

The report details the club’s plan for a “substantial modification of the collective working contract”.

If successful, the plan will see playing and non-playing staff take wage cuts in the coming weeks and months.

One player will act as a representative for Ronald Koeman’s squad when negotiating with the board at a meeting regarding the cuts.

Lionel Messi was key in handling the first round of cuts but with players, including the Argentine, currently away on international duty it remains difficult for the squad to select who will represent them.

The key issue the club need to iron out before pushing on with planned cuts is how another reduction would affect the Spanish Workers’ Statute.

Marca’s report makes the claim that judicial sources in Spain have indicated to them that players and employees may have the legal right to rescind their contract if deals are modified for financial reasons.

Messi, who filed a burofax to the club earlier this summer informing the of his desire to leave and secure a move to Manchester City, would no doubt be very interested in the potential to walk away for nothing.

He was eventually told he would not be sold unless his £630m release clause was met and having argued the clause was invalid, he was left with no choice but to accept another season at the Nou Camp.

It will take meetings with every player to ensure, from the club’s side, that no squad member would go down the route of termination if and when further pay-cuts are put forward and agreed upon.

Barcelona’s limited dealings in the transfer market was largely down to the financial armageddon the club are battling through.

Koeman made Lyon attacker Memphis Depay a top target but Barcelona were unable to finance a deal for the Dutchman on deadline day.