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LA LIGA: ATLETICO BLOW TWO-GOAL LEAD TO DRAW WITH VALENCIA

Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann scored a sensational individual goal against Valencia on Sunday but the LaLiga champions let a two-goal lead slip in stoppage time to draw 3-3 on Sunday.

Valencia were trailing 3-1 when seven minutes of time were added on but Hugo Duro scored twice in the final stretch of the game to salvage a point, to the delight of their raucous home fans.

Luis Suarez had put Atletico in front in the 35th minute but Valencia levelled five minutes into the second half through an own goal from Stefan Savic.

Griezmann restored Atletico’s lead in the 58th with a superb shot into the top corner from outside the box following a marauding run from his own half in undoubtedly the Frenchman’s best moment of skill since returning to the club in September.

Sime Vrsaljko looked to have sealed the points with a scrappy goal from close range two minutes later that was initially ruled out and then awarded following a VAR review.

But Valencia came alive right at the end of the game, pulling themselves back into contention when substitute Duro slid in to meet a Jose Gaya cross and score in the first minute of stoppage time.

Duro then equalised in the fifth minute of added time with a towering header from a corner, deepening Atletico’s problems after they were easily beaten 2-0 at Liverpool on Wednesday to leave their hopes of reaching the Champions League knockout stage hanging by a thread.

Atletico would have gone up to second in the standings with a win but instead are fourth on 23 points, four behind leaders Real Madrid after 12 games. Valencia moved up to 10th on 17 points.

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VINICIUS, BENZEMA ON TARGET AS REAL MADRID RALLY TO LATE WIN OVER VALENCIA

Real Madrid forwards Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema scored within the space of three minutes deep in the second half to propel their side to a 2-1 win at Valencia in LaLiga on Sunday after being outplayed for most of the game.

The hosts went ahead in the 66th minute with a thumping low strike from forward Hugo Duro, who spent last season on loan with Madrid.

Real levelled with a deflected strike from Vinicius in the 86th minute and then the Brazilian turned provider, crossing for Benzema to head home the winner in the 88th.

Valencia would have gone top of LaLiga had they held on for the win but instead Carlo Ancelotti’s Real side lead the standings with 13 points from five games.

“It’s never easy to come here especially when you concede the first goal but we never gave in, we kept working and kept persisting,” said Vinicius.

“We’ve got a great result here thanks to the work of the whole team and things are coming off for us right now.”

The win was on the back of another Real late show in midweek when Brazilian forward Rodrygo struck in the 89th minute to secure a 1-0 victory at Internazionale in their first Champions League group game.

Valencia had made a strong start to the season under new coach Jose Bordalas but suffered a setback in the build-up to kick off when captain Jose Gaya was ruled out injured.

More problems followed as midfielder Carlos Soler, who scored a hat-trick of penalties in last season’s fixture against Real, came off injured in the 15th minute while right back Thierry Correia soon followed him in hobbling off in the 23rd.

But Bordalas’ side still managed to outrun and overpower their opponents for most of the game and took a deserved lead when Duro swivelled to send a bouncing ball beyond the reach of keeper Thibaut Courtois and into the net.

Valencia continued to cause Real problems but eased off in the final 10 minutes and the visitors made the most of their deadly firepower, Vinicius scoring his fifth goal of the season and Benzema netting a sixth after bagging a hat-trick against Celta Vigo last week.

“We know what Real Madrid are like, we know they can turn the game around at any stage,” said Duro.

“We had a tough game, we got two early injuries but still managed to go ahead then the victory escaped from our grasp and they made us pay in two isolated moves. We were very unlucky to not at least get a draw today.”

Ancelotti added: “I have a squad who fight all the time, always, playing well or playing badly. It’s a team that keeps believing to the end, that’s the feeling I have today.

“What we did well was the counterattacks in the first half. But we didn’t have aggression at the back. It can happen, you sit back, and they score. After that the reaction was good, Valencia worked hard in the first half, they ran a lot, I put some fresh players on the pitch and we won the game.

“The subs did well, they came on with motivation and enthusiasm, that changed the game.”

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MOUCTAR DIAKHABY LEADS VALENCIA PLAYERS OFF THE PITCH FOLLOWING ALLEGED RACIST ABUSE

Valencia’s players left the pitch in protest during their LaLiga match at Cadiz after a racist comment was allegedly made to defender Mouctar Diakhaby.

Diakhaby reacted furiously following a clash with Cadiz defender Cala during the first half of the match at the Estadio Ramon de Carranza.

After remonstrating with the referee, Diakhaby led Valencia’s players off the pitch.

They subsequently decided to come back and continue the match, with the east coast club tweeting: “NO TO RACISM. The team have held a meeting and decided to continue the game, in order to fight for the honour of the club, but denounce racism of any kind.

“We offer our complete backing to @Diakhaby_5. The player, who had received a racial insult, requested that his team-mates return to the pitch. WE SUPPORT YOU MOUCTAR.”

Diakhaby did not return, with Hugo Guillamon coming on in his place, but Cala remained in the Cadiz line-up.