Sergio Ramos made amends for his untimely own-goal against Sevilla last week by scoring twice as Real Madrid bounced back from two successive defeats by beating Malaga 2-1 on Saturday to go four points clear at the top of La Liga.
The Real Madrid captain headed his side in front in the 35th minute by powering Toni Kroos’ outswinging corner beyond Carlos Kameni and struck again in the 43rd by sliding in a free-kick from his German teammate from close range to net his third goal in four games.
It was the perfect response from the Spain international six days after inadvertently helping his former side win 2-1 last week to halt Zinedine Zidane’s side’s remarkable 40-game unbeaten run.
Photo: AP
Ramos has now scored six league goals this term, bettering his previous record of five in a season with still half the campaign to go.
Malaga had proved difficult opponents and a slip by Raphael Varane allowed Venezuela international Juanpi to pull a goal back in the 63rd minute. It took a good save from Keylor Navas to prevent Chory Castro from leveling moments later.
Real lead the standings on 43 points, four clear of Sevilla and five ahead of champions Barcelona ahead of the rest of the weekend’s games.
“The most important thing is that we won the game and made a good start,” Zidane told reporters. “We had chances, but these days we need four opportunities to score one goal. It was difficult because our opponents pushed us hard. We’re tired, but happy.”
Uruguayan Castro hit the post for the visiting side and forced another impressive save from Navas in an action-packed first half in which Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema squandered clear chances for Real and Brazil leftback Marcelo limped off with a suspected hamstring injury.
Luka Modric was also taken off in the second half, potentially leaving Zidane with as many as six absentees for Wednesday’s Copa del Rey quarter-final second leg against RC Celta de Vigo, with his side facing a 2-1 deficit.
“Luka had discomfort, Marcelo’s problem is more serious. I’m quite worried by the injuries, it’s put me in a bad mood, because we have a very important game on Wednesday,” Zidane said.
Valencia continued their mini-revival under caretaker coach Salvador Gonzalo “Voro” by winning 2-0 against sixth-placed Villarreal in a local derby to move seven points clear of the relegation zone.
RCD Espanyol beat struggling Granada 3-1 to climb to 10th place, while CD Leganes, who occupy the final spot above the relegation zone, twice came from behind to draw 2-2 against Deportivo Alaves.
A sumo star was born in Japan on Sunday when 24-year-old Takerufuji became the first wrestler in 110 years to win a top-division tournament on his debut, triumphing at the 15-day Spring Grand Sumo Tournament in Osaka despite injuring his ankle on the penultimate day. Takerufuji, whose injury had left him in a wheelchair outside the ring, shoved out the higher-ranked Gonoyama at the Edion Arena Osaka to the delight of the crowd, giving him an unassailable record of 13 wins and two losses to claim the Emperor’s Cup. “I did it just through willpower. I didn’t really know what was going
The US’ Ilia Malinin on Saturday produced six scintillating quadruple jumps, including a quadruple Axel, in the men’s free skate to capture his first figure skating world title. The 19-year-old nicknamed the “Quad god,” who is the only skater to land a quadruple Axel in competition, dazzled with an array of breathtakingly executed jumps starting with his quad Axel and including a quadruple Lutz in combination with a triple flip and a quadruple toe loop in combination with a triple toe. He added an unexpected triple-triple combination at the end to earn a world-record 227.79 in the free program for a championship
Shohei Ohtani’s interpreter is being criminally investigated by the IRS, and the attorney for his alleged bookmaker said Thursday that the ex-Los Angeles Dodgers employee placed bets on international soccer — but not baseball. The IRS confirmed Thursday that interpreter Ippei Mizuhara and Mathew Bowyer, the alleged illegal bookmaker, are under criminal investigation through the agency’s Los Angeles Field Office. IRS Criminal Investigation spokesperson Scott Villiard said he could not provide additional details. Mizuhara, 39, was fired by the Dodgers on Wednesday following reports from the Los Angeles Times and ESPN about his alleged ties to an illegal bookmaker and debts well
MLB on Friday announced a formal investigation into the scandal swirling around Shohei Ohtani and his former interpreter amid charges that the Los Angeles Dodgers superstar was the victim of “massive theft.” The Dodgers on Wednesday fired Ippei Mizuhara, Ohtani’s long-time interpreter and close friend, after Ohtani’s representatives alleged that the Japanese two-way star had been the victim of theft, which was reported to involve millions of dollars and link Mizuhara to a suspected illegal bookmaker in California. “Major League Baseball has been gathering information since we learned about the allegations involving Shohei Ohtani and Ippei Mizuhara from the news media,” MLB