Zinedine Zidane scored in his final game for Real Madrid on Tuesday, consolation in a season-ending 4-3 loss to Sevilla.
Madrid conceded all four goals to the newly crowned UEFA Cup champion in a 17-minute spell before halftime after David Beckham had given Real a 2-0 lead.
Zidane, who is to retire after the World Cup, reduced the deficit in the 72nd.
PHOTO: AFP
Despite the loss, Real Madrid still finished in second place after Valencia failed to capitalize, ended a point behind in third after a 2-1 defeat at Osasuna in Tuesday's other game. Valencia's loss means the 2002 and 2004 league champion must enter the European Champions League's preliminary stage next season.
Osasuna's victory secured fourth place and a debut in Europe's top club competition, ending Sevilla fifth and returning it to the UEFA Cup next season.
Barcelona, which won the league title on May 3, has 82 points from 37 games, while Madrid finished with 70 and Valencia 69. Osasuna and Sevilla ended with 68 but Osasuna finished higher due to head-to-head results.
The league season concludes tomorrow when Barcelona, which has to play without its international players, visits Athletic Bilbao, two days after it faces Arsenal in the Champions League final.
Madrid appeared to be cruising toward a victory at Sevilla's Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan stadium and set to celebrate the final game of Zidane, who joined the club in 2001.
A former Italian senator has been assigned to clean up Italian soccer amid a widening scandal involving allegations of match-fixing, illegal betting and manipulation of referee assignments.
Guido Rossi, former chief of the Italian stock market regulator Consob and an expert in sporting law, was approved Tuesday as extraordinary commissioner of the soccer federation.
"Rossi will have to rewrite the rules, ethics and morals," Italian Olympic Committee president Gianni Petrucci said.
Prosecutors said last week four Serie A clubs -- Juventus, Lazio, AC Milan and Fiorentina -- are involved in the match-fixing probe. The illegal betting probe has involved Juventus and Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.
Forty-one people have been ordered to appear for questioning for suspected criminal association.
Naples prosecutors said Friday that investigators were looking into the rigging of 20 games from the 2004-2005 season -- all but one in the top league, Serie A.
Goleo maker bankrupt
The German company producing Goleo, the official mascot for the World Cup, said on Tuesday it has filed for bankruptcy amid reports of low demand for the stuffed lions.
Uwe Klimach, head of marketing for stuffed animal maker Nici, a family run company based in the southern city of Altenkunstadt, confirmed that the company had filed for insolvency, but declined to comment further.
According reports in the German media, the company has run into financial problems predominantly due to low sales of its plush mascots. Nici won the sole rights for production of the lion, which was designed by the Jim Henson Company, maker of the Muppets.
restaurant cleared
Tests have cleared a London hotel restaurant which Tottenham blamed for a suspected outbreak of food poisoning that affected 10 of its players before a crucial defeat.
Health officials said on Tuesday that a virus was the likely cause of the illness which occurred on the eve of Tottenham's 2-1 loss to West Ham on May 7.
That loss and a 4-2 win by Arsenal over Wigan allowed the Gunners to overtake Spurs and finish in fourth place, gaining the last berth in the Champions League.
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
Omar Marmoush’s stunning long-range strike on Tuesday upstaged Kevin de Bruyne on the Manchester City great’s Etihad farewell. Marmoush let fly from about 30m to put City ahead in their 3-1 win against AFC Bournemouth in the Premier League. The victory moved Pep Guardiola’s team up to third in the standings and left qualification for the UEFA Champions League in their own hands heading into the last round of the season. “It’s really important. To be in the Champions League after what happened [this season] will be really nice,” the City manager said. De Bruyne was making his final home appearance for City before
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