Real Madrid’s “Galacticos” crashed to their first defeat of the season, losing 2-1 at title rivals Sevilla on Sunday as Barcelona opened up a three-point lead at the summit.
Real were aiming to make it a perfect six wins and join Barcelona on maximum points, but instead Sevilla underlined their own credentials with a fifth straight win to move level on points with Real.
“We played really well and are on a roll at the moment,” Sevilla striker Luis Fabiano said. “If we continue playing like that, we can compete with Real and Barca at the top.”
PHOTO: REUTERS
Sevilla were good value for the win and could have won more convincingly had it not been for Real goalkeeper Iker Casillas.
Jesus Navas headed Sevilla ahead on 33 minutes and the hosts should have scored more but for two wonder saves from Casillas.
Pepe headed home a fortunate equalizer on 49 minutes from a set-piece, before Brazilian Renato netted with yet another header after 66 minutes following a great ball from the impressive Navas.
“We knew we would lose at some stage,” Real Madrid midfielder Kaka said. “We were beaten by a good team and we need to improve some things. It was an intense game in which we created chances, but we made mistakes from set-pieces and got punished.”
It was a first defeat for Real boss Manuel Pellegrini who had won all seven of his matches in charge at home and abroad.
Real and Sevilla both trail Barcelona by three points after the champions beat Almeria 1-0 on Saturday for a sixth successive league win, matching a club record set in 1991 and 1998.
Real had lost Cristiano Ronaldo, scorer of five league goals already this season, to an ankle injury, so captain Raul came in.
Sevilla fielded Real old boy Alvaro Negredo who had a point to prove after Madrid sold him for 15 million euros (US$7.3 million) in the summer.
The hosts bombarded Real with crosses and should have scored in the fourth minute, but Abdoulay Konko failed with a header.
Sevilla got the goal they merited on 33 minutes when Fernando Navarro clipped in a cross and Navas took advantage of Marcelo’s lack of awareness to bullet in a header. With halftime approaching, Casillas pulled off a miraculous save to stop a header from Renato. It stopped Sevilla going into the break with a psychological two-goal cushion and Casillas pulled off another unbelievable reflex save from Diego Perotti 90 seconds into the second half.
Sevilla should have been 3-0 up, but Real made them pay when Pepe headed a 49th-minute equalizer after some woeful defending.
The goal lifted Real, who came back into the game, but Renato glanced in a header on 66 minutes to deflate Casillas and Madrid.
In other matches, Serbian striker Nikola Zigic came back to haunt old club Racing Santander, coming off the bench to score a 60th-minute winner as Valencia won 1-0.
Zigic replaced the injured David Villa on 56 minutes and took just four minutes to make an impact and push Valencia up to fifth. He scored 13 goals in 19 games on loan at Racing last season and did not celebrate the goal out of respect for the Racing fans.
It was a first win in four for Valencia, although the injury to Villa is a concern. Villa limped off holding his hamstring and is likely to miss Spain’s 2010 World Cup qualifier against Armenia on Saturday although the European champions have already qualified for the finals.
Elsewhere, Villarreal and their new coach Ernesto Valverde were still waiting for their first win of the season after a frustrating 0-0 draw with 10-man Espanyol.
Sunday’s other results:
• Getafe 2, Osasuna 1
• Sporting Gijon 4, Mallorca 1
• Valladolid 2, Athletic Bilbao 2
• Xerez 1, Malaga 1
Yu Yao-hsing on Tuesday nabbed Taiwan’s only goal in the final round of qualifiers for the 2027 AFC Asian Cup, as they fell 3-1 to Sri Lanka at Taipei Municipal Stadium. Early goals from Sri Lanka in the first half left Taiwan struggling to get on the board, and Christopher Tiao’s own goal at 53 minutes sealed the team’s fate in the third round of qualifiers. While acknowledging that the defeat, Taiwan’s sixth in Group D, was disappointing, head coach Matt Ross said he saw reasons to stay positive about the team’s development. “There were lots of positive signs in terms of the
Mercedes’ Kimi Antonelli yesterday vowed to “keep raising the bar” after winning the Japanese Grand Prix to become the youngest driver in Formula One history to lead the championship standings. The 19-year-old Italian took advantage of a mid-race safety car to jump into the lead after a dreadful start from pole position, crossing the line ahead of McLaren’s Oscar Piastri and Ferrari’s Charles Leclerc. Antonelli’s Suzuka victory came two weeks after the first grand prix win of his career in China, and sent him top of the championship standings after three races, nine points ahead of team-mate George Russell. Mercedes are struggling to
INDIGESTION: Italy failed to qualify for the World Cup for a third consecutive time after a 4-1 defeat to Bosnia on penalties in a loss Gattuso said was ‘difficult to digest’ Coach Graham Arnold on Tuesday challenged his players to “shock the world” after Iraq became the 48th and final team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup with a nerve-shredding 2-1 win over Bolivia in an intercontinental playoff in Mexico, as Bosnia and Herzegovina, Turkey, the Czech Republic, Sweden and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) also secured their places at the finals. Iraq, whose preparations were disrupted by the war in the Middle East, sealed their first appearance at the finals in 40 years and are to play in Group I against France, Senegal and Norway. Goals from Ali al-Hamadi
Teng Kai-wei, the only Taiwanese player on an opening-day roster in this year’s Major League Baseball (MLB) season, took his first win of the year with the Houston Astros in his season debut. Teng entered in relief in the top of the fifth inning against the Los Angeles Angels on Saturday, with the Astros trailing 5-0. He pitched 2-1/3 scoreless innings with two strikeouts, as Houston scored 11 runs during his outing to snatch an 11-9 comeback victory. The win is the Astros’ first of the season and the third of Teng’s MLB career. “It’s my first time pitching for the Astros, so
RSS