Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane threw caution to the wind as his side showed the capacity to handle adversity with a stirring late comeback to beat Villarreal 3-2 and stay top of La Liga on Sunday.
After Cedric Bakambu doubled Villarreal’s lead in the second half, Zidane hauled off holding midfielder Casemiro for playmaker Isco and Real eventually emerged with all three points thanks to substitute Alvaro Morata’s late header.
The pressure was on Real after Barcelona left it late to win 2-1 at Atletico Madrid and temporarily go top, while Sevilla had fought back to beat local rivals Real Betis Balompie 2-1 on Saturday and stay in a compelling three-way tilt for the title.
Photo: AFP
“We had to change something when the score was 2-0, that’s what we did and it worked well because we weren’t playing well, it was an attacking change which allowed us to play in our opponents’ half,” Zidane told reporters. “We knew they’d cause us problems as they’re so good at home, and after they scored twice we had to be patient and play our game. Given what happened [earlier] today it was vital to get the three points and leave here as leaders.”
Real lead the table with 55 points ahead of Barca on 54 and Sevilla with 52, and they have a game in hand on their title rivals.
Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo, with a penalty, canceled out goals by Bakambu and Manu Trigueros, though Villarreal were left stunned at the penalty decision as the ball bounced off the ground and struck captain Bruno Soriano on the arm.
“You can clearly see I couldn’t have done anything, the ball bounced up toward my arm and I can’t cut my arm off. It’s a bounce and it’s clear to me it wasn’t a penalty,” Bruno said.
Villarreal coach Fran Escriba and substitute Roberto Soldado were dismissed from the dugout for protesting, and Escriba said it was an incorrect decision.
“I respect referees a lot, but every year we are told that a rebound does not warrant a penalty for handball and he interpreted it another way,” he said. “We were doing well, but after 2-2 we completely lost our focus and it was very difficult to get over that.”
SSC Napoli’s Italian Serie A title hopes suffered a late setback on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home against Genoa, setting up a thrilling season finale with closest rivals Inter just one point behind. The hosts remain top with 78 points, holding a slim lead over Inter, who won 2-0 at Torino earlier on Sunday, with two rounds remaining. To make matters worse for Napoli, midfielder Stanislav Lobotka, struggling with an ankle injury, was forced off just minutes after the match began. Scott McTominay delivered a perfect pass into the box where Romelu Lukaku got
Harry Kane opened the scoring ahead of lifting his first career silverware as Bayern Munich beat Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-0, with veteran Thomas Mueller playing his last home game for the club. Bayern officially won the title on May 4 when defending champions Bayer Leverkusen were held to a 2-2 draw at Freiburg, but were presented with the Bundesliga shield in front of their home fans at full-time. Dripping wet after being showered with beer by teammates, Kane said the title win was “an incredible feeling,” and hoped it would be “the first of many.” “It’s been lot of hard work, a lot of
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