Real Madrid on Sunday won El Clasico and might have saved their season as they ended their slump in the best way possible by beating Barcelona 2-0 and returning to the top of La Liga.
Vinicius Jr’s deflected finish and a stoppage-time goal from Mariano Diaz decided a frenzied contest at the Santiago Bernabeu, where Madrid found new life after a UEFA Champions League defeat by Manchester City had left them on the brink of crisis.
“It’s been a tough week,” Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said. “We talked about how we had an opportunity this weekend and we took it.”
Photo: EPA-EFE
The victory put them one point clear at the top of the table and shifts the focus back to Quique Setien’s Barcelona, who were outfought and, at times, outplayed.
“The reality is we lost a lot of confidence with the ball,” Setien said. “We entered a nervous spell and that’s when the goal came.”
Lionel Messi’s rasping shot was saved by Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois in the first half, but it was the Argentine’s opposing captain, Sergio Ramos, who was thrashing his arms in celebration after the final whistle.
His reaction was an indication of the importance of the victory, not only for the effect it has on the standings, but on the dynamic of the title race, which had seemed to be switching firmly in favor of Barca.
Cristiano Ronaldo, now of Juventus, was watching from an executive box and Madrid could have done with him during a period in which they had won only one of their past five games.
Zidane on Saturday said the match would not decide who lifted the trophy, but a Barca win and a five-point gap might well have been difficult to close. Yet from the start Barcelona seemed keener to kill the game than win it, playing for time in the hope of keeping the contest tight, when they might have been better off attacking.
“The Madrid we faced in the first half was one of the worst Madrids I have faced at the Bernabeu,” Gerard Pique said. “I don’t say it as a criticism, we also have our problems, but we’ve missed an opportunity.”
There was more tension than creativity in the early stages as Fede Valverde crashed into Arthur Melo, before fullbacks Dani Carvajal and Jordi Alba were booked after a disagreement.
Madrid had the better of the play and regularly broke at speed through Vinicius down the left, but constantly they failed to make the final pass, with Isco once left with his head in his hands after Marcelo opted not to pull the ball back.
Barcelona were sloppy after halftime and Madrid should have capitalized. Instead, Isco’s header beat Marc-Andre ter Stegen, but not Pique on the line and Karim Benzema volleyed over after a sloppy pass from Arturo Vidal.
Vidal was replaced by Martin Braithwaite, Barca’s emergency signing, and he sprinted in behind Marcelo twice in his first minute, but Madrid remained in the ascendancy and in the 71st minute they took the lead.
Benzema came short and pointed right to encourage Vinicius to run in behind. Toni Kroos found him and Vinicius’ shot deflected off Pique to beat Ter Stegen at his near post.
The game opened up as Barcelona chased an equalizer.
Marcelo celebrated when Messi’s surge through was stopped by Raphael Varane. Pique headed Messi’s cross over at the near post. Messi picked up a yellow card for a frustrated slide on Casemiro.
In stoppage-time, Ter Stegen ventured up for a late free-kick, but Madrid struck again when Mariano sped past Nelson Semedo and finished from a tight angle.
Carlos Alcaraz on Monday powered into the French Open second round with a resounding win to start his title defense, while world No. 1 Jannik Sinner and three-time defending women’s champion Iga Swiatek also progressed at Roland Garros. Four-time Grand Slam champion Alcaraz struck 31 winners in a 6-3, 6-4, 6-2 victory over Italian qualifier Giulio Zeppieri and is to face Hungary’s Fabian Marozsan in round two. Alcaraz is now on an eight-match winning streak at the French Open and also took Olympic silver at Roland Garros last year, losing the final to Novak Djokovic. “The first round is never
TIGHT FINISH: Napoli only needed to do the same as or better than Inter, who won their game against Como 2-0 on the same day, leaving Napoli with a one-point lead The two players who Antonio Conte wanted more than any others secured Napoli their second Serie A title in three years on Friday. Scott McTominay scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick before halftime and Romelu Lukaku doubled the lead with a solo goal after the break in the decisive 2-0 home win over Cagliari. Conte became the first coach to win the Italian championship with three different teams. “Everyone contributed to this — but the coach most of all,” Napoli captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo said. “Napoli needed him to get back on top. He’s phenomenal.” Comparing it to his three Serie A titles won
The journey of Taiwan’s badminton mixed doubles duo Ye Hong-wei and Nicole Chan at the Malaysia Masters in Kuala Lumpur came to an end in the semi-finals yesterday after they suffered a 2-0 loss to China’s Feng Yanzhe and Huang Dongping. Ye, 25, and Chan, 20, teamed up last year and are currently ranked No. 23 in the world. The Taiwanese shuttlers took on China’s second seeds in the mixed doubles event, but proved no match for Feng and Huang, losing the match 10-21, 7-21. In the first half of the first game, the pairings were neck and neck at 6-7 until Ye
SSC Napoli coach Antonio Conte has dragged the team back from disaster and restored them to the top of Italian Serie A, but his future at the Scudetto winners is in doubt even after a triumphant season. The fiery 55-year-old has exceeded preseason expectations and bolstered his reputation as a serial winner by guiding Napoli to their fourth Scudetto, and second in three seasons. However, he might well be on his way in the summer after just one season at the helm as his charged relationship with Napoli owner Aurelio De Laurentiis has simmered throughout the campaign. Conte has said