Angry Real Madrid fans on Saturday jeered their own team before they went on to beat Levante 2-0 in Spanish La Liga to record new coach Alvaro Arbeloa’s first win at the helm.
Villarreal, third, stumbled to a 2-0 defeat at Real Betis Balompie, hampering their attempts at mounting a title challenge.
Arbeloa’s debut after replacing Xabi Alonso ended in a humiliating Copa del Rey defeat in midweek at second-tier Albacete, but second-half goals from Kylian Mbappe and Raul Asencio secured Madrid three vital points at a moody Santiago Bernabeu.
Photo: A
Star players Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham came in for ire from the home fans after a disastrous week. Mbappe also started, but was spared the jeers.
The French forward had been expected to return for the UEFA Champions League game against AS Monaco next week as he manages his recovery from a knee sprain.
“I’ve always respected the Bernabeu [crowd], they whistled me a lot too [as a player], and it’s one of the aspects that make this club so great, how demanding the fans are,” Arbeloa said, defending the right of the fans to express themselves.
It was Arbeloa’s 43rd birthday, and he was eventually able to celebrate with a victory, although his team lacked energy and spark in the first half.
That was not the case in the stands as a significant part of the crowd harangued their own team, in response to a wild week at the club.
Los Blancos on Jan. 11 lost the Spanish Super Cup final to rivals Barcelona in Saudi Arabia, on Monday last week parted ways with Alonso and on Wednesday crashed out of Copa del Rey.
Some fans also chanted for president Florentino Perez to resign in a sour atmosphere in the Spanish capital.
Mbappe had the best chance of a flat first half against the team in 19th in La Liga. Reaching a long ball the French superstar met it with a volley that flew wide of the post.
Home fans jeered their side in at the break, and Madrid emerged for the second half with more impetus, with Arbeloa bringing on Franco Mastantuono and Arda Guler.
Mbappe drew a foul in the area from Adrian de la Fuente to earn a penalty, which he dispatched for his 19th league goal of the campaign.
Mbappe has scored 50 goals in 53 La Liga games, taking only a little longer than Real Madrid’s all-time top goalscorer Cristiano Ronaldo to reach the milestone.
The Portuguese managed it in 51 appearances. Asencio doubled Madrid’s advantage with a header into the top corner from Guler’s corner as the hosts took control.
Bellingham came close to adding a third, but Mathew Ryan parried his header and then saved Vinicius’s effort after a darting run from the Brazilian.
Ryan thwarted Bellingham again as tensions calmed by the end, with the crowd temporarily sated by the victory. Unless Madrid can build on it, the jeers and whistles will return.
“Today was a very important day, playing in front of our fans, we wanted to turn around the situation,” Asencio told Real Madrid TV.
“What happened at Albacete should not have happened, we felt guilty and we wanted to make things better,” he added.
Elsewhere, Vedat Muriqi scored a hat-trick for RCD Mallorca in a 3-2 win over Athletic Bilbao, before Villarreal fell to defeat at Real Betis.
Aitor Ruibal and Pablo Fornals’s second-half goals helped Betis earn an impressive victory over Marcelino Garcia Toral’s visitors.
The loss leaves Villarreal eight points behind leaders Barcelona and damaged their chances of competing for a first-ever La Liga title.
Betis had more of the ball in an otherwise even first half before Ruibal volleyed them ahead after 57 minutes.
Santi Comesana’s red card for a rash challenge on Giovani Lo Celso made Villarreal’s job harder, and Fornals killed the game by drilling home with precision from outside the area with seven minutes remaining.
“It was a hard-fought game, the details led to Betis winning, I think a draw would have been fairest,” Villarreal midfielder Dani Parejo told Movistar. “We lacked the finishing touch, but had some clear chances... I think the team showed up well, but in both boxes, we weren’t quite good enough.”
Manchester United on Tuesday confirmed Michael Carrick as interim manager until the end of the season, tasking him with leading the Red Devils back into the UEFA Champions League. “Having the responsibility to lead Manchester United is an honor,” said Carrick, 44, who won 12 major trophies in his 12-year playing career at United. The former midfielder previously had an unbeaten three-game stint as caretaker boss at Old Trafford in 2021. Carrick then took on his first permanent managerial role at second-tier Middlesbrough in October 2022 and was sacked in June last year after the club finished 10th in the
Dallas Mavericks rookie Cooper Flagg on Wednesday was ruled out for the second half of their 118-109 loss to the Denver Nuggets after the No. 1 pick sprained his left ankle in the first half. Flagg was called for a foul while defending against Peyton Watson and turned the ankle as he fell to the floor with 6 minutes, 1 second left in the second quarter. Flagg limped to the bench and continued to the locker room, but returned for the final 2 minutes, 35 seconds before the break. The 19-year-old did not come out for the second half before the announcement that
Yassine Bounou on Wednesday saved two penalties, while Youssef en-Nesyri netted the decisive spot-kick as hosts Morocco secured a 4-2 shoot-out victory over Nigeria following a 0-0 draw in a tense Africa Cup of Nations semi-final in Rabat. Morocco, seeking their first continental title in 50 years, are to face 2021 winners Senegal in Sunday’s decider in Rabat, while Nigeria take on Egypt in the third-place playoff tomorrow. The 120 minutes before the shoot-out had few clear-cut chances for either side, but it was Morocco who created more opportunities, although they were denied by some fine saves from Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali. Nigeria
Reigning NBA Most Valuable Player Shai Gilgeous-Alexander on Sunday sparked defending champions Oklahoma City to victory, while Anthony Edwards led Minnesota’s last-minute fightback to beat San Antonio. Gilgeous-Alexander scored 29 points while adding eight assists and five rebounds in the Thunder’s 124-112 home victory over Miami, improving the NBA’s best record to 33-7 after outscoring the Heat 70-53 in the second half. “We locked in defensively. We were finally able to get some stops,” Thunder guard Aaron Wiggins said. “We were able to get out in transition a little bit, get going offensively and find the flow.” Jalen Williams scored 18 points, while
RSS