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Tag 2019/2020 La Liga

  • Mar, Tue, 2020
Sport

La Liga to be played behind closed doors for at least two weeks 

La Liga
Barcelona (Spain), March 10, 2020 (Reuters/NAN) La Liga matches will be played without fans for at least the next two rounds of fixtures to try and stop the spread of coronavirus, the Spanish league said on Tuesday.

FC Barcelona also said its UEFA Champions League clash with Napoli next week would be played behind closed doors, while Valencia’s game with Atalanta would also take place without any supporters.

The decision was taken in conjunction with the directive by the Spanish government’s sports council (CSD) that professional and non-professional sports events and competitions should take place behind closed doors.

“According to information from the High Council of Sports, La Liga Santander and La Liga SmartBank (second division) matches will be played behind closed doors, starting today (March 10) and for at least the next two weeks.

“La Liga will continue to be in permanent contact with the Ministry of Health and the CSD to follow its recommendations and/or decisions, prioritising the health of fans, players, club employees, journalists etc. due to the COVID-19 health crisis.

“For weeks, La Liga has been working on alternative plans in coordination with UEFA in case health authorities decide to suspend any match, creating a plan to play these matches,” La Liga said in a statement.

The first match affected is the clash between Eibar and Real Sociedad later on Tuesday at Ipurua Municipal Stadium, a game already postponed from Feb. 16 because of air contamination.

If the measure is not extended, the next round of matches with supporters will take place on the weekend of April 4 to April 5.(Reuters/NAN)
STJ/JPE/OLAL
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(Edited by Joseph Edeh and Olawale Alabi)

Sport

La Liga: Benzema header beats Sevilla to breathe life back into Real Madrid

Benzema
Seville (Spain), Sept. 22, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) A towering header from Karim Benzema gave Real Madrid an impressive 1-0 win at Sevilla to go level on points at the top of La Liga on Sunday.

The slim victory offered the perfect response to their recent humiliating UEFA Champions League defeat at Paris St-Germain (PSG).

Benzema gave the visitors the lead against former Real Madrid coach Julen Lopetegui’s Sevilla midway through the second half in a tense game.

The French striker timed his jump to perfection to meet a cross from Dani Carvajal on the byline and sent the ball high into the net.

Sevilla’s former Real Madrid striker Javier Hernandez put the ball in the net for the hosts late in the game but his effort was correctly ruled out for offside.

Real Madrid  hung on to claim their first win at the Sanchez Pizjuan stadium in five seasons.

The victory saw Real Madrid climb into second place on 11 points after five games, level with leaders Athletic Bilbao.

On the other hand, Sevilla tumbled from top spot at the start of the weekend to fifth on 10 points.(Reuters/NAN)
KIA/OLAL
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

Sport

Atletico Madrid keep up winning La Liga start at Leganes

Lebanese
Madrid, Aug. 26, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) Atletico Madrid made it two wins out of two as Vitolo scored in the second half to secure a hard-fought 1-0 La Liga victory at Leganes on Sunday.

Atletico had never won in Spain’s top-flight at their fellow Madrid outfit’s Butarque stadium but Vitolo’s strike ensured they continued their impressive early season form.

New signing Joao Felix created the goal, picking up the ball on the right-hand side.

He drove at the Leganes backline before feeding Vitolo, who produced a composed 71st minute left-footed finish to put Diego Simeone’s side ahead.

After a first half largely devoid of goalscoring opportunities, both sides traded efforts after the break.

Saul Niguez hit the post for Atletico, while Leganes midfielder Jonathan Silva struck the crossbar with a free-kick.

Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak then produced a fine stop from Javi Eraso minutes before his side opened the scoring.

“I’m very pleased to get the win at a tough ground to play at and against a side who make life difficult for you,” Simeone told a news conference.

“We showed our intent in the first 20 minutes and I think we dominated the game. Then they improved and the match became a bit more diluted.”

Alvaro Morata wasted a glorious opening in the dying minutes that would have ensured a less nervy finish for the visitors.

But the capital city side remain just one of two sides, along with Sevilla, with a 100 percent league record this season.

“We needed to win and for that we tried many things over the 90 minutes and changed the system.

“We wanted to improve as the game went on. We won and all good,” Simeone added.

“Leganes are a side who irritate you. There’s no space, and they make the game comfortable for themselves.

“Yet, fortunately, we were able to change the dynamic of the game with our change of system.”

Having started the first two games of the season on the bench, goalscorer Vitolo will be hopeful of a start next time out as Atletico host Eibar on Sunday.

Simeone, though, sounded a warning to all of his top players, adding: “Players don’t start just because they do or don’t score.

“They start because of consistency, hard work and dedication.”(Reuters/NAN)
KIA/OLAL
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(Edited by Olawale Alabi)

Sport

La Liga: Real Madrid held to frustrating draw by Valladolid

Draw

Madrid, Aug. 24, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) Real Madrid’s early optimism was punctured by an 88th-minute equaliser by Real Valladolid as Zinedine Zidane’s side stumbled to a 1-1 draw in their first home game of the La Liga season on Saturday.

Karim Benzema looked to have fired Madrid to a second straight win after last week’s confidence-boosting 3-1 victory at Celta Vigo when he scored in the 82nd minute with a splendid piece of skill.

The Frenchman, Madrid’s top scorer last campaign, controlled a pass with his back to goal and swivelled before striking his finish into the far corner to give the home side a deserved lead.

Serbian striker Luka Jovic had gone close to breaking the deadlock earlier in the game when he headed against the crossbar barely a minute after coming off the bench.

Valladolid had offered little in attack but grabbed a shock equaliser with only their second shot on target when Sergi Guardiola struck through the legs of Thibaut Courtois.

The goal plunged a happy Santiago Bernabeu crowd into silence and left Madrid with four points after two games.

“I’m left with a bitter taste because we did the hardest thing, which was to score in a second half where we did not produce our best performance,” Madrid coach Zidane told a news conference.

“It’s a bad feeling when you concede an equaliser so soon after scoring. We played well in the first half, but we were unable to find the net.”

Real were without suspended midfielder Luka Modric but Rodriguez made his first appearance in a Madrid shirt for over two years.

After a strong start in the unforgiving summer heat of the Spanish capital, Madrid struggled to maintain their intensity after the interval.

But they found a breakthrough when it looked least likely due to the quick thinking of Benzema.

They were powerless to deal with the speed of Valladolid’s counterattack which saw Guardiola level six minutes later,

However, Zidane said the draw was not down to his side’s waning energy levels.

“We were less convinced of ourselves in the second half.

“We did not play with fluidity and when we lack that we run into problems. But we cannot blame our result on the heat, our problems today were not physical ones,” he said. (Reuters/NAN)
KIA/MST
Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola

Sport

Barcelona beaten by Athletic Bilbao’s Aduriz thunderous strike

La Liga

Bilbao (Spain), Aug. 16, 2019 (Reuters/NAN) Champions Barcelona fell to a 1-0 defeat at Athletic Bilbao in their opening La Liga game of the season thanks to a sensational late overhead kick from veteran striker Aritz Aduriz.

The 38-year-old came off the bench late in the game and soon made Barca pay for squandering several chances by acrobatically lashing an unstoppable shot into the net in the 89th minute.

The Catalans were without injured captain Lionel Messi but lined up with 200 million euros of new talent in France forward Antoine Griezmann and Dutch midfielder Frenkie de Jong.

However, they lacked sparkle against an energetic Bilbao side.

Luis Suarez struck the near post in the first half when presented with a terrible back pass from Athletic’s Unai Lopez.

However, he was soon forced off with a calf injury, while substitute Rafinha rattled the crossbar after coming on. (Reuters/NAN)

KIA/MUYI/AFA
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Edited by Muhyideen Jimoh/Felix Ajide