Category: Football

Real Madrid fell to a damaging 1-0 defeat by Getafe at home in La Liga on Monday, leaving them four points behind leaders Barcelona.

Alvaro Arbeloa’s side, beaten by a superb volley from Martin Satriano, suffered a second consecutive loss in the Spanish top flight for the first time since 2020.

Madrid forward Franco Mastantuono was sent off in stoppage time for apparent dissent to make a bad night worse for Los Blancos.

“Obviously, it’s a match where we could have done things better, but I think my players tried and we had more clear chances than them,” Arbeloa told reporters.

“However, in football, deserving isn’t enough, and Getafe played a great game.”

With French superstar Kylian Mbappe in France to treat a knee sprain, Madrid lined up with Gonzalo Garcia in attack alongside Brazil star Vinicius Junior at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Real Madrid were beaten at Osasuna last weekend, allowing rivals Barca to overtake them in the title race, and Hansi Flick’s side stretched their lead by thrashing Villarreal on Saturday.

Vinicius, in excellent form in 2026 after an inconsistent start to the season, spurned a fine early chance.

The winger burst through on goal, but David Soria saved well with his leg.

A brilliant roulette from Arda Guler nearly earned Madrid the breakthrough, but Soria tipped over the Turkish forward’s strike.

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Getafe were upset by a painful collision between Madrid defender Antonio Rudiger and Diego Rico, in which the German’s knee knocked the Spaniard’s head.

Uruguayan forward Satriano broke the deadlock with a delicious strike from the edge of the box after compatriot Mauro Arambarri nodded the ball into his path.

Soria, who had a fine game, saved from Vinicius in the second half, and the Brazilian called for more support from Madrid’s fans.

However, the team were not giving them much to get excited about, although Rudiger came close to levelling with a header.

It was a disjointed display from a Madrid side who visit Celta Vigo on Friday in La Liga, before hosting Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City in the Champions League last 16, unsure if top scorer Mbappe will be fit to play.

In stoppage time, Mastantuono was dismissed, seemingly for something he said to the referee, before Getafe were also reduced to 10 men when Adrian Liso kicked the ball away and was shown a second yellow card.

“Nobody here is throwing in the towel, this is Real Madrid, you don’t give up until the last game,” added Arbeloa.

“Four points is a distance that we can cut back, and we will fight for that.”

Jose Bordalas’s Getafe rose to 11th and were able to celebrate their first win at the Bernabeu since 2008.

“It’s very hard to get points when you come here. I have to congratulate the team for the work in defence, then we got our goal, and we could even have scored another in the end,” said Getafe defender Kiko Femenia.

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Liam Rosenior on Monday demanded an improvement in discipline from his Chelsea players after Pedro Neto became their ninth player to be sent off this season, threatening to drop players who do not show greater control.

Sunday’s 2-1 loss to Premier League leaders Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium means Chelsea have won just two of their past six matches in all competitions.

They are sixth in the Premier League table ahead of Wednesday’s match at fourth-placed Aston Villa, three points behind Liverpool in the battle for Champions League football next season.

Ill-discipline has been costly for Chelsea this season, with Neto the seventh Stamford Bridge player to be shown a red card in the Premier League.

Chelsea boss Rosenior, who replaced Enzo Maresca in the hot seat in January, said Neto had apologised to his teammates after he was dismissed in the 70th minute.

“My job is to create a culture of accountability, where if you make a mistake, it’s OK, you hold your hands up and you make sure it doesn’t happen again,” said the English manager.

“But you have to hold your hands up to the original mistake. If I make the wrong team selection, or I get something wrong, my job is to be accountable, and it’s the same for my players in that moment.”

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Rosenior said Portugal winger Pedro, who will miss this week’s match at Villa Park, had apologised to his teammates.

“I just need to see an improvement in the behaviour now,” he said.

“And it’s not just Pedro. We’ve had bookings. People speak about dissent. We’ve had needless bookings in terms of fouls. If we are to improve and get to where we want to be, we have to make a conscious step now to make sure it doesn’t happen again.”

The Chelsea boss said there were different approaches to tackling the issue.

“Sometimes it’s not a stick, it’s showing what the value of not having a red card is,” he said. “If you look at our stats, when we have 11 men on the pitch, before my job here and after my job here, our percentage chance of winning goes through the roof.

“So that needs to be motivation in itself, to make sure we stay disciplined in key moments, reacting to setbacks. Sometimes a setback is giving the ball away, sometimes a setback is a referee making a decision you disagree with.

“In that moment you have to react positively and you have to think of the next thing. Those are the things we have to go after in order for our discipline to improve.”

Rosenior added: “You pick players who are showing that improvement. I can’t afford to go through a season every two games or every three games with a red card, it’s just not possible.

“So I need to see improvement in that and I need to adjust my team selection based on who’s showing those capabilities.”

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Liverpool boss Arne Slot said Monday that the growing reliance on set pieces in the Premier League has sucked some of the joy out of football but accepts it is the new reality.

Last season’s champions struggled with dead-ball situations both defensively and in attacking areas earlier in the campaign.

But seven of their past nine Premier League goals have come from set pieces, including three following corners in Saturday’s 5-2 win against West Ham at Anfield.

Premier League leaders Arsenal are renowned as the set-piece kings and on Sunday scored their 16th goal from a corner this season — equalling the league record.

“First of all, you have to accept it. I think it’s mainly here in the Premier League,” Slot told reporters on Monday.

“If I watch other leagues, I don’t think there’s so much emphasis on set pieces.”

The Liverpool manager said he felt goalkeepers in the Premier League were given less protection by match officials than those in other leagues, such as the Dutch top division.

“Here you can almost hit a goalkeeper in his face and the referee still says just go on,” said the Dutchman.

“Do I like it? My football heart doesn’t like it.”

Slot said he used to look forward to watching the great Barcelona side of Pep Guardiola, who were renowned for their silky, possession-based football.

“Now, most of the games I see in the Premier League are not for me a joy to watch,” he said.

“But it’s always interesting because it’s so competitive, and that is what makes this league great, because there’s so much competitiveness, everyone can beat everyone.”

Slot, whose team travel to face bottom side Wolves on Tuesday, said the set-piece trend was here to stay.

“Maybe in five or ten years’ time things will change again, but I wouldn’t be surprised if you go to an under-16 game somewhere… I wouldn’t be surprised if you see teams completely being focused, 16-year-olds on set-pieces,” he said.

“That’s the new reality, and I have my opinion about it, but it doesn’t change.”

Fifth-placed Liverpool, who have won seven of their past nine games in all competitions, are in a strong position to qualify for next season’s Champions League.

Liverpool playmaker Florian Wirtz is expected to miss the Wolves match and Friday’s FA Cup game against the same opponents, both taking place at Molineux, due to a back issue.

The German missed Liverpool’s wins against Nottingham Forest and West Ham.

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AC Milan moved closer to Champions League football next season after two late strikes gave them a 2-0 win at Cremonese on Sunday.

Strahinja Pavlovic put Milan ahead in the 90th minute with his shoulder before Rafael Leao’s simple finish in stoppage time gave the away side a result which flattered a drab display in Cremona.

Milan, who have been without European football this season, have little realistic hope of winning the Serie A title as the seven-time European champions are 10 points behind league leaders Inter Milan.

Next weekend’s Milan derby has little more than local pride riding on it, with Inter speeding off into the distance with 11 games remaining in the league campaign.

Milan’s stated aim for the season, however, was qualification for the Champions League and Massimiliano Allegri’s team are on course for that objective.

“We have a huge goal to reach with teams behind us who continue collecting points,” said Allegri to DAZN.

“You have Como, Atalanta still have to play, Napoli won in the end and there are also Roma and Juventus. All we can do is take it one step at a time.”

Fifth-placed Como are nine points behind Milan, while Roma, seven points behind them in fourth, face Juventus in Sunday’s headline fixture.

Atalanta can move to within two points of the Champions League spots with a win at Sassuolo, following their thrilling 4-3 aggregate triumph over Borussia Dortmund, which made them the only Italian team in the last 16 of Europe’s top club competition.

Jamie Vardy’s Cremonese are sliding towards relegation to Serie B after a 13th straight match without a win, the promoted outfit sitting outside the drop zone on goal difference.

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Bradley Barcola scored, and Desire Doue had a penalty saved as Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) held on for a 1-0 win away to Le Havre on Saturday to extend their lead at the top of the Ligue 1 table to four points.

PSG were looking to take advantage of another slip-up by title rivals Lens, who were held to a 1-1 draw away at Strasbourg on Friday to go two games without a win.

Luis Enrique’s side duly got the job done with Barcola heading in from a Lee Kang-in cross on 37 minutes for his ninth goal of the season.

It was not a full-strength PSG, with Ousmane Dembele again out injured along with Fabian Ruiz and Joao Neves, while skipper Marquinhos was among the players rested.

Doue came off the bench in the second half and won a penalty with just over 10 minutes remaining, but his kick was kept out by Le Havre goalkeeper Mory Diaw diving to his right. PSG have converted only five of their 10 spot-kicks this season.

Diaw also produced a fine reaction save from Nuno Mendes while PSG goalkeeper Matfei Safonov made a key stop to deny Issa Soumare at the other end.

“There are no nice and easy games for PSG because every match is important. We need to get players back and improve because we have less confidence than usual at the moment,” said Luis Enrique.

The reigning European champions are gearing up for a Champions League last-16 tie against Chelsea and have now won nine out of 10 Ligue 1 games played since the start of December.

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“It is the first time we have had a four-point gap at the top, so this is a time for us to be happy. It was important to get the win here,” added the coach.

Elsewhere in France on Saturday, Rennes made it two wins out of two under new coach Franck Haise as they beat Toulouse 1-0 in Brittany thanks to Arnaud Nordin’s first-half goal.

Monaco got back on track after losing to PSG in their Champions League play-off tie as USA star Folarin Balogun and Simon Adingra scored in a 2-0 win over Angers.

Balogun, who is expected to be a key player for the United States at the World Cup, now has 12 goals this season in all competitions, including four in his last four games.

Marseille, in fourth play host to third-placed Lyon on Sunday in a key game in the fight for Champions League qualification.

Pablo Longoria left his position as Marseille president on Saturday evening, the Spaniard departing after five years to be replaced on an interim basis by Alban Juster.

Longoria’s departure comes amid a period of turbulence at the 1993 European champions, who saw coach Roberto De Zerbi leave just under three weeks ago in the wake of a 5-0 defeat away to PSG and their elimination from the Champions League.

De Zerbi has been replaced in the dugout by Habib Beye. Director of football Medhi Benatia recently announced he was stepping down, before it was confirmed he would stay on until the end of the season at the club owned by US tycoon Frank McCourt.

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KUALA LUMPUR: Asian Football Confederation (AFC) bosses postponed on Sunday the first-leg knockout matches of the continental club championship to be played in the Middle East this week, after the United States and Israel attacked Iran.

The decision to reschedule matches involved all three of the AFC’s main club competitions, including the Champions League Elite, the Malaysia-headquartered AFC said.

“In light of the developing situation in the Middle East… matches in the West Region, originally scheduled for March 2–3, 2026, will now be rescheduled,” it said in a statement in Kuala Lumpur.

“The AFC will continue to closely monitor this rapidly evolving situation and remains resolute in ensuring the safety and security of all players, teams, officials, and fans,” the body added.

Games included a scheduled match between Qatar’s Al-Duhail and Saudi powerhouse Al-Ahli, according to the AFC schedule.

Other Elite round-of-16 games like Dubai-based Shabab AlAhli hosting Iran’s Tractor, and Abu Dhabi club Al Wahda versus Al-Ittihad are also affected.

Matches played elsewhere in the Asian region will continue as scheduled, the AFC said.

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Mohamed Salah may be experiencing the worst goal drought of his Premier League career but Liverpool manager Arne Slot believes the Egypt striker is paying the price for his own high standards.

Salah, 33, has won the Golden Boot four times as the English top-flight’s leading goal-scorer since arriving at Anfield in 2017, the latest in last season’s title-winning campaign. But he has now gone nine league matches without a goal.

That is his worst run in the Premier League, but Slot, speaking ahead of Saturday’s match at home to West Ham, told reporters: “He set his own standards and those are so high and the moment he doesn’t score for a few games people are immediately surprised –- that is the biggest compliment he can get.”

The Dutch boss, whose side are sixth in the table and three points off a Champions League place, added: “We are used to Mo scoring a lot of goals and at this moment in time that is maybe the biggest difference in his performance and game time.

“But we also know this has happened before. I don’t know if it happened nine games in a row, but I’ve had these questions earlier if he didn’t score for three or five, but I know in the end he always starts scoring again.

“He is not our only attacker at this moment in time that doesn’t score as much as we are used to.

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“The focus is totally on him because of everything he did for the club but Hugo (Ekitike) and Cody (Gakpo) haven’t scored that many goals recently as well. It is a team thing which we have to improve.”

Liverpool, meanwhile, announced they had returned to profit after their title triumph last season with a pre-tax surplus of £15.2 million ($20.5 million) that owed much to a £60 million increase in media revenue.

But performance bonuses, plus the contract renewals of high-profile stars such as Salah and skipper Virgil van Dijk, helped leave Liverpool with the highest wage bill in the Premier League as staff expenditure rose by £42 million to £428 million.

That put Liverpool ahead of Manchester City, whose employee costs for the same season were £408 million.

As these figures relate to the 2024/25 campaign, with the accounting period ending on May 31, they do not include Liverpool’s £450m summer spending spree on the likes of British record transfer Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz and Ekitike.

Liverpool’s chief financial officer, Jenny Beacham, said the figures were welcome but warned tougher times may lie ahead.

“The club does face significant cost challenges, including rises in administrative, staffing and operational costs, alongside the need for us to compete at the highest level of the game, across our men’s and women’s teams.”

READ: Neymar ends goal drought as Santos edge Vasco da Gama

Real Madrid and Manchester City will face off in a Champions League knockout tie for the fifth season running after being drawn Friday to play each other in the last 16, while reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) will take on Chelsea.

The Spanish giants, record 15-time European champions, will host City in the first leg at the Santiago Bernabeu next month before travelling to England for the return the following week.

The clubs have already played each other this season, with Pep Guardiola’s City winning 2-1 in Madrid in December during the league phase, in which the Premier League club finished eighth and Real ninth.

That allowed City, Champions League winners in 2023, to advance straight to the last 16 while Madrid had to come through the knockout phase play-offs, in which they beat Benfica 3-1 on aggregate.

This is the eighth season in which the teams have played each other since 2012. Real beat City in the knockout phase play-offs last season, and in the quarter-finals on the way to winning the trophy in 2024.

They also emerged victorious in the semi-finals in 2022, with City winning at the same stage the following year.

PSG will be at home to Chelsea in the first leg after qualifying for this stage with a 5-4 aggregate win over Ligue 1 rivals Monaco in the play-offs. Chelsea progressed straight to the last 16 after finishing sixth in the league phase.

The sides played each other in the knockout stages in three consecutive years from 2014 to 2016, with Chelsea winning the first of those confrontations in the quarter-finals and PSG triumphing in the last 16 in the following two.

Their last encounter came in July’s Club World Cup final in the United States, when Chelsea won 3-0 against last season’s European champions.

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Chelsea have been coached since January by Liam Rosenior, who had previously come up against PSG in Ligue 1 as the coach of Strasbourg.

Meanwhile, Newcastle United will take on Barcelona with the first leg at St James’ Park, where the Spanish side won 2-1 during the league phase in September.

There is a record total of six English clubs in the last 16. Liverpool will have a rematch against Galatasaray, the Turkish giants having defeated the Anfield club 1-0 in September in the league phase.

Arsenal will come up against Bayer Leverkusen, and Tottenham Hotspur were drawn to play Atletico Madrid.

German champions Bayern Munich will play Atalanta, the sole Italian club left in the competition, while Norwegian upstarts Bodo/Glimt’s reward for knocking out Inter Milan is a last-16 tie against Sporting of Portugal.

The first legs will take place on March 10 and 11, with the second legs a week later.

The teams that qualified directly for this stage after finishing in the top eight in the league phase will all be at home in the return matches.

This season’s Champions League final will take place at the Puskas Arena in Budapest on May 30.

READ: Neymar ends goal drought as Santos edge Vasco da Gama

Neymar finally ended his 2026 goal drought in style on Thursday, scoring twice to inspire Santos to a 2-1 victory over Vasco da Gama in the fourth round of the Brasileirao at Urbano Caldeira Stadium.

The Brazil superstar, returning from surgery earlier this year, opened the scoring in the 25th minute and added a second in the second half, securing all three points for his side.

It was his first goal since December 2025 and only his second full 90-minute appearance of the year.

After the match, Neymar addressed critics and speculation about his potential inclusion in the Brazil squad for the upcoming Men’s World Cup.

“Last week, they said I was the worst player in the world. Today I scored two goals, and that’s what matters,” Neymar said.

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“One day you’re no good, or you’re ‘retired’; the next, people say you have to go to the World Cup. I’m dedicating myself and working to get in the best possible shape.”

The 2026 season has seen Neymar easing back into competitive action following surgery, and he admitted the challenge of regaining match fitness.

“This was my third game of the year and only my second full 90 minutes. I felt some cramping at the end, but that’s just part of the process,” he added.

The celebrations were briefly interrupted by a tense moment with Vasco midfielder Thiago Mendes, whose 2020 challenge at PSG had previously caused Neymar a serious injury.

“He always wants to cause trouble and act tough. He already broke me once at PSG, and he threatened me again today. It’s always the same with him,” Neymar remarked.

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Cristiano Ronaldo announced on Thursday that he had acquired a 25 per cent stake in Saudi-owned Spanish second-division club Almeria.

“This strategic investment in UD Almeria reflects Ronaldo’s long-term commitment to professional football ownership,” said a statement from his new sports holding company, CR7 Sports Investments, which gave no financial details of the deal.

“It has been a long-time ambition of mine to contribute to football,” the statement quoted Ronaldo as saying.

Almeria, who were last in the Spanish top flight in 2024, are third in the Spanish second division, one point out of the automatic promotion places.

“Almeria is a Spanish club with strong foundations and clear potential for growth.”

The club is owned by the Saudi group SMC.

“I look forward to working alongside the leadership team to support the club’s next phase of growth,” said Ronaldo, who has played in the Saudi Pro League for Al Nasser since 2023.

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Almeria’s president, Mohamed Al Khereiji, suggested the player would be particularly be involved in the club’s youth programme.

“He is considered the best on the pitch,” Al Khereiji said. “He knows the Spanish leagues very well and understands the potential of what we are building.”

Ronald, who also owns a stake in his Saudi club, last October became the first footballer included in Bloomberg’s ‘Billionaire Index’.

He recently returned to the Al-Nassr first team after a spat over the way Public Investment Fund (PIF), the national sovereign wealth fund which controls four clubs in the league, handled the winter transfer window.

He has scored four times in the last three games.

Ronaldo is set to take part in his sixth World Cup next summer, although he has suggested that, aged 41, it could be his last World Cup.

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