Tag: La Liga 2023/23

La Liga: Bellingham strikes late as Real Madrid edge Celta Vigo

VIGO: Former La Liga champions Real Madrid continued their impressive start to the ongoing season as they triumphed 1-0 over Celta Vigo, courtesy of Jude Bellingham’s late winner.

Bellingham arrived from Borussia Dortmund in the summer following a huge transfer deal and has already surpassed Madrid’s hopes by settling in quickly.

The English midfielder, having scored in the two previous La Liga fixtures for Real Madrid, made it three in a row, after heading Joselu’s cross into the nets in the 81st minute to help Los Blancos prevail.

Celta Vigo did well to keep Real Madrid at bay for longer stretches, but in the end, failed to keep a clean sheet as Jude Bellingham sneaked past their defence and scored the winner in the dying moments.

Real Madrid had a perfect opportunity to pull ahead earlier, but Rodrygo’s penalty was saved by Celta keeper Ivan Villar.

Despite scripting a perfect start to their La Liga 2023/23 campaign — winning three consecutive opening matches and sitting at the top of the standings — problems emerged for Carlo Ancelotti’s side as their key striker Vinicius Jr was taken off the field due to an injury.

Vinicius went on a dash down the left side of the field and appeared to tweak the back of his left leg just 13 minutes into the game.

The Brazilian tried to keep going but only managed five more minutes before asking to be substituted.

Los Blancos, however, avoided a major setback as the initial reports suggested a minor thigh problem.

Real Madrid next face Getafe on September 2 while Celta Vigo will take on Almeria on the same day in their next La Liga fixture.

Meanwhile, in another La Liga fixture, Las Palmas and Real Sociedad settled for a goalless stalemate to share a point each.

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Valencia cruise to top of La Liga standings with back-to-back wins

Valencia edged Las Palmas 1-0 at home to earn back-to-back victories which propelled them to pip Atletico Madrid at the summit of the ongoing La Liga 2023/24.

Midfielder José “Pepelu” Garcia, who arrived from Levante in the offseason, successfully converted a penalty in the 73rd minute after Javi Moz was booked for a handball in the area.

Valencia, who struggled to avoid relegation last season, started this campaign on a high as they claimed back-to-back victories, beating Sevilla 2-1 and Las Palmas respectively.

Ruben Baraja’s side lost several key players in the summer including their regular starters Samuel Lino, Edinson Cavani, Yunus Musah, Justin Kluivert, Ilaix Moriba and Nico González.

The first half of the game saw Las Palmas’ goalkeeper Álvaro Vallés saving shots by Diego López and Thierry Correa when the visitors enjoyed more possession but the hosts had better chances.

Valencia next face Osasuna on Sunday (August 27) while Las Palmas will take on Real Sociedad on August 27.

Meanwhile, in another La Liga fixture, Villarreal claimed a narrow 1-0 victory over RCD Mallorca, courtesy of a brilliant second-half goal by Gerard Moreno.

The two sides put on a rigorous battle at San Moix but despite Quique Setien’s aggressive lineup, Villarreal struggled to establish a rhythm and create chances at first.

Alex Baena and Ben Brereton Diaz then stood out in the later part of the first half, allowing Villarreal to push forward more.

The Yellow Submarine finally got the reward when a corner saw the ball fired towards Predrag Rajkovic, who deflected it to Gerard, who then guided it in for the only goal of the game.

Mallorca then made desperate efforts to push forward, leaving their defence wide open and substitute Etienne Capoue tried to make the most of it but Villarreal failed to strike again to make the victory more dominating.

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