Tag: La Liga

SEVILLE: Girona rocketed to the second position in the La Liga 2023-24 points table, after thumping home-side Sevilla 2-1 to register their second win in the ongoing La Liga season at Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan Stadium on Saturday.

The home side started the game on high with an early missed attempt by Lucas Ocampos, however, Girona quickly took things under control with a right-footed shot from the centre of the box by Yangel Herrera in the 15th minute.

Sevilla, however, kept challenging Girona’s defence and made several attempts but all in vain until Nemanja Gudelj finally hit the centre of the net minutes before half-time to level the scores.

Girona did not wait too long, as Arnau Martínez assisted Aleix García to give visitors the match-winning advantage in the 55th minute.

Sevilla’s Ivan Rakitic scored an equalizer four minutes later, however, it was ruled out after a VAR review further adding to the frustrations of the home side.

Sevilla fought hard till the end looking to equalize but Girona held their ground to deny any goal, keeping their lead intact to finish the game at 2-1.

In another match played at Nuevo Estadio de Los Cármenes, Granada edged Mallorca 3-2 to register their first win in the ongoing La Liga season.

Both teams kicked off this match looking for their first win in the season, however, home-side Gernada quickly gained the lead in the eleventh minute as Miguel Ángel Rubio scored thanks to a cross by José Callejón.

The visitors scored the equalizer in the 37th minute courtesy of Abdón Prats to close the first half at 1-1. The home side, however, made a resounding comeback in the first minute of the second half to get the lead back.

They further extended their lead with a penalty by Myrto Uzuni in the 69th minute after Cyle Larin was shown a yellow card for handball.

Mallorca made several attempts and consequently scored their second goal by Samú Costa in the 87th minute before the final whistle announced victory for the home side.

Meanwhile, in another La Liga fixture, Almeria scored a late equalizer in the extra-time over Cadiz to settle for a 1-1 stalemate.

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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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Alaves registered their first win in the ongoing La Liga season as they defeated Sevilla 4-3 in a hard-fought battle, while, Rayo Vallecano jumped to second position after thumping Granada 2-0.

Alaves, returned to La Liga this season, after earning a promotion in the play-off stage of Segunda División (second division). However, they started this season with a loss at the hands of Cadiz.

They started the game on high with a seventh-minute goal by Luis Rioja, however, Abdelkabir Abqar’s own goal in the 15th minute levelled the score.

Sevilla’s Erik Lamela scored a goal on his own in the 40th minute to give his side the lead, however, their lead was short-lived as Alaves equalized three minutes later with a goal by Rubén Duarte to close the first half at 2-2.

Click to watch La Liga 2023-24 Live on ARY ZAP

Alaves had a flying start to the second half as Kike García stunned the home crowd with two goals in five minutes to give his side the decisive 4-2 lead which remained intact until Sevilla’s Rafa Mir scored a goal in the final minutes of extra time to close the game at 4-3.

In another game of La Liga, Rayo Vallecano crushed home side Granada 2-0 to sink them to the bottom of the table with two losses, while they are comfortably sitting in the second position with two clean sheets in two games.

Both teams defended enough to not allow the opponent to score until Rayo’s Álvaro García gave the first goal in the 74th minute to give visitors an upper hand.

They extended their lead to 2-0 four minutes later with the match-winning goal by Pathé Ciss before the home side was reduced to 10 men as Antonio Puertas was shown the red card in the 85th minute.

Meanwhile, Atletico Madrid were held by Real Betis in a goalless stalemate.

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Pedri and Ferran Torres scored late goals to help defending champions Barcelona register their first victory in the 2023-24 La Liga season, as they edged Cadiz 2-0 on Sunday.

After a controversial drawn game against Getafe in their season-opener, Barcelona stepped into Montjuic -Barcelona’s new home as Camp Nou undergoes renovation-, looking for their first win in the ongoing season of La Liga, without their star winger Raphinha and coach Xavi.

Barcelona coach Xavi was banned for two games after being handed a red card for his touchline behaviour against Getafe, while Raphinha also received a red card for elbowing an opponent in the first half.

Cadiz, on the other hand, entered the match with the momentum gained from their 1-0 win over Alaves in their season-opener. However, they also missed their midfielder Gonzalo Escalante, who received a red card in the previous game.

Barcelona dominated the game from the first whistle and had a chance in the 28th minute when 16-year-old Lamine Yamal’s attempt was denied by a brilliant save by the Cadiz goalkeeper. The first half ended in a stalemate.

Barcelona made several attempts in the second half but to no avail, until Pedri finally gave the home side a much-needed lead at the 81-minute mark. Ferran Torres then replaced Lamine Yamal in the 85^th minute and scored in the extra time to close the match at 2-0.

In another La Liga fixture, Girona defeated Getafe 3-0 to jump to the third position in the points table with a superior goal difference.

Girona started the game strongly with a goal in the 12^th minute as Yangel Herrera scored off a header to give the advantage to the home side.

The first half closed at 1-0, however, Girona riding high on the momentum gained in the first half, came stronger in the second half.

Girona forward, Cristhian Stuani showed his brilliance and scored a brace in ten minutes to give Girona a decisive 3-0 lead, which remained intact until the final whistle.

Girona will now face Sevilla on August 27, while defending champions Barcelona will face Villarreal on the same day.

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Real Madrid started the 2023-24 La Liga with back-to-back victories as they registered a thumping win over Almeria 3-1 on Saturday, thanks to Jude Bellingham, who scored two goals in his second La Liga game.

This victory rocketed Real Madrid to the top of the table, while Almeria sunk to the bottom after the loss.

Almeria finished 17th last season and lost to Rayo Vallecano 2-0 at home in their season-opener, however, they started off well against Real Madrid with an early advantage as Sergio Arribas scored off a header in the third minute to give the home side a lead of 1-0.

However, Jude Bellingham pulled his side back with an equalizer in the 19th minute to bring the scores to level.

Both sides fought well to close the first half at a solid 1-1 after a goal by Toni Kroos in the extra time was ruled out by VAR.

The second half started equally well for both times, however, Real Madrid pulled things back in their favour just before the 60th minute, when Jude Bellingham met a Toni Kroos’ shot and successfully scored the header to give his team the lead.

Jude Bellingham further added an assist to his tally when he assisted Vinicius Jr to score a decisive third goal for Real Madrid in the 72nd minute.

Almeria’s Luis Suarez made several attempts to score but to no avail, as Real Madrid kept their lead intact until the final whistle.

This was Jude Bellingham’s second game for Real Madrid, after making his La Liga debut with a goal in Real Madrid’s season opener against Atheltic Bilbao (Athletic Club).

Notably, the 19-year-old English midfielder Bellingham joined Real Madrid this summer from Borussia Dortmund at a base transfer fee of €103 million.

In another game, the aforementioned Atheltic Bilbao defeated Osasuna 2-0 to register their first win of the season. They scored the first goal in the eleventh-minute curtesy Inaki Williams, meanwhile, Gorka Guruzeta further improved the lead to 2-0 in the 20th minute before being reduced to ten men as Oihan Sancet was sent out in the 59th minute.

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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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Atletico Madrid, who finished third in the previous La Liga season, started this year’s campaign with a crushing win over Granada, which rocketed them straight to the top of the standings.

Granada, returned to La Liga this season, after securing first position in the Segunda División (second division) table last season on the very last match day of the season.

However, they failed to kick off their campaign from where they left last season, as Atletico Madrid handed them a hefty defeat in their first game.

Atletico Madrid started the game with an early attempt in the fifth minute by Álvaro Morata but it was saved in the centre of the goal.

Morata, however, did not slow down and netted the first goal in the extra time of the first half.

The second half saw Granada challenge Atletico’s defence and earned the reward as Samu Omorodion scored an equalizer in the 62nd minute.

But Atletico’s Memphis Depay, who came in for Morata, quickly pulled Granada back with a brilliant goal in the 67th minute to give his team the match-winning advantage.

The 2-1 lead for Atletico remained intact until the 90th minute, but Marcos Llorente bettered it with a late goal in the final minutes of extra time to thump Granada 3-1.

In another game of La Liga, Cadiz scripted history, as they won their first home game in La Liga in 46 years, with a 1-0 victory over Alves at the Estadio Nuevo Mirandilla.

They started the game with an early lead with Federico San Emeterio scoring in the seventh minute.

Jon Guridi and Luis Rioja made continuous efforts for Alves, but they could not capitalize due to the rock-solid defence of Cadiz.

Cadiz will face last year’s champions Barcelona on August 20, while Table toppers Atletico Madrid will face Real Betis in their next La Liga clash on August 21.

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Reigning La Liga champions Barcelona kicked off their title defence with a frustrating 0-0 draw against Getafe on Sunday, with both sides reduced to 10 men in a bad-tempered clash.

Barcelona’s winger Rapinha was sent off the field for a foul elbow tackle in the first half while Getafe’s Jaime Mata was dismissed for two yellow cards early in the second.

In addition to that, Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez was also sent out for touchline squabbles as his side pushed for a late winner but, like last season, began their La Liga campaign goalless.

Xavi handed debuts to their recent summer signings — Ilkay Gundogan and Oriol Romeu — in Barcelona’s one of the most uncomfortable away trips of the season.

The Catalans had failed to score in their last three visits to the Coliseum Alfonso Perez and Getafe got in Barcelona’s faces right away.

Damin Suarez barged former Manchester City midfielder Gundogan in the chest among other four tackles.

Raphinha, who was targeted on multiple occasions, eventually snapped, flinging an elbow into Gaston Alvarez’s head, which resulted in him receiving a red card.

Barcelona failed to make a breakthrough and will have to play catch-up after rivals Real Madrid pulled ahead with a 2-0 win against Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.

In another La Liga fixture, Real Betis snatched a late win over Villarreal, courtesy of Willian Jose’s stoppage-time strike.

Ayoze Perez put the visitors ahead after fine work by Luis Henrique, but Jorge Cuenca pulled Villarreal level before Jose’s late winner.

Last Copa del Rey’s runners-up Osasuna won 2-0 at Celta Vigo, inflicting defeat on the Galicians in veteran manager Rafa Benitez’s first game at the helm.

The defending champions next face Cadiz on Sunday while their traditional rivals Real Madrid will take on Almeria a day earlier.

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Real Madrid kicked off their La Liga campaign on a high as they handed Atheltic Bilbao a solid 2-0 defeat, in their opening game on Saturday.

Real Madrid started off the game strongly, as they gained an early advantage with a goal in the 28th minute thanks to Rodrygo, assisted by Dani Carvajal. A mere eight minutes later, Jude Bellingham scored his first goal for the club in his La Liga debut giving them a formidable lead of 2-0.

Notably, the 19-year-old English midfielder Bellingham joined Real Madrid this summer from Borussia Dortmund at a base transfer fee of €103 million.

A clean sheet for Andriy Lunin, who was standing in for the injured goal-keeper Thibaut Courtois kept Athletic Bilbao in their tracks as they failed to score, and Real Madrid’s 2-0 advantage remained intact until the final whistle.

In another La Liga fixture, Raíllo Arenas’s 70th-minute equalizer lifted Real Mallorca to hold Las Palmas for a 1-1 stalemate.

Las Palmas gained an early advantage after Jonathan Viera scored a goal off a penalty in the 29^th minute after Copete was given a yellow card.

Both teams made desperate efforts to fire in the tie-breaker but ultimately settled for a draw.

In another La Liga fixture, Real Sociedad were pulled back for a stalemate by Girona, courtesy of Artem Dovbyk’s second-half header.

Real Sociedad got off to a flying start, thanks to an early goal by Takefusa Kubo in the fifth minute.

Sociedad were flying high on their lead and appeared to be in a position to win their La Liga clash. However, Artem Dovbyk pulled them back with a brilliant header in the 72nd minute.

Sociedad made several attempts to gain a late advantage, but all in vain as the game ended in a 1-1 draw.

It is worth mentioning here that defending champions Barcelona will kick off their campaign against Getafe on Sunday.

READ: Rayo Vallecano crush Almeria in La Liga opener as Valencia prevail

Home side Rayo Vallecano scripted a flying start to their La Liga 2023-24 campaign with a dominating 2-0 win over Almeria while Valencia edged Europa League champions Sevilla 2-1.

Valencia, who avoided being relegated by a mere two points in the previous La Liga season, started their campaign on a high against momentum-filled Sevilla and soon got their reward at the hour mark when thanks to Mouctar Diakhaby.

Guinea international defender Diakhaby produced an exceptional finish after good work by Portuguese teammate Andre Almeida.

Valencia’s lead however shortlived as Sevilla pulled one back nine minutes later, courtesy of Morocco’s forward Youssef En-Nesyri, who headed in at the far post from a well-calculated cross by Suso.

Valencia’s Javi Guerra then left the home crowd stunned when he fired an 88-minute match-winner, pounding on the brilliant opportunity set up by Hugo Duro.

Notably, home side Sevilla was a man down for the last 10 minutes of their fixture against Valencia after Frenchman Loic Bade was given a red card for shirt pulling.

Click to watch La Liga 2023-24 Live on ARY ZAP

In the La Liga 2023-24 curtain raiser, hosts Rayo Vallecano handed a 2-0 thrashing to Almeria.

Randy Nteka starred in scripting a perfect start to Rayo Vallecano’s campaign as he scored one goal and helped produce another.

Midfielder Isi Palazon opened the scoring for Rayo Vallecano in the 20th minute after Almeria defender Edgar González fouled Nteka in the area when the two were squabbling over a ball.

Nteka, who spent the second part of the previous La Liga season on loan at Elche, converted his second penalty kick eight minutes later after Almeria’s Sergio Akieme used his arm to stop a cross from him in the penalty area.

It is worth mentioning here that defending champions Barcelona will kick off their campaign against Getafe on Sunday while former champions Real Madrid will take on Athletic Club on Saturday.

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