Tag: La Liga

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.

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

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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KARACHI: ARY Digital Network has once again announced an exciting update for sports lovers in Pakistan as the La Liga season 2023-24 will be broadcasted live on Pakistan’s first HD sports channel A Sports HD and ARY ZAP.

After successfully broadcasting the FIFA World Cup in Qatar in 2022 and the previous edition of La Liga, A Sports HD and ARY ZAP will air the next edition of the Spanish league.

Notably, ARY Digital Network successfully secured the rights to the next two La Liga seasons in August last year.

Viewers in Pakistan can watch the event live on A Sports or stream it through the ARY ZAP application.

Administered by the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional, it is contested by 20 teams, with the three lowest-placed teams at the end of each season being relegated to the Segunda División and replaced by the top two teams and a play-off winner in that division.

La Liga has been the top league in Europe in each of the seven years from 2013 to 2019 (calculated using accumulated figures from five preceding seasons) and has led Europe for 22 of the 60 ranked years up to 2019, more than any other country.

La Liga Season 2023-24 will commence on August 12.

La Liga will embark with the home side Almeria taking on Rayo Vallecano in the curtain raiser at Power Horse Stadium on August 11. Whereas, Barcelona will be competing in the event to defend their title.

Known for promoting sports in the country, Mr Salman Iqbal- who also owns Pakistan Super League (PSL) franchise Karachi Kings- has the honour of launching Pakistan’s first HD sports channel A-Sports in October 2021.

A-Sports has previously aired ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2021 and 2022, PSL Season 2022 and 2023, major bilateral series of the Pakistan cricket team, Formula 1 Grand Prix Season 2022-23, SA20, Major League Cricket, FairBreak Invitational, Karachi Open Squash Championship among other major sports events.

Pakistan’s first HD Sports channel also airs the ongoing Lanka Premier League (LPL).

ARY ZAP, the popular app owned by ARY Digital Network, recently, live-streamed the five-match ODI and T20I series between Pakistan and New Zealand, earlier in April-May.

Real Madrid begin life after Karim Benzema looking to wrest back the Spanish title from Barcelona as the La Liga season kicks off this weekend, seemingly content to play the waiting game for Kylian Mbappe.

Karim Benzema, the reigning Ballon d’Or, swapped the Santiago Bernabeu for Saudi Arabia in June after 14 seasons in Madrid, where he is second on the club’s all-time goalscoring list with 354 — trailing only Cristiano Ronaldo.

In a bid to bridge the 10-point gap that separated them from Barcelona last season, Madrid splashed out 103 million euros ($112 million) on England international Jude Bellingham and swooped for Turkish prodigy Arda Guler.

But Mbappe, who has scored 212 goals in 260 games for Paris Saint-Germain, is the player they have long targeted.

After missing out on the France captain last year as he agreed a new deal to stay in Paris, Madrid again appear the likely destination for Mbappe, who is locked in a contract dispute with PSG.

Mbappe is training with PSG’s reserves and has been told he must sign a new contract if he wants to remain with the French champions this term.

PSG are thought to suspect that Kylian Mbappe has already struck a deal to join the Spanish giants for free in June 2024, but Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has been reluctant to broach the subject publicly.

Mbappe “is a player who is not at Madrid,” Ancelotti said last month. “To talk about players who are not here, it doesn’t seem right to me.”

While Madrid weigh up a late bid for the exiled Mbappe before this transfer window shuts, Vinicius Junior is set to become the focal point of the attack after inheriting the number seven shirt worn by Ronaldo, Raul and Emilio Butragueno.

Ancelotti plans to experiment with a system that exploits the attacking potential of Bellingham and Guler, with veteran striker also Joselu making a surprise return to his former club.

The 33-year-old journeyman, who played twice for Madrid in 2011, finished as the top-scoring Spaniard with 16 goals for Espanyol in the last La Liga season.

“For me, the squad has improved,” said Ancelotti. “We have lost a player who has been fundamental for years in Karim… a club legend. But we have a very young group that we are convinced will give us a lot of satisfaction.”

Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez has questioned whether he has enough depth for the upcoming season after a relatively quiet summer. That concern is even greater with the club unable as yet to register their new arrivals.

A year ago, the Catalan club’s board sold off various assets to raise enough money to comply with spending restrictions imposed on the club, but that didn’t stop them luring a raft of new signings including Robert Lewandowski.

Twelve months on, Barcelona have continued their recent policy of hiring experienced players at zero transfer cost, albeit fewer, bringing in Manchester City’s treble-winning captain Ilkay Gundogan.

They toyed with the idea of re-signing Lionel Messi, but the club’s perilous financial situation effectively ruled out a reunion and the Argentine instead moved to Inter Miami.

Centre-back Inigo Martinez has arrived from Athletic Bilbao, with Oriol Romeu returning to his boyhood club as what Barcelona hope will be a low-price replacement for Sergio Busquets.

The loss of the influential Busquets, who joined Messi and Jordi Alba in Miami this summer, is one of Xavi’s greatest worries.

“A player who has been so important for us, on and off the pitch… we have to find a very important player to replace Busquets,” Xavi said in May.

“We have to find this piece, if we want to compete well.”

French winger Ousmane Dembele is also poised to leave Barcelona after receiving an offer from PSG.

Atletico Madrid finished third last La Liga season, just a point behind their city rivals after a vastly improved second half, and hope a reinforced defence can strengthen their title prospects.

Cesar Azpilicueta signed from Chelsea, with Turkey’s Caglar Soyuncu arriving from Leicester and left-back Javi Galan moving from Celta Vigo.

Joao Felix, the club’s record signing in 2019, is not viewed as part of coach Diego Simeone’s plans following his return from an unsuccessful loan at Chelsea, and is expected to be offloaded.

Real Sociedad, who qualified for the Champions League, have brought in Portugal forward Andre Silva on loan following the retirement of Spain great David Silva after a serious knee injury suffered during pre-season.

Villarreal, fifth last term, are set for a rebuild after losing Nicolas Jackson and Pau Torres to the Premier League, and Samuel Chukwueze to AC Milan.

Granada are back in the top flight after securing promotion at the first attempt along with play-off winners Alaves, with Las Palmas returning after a five-year absence.

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MADRID: Real Madrid legend Karim Benzema netted a penalty in his farewell La Liga game at the Santiago Bernabeu but was unable to inspire his side to victory as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Athletic Club on Sunday.

Elsewhere Real Valladolid were relegated after a nil-nil draw with Getafe, while five other sides near the bottom were able to breathe a sigh of relief on the final matchday of the season.

Champions Barcelona end the La Liga 2022-23 with a 2-1 defeat at Celta Vigo, with Gabri Veiga’s brace ensuring that his side remains in the top flight next season.

Karim Benzema, who would leave Real Madrid after spending 14 years at the club, struck from the spot to level the game, before being substituted to great applause.

The draw ensured that Real Madrid would finish ahead of city rivals Atletico Madrid in second place as Diego Simeone’s side was held to a 2-2 draw at Villarreal on the final day.

Apart from Valladolid, Espanyol and Elche were also demoted from the top-tier Spanish League, occupying the last two spots on the table.

Almeria, on the other hand, survived the La Liga elimination on a thin margin, with Adri Embarba’s netting a penalty three minutes before time to earn his side a 3-3 draw against Espanyol.

Almeria finished 17th on the table with 41 points, only one point above the relegated Valladolid.

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BARCELONA: La Liga 2022/23 champions Barcelona put on a dominant show amid their 3-0 triumph over 10-man Mallorca while also saying goodbye to two club legends Jordi Alba and Sergio Busquets.

Ansu Fati gave Barcelona the best possible start as he struck the opener within the first minute of the action after a great passing sequence down the middle, Robert Lewandowski found Gavi with a delicate backheel flick, who then gave Fati an easy finish.

The home side enhanced their domination over the 12th-placed Mallorca, who were reduced to 10 men after Amath Ndiaye was sent off for a horrific tackle that injured Alejandro Balde.

Spain international Fati then doubled Barcelona’s lead in the 24th minute at the back of an excellent passing by the home side. Barcelona veteran Robert Lewandowski once again played his part in his side’s goal as he set up Fati for an easy finish with a stunning assist.

The La Liga champions went into the break with a 2-0 advantage over Mallorca with Fati leading the chart with twin strikes.

The second half of the fixture featured almost similar domination by Barcelona as the hosts relentlessly made several attempts and created plenty of significant chances against depleted Mallorca’s defence but failed to convert their domination into the third brace.

Barcelona then finally got the reward in the 70th minute of their outstanding show after a brilliant pass from Ousmane Dembele that found Gavi inside the box, who fired a left-footed rocket into the top corner to finally give Barcelona a much-deserved goal.

Barcelona captain Sergio Busquets and defender Jordi Alba also played in their side’s 3-0 win over Mallorca at home for the last time, in the club’s penultimate fixture of the ongoing season, and received warm farewells from the crowd.

Meanwhile, in other La Liga fixtures, Real Sociedad succumbed to a 1-2 loss against Atletico Madrid and yet sealed Champions League qualification for the next season as Villarreal lost 1-2 against Rayo Vallecano.

Whereas, Espanyol was relegated from the top division as a result of Valencia’s Samuel Lino scoring a dramatic equaliser in stoppage time to draw the game level at 2-2.

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SEVILLE: Rodrygo scored twice to earn Real Madrid a 2-1 win at Sevilla on Saturday in a La Liga match that was missing Karim Benzema, Vinicius Junior and Marco Asensio due to injuries.

Vinícius, who faced racial abuse last weekend at Valencia, did not travel with the team due to what coach Carlo Ancelotti described as a knee injury that also kept him from playing midweek against Rayo Vallecano.

His absence from the field comes amid an international outcry against racism that has reached his native Brazil.

With the win, second-placed Real moved to 77 points on the La Liga table, four ahead of city rivals and third-placed Atletico, who faces Real Sociedad on Sunday.

Barcelona have already won the championship with two games still left to be played.

Rafa Mir gave Sevilla an early lead within three minutes finishing off an initial shot by Bryan Gil that had hit a Madrid defender and fell to the striker in the area.

Rodrygo levelled in the 29th with a free kick that he fired around the side of the defensive barrier and caught goalkeeper Yassine Bounou off guard.

Érik Lamela almost put Sevilla back in front when he hit the post in the 36th.

Rodrygo scored his second in the 69th after Brazil forward received a ball from Toni Kroos on a counterattack and used a slick change of foot to guide past defender Gonzalo Montiel before beating Bounou.

Sevilla’s Marcos Ocuña was sent off for a direct red card in the 84th after his studs-first tackle on Dani Ceballos.

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Valencia’s punishment for their fans’ racist abuse of Real Madrid forward Vinicius Junior was reduced on Friday after the La Liga side appealed against it.

The Spanish side must close the south stand of their Mestalla stadium for three home matches instead of the five-game ban initially set by the Spanish football federation’s Competition Committee on Wednesday.

The fine was also reduced from 45,000 euros to 27,000 euros ($29,000) by the federation’s appeal committee.

Valencia host Espanyol on Sunday in La Liga in a vital match with both teams battling relegation, in which the stand will be closed.

Three Valencia fans were arrested after the 22-year-old Brazilian winger was abused last Sunday during Los Che’s 1-0 win over Madrid.

Sports stars and other personalities across the globe have offered Vinicius Junior their support in the days since, including many in his homeland Brazil.

Earlier this week, Spanish police arrested seven people Tuesday over two incidents of racial abuse targeting Real Madrid’s Brazilian star Vinicius Junior, including the latest one that sparked an international outcry.

The player was taunted by opposition fans since he joined Real in 2018 but the latest incident has kicked up a storm over whether Spain is doing enough to stamp out racism in football.

Early on Tuesday, police confirmed arresting three youths in Valencia for “insults and gestures with racist overtones” towards the player that amounted to “an alleged hate crime” during Sunday’s match.

The game was held up for several minutes and the referee wrote in his post-match report that shouts of “monkey” had been directed at Vinicius.

Police said the investigation remained open to identify further suspects.

In a statement, Valencia confirmed three fans had been arrested, reiterating its “strongest condemnation against racism and violence” and saying the club was acting against those involved “by banning them for life from our stadium”.

Also Tuesday, Madrid police arrested another four men suspected of hanging an effigy wearing a Real Madrid shirt with Vinicius’ number on it from a bridge in January.

The dummy was hung by the neck from a highway bridge near Real Madrid’s training ground on January 26 ahead of their match against Atletico Madrid.

Above it was a banner in Atletico’s red and white reading: “Madrid hates Real”.

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