LaLiga Archives

Major Blow for Real Madrid as Kylian Mbappe suffers injury

Real Madrid on Wednesday said that Kylian Mbappe had suffered a knee sprain, delivering a blow to their bid to reel in LaLiga leaders Barcelona.

“After the tests carried out today on our player Kylian Mbappe by Real Madrid’s medical services, he was diagnosed with a sprain in his left knee. Awaiting evolution,” the club said in a statement.

Real Madrid did not indicate how long the 27-year-old striker would be out for, but a source close to the France superstar told AFP that he would be absent for at least three weeks.

Mbappe, the leading scorer in La Liga this season with 18 goals, is therefore a major doubt for Sunday’s league match at home to Real Betis, Los Merengues’ first after the winter break as they trail Barcelona by four points.

He could also miss the Spanish Super Cup semi-final against arch-rivals Atletico Madrid in Saudi Arabia on January 8, as well as a league fixture against Levante and a Champions League clash with former club Monaco.

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Real did not say when or how Mbappe was injured, however he had trained with the team on Tuesday.

He underwent an MRI scan on Wednesday.

Mbappe has enjoyed a stellar 2025, equalling Cristiano Ronaldo’s club record 59 goals in a calendar year, and has at times carried Real Madrid, relieving some pressure on under-fire coach Xabi Alonso.

He has scored 73 goals in 83 matches for Real since making a free transfer move to the Spanish giants from Paris Saint-Germain 18 months ago.

He finished top scorer in La Liga last season with 31 goals — four more than Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski — and is currently seven goals clear of the next best this season, Barca’s Ferran Torres.

His absence adds to those of Real defenders Daniel Carvajal, Eder Militao, Trent Alexander-Arnold, midfielder Federico Valverde, and forward Brahim Diaz who is at the Africa Cup of Nations with Morocco.

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Real Madrid with Benzema void to fill as La Liga returns

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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Depleted Madrid beat lowly Getafe in La Liga ahead of Man City clash

MADRID: Real Madrid geared up for their crucial Champions League semi-final clash against Manchester City with a 1-0 win over Getafe on Saturday in La Liga.

The slim victory lifted defending champions to 71 points and restored their second position on the table, two ahead of city rivals Atletico who play at bottom side Elche on Sunday.

With five games remaining, Leaders Barca have 82 points and will get the chance to clinch their 27th LaLiga crown with four games to spare when they face Espanyol on Sunday evening.

Barcelona top the table with 82 points and have a chance to claim their 27th La Liga title when they local rivals Espanyol on Sunday. They need a single victory out of their remaining five games to secure the crown.

Carlo Ancelotti rested his key players ahead of the decisive battle with Pep Guardiola’s City, following the 1-1 draw last Tuesday in Madrid.

Marco Asensio scored the lone goal in the 70th minute with a deflected strike from distance, in a dull game that witnessed very few chances.

Madrid’s Eduardo Camavinga was taken off in the final minutes limping with knee pain as fears surround the midfielder’s fitness ahead of Wednesday’s clash.

Earlier on Saturday, Villareal thrashed Atheltic Club 5-0 thanks to twin strikes from Nicolas Jackson and Alex Baena.

Osasuna beat Almeria 3-1 to take the ninth position with 47 points while Girona and Real Sociedad levelled 2-2 at Anoeta Stadium.

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Atletico thrash Cadiz 5-1 to go ahead of Real Madrid in LaLiga

MADRID: Atletico Madrid scored five goals for the second time in a row as they outclassed visitors Cadiz 5-1 on Wednesday to take second place in LaLiga standings, surpassing their city rivals Real Madrid.

With only five games left, Atletico jumped to 69 points, one clear of third-placed Real, who lost 2-0 at Real Sociedad on Tuesday.

Leaders Barcelona, who are 13 points ahead of Atletico, will have the chance to clinch their 27th La Liga title with a win in their next game against city rivals Espanyol on May 14.

The Catalan giants beat Osasuna 1-0 on Tuesday to move to 82 points at the top.

Antoine Griezmann scored twice in the first half, netting his first in just two minutes of the game, to give the home side at Metropolitano Stadium an electrifying start.

Alvaro Morata extended their lead right after the interval while Yannick Carrasco slotted their fourth from the penalty spot after Cadiz defender handled the ball inside the box.

One minute after Anthony Lozano scored the only goal for Cadiz in the 72nd, Nahuel Molina rounded off the scoring for Atletico with a close-range strike from a counter-attack.

Later on Wednesday, relegation-threatened Getafe defeated 13th-placed Celta Vigo 1-0 but were unable to exit the bottom three despite levelling on points with Valencia.

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Barcelona solidify LaLiga title claim after Real Madrid stunned at Sociedad

SAN SEBASTIAN: Barcelona closed in on winning their 27th La Liga title after a hard-fought 1-0 victory against Osasuna at Camp Nou and Real Madrid’s disappointing 2-0 loss at Real Sociedad on Saturday.

Jordi Alba scored the decider after 85 minutes of a see-saw contest as visitors Osasuna braved Barcelona’s solid attack despite getting reduced to 10-man in the 26th minute.

Later Madrid faced a powerful punch to their title defence as Sociedad came out dominantly at home, leaving the champions 14 points behind leaders Barcelona with five games remaining.

The results give Barca, who now moves to 83 points, the chance to bag their first LaLiga title since 2019 with a win in their next encounter against city rivals Espanyol on May 14. They only need a win in the remaining five games to clinch the title.

Real Madrid would only be able to reach 83 points if they win the rest of their games. However, they could slip to third place on Wednesday if their city rivals Atletico Madrid win their home match against lowly Cadiz.

Sociedad took control early in the game but were made to wait 47 minutes before scoring their first goal through Takefusa Kubo.

They doubled their lead in the 84th through 21-year-old forward Ander Barrenetxea, taking advantage of defender Dani Carvajal sent off on the hour mark for a second yellow card.

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Rayo shock LaLiga leaders Barca, Atletico celebrate anniversary in style

MADRID: Barcelona suffered a shock 2-1 defeat against Rayo Vallecano on Wednesday and wasted a golden chance to stretch their lead at the top of La Liga.

Atletico Madrid, on the other hand, celebrated their 120th anniversary in fashion as they beat Mallorca 3-1 to close in on city rivals Real Madrid with a difference of just two points.

Alvaro Garcia and Fran Garcia scored goals in each half to upset the lacklustre Barca, who still enjoy a healthy 11 points lead over second-placed Real.

With seven games to play, defending champions Real faced a severe jolt to their title hopes when they were stunned 4-2 at Girona on Tuesday.

Xavi’s side, however, are poised to win their first title since 2019 despite running out of luck at the end of the race as they won just one of their last four league matches – a close win over Atletico on Sunday.

Rayo lived up to the expectations at a sold-out Estadio de Vallecas as they broke the seven-game unbeaten streak of the Catalan giants in the league.

They proved to be the better side for most of the match and took the lead in the 19th minute after Sergio Camello tackled Gavi and quickly fed Alvaro Garcia who fired an unstoppable low shot past Barca goalkeeper.

Rayo doubled their lead in the 52nd minute thanks to a superb effort from Fran Garcia, who stole the ball from Frenkie de Jong in midfield and ripped through the Barca defence to finish with a fine touch past Ter Stegen.

Lewandowski scored the consolation goal for Barca in the 83rd minute.

Earlier Atletico put on an impressive show on their 120th anniversary with Antoine Griezmann assisting two of three goals scored by Rodrigo de Paul, Alvaro Morata and Yannick Carrasco.

Donned in special blue and white kits at home to mark the special occasion, Atletico faced an early setback as Matija Nastasic put Mallorca ahead after 20 minutes of play.

De Paul levelled right before the break after Predrag Rajkovic saved a shot from Griezmann, but the Frenchman crossed the rebound to his teammate.

The host then took the lead early in the second half when Morata fired a header home from Nahuel Molina’s cross.

Carrasco struck the third for his side after 77 minutes after Griezmann set him up with a fine lobbed pass.

Almeria moved up to 15th with a 2-1 win over 10-man Getafe, which left the hosts 17th, one point above the bottom three.

Celta Vigo earned a 1-0 win over rock-bottom Elche thanks to defender Joseph Aidoo’s diving header in the dying minutes of the game.

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Girona’s Castellanos scores four as Real suffer major upset in LaLiga

GIRONA: Valentin Castellanos scored four goals to shock defending champions Real Madrid as they lost 2-4 against Girona on Tuesday in a major setback to their fading LaLiga title hopes.

Castellanos became the first player to hit more than three goals in a LaLiga game against Real Madrid since Esteban Echavarria’s five goals for Real Oviedo in December 1947.

With seven games left, Real title chances slipped further into dismay as they sit second on the table with 65 points, 11 behind leader Barcelona, who can stretch their lead on Wednesday when they play Rayo Vallecano.

Girona moved to ninth place with 41 points.

The hosts took Madrid by surprise with their all-out attack right from the start, scoring the opener just 12 minutes into the match when unmarked Castellanos headed in from close range on a cross from Miguel Gutierrez.

Girona doubled their lead 12 minutes later when the Argentinian grabbed on to a long ball, pushed his way into the box and blasted low underneath Madrid keeper Andriy Lunin.

Real’s Vinicius Junior reduced the home side’s advantage to 2-1 in the 34th minute, heading in Marco Asensio’s cross.

Castellanos, however, regained the two-goal cushion for his side right after the break, netting home a right-footed half-volley after Real’s defence gave him room in the box.

The visitors repeated their mistake and left Castellanos alone inside the box when the 24-year-old headed in his fourth goal of the evening in the 62nd minute.

Madrid’s Lucas Vazquez hit a consolation goal from close range in the 85th minute.

Madrid has had a difficult time facing Girona this season since the reverse fixture at the Santiago Bernabeu ended 1-1 in October.

In another LaLiga fixture on Tuesday, Osasuna beat Cadiz 1-0 thanks to Ruben Garcia Santos’ winner in the 62nd minute.

Real Sociedad held Real Betis to a nil-nil draw at the latter’s home after 90 minutes of high-voltage action.

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Real Madrid bring down deficit to eight points as Barcelona await Atletico

MADRID: Marco Asensio and Eder Militao netted goals to steer Real Madrid to a 2-0 win against Celta at Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday and bring down Barcelona’s lead to eight points at the top of LaLiga.

Leader Barcelona have a chance to solidify their claim on the title with a game in hand as they host Atletico Madrid on Sunday.

In-form Atletico are flying high on an unbeaten 13-game streak and have won their last six encounters in LaLiga. They sit third on the table with 13 points behind Barca and five from Real.

With eight games left in the season, defending champions Real maintained their hopes by moving to 65 points. Celta are 12th in the standings with 36 points.

After a steady start, Real started to apply pressure midway through the first half and took the lead in the 42nd minute through Asensio. The Spanish international finished with a fine touch from the middle of the box after Vinicius passed him a low cross running from the left.

Defender Militao doubled the lead right after the break by diving at a corner kick from Asensio and headed the ball over the Celta goalkeeper.

Earlier hosts Valladolid beat Girona 1-0 thanks to Monchu’s decider in the first half.

Real Sociedad, on the other hand, edged past Rayo Vallecano 2-1 with an own goal by Florian Lejeune after Alexander Sorioth neutralized Rayo’s lead two minutes after Isi Palazon’s opener in the second half.

Meanhwile, Nico Williams and Oscar de Marcos scored goals in each half to give Bilbao a 2-1 win over Almeria and take the side to seventh place on the table.

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Amath strike gives Mallorca first win in seven LaLiga games

VIGO: Amath Ndiaye scored a first-half winner to give Mallorca a thrilling 1-0 win at Celta Vigo and ended his side’s winless streak in six straight LaLiga matches on Monday.

The win lifted Mallorca to 11th place in the standings with 37 points, one ahead of 12th-place Vigo. Barcelona lead the table with a comfortable advantage of 11 points over second-placed Real Madrid

Mallorca broke the deadlock in the 21st minute through Amath and then barred the home side from finding an equalizer. Vigo, on the other hand, were cut short to 10 men after Hugo Mallo’s sent off in the additional time.

With the victory, Mallorca also ended their seven-match winless streak in away matches, a run that started before the FIFA World Cup last year.

Celta Vigo next face Real Madrid on Sunday before Mallorca take on Getafe on the same day.

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Barcelona held at Getafe for second straight goalless draw in LaLiga

GETAFE: In an enthralling contest, Getafe earned a point as leaders Barcelona were held to a nil-nil draw twice a week in LaLiga on Sunday.

The Catalan Giants, who drew 0-0 with Girona on Monday, would not be happy with this week’s results yet they maintain a healthy lead over second-placed Real Madrid at the top of the standings.

With the current draw, their advantage is cut down to 11 points over arch-rivals, who beat Cadiz 2-0 on Saturday. However, there are still nine games left in the season.

Visitors Barca had two chances to break the deadlock in the 25th minute when Raphinha came close to the target but his shot struck the post before Alejandro Balde’s effort from the rebound also hit the woodwork.

Despite dominating the possession for most of the match, Barcelona looked unimpressive in their attack in the absence of injured players such as Pedri and Ousmane Dembele – two of their mainstays in creating chances this season.

Barcelona next play Atletico Madrid at Camp Nou on next Sunday while 15th-placed Getafe, who sit four points above the relegation zone, visit Mallorca on the same day.

Earlier, Girona thrashed bottom-placed Elche 2-0 at home to go ninth in the standings, thanks to goals in each half by Valentin Castellanos and Oriel Romeu.

In another LaLiga fixture yesterday Atletico Madrid edged past Almeria 2-1 after Antoine Griezmann scored twice in the first half.

Later Sevilla grabbed a sensational 2-0 win at Valencia, credit to Loic Bade and Suso’s strikes in the second half.

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