MADRID • Thibaut Courtois overcame the toy rat insults and Gareth Bale delivered a timely reminder of his talents with his 100th goal for Real Madrid in Saturday's feisty derby victory that reignited their LaLiga hopes.
The 3-1 over Atletico Madrid - their fifth straight league win - helped Los Blancos leapfrog their city rivals into second place for the first time since September.
They are on 45 points, five behind Barcelona, who played at Athletic Bilbao in the late game yesterday.
Real continued their revival under Santiago Solari in another impressive performance at the Wanda Metropolitano, aided by some fortunate decisions.
"LaLiga is there to fight for, there are a lot of points to win and any team can make your life hard," said Real captain Sergio Ramos.
"Winning the league motivates us, it's a really balanced competition and we have to keep fighting for it and make life difficult for Barcelona."
Bale had been left out of the starting line-up for the second time in four days, after he was also a substitute against the Catalans in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday.
He ended the hosts' hopes of a comeback on 74 minutes after Ramos' penalty put Real in front at half-time, with Antoine Griezmann earlier cancelling out Casemiro's acrobatic opener.
The Welshman's goal was not lost on Solari, even if his celebration drew criticism, after he appeared to make an insulting gesture towards the Atletico fans.
"It's great for Gareth," said the coach. "He was very happy and happy about his goal, which helped decide the game, because the game was alive and he finished it."
By the time Atletico's Thomas Partey was sent off with 10 minutes left, the game was up and Courtois could have been forgiven for breathing a sigh of relief at the final whistle. The Belgian, who spent three years at Atletico, was playing in the white of Real for the first time at the home of his former club.
He was whistled during the warm-up and before kick-off, as the Atletico ultras behind the goal hurled dozens of toy rats towards his head. A sign read, "Thibaut - Rata", just to underline the point.
Alvaro Morata had gone the opposite way, also via Chelsea, after starting out at Real. He was cheered and, despite a quiet game, would have scored but for the video assistant referee (VAR) ruling out an impressive lob in the second half for offside.
The system was also involved in the penalty incident which saw Jose Gimenez dive in from behind on Real midfielder Vinicius.
The foul might have been outside the box, but the VAR disagreed.
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE, REUTERS
Watford's Gray strikes to sink Everton, pile pressure on Silva Soccer Football - Premier League - Watford v Everton - Vicarage Road, Watford, Britain - February 9, 2019 Everton's Kurt Zouma reacts
Watford's Andre Gray strikes to sink Everton, pile pressure
Japan failed to break down a determined and well-organised Argentine defence in Paris on Monday in the first goalless draw of the Women's World Cup. Argentina hold Japan for historic first World
Women's World Cup: Dogged Argentina Hold Japan to Goalless
LONDON: Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is relaxed about Mohamed Salah's goalscoring drought, saying the Egyptian forward remains a key part of the title chasers' attacking armoury. Salah, who scored 44 times in his maiden season at Anfield, has gone eight matches without finding the net but
Football: Klopp relaxed about Salah's Liverpool drought
For the second time in eight months, Singapore Premier League (SPL) club Warriors FC have had their work pass privileges suspended by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for violating the Employment Act..
Football: Singapore Premier League club Warriors barred from
reporter.sg/article/3137856/football-singapore-premier-league-club-warriors-barred-from-foreign-hires-by-ministry-of-manpower-for-second-time
Football: Singapore Premier League club Warriors barred from foreign hires by Ministry of Manpower for second time (17:53) Straits Times Sport May 21, 2019 5:53 PMSINGAPORE - For the second time in eight months, Singapore Premier League (SPL) club Warriors FC have had their work pass privileges suspended by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM) for
Former Singapore Premier League champions banned from signing
Arsenal face an uphill battle to progress in the Europa League after a 1-0 defeat by BATE Borisov in the last-32 first leg which saw Alexandre Lacazette sent off on Thursday.
BATE Borisov 1-0 Arsenal: Alexandre Lacazette sent off in
Father and son Fantasy football tips: Jamie Vardy's form and Leicester's upcoming Premier League fixtures will give you food for thought. Vardy's upturn in fortunes have coincided with the
Man held after gun ambush on police causes terror in street
Sergio Aguero's 14th hat-trick for Manchester City closed the gap on Premier League leaders Liverpool to only two points after victory over Arsenal at Etihad Stadium.Aguero - as he did in Monday's shock defeat at Newcastle United - put the reigning champions ahead inside the first
Sergio Aguero hat-trick gives Manchester City comfortable win
Jahanbakhsh on target as Iran ease past Oman into last eight Soccer Football - AFC Asian Cup - Round of 16 - Iran v Oman - Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - January
Jahanbakhsh on target as Iran ease past Oman into last eight
Heads, Toffees win, Football News & Top Stories - The Straits
Guardiola expects Man City to suffer in tricky trip to Newport (Reuters) - Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola predicts his side will "suffer" against fourth-tier Newport County in their FA Cup fifth round match on Saturday but has urged his players to adapt to a battered playing surface at Rodney Parade.
Soccer-Guardiola expects Man City to suffer in tricky trip to
Football: Jorginho fires Chelsea as recalled Kepa shines Chelsea's Jorginho celebrates scoring their second goal at Craven Cottage, London, Britain, on March 3, 2019. PHOTO: REUTERS
Jorginho fires Chelsea as recalled Kepa shines - guardian.ng
Qatar's present 23-man Asian Cup team consists of 14 players who are 25 or under. The oldest in the Qatar squad is a 30-year-old with the rest not being more than 28. Did this article give you a clearer overview of Felix Sanchez and the Qatar national football team? If yes, we'd love to hear from you!
Qatar vs Lebanon: WC 2022 hosts confident, says Sanchez
Ali on target as Qatar stun Japan to win first Asian Cup By Nick Mulvenney Soccer Football - AFC Asian Cup - Final - Japan v Qatar - Zayed Sports City Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates - February 1, 2019 Qatars Akram Afif celebrates scoring their third goal with Assim Madebo and team mates
Qatar stun Japan with 3-1 win to be crowned Asian Cup
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino says his team's first-half display at Liverpool was one from a side "not ready" to challenge for the title.
The latest odds on Spurs to win the Premier League title as
Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri has backed Gonzalo Higuain to earn a permanent move for Stamford Bridge next season. Higuain moved to Chelsea during the January transfer window on loan from Juventus, having spent the first half of the campaign with AC Milan, but has struggled to find his feet in the Premier League.
Higuain must earn permanent Chelsea deal - Sarri - World
worldsoccertalk.com/2019/01/23/higuain-must-earn-permanent-chelsea-deal-sarri/
Higuain must earn permanent Chelsea deal - Sarri AFP January 23, 2019 AFP No Comments London (AFP) - Chelsea manager Maurizio Sarri is confident Gonzalo Higuain can be the short-term solution to his side's need for goals and urged the Argentine to earn a permanent move to the Premier League.
0 comments:
Post a Comment