MADRID: Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez praised rivals Real Madrid ahead of their Clasico showdown in La Liga on Sunday.
Los Blancos lead the Spanish top flight by eight points with champions Barcelona needing a victory at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday to stand any chance of retaining the trophy.
After Barcelona crashed out of the Champions League against Paris Saint-Germain and Madrid beat holders Manchester City in midweek, Xavi acknowledged the record 14-time winners’ quality.
“When you have won so many times you play with more calm, less desperation, more confidence, they are a very good team,” Xavi told a news conference Saturday.
“In the end people say it’s luck, I don’t believe much in luck — I think it’s effort, defensive work, the solidarity they showed, everyone working so hard.
“The three up front worked harder than ever, Man City missed some clear chances but that’s football, it’s not luck that Madrid have knocked out the best team in the world twice in three years.”
Xavi said he was not throwing in the towel in La Liga despite Madrid’s significant advantage.
“For us it’s the most important game of the season, we have to win to put pressure on the leader,” he added.
“We have enormous respect for Real Madrid, they’ve lost just one game out of 31, their numbers are extraordinary.
“We don’t have bad numbers in La Liga, we’ve got four points less than when we were leaders last season (at this stage).”
Xavi’s counterpart at Madrid, Carlo Ancelotti, said his team could strike a killer blow in the title race.
“It’s a great chance for us to get closer to winning La Liga, but we know it’s hard because Barcelona are a very competitive side,” said the Italian.
“We are very close if we are capable of winning ... it will be the usual Clasico, a hard-fought, equal game.”
Ancelotti said defender Ferland Mendy was tired after the win over City and was given an extra day of rest, but the rest of his squad was fit, beyond the long-term absentees.
Madrid are aiming to win a league and Champions League double for the fifth time in their history.
“The cake is prepared and we have to put the cherry on top this month,” said Ancelotti. “We’re very well positioned.”
Barca coach Xavi hails rivals Madrid ahead of Clasico
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Barca coach Xavi hails rivals Madrid ahead of Clasico
- “When you have won so many times you play with more calm, less desperation, more confidence, they are a very good team,” Xavi said
- “In the end people say it’s luck, I don’t believe much in luck — I think it’s effort, defensive work, the solidarity they showed, everyone working so hard”
Barca overturn Man City to top Women’s Champions League group
BARCELONA: Holders Barcelona beat Manchester City 3-0 in the Women’s Champions League on Wednesday to pip their opponents to top spot in their group.
Claudia Pina opened the scoring for the dominant three-time champions late in the first half, before double Ballon d’Or winners Aitana Bonmati and Alexia Putellas assured Barcelona of first place in Group D.
Both sides had already qualified for the quarter-finals but the question of who would claim the kinder draw in the knockouts was still to be decided when the teams met in Catalonia.
The hosts dominated from the get-go with Salma Paralluelo, Ewa Pajor and Esmee Brugts going close.
Bonmati nearly caught out Khiara Keating on 27 minutes with a chipped effort from distance, but the ball just skipped wide of the far post with the goalkeeper stranded.
Keating was on form and kept City level with a fine save to tip over Brugts’ curling effort just after the half-hour.
The visitors nearly caught Barcelona with a sucker-punch when Jill Roord found space 30 yards out and rattled the crossbar.
But Keating was again soon called into action to deny Pajor one-on-one as City tried desperately to keep the hosts at bay going into half-time.
Pina finally made the breakthrough with a clinical finish after the ball ricocheted to her in the box one minute before the break.
Even at 1-0 down, the English side were still set to go through as group winners thanks to their 2-0 victory in the reverse fixture at the start of October.
Bonmati, a day after claiming her second FIFA Best award, showed her class in the 57th minute as she raced clear, held off a defender and slotted through the legs of Keating to send Barcelona top of the group on goal difference.
Substitute Putellas made the victory safe for the Catalans shortly after coming off the bench with a deflected strike from outside the box on 69 minutes.
In Vienna, Hammarby of Sweden beat Austrians St. Poelten 2-1 to finish third in the pool.
Later, Arsenal host Bayern Munich with top spot in Group C at stake.
Vinicius and Bonmati named FIFA Best players of the year
- The award comes two months after 24-year-old Vinicius was second in the Ballon d’Or, with Real electing to snub the ceremony when they found out beforehand that Manchester City midfielder Rodri was set to win the trophy
- The 26-year-old Spaniard Bonmati picked up the Best women’s player award for the second year running, adding to the two Ballon d’Or trophies she already boasts
DOHA: Real Madrid attacker Vinicius Junior won the FIFA Best men’s player of the year award at a ceremony in Doha on Tuesday, while Barcelona midfielder Aitana Bonmati picked up the women’s prize for the second time.
The award comes two months after 24-year-old Vinicius was second in the Ballon d’Or, with Real electing to snub the ceremony when they found out beforehand that Manchester City midfielder Rodri was set to win the trophy.
But the Brazilian was this time on hand to collect the prize in person as he is in Qatar with his club ahead of their Intercontinental Cup final clash with Mexico’s Pachuca on Wednesday.
“Thank you very much. I don’t know where to start. It was impossible to think of getting here. I grew up in a world of poverty, of organized crime. It’s for all the children who grow up in that world. I thank everyone who voted for me,” Vinicius said on stage.
“(Thank you) To my family, to the club, to my teammates, to Carletto (Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti), who always helps me.
“To everyone who helped make my dream come true. I hope to be at Madrid for many years, because it is the best club in the world. To Flamengo (his first club in Brazil). To my teammates in my national team. And to my country, which always supports me in my work.”
Vinicius succeeds Lionel Messi as the FIFA Best men’s player after the Argentinian scooped up the last two editions of the award.
The live wire forward scored 24 goals and laid on 11 assists in 39 matches across all competitions as he led Real to a La Liga and Champions League double last season.
Having already wrapped up his third La Liga title in May, Vinicius secured the second Champions League trophy of his career as Real beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 on June 1.
Vinicius was on the scoresheet at Wembley with a pinpoint finish inside the final 10 minutes to make the game safe for his team.
If Vinicius at times played second fiddle to clubmate Jude Bellingham in La Liga, he was undoubtedly the main man for Madrid in Europe once the going got serious.
He was the top scorer for the Champions League winners with six goals in the competition, including the strike in the final and a brace in Madrid’s 4-3 aggregate win over Bayern Munich in the semifinals.
He also scored a hat trick in a 4-1 victory in the final of the Supercopa against arch-rivals Barcelona in January.
But it was not all plain sailing last season for Vinicius as he endured a disappointing Copa America with the Brazilian national team over the summer.
He scored two goals in a group-stage win against Paraguay, but his side ultimately crashed out on penalties to Uruguay in the quarter-finals.
The 26-year-old Spaniard Bonmati picked up the Best women’s player award for the second year running, adding to the two Ballon d’Or trophies she already boasts.
“I’m grateful, I’m proud to receive this award,” Bonmati said via video link from Barcelona’s Olympic stadium.
Last term, Bonmati led Barcelona to a historic continental quadruple of titles and claimed the Nations League with her national team.
She won every trophy available to her in club football in 2023/24 — the Spanish league, the Copa de la Reina, the Supercopa de Espana and a second successive Women’s Champions League.
Bonmati scored a goal and put in a player-of-the-match performance as Barcelona beat Lyon 2-0 in the final of the Champions League to claim their third title in four seasons.
Manchester United’s Argentine forward Alejandro Garnacho won the Puskas award for the best goal of the year for his spectacular bicycle kick against Everton in the Premier League.
Koopmeiners stunner sends Juventus into Italian Cup quarterfinals
- Juve join Lazio, Empoli, Bologna and AC Milan in the next stage of the cup
- Serie A leaders Atalanta are in action on Wednesday against Cesena, while Roma take on Sampdoria
MILAN: Holders Juventus progressed to the quarterfinals of the Italian Cup with a 4-0 win at home to Cagliari on Tuesday.
Dusan Vlahovic slotted home a first half opener, before Teun Koopmeiners wrapped up the last-16 tie for the 15-time winners with a sensational free kick from distance.
Francisco Conceicao and Nico Gonzalez netted late to underline an emphatic performance by the Old Lady.
“It was a good performance,” Juve coach Thiago Motta told Canale 5.
“These lads are going through a tough situation in the right way, giving their all in every training session,” he added of his players who have endured a stop-start domestic campaign as they sit sixth in the league table.
Juve join Lazio, Empoli, Bologna and AC Milan in the next stage of the cup.
Serie A leaders Atalanta are in action on Wednesday against Cesena, while Roma take on Sampdoria.
Reigning Scudetto champions Inter Milan complete the round of 16 when they host Udinese on Thursday.
In Turin, Vlahovic put the home side in front one minute before half-time when he swivelled smartly on a pass to feet from Kenan Yildiz and rolled the ball into the far corner.
Summer signing Koopmeiners then notched up his second goal for Juve with an unstoppable left-footed free-kick from 25 meters out in the 53rd minute.
Vlahovic had the ball in the net twice more for Juve as they pressed forward in search of a third, but was on both occasions denied by the assistant’s flag for offside.
Conceicao eventually made it three on 80 minutes with a whipped finish after cutting in from the right flank and Gonzalez chipped home a fourth with one minute remaining.
Chelsea, Lyon top Women’s Champions League groups with perfect records
- The wins meant Chelsea and Lyon became the third and fourth sides in the history of the competition to register a perfect set of results in the group stage
MADRID: Catarina Macario scored two penalties in the space of five second-half minutes to lead Chelsea to a 2-1 comeback over Real Madrid in the Women’s Champions League on Tuesday and confirm their status as group winners.
Eight-time winners Lyon edged Wolfsburg 1-0 thanks to a late Danielle van de Donk goal to complete their perfect record in Group A.
The wins meant Chelsea and Lyon became the third and fourth sides in the history of the competition to register a perfect set of results in the group stage.
Introduced at half-time in Madrid with her side trailing to Caroline Weir’s early opener for the hosts, 25-year-old Macario showed composure to convert twice from 12 yards and send Chelsea six points clear of their opponents on the last matchday of Group B.
“We were not very happy with our performance in the first half,” said Chelsea manager Sonia Bompastor.
“We all sat down together at half-time and told ourselves that we had nothing to lose. We have a strong mentality, and that’s important to win games.”
Weir’s dinked finish in the seventh minute had Real going through to the quarter-finals as group winners on overall goal difference.
But Macario flipped the pool on its head by levelling six minutes after coming onto the pitch and then completing the comeback on 56 minutes.
“Macario is a world-class player, she changed the game. She showed a lot of confidence by scoring those two penalties,” said Bompastor.
Real captain Olga Carmona — the scorer of the winning goal in the 2023 World Cup final for Spain against England — was the player who offered the English champions their way back into the tie.
She felled Macario to concede the first spot-kick, before later being penalized for a handball in the box.
The result means Chelsea have now won their last nine group games in the Champions League, going back to last season.
In the pool’s other match, Dutch side Twente condemned Celtic to a sixth defeat in six outings as they won 3-0 in Enschede.
Lyon were already assured of top spot in their group but still laid down a statement before the quarter-finals by beating Wolfsburg to ensure they finished nine points ahead of the second-placed Germans.
Dutch midfielder Van de Donk made it a perfect tournament so far for the French side with a flicked finish nine minutes from the full-time whistle.
Roma finished level on points with Wolfsburg by beating Galatasaray 3-0 in the Italian capital, but were already eliminated before kick-off due to their worse head-to-head record.
Inter stun Lazio 6-0 to remind rivals of their title aspirations in Serie A
- Lazio started the game without regular defender Alessio Romagnoli and Samuel Gigot replaced center half Matias Gila midway through the first half
- The result meant Inter were alone in third place, three points behind leaders Atalanta and one behind Napoli with a game in hand
ROME: Inter Milan scored four times in a 12-minute spell either side of halftime and added another couple late on to rout Lazio 6-0 in a lopsided contest of Serie A title contenders on Monday.
Lazio were unbeaten at home in Serie A and they matched Inter for most of the first half in front of their own fans at the Stadio Olimpico.
However, four minutes from halftime Hakan Çalhanoglu put Inter ahead from the penalty spot and Federico Dimarco doubled the lead seconds before the break when he volleyed home a cross from Denzel Dumfries.
Lazio started the game without regular defender Alessio Romagnoli and Samuel Gigot replaced center half Matias Gila midway through the first half.
When Gigot was forced off at halftime coach Marco Baroni was forced to reshuffle his back four again but the lack of experienced heads in the center of defense was evident from the restart.
Nicolo Barella made it 3-0 six minutes into the second half with a sumptuous 30-meter volley and Dumfries rose above everyone to head home the fourth two minutes later.
Carlos Augusto showed some nice footwork in the box to make it 5-0 in the 77th minute and Marcus Thuram got his 11th goal of the season in the final minute to heap on the misery for the home side.
The result meant Inter were alone in third place, three points behind leaders Atalanta and one behind Napoli with a game in hand.
Lazio remained fifth.
