Leaders Real Madrid fight back to share points with Valencia

By Sports Desk March 02, 2024

LaLiga leaders Real Madrid came from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 with Valencia in an ill-tempered finish at the Mestalla that saw Jude Bellingham sent off after the final whistle.

The hosts scored two goals in four minutes midway through the first half from Hugo Duro and Roman Yaremchuk, but Vinicius Junior pulled one back on the stroke of half-time.

Vinicius then got a second in the 76th minute to level it up.

There was late drama as Valencia’s Mouctar Diakhaby suffered an apparently serious injury in the closing minutes. Moments after play restarted the referee pointed for a Valencia penalty after Nacho went flying in on Duro, but VAR came to Madrid’s rescue as the decision was overturned.

As the players went off, Bellingham was sent off, apparently for dissent, in what was his first match back after three games out with an ankle injury.

Youssef En-Nesyri’s early brace set Sevilla on their way to a 3-2 win over Real Sociedad.

Andre Silva pulled one back for the visitors in first-half stoppage time, but Sergio Ramos restored Sevilla’s two-goal advantage midway through the second half, with Brais Mendez’s late goal for Sociedad mere consolation.

Mason Greenwood was on the scoresheet as Getafe took a point from an entertaining 3-3 draw with Las Palmas.

Greenwood added to Jaime Mata’s early goal as the hosts roared into a two-goal lead inside 15 minutes. Sandro Ramirez pulled one back before Nemanja Maksimovic made it 3-1 at the break, but Las Palmas earned a point via second-half goals from Sergi Cardona and Munir El Haddadi.

Javi Hernandez’s stoppage-time goal cancelled out Florian Lejeune’s strike as Cadiz salvaged a point from a 1-1 draw at Rayo Vallecano.

Serhou Guirassy scored twice as Stuttgart won 3-2 at Wolfsburg to close the gap to second-placed Bayern Munich to four points.

Guirassy put Stuttgart in front after 14 minutes, and although Joakim Maehle levelled early in the second half, the Wolfsburg defender was soon guilty of fouling Enzo Millot in the box, giving Guirassy the opportunity to restore Stuttgart’s lead from the penalty spot.

Josha Vagnoman added a third in the 77th minute and they needed the cushion as Lukas Nmecha pulled one back for the hosts late on.

Borussia Dortmund remain fourth after goals from Karim Adeyemi and Ian Maatsen earned a 2-0 win at Union Berlin.

Leipzig stayed one point back in fifth with a 4-1 win at Bochum, who took a seventh minute lead though Maximilian Wittek but collapsed midway through the second half.

Dani Olmo levelled before the break, but three goals in five minutes from Lois Openda, Ivan Ordets and Yussuf Poulsen settled it before Bochum’s Moritz-Broni Kwarteng saw red late on.

Struggling Mainz took an early lead against Borussia Monchengladbach through Jonathan Burkhardt but could not hold on as Nathan N’Goumou levelled early in the second half, with Mainz’s Dominik Kohr sent off late on.

An embarrassing own goal from Benedikt Gimber helped Eintracht Frankfurt to a 2-1 win at Heidenheim, while Philip Tietz and Ermedin Demirovic scored two each as Augsburg thrashed Darmstadt 6-0.

Roma cruised to a 4-1 win over Monza. Lorenzo Pellegrini and Romelu Lukaku put them in control before half-time with Paulo Dybala adding a third before Leandro Paredes’ penalty. Andrea Carboni got a late consolation goal for the hosts.

Hassane Kamara struck in first-half stoppage time to cancel out Loum Tchanouna’s early goal as Udinese drew 1-1 with Salernitana, but the hosts finished with 10 men as Festy Ebosele saw red in the second half.

Torino and Fiorentina shared the points from a 0-0 draw in which Torino’s Samuele Ricci was sent off in first-half stoppage time.

Marseille had five different players on the scoresheet as they enjoyed a 5-1 away win at Clermont Foot.

Iliman Ndiaye got things started in the first half, and although Bilal Boutobba levelled early in the second half, Marseille seized control with strikes from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Jonathan Clauss, Luis Henrique and Faris Moumagna.

Jonathan David’s 56th minute strike earned Lille a 1-0 win away to Reims.

Related items

  • Dortmund have flown under the radar to reach Champions League final, says Terzic Dortmund have flown under the radar to reach Champions League final, says Terzic

    Borussia Dortmund have benefited from going under the radar during their "unbelievable road" to the Champions League final, according to head coach Edin Terzic.

    The Black and Yellow will play either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the showpiece on June 1, following a hard-earned 2-0 aggregate win over Paris Saint-Germain in the last four.

    Dortmund came into this season on the back of a bitter Bundesliga title loss on the final matchday of the previous campaign, with a 2-2 draw against Mainz handing the title to Bayern on goal difference.

    While Terzic's side have been unable to launch a genuine challenge on the domestic front this term - currently occupying fifth place and 24 points adrift of newly crowned champions Bayer Leverkusen - it has been a different story in Europe.

    "There is always a team that no one has on their radar that reaches the quarter-finals or the semi-finals," he said. "We wanted to be the team that were not necessarily on anyone's radar. That road has been unbelievable."

    Indeed, it has. Dortmund began their campaign with a 2-0 defeat at PSG and goalless draw at home to Milan, but recovered to top Group F before seeing off PSV and Atletico Madrid in the round of 16 and quarter-finals respectively.

    The 1997 Champions League winners then produced a defensive masterclass across both legs of their semi-final with PSG, to reach their first final since 2013.

    "After the second matchday, almost no one believed in us any more," said captain Emre Can, who made his 50th Champions League appearance during the second leg at Parc des Princes.

    "We only had one point after two matches, but we kept believing and that was the most important thing. Keeping two clean sheets in two matches against PSG is no mean feat."

  • Mbappe admits 'I didn't do enough' following PSG's Champions League exit Mbappe admits 'I didn't do enough' following PSG's Champions League exit

    Kylian Mbappe shouldered the blame for Paris Saint-Germain's 1-0 defeat to Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday, which saw them exit the Champions League semi-finals 2-0 on aggregate.

    Mbappe, who is set to leave PSG at the end of the season, was unable to inspire the Ligue 1 champions as they fell short in their latest quest to land the European crown.

    The France captain registered a game-high three shots on target and 12 touches in the opposition box during the second leg at Parc des Princes, but his tally of just 51 touches overall was the second-lowest recorded by any PSG player.

    And the 25-year-old admitted he should have made a more significant contribution towards his team's cause.

    "I tried to help my team as best as I could, but I didn't do enough," he said. "I'm the guy who should score goals and be decisive. When things are good, I take all the limelight and when they are not, you have to take the shadow.

    "That's not a problem. The first one who should have scored tonight was me. That's life, and we have to move on - me and the team."

    PSG enjoyed the lion's share of possession (69.5 per cent) during the second leg and registered four times as many shots as their opponents did (30 to seven), hitting the woodwork four times.

    "In decisive Champions League matches, when you're not effective in both boxes, it's difficult to get through to the next round," Mbappe added. "Even more so when we're talking about a final.

    "We're certainly disappointed, but it's not all doom and gloom. We need to build on that and keep working, because I'm sure we'll get there."

  • Luis Enrique 'proud' of PSG despite Champions League semi-final exit Luis Enrique 'proud' of PSG despite Champions League semi-final exit

    Luis Enrique expressed his pride at the efforts of his Paris Saint-Germain side, despite their Champions League exit at the hands of Borussia Dortmund.

    The Ligue 1 champions were knocked out in the semi-finals on Tuesday after a 2-0 aggregate loss to the Bundesliga giants, having hit the woodwork six times over the two legs - making it a record tally of 14 for the campaign - and managed 31 attempts at Parc des Princes.

    PSG missed a golden opportunity to reach their second Champions League final, but it is not all doom and gloom after a season of transition with a new coach.

    The Ligue 1 title is already in the bag with three matches remaining, and they have a Coupe de France final showdown with Lyon to come later this month.

    "We were not inferior over the two legs, but football rewards those who score - not those who hit the woodwork," Luis Enrique said.

    "My goal was to be fighting for all the titles. Tonight I'm proud of my team, of all the players."

    PSG have now lost all six legs of their three two-legged Champions League semi-finals, after double defeats against Milan in 1995 and Manchester City in 2021.

    The year they reached the final, in 2020, they beat RB Leipzig in a one-off semi-final after COVID-19 disrupted the season, before losing out in the final to Bayern Munich.

    This season started with a new coach in Luis Enrique and without Lionel Messi and Neymar, as club president Nasser al-Khelaifi put an emphasis on building a team over individual talents.

    While not always brilliant, PSG have looked like an organised outfit and the coach said he was already working on building a team without Kylian Mbappe, who is widely expected to leave at the end of the campaign.

    "The players and coach gave their all," Al-Khelaifi said. "Congratulations to Dortmund, we deserved better. It's a tough game. I'm proud of my team, the youngest in Europe.

    "We've reached the semi-finals three times in five years. That's not our objective; it's still the final. That's soccer; you have to accept it and sometimes it's not fair. We'll accept it."

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.