Laliga (Spain)

Veteran Kroos played his final league game for Madrid on Saturday, with a goalless draw against Real Betis hardly befitting of his illustrious time with the LaLiga champions.

The 34-year-old will still have one more appearance to come for Los Blancos in next Saturday's Champions League final against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley Stadium.

Yet having played for a final occasion at Madrid's storied home ground, Ancelotti was quick to praise Kroos.

"One of the greatest, obviously," Ancelotti told a press conference. "A very high-quality midfielder, with a fantastic character, with a small ego, very humble and always at the service of the team, very altruistic. What luck to have had him for 10 years.

"To do better than Kroos has done, in this team, is very complicated. He has made a very strong decision [to retire], because nobody could have imagined it, but he has shown a lot of character and to say goodbye like that is great.

"It is the farewell of a great football character and, I repeat, we have been lucky to have him here. Football has enjoyed a great player."

On his 306th LaLiga appearance, a tally bettered by only one other German (Bernd Schuster, with 316), Kroos bowed out in typical style, having the most touches (122), creating the most chances (three), playing the most passes (110) and completing the most passes (107) of any player on the pitch.

"I can only say thank you to all the Madridismo, to the club, to my team mates, to the stadium," Kroos told reporters after his Madrid farewell.

"I've always felt at home during these 10 years. I couldn't ask for more. They have been 10 unforgettable years.

"I was pretty strong until I saw my children, that moment killed me."

Kroos will end his playing days with the upcoming Euro 2024 tournament, where he will hope to guide hosts Germany to glory on home soil.

The 19-year-old suffered the injury playing for Spain in their Euro 2024 qualifier against Georgia on Sunday, limping off the pitch in the opening 25 minutes.

Barca said in a statement that tests carried out on Monday morning have shown he has “a complete tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee and an associated injury to the lateral meniscus”.

He will undergo surgery in the coming days.

The extent of the injury is a big blow for Barcelona, who are currently third in LaLiga, with Gavi having established himself as a key player in their squad since making his debut at 17 years old in August 2021, making 111 appearances already.

He won the league title with Barca last season and has played 15 times for them this term.

Spain went on to win the match against Georgia 3-1 and Barcelona team-mate Ferran Torres celebrated his second-half goal by holding Gavi’s shirt up.

Speaking after the match, Spain boss Luis de la Fuente described the win as “bittersweet”.

He said: “It’s one of the most bittersweet victories I’ve ever had. As far as I can remember, it’s the hardest, the bitterest of moments, to see an important player like Gavi sustain an injury like that.

“It’s a very difficult moment for the player, for his club, for the RFEF (Spanish Football Federation), for the national team and for all his team-mates. In the dressing room it felt like we had lost. This is the ugly side of football.

“Football is a risky activity occasionally, something we often forget to appreciate. It was an unfortunate incident, but Gavi was perfectly fit to play the game and it was just unlucky, really, really unlucky.”

Raphinha opened the scoring in the 20th minute with a fine breakaway goal before Joao Felix, Frenkie de Jong and Fermin Lopez wrapped up a comfortable win, which puts Xavi’s side a point above Girona who play on Monday night.

Getafe created the first real opening when Mason Greenwood cut inside onto his left foot at the edge of the penalty area and sent a low drive goalwards, which was well saved by Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.

Barca – who drew 1-1 away to Napoli in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday – took the lead in the 20th minute.

Raphinha ran onto a chipped pass behind the Getafe defence from right-back Jules Kounde and took the ball on into the area before dispatching a low shot into the bottom left corner.

The Brazilian then turned provider as his cross was almost turned in by Ilkay Gundogan, who just could not connect.

Raphinha missed a chance to double Barca’s lead five minutes before half-time when he was sent through on goal again, but this time crashed the ball over with Joao Felix in space for a square pass.

Getafe almost snatched an equaliser ahead of the break when defender Omar Alderete’s long-range strike saw Ter Stegen make an acrobatic catch.

The visitors made a bright start to the second half with Luis Milla seeing his curling shot pushed onto the post by Ter Stegen.

Barca, though, soon scored again in the 53rd minute.

Andreas Christensen was sent clear on the overlap down the right and his cross back through the penalty box was swept in by Felix.

Before Getafe could regroup, Barca had the ball in the net through Robert Lewandowski’s shot on the turn after being played in by Raphinha, but the goal was ruled out for offside.

Barca did get a third in the 61st minute.

De Jong pushed forwards and exchanged passes with Raphinha before drilling the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area.

With 15 minutes left, Getafe forward Borja Mayoral fired just wide before Barca added a fourth in stoppage time when Lopez tapped into an empty net after Vitor Roque’s effort was saved.

Victory for Ancelotti’s table-topping side will take them one step closer to reclaiming the league title.

And the manager wants them to bounce back from last week’s 1-1 draw with Rayo Vallecano.

“LaLiga is in our hands, we can’t slip up so every game is important,” Ancelotti told a press conference.

“We need the points to make the most of the advantage we’ve got.

“The team has worked well and we’ve had time to prepare for the match. I hope we can show our best tomorrow. We have built up a lead and we want to make it count.”

Madrid have lost just once in the league this season, against city rivals Atletico in September.

And Ancelotti called on his players not to let their levels drop now.

He added: “The form we have to show against Sevilla is what we’ve been doing all season long.

“We’ll have to be a solid, hungry and motivated unit. Sevilla are a team who will demand the best from us because they’re on a good run in the second half of the season.

“Two weeks ago I said we were moving towards the 80-point mark, which brings us closer to the title. However, that doesn’t mean we’ll win it because we know we need more points than that. But we’re close.”

Sergio Ramos, who spent 16 years at Madrid, will face his former club.

Ancelotti hailed Ramos’ leadership during a glowing career with the LaLiga giants which yielded 22 trophies.

He added: “Ramos comes back tomorrow and the Bernabeu will give him the warmest of welcomes. He deserves it because he’s a club legend. He’s been a wonderful captain, an example, with his immense character and personality.

“I’ve worked with captains like (Paolo) Maldini and (John) Terry too. These guys help create a fantastic atmosphere among the squad.”

Hazard won two Premier League titles at Stamford Bridge before moving to Real Madrid in 2019.

But the Belgian struggled with injuries and made just 76 appearances in four seasons at Real before leaving in the summer.

“You must listen to yourself and say stop at the right time,” he wrote on Instagram.

“After 16 years and more than 700 matches played, I have decided to end my career as a professional footballer.

“I was able to realise my dream, I have played and had fun on many pitches around the world.

“During my career I was lucky to meet great managers, coaches and team-mates – thank you to everyone for these great times, I will miss you all.

“I also want to thank the clubs I have played for: LOSC, Chelsea and Real Madrid; and thank the RBFA for my Belgian selection.

“A special thank you to my family, my friends, my advisers and the people who have been close to me in good times and bad.

“Finally, a huge thank you to you, my fans, who have followed me for all these years and for your encouragement everywhere I have played.

“Now is the time to enjoy my loved ones and have new experiences.
See you off the field soon my friends.”

Hazard scored 110 goals in 352 appearances for Chelsea after joining from Lille in 2012.

The 41-year-old goalkeeper began his career at Colo-Colo, before going on to feature for Real Sociedad, Barcelona, Manchester City and Real Betis.

The Chilean represented his national side 150 times after making his debut in 2004, winning two Copa America crowns, in 2015 and 2016.

“It is the moment to close a very important cycle in my life,” Bravo said on his social media accounts.

“I think I have made the right decision, a decision I thought long about.”

After beginning his career in Chile, Bravo moved to La Real in 2006, where he spent eight seasons, helping the club get promoted back to LaLiga in 2010.

He moved to Barcelona in the summer of 2014, and was their number one during successive victorious La Liga campaigns in 2014-15 and 2015-16.

Bravo moved to Manchester City in 2016, but a poor start led to him being dropped by manager Pep Guardiola for Willy Caballero later that season, though he still picked up a Premier League medal and two EFL Cup wins before leaving after his contract expired in 2020.

He returned to Spain with Betis for the latter part of his career, winning the Copa del Rey in 2022, and represented Chile at this year's Copa America.

Girona were looking to close the gap on league leaders Real Madrid – who drew 2-2 with Valencia on Saturday – but missed their chance to do so when Jose Copete smashed the home side in front just after the half-hour mark.

Fewer chances fell in the second period but the visitors were kept at bay by a Mallorca side who threw bodies on the line for a result – chances for Portu and Savio went begging as the hosts held on to climb further away from the drop zone.

The first chance of the match fell to Girona when Miguel Gutierrez’s cross found the head of Ivan Martinez inside the area but his header went straight to home goalkeeper Predrag Rajkovic.

Mallorca’s first meaningful attack came when Giovanni Gonzalez picked the ball up outside the area and fired from range but his shot kept rising above the crossbar.

Mallorca were knocking on the door for an opener and got their reward on the half-hour mark after a corner fell to Copete inside the box and he slammed the ball into the roof of the net for his first goal of the season.

Girona were looking to respond instantly and had a chance three minutes later – Savio looked to equalise in spectacular style but saw his effort go high and wide from outside the box.

Mallorca went into the break with a narrow one-goal lead and almost had a second four minutes after the interval but Antonio Raillo’s header from a Dani Rodriguez corner floated over the crossbar.

Chances were few and far between in the second period and while Girona shared most of the possession, their opponents looked to catch a second on the counter attack, this time Abdon Prats’ drilled effort whistled just wide of the far post.

Girona were beginning to look a lot more threatening and had a couple of openings when Portu’s goal-bound effort deflected over the crossbar before Savio saw one blocked behind in similar fashion, a couple of minutes later.

The away side continued to probe in the final minutes as Yan Couto opened up a chance inside the box and fired towards goal but Rajkovic had to be alert to tip the ball over the woodwork to condemn Girona to a third defeat in four.

Lewandowski scored 26 goals in 49 games across all competitions in 2023-24, though that was down on his total of 33 goals as Barcelona won LaLiga in his first season with the club in 2022-23.

With the Blaugrana finishing a distant second to Real Madrid in LaLiga and exiting the Champions League at the quarter-final stage, reports had suggested an attacking refresh could be in the offing.

Lewandowski – who is halfway through a four-year deal with the Catalan giants – was linked with a move to Fenerbahce, who appointed Mourinho as their head coach on Sunday.

However, the Poland international has not heard anything about a transfer, telling Sport: "Fenerbahce have not contacted me. I don't know anything about it."

Lewandowski will turn 36 shortly after LaLiga's 2024-25 campaign commences in mid-August. 

He was asked whether he might follow in the footsteps of Toni Kroos, who went out at the top of his game by helping Real Madrid win the Champions League in the final match of his club career on Saturday.

"My heart will tell me that moment. Before making a decision, I must first feel something," Lewandowski said. 

"I don't know when it will happen, it's difficult to determine it by myself. I need to hear my decision to be sure of it and now I don't have it.

"Physically I feel very good and that means I can't think about retirement. Maybe Toni Kroos felt that moment, but it's not the case for me. I'm realising that the hard work I've done and I'm still doing is paying off."

Lewandowski will hope Hansi Flick's arrival at Camp Nou helps him step things up next season, having registered an incredible 83 goals and 18 assists in 71 games under him at Bayern Munich, between November 2019 and June 2021.

The striker also set the Bundesliga's single-season goal record under Flick, netting 41 times in 29 league matches as they won the title in 2020-21. 

The Barcelona striker sustained a thigh injury in Monday's 2-1 friendly win over Turkiye and has been ruled out of Poland's opening match.

While Lewandowski will play no part against the Netherlands on Sunday, he will hope to be back to face both Austria and France in a tough looking Group D.

The former Bayern Munich ace turns 36 in August, but he is not yet thinking about retiring from duty with his national side.

"I cannot say that is yes or not," he told CNN. "It depends on many different things. 

"Physically, I am feeling very well. I don't see many differences, especially in this year, than before.

"But if I feel something inside, in my heart, saying maybe it's time to say goodbye, then I know that the time is coming.

"Until now, I didn't feel this kind of feeling, so it's still not this kind of way that I am thinking about this."

Poland are competing at their fourth successive European Championship after beating Wales on penalties in their play-off final in March.

Only once have they advanced through the group stage in those most recent three appearances, but Lewandowski is hopeful his side can make an impact in Germany.

"I think we can play good football," he said. "We know that we are not the favourites in the group stage.

"But I remember the last World Cup, we played the first half against France really well. I think we surprised them. I hope that we will also surprise them now at the Euros.

"[France] are so strong, even if they put a second or third XI out, still they can fight to win Europe. But you have to believe.

"If we are playing as a team, that are going in one direction, really we can achieve something. I don't know what that means in the end, but in football, everything is possible."

The Croatia international fired home from the edge of the box in the 81st minute to maintain Real’s five-point lead over Barcelona at the summit.

Sixth-placed Real Betis are now seven points behind fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao in the table after beating the 10-man Lions 3-1.

Ezequiel Avila’s strike and Yuri Berchiche’s own goal sent Betis ahead before Nico Williams was sent off in the 40th minute.

Gorka Guruzeta pulled one back for the Basque side, but Johnny Cardoso wrapped up victory for Betis in the 67th minute.

Strugglers Cadiz and Celta Vigo drew 2-2, while Las Palmas and Osasuna settled for a 1-1 draw.

Inter Milan continued their unbeaten start to 2024 with a 4-0 triumph over Lecce in Serie A.

Lautaro Martinez scored twice alongside goals from Davide Frattesi and Stefan De Vrij for Inter to extend their winning run to 10 games in all competitions.

They remain nine points ahead of Juventus, who were rescued by Daniele Rugani’s late stoppage-time goal to beat Frosinone 3-2 after initially taking the lead through Dusan Vlahovic’s double.

A late goal also denied Napoli victory as Zito Luvumbo cancelled out Victor Osimhen’s second-half goal for the reigning Serie A champions in a 1-1 draw with Cagliari.

Teun Koopmeiners’ penalty kept Atalanta in the race for Serie A’s top four as he cancelled out Rafael Leao’s opener in a 1-1 draw with AC Milan.

Paris St Germain needed a late penalty from Goncalo Ramos to rescue a point as they drew 1-1 with Rennes in Ligue 1.

A stunning effort from Amine Gouiri fired the visitors in front and the hosts looked destined for a second league defeat this season before Ramos scored from the spot deep into stoppage time, ensuring PSG sit 11 points clear at the top of the table.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice as Marseille beat struggling Montpellier 4-1 at the Orange Velodrome.

The visitors had gone in front five minutes in through Mousa Al-Tamari but Iliman Ndiaye equalised before former Arsenal striker Aubameyang netted either side of the break, with Falaye Sacko’s own goal piling more misery on Montpellier.

Nice’s goalless draw with bottom-of-the-table Clemont saw Monaco move into third, but they also needed a late goal to beat Lens 3-2.

They took the lead through Folarin Balogun and Brice Samba’s own goal, but Lens fought back with goals from Elye Wahi and Wesley Said before former Liverpool forward Takumi Minamino found the winner in added time.

Lille were handed a shock after being beaten 3-1 by Toulouse, while 10-man Reims earned their first win in five league games by beating Le Havre 2-1.

Maximilian Beier’s quick double helped Hoffenheim move up into seventh in the Bundesliga table after beating Borussia Dortmund 3-2.

Hoffenheim got off to the perfect start when Ihlas Bebou put them ahead just two minutes into the game, but Donyell Malen and Nico Schlotterbeck scored within four minutes of each other to hand Dortmund the lead going into half-time.

Beier then struck in the 61st and 64th minute to snatch victory for Hoffenheim, who are now four points behind Eintracht Frankfurt after they drew 2-2 with Wolfsburg.

Philipp Max cancelled out Maxence Lacroix’s opener before Kevin Behrens restored Wolfsburg’s lead, but Omar Marmoush levelled against his former club two minutes into stoppage time.

Augsburg ended their four-game winless run after second-half goals from Felix Uduokhai and Arne Engels handed them a 2-1 win against SC Freiburg.

Germany duo Toni Kroos and Rudiger helped Madrid to their record-extending 15th Champions League crown last Saturday, defeating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in the final.

That European glory added to this season's LaLiga success for Los Blancos, who continue to power on as a title-winning machine under the tutelage of veteran coach Carlo Ancelotti.

With Germany's Euro 2024 opener against Scotland less than two weeks away, Rudiger hopes to embed his club's efforts into Nagelsmann's national side.

"These are two different pairs of shoes," Rudiger said on Wednesday, referring to the difference between Germany and Madrid.

"Here we have a very good system that fits our game but what we can take with us from Madrid is that killer instinct.

"Our last game against Ukraine was super good. I have not seen a 0-0 from us in quite some time that was so good but the thing that was missing was the goals and that is what we can learn from Madrid."

Germany were wasteful in that Ukraine draw on Monday, producing a similar performance as to those in their back-to-back group-stage exits at the World Cup in 2018 and four years later.

They face Greece on Friday in their final warm-up match before the European Championship, where they meet Scotland, Hungary and Switzerland in Group A.

"The anticipation in our own country is huge," Rudiger added. "On Friday we have an important last test. It is important for our confidence. It is important to excite our fans in this final test.

"We have to be humble. We all know what happened in the past tournaments. The road to get here had ups and downs.

"What is important is to play a very good first game and then see what happens in the rest of the tournament."

As for Rudiger's own role within Germany's national setup, Nagelsmann wants the centre-back to guide his side through the tournament.

"Julian said that I should be a leader in my role," Rudiger concluded.

The former Barcelona midfielder announced in January that he would walk away from the job at the end of the current season, even though his contract was due to run until the end of the following term.

Xavi acknowledged the Barcelona role had taken its toll but reportedly changed his plans after a meeting with Blaugrana president Joan Laporta on Wednesday.

The 44-year-old was initially appointed as Barca coach in 2021 before leading the LaLiga giants to the top-flight title in the 2022-23 campaign.

Xavi's initial announcement of his intentions to depart Barcelona came after a tough period following defeats to Girona, Real Madrid and Athletic Club before revealing the news in the aftermath of a 5-3 loss to Villarreal.

The Blaugrana turned their fortunes around after that decision became public, though, going 13 games unbeaten across all competitions.

Unsurprisingly, that run encouraged Laporta, vice president Rafa Yuste and sporting director Deco to plead with Xavi to continue until the end of his agreed contract.

Though that undefeated streak ended with a 4-1 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain that dumped Barcelona out of the Champions League quarter-finals, Xavi has now agreed to stay in his role.

The league title is almost out of reach this term, however, as Real Madrid moved 11 points clear of second-placed Barca with Sunday's 3-2 Clasico victory.

Following a humbling 3-5 defeat to LaLiga strugglers Villarreal on Saturday, Xavi confirmed he would be quitting his post at Barcelona at the end of the campaign.

Xavi's decision came just four months after he agreed to extend his contract with the Blaugrana until 2025.

While Xavi has pointed to media criticism and Barca's financial struggles as the reasons for walking away, his team - the reigning LaLiga champions - have slipped off dramatically this season.

In recent weeks, Barca have been hammered by Real Madrid in the final of the Supercopa de Espana, and lost to Athletic Bilbao in the Copa del Rey, while their hopes of retaining the league title are growing increasingly slim.

But where has it all gone wrong? 

2022-23: Two trophies but European failure

After a second-placed finish in 2021-22, Barca recruited heavily for Xavi's first full season in charge, despite their financial difficulties, as they looked to usher in success in the post-Lionel Messi era.

Robert Lewandowski arrived from Bayern Munich, with Barca spending €45million on a soon-to-be 34-year-old to rejuvenate their attack. Raphinha and Joules Kounde also signed in big-money moves, with Andreas Christensen, Hector Bellerin, Marcos Alonso and Franck Kessie joining on free transfers.

Ultimately, their business paid off. Barca won LaLiga at a canter, finishing 10 points clear of Madrid, while also defeating Los Blancos in the Supercopa de Espana final.

Xavi's success was built on a rock-solid defence: Barca conceded only 20 goals in LaLiga, 13 fewer than any other side, at an average of 0.5 per game. Their expected goals against (xGA) of 33.9 was also the second-lowest in the division, with only Real Sociedad (33.3) managing a lower total. However, that overperformance of 13.9 also suggested that defensive solidity may not have been sustainable.

That being said, Barca only faced 331 shots across 38 league matches – 8.7 per game on average – again, the lowest tally in LaLiga. They faced 56 shots fewer than any other side (Celta Vigo – 387), while they allowed 91 less than Real Madrid (422). The Blaugrana also faced fewer shots on target (109) than any other team in Spain's top tier.

Going the other way, only Madrid (75), scored more goals in LaLiga last season than Barca (70), though Xavi’s team did underperform their xG (77) despite having Lewandowski in fine form. The Poland international netted 23 goals from a non-penalty xG of 23.8, with an impressive shot conversion rate of 17 per cent. 

Yet in Europe, Barca could not get going. They lost three of their six group-stage matches, only managing to win against Viktoria Plzen (home and away), as their inadequacies were shown up by Bayern Munich and Inter. The Blaugrana could not even secure a Europa League place as consolidation, as they lost 4-3 to Manchester United over a two-legged play-off.

2023-24: Misfiring in attack and underperforming at the back

So, where has it gone wrong this season? Well, rather than conceding fewer goals than they should have done, Barca are now conceding more than they ought to have done based on the quality of shots they have faced and opportunities they have given up.

Barca have shipped 29 goals from their 21 LaLiga matches – only seven sides in the competition have conceded more goals so far this term. They are averaging 1.3 goals against per match.

Yet their 23.6 xGA is the third-lowest in LaLiga – essentially, Barca have conceded five goals more than would have been anticipated based on the quality of opportunities their opponents have created.

Barca have only faced 225 shots, which is a total bettered by only Madrid (217) and Valencia (212). However, their average of 10.7 shots conceded per game is already two higher than it was over the entirety of last season.

At the other end, Xavi's side have mustered the highest xG in the top flight (49), yet they have only managed 43 goals. That is still the third-highest total in LaLiga, but it is a clear and sizeable underperformance.

Even the ever-reliable Lewandowski has suffered. Now 35, he has scored six non-penalty goals from a non-penalty xG of 10.3, while his shot conversion rate has dropped to 13.3 per cent.

All in all, it could be far worse, and Barca have also been hit by injuries to the likes of Pedri and Gavi.

Bad fortune and poor finishing are part of the problem, but ultimately, it is a coach's job to fix it. Xavi looks to be running out of ideas, so calling it quits was perhaps inevitable.