Defender Alejandro Balde is confident Barcelona can end their Rayo Vallecano “curse” on Saturday.
The reigning LaLiga champions have not beaten Rayo in four attempts and will hope to put the record straight when they head for the Estadio de Vallecas this weekend.
Balde told the club’s official website: “This is an important match for the team. We haven’t beaten Rayo Vallecano for two years and I think a win on Saturday will break the curse of not winning.
“The start of the season was good. We are in third place in the league and we are already close to qualifying for [the knockout stage of] the Champions League.
“We are four points away from the top, but the season is still long and anything can happen.”
Three of those four winless games against Rayo have come since Xavi replaced Ronald Koeman at the helm in November 2021.
Barca go into the game having lost two of their last four in all competitions, a 2-1 El Clasico defeat by Real Madrid and a shock 1-0 Champions League reverse at Shakhtar Donetsk, but lying third in the table two points behind Real and four adrift of leaders Girona.
However, they do so having lost the services of 19-year-old midfield star Gavi, who is not expected to play again this season after suffering anterior cruciate ligament damage on international duty with Spain.
Frenkie De Jong is closing in on a return from an ankle injury which has sidelined him since the end of September, while keeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen is a doubt.
Asked about Gavi, Balde said: “I send him a lot of support. It is a very difficult and long injury, and the most important thing is for him to be patient because he must recover well because the team will need him.
“We are losing a great player, a key player in the team, we are losing his ferocity.”
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Rayo, who have won only one of their last eight league games, but drawn six of them, complete a run of fixtures against the top three which has seen them draw 0-0 at Real Madrid before losing 2-1 at home to Girona despite taking an early lead.
Manager Francisco told a press conference: “We respect our rival a lot. They are one of the best in Europe and the world.
“We have to do what we have been doing, be brave and try to take advantage of the moments we have.”
What the papers say
The Daily Mail says Tottenham midfielder Giovani Lo Celso has emerged as a loan option for Barcelona to fill their Gavi-shaped gap. The Spanish side are reportedly unlikely to look for a permanent replacement after they received £6million in compensation from FIFA following the Spain international’s knee injury.
According to the Mirror, Portuguese midfielder Fabio Vieira could get the green light from Arsenal to join Marseille on loan.
Chelsea are keen to part with Romelu Lukaku in the summer transfer window, with Italian side Roma eager to make the 30-year-old’s loan move permanent, the Evening Standard reports.
Social media round-upPlayers to watch
Gleison Bremer: The Juventus and Brazil centre-back is reportedly keen to move to the Premier League, as per the Telegraph.
Dusan Vlahovic: The 23-year-old Serbian striker is looking to sign a contract extension at Juve, 90min reports, even though there is rumoured interest from Arsenal and Manchester United.
Barcelona midfielder Gavi has torn the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee, the club have confirmed.
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.”
Robert Lewandowski got Barcelona out of jail as Alaves threatened to pile on further misery for the reigning LaLiga champions.
The 35-year-old Poland international headed home a second-half equaliser after Samu Omorodion had fired the visitors in front with just 18 seconds gone and then converted a late penalty to ensure an eventful afternoon at the Estadio Olimpico ended 2-1 to the hosts.
However, Samu was left to reflect on what might have been after passing up three further chances to add to his tally as Barca, who were without influential duo Gavi and Frenkie de Jong, turned in an abject first-half display before finally finding their feet.
The home side kicked off under some pressure after their their midweek Champions League defeat at Shakhtar Donetsk, which came in the wake of their El Clasico reverse and an unconvincing league win over Real Sociedad.
And they could hardly have got off to a worse start as they conceded inside the opening minute.
Ilkay Gundogan was robbed by Jon Guridi inside the Alaves half and he carved his way deep into Barca territory before picking out Javi Lopez, whose cross was swept past keeper Marc Andre ter Stegen by the 19-year-old Samu.
Things could have been significantly worse for Xavi’s men amid a shambolic start as they were repeatedly opened up by the visitors.
Samu fired into the side-netting after controlling Andoni Gorosabel’s pass, and then missed the target after the latter had split the home defence to send him one-on-one with Ter Stegen.
Shell-shocked Barcelona started to work their way into the game and Alaves keeper Antonio Sivera had to save from Lewandowski and Joao Felix.
But in the meantime, Lopez had scuffed a shot on the turn wide after catching defender Jules Kounde sleeping, and the France international was fortunate to escape for a second time when Samu fired after being muscled off the ball by the frontman.
Felix tried desperately to drag his side back into the game as time ran down, but Sivera remained largely untroubled and the locals made their feelings abundantly clear on the whistle.
Barca returned with much greater purpose and Joao Cancelo fired into Sivera’s midriff within three minutes, and they were back in it with 53 minutes gone when Lewandowski got ahead of defender Rafa Marin to power home a header from Kounde’s right-wing cross.
The visitors found themselves pinned back deep inside their own half, but almost profited from another Kounde error when he headed Ruben Duarte’s free-kick straight at Abdelkabir Abqar, although the defender was unable to convert.
Lamine Yamal tested Sivera with a swerving attempt, but the Catalans finally edged in front with 12 minutes remaining when, after Abqar had tripped substitute Ferran Torres in the box, Lewandowski emphatically dispatched the resulting spot-kick.
Robert Lewandowski got Barcelona out of jail as Alaves threatened to pile on further misery for the reigning LaLiga champions.
The 35-year-old Poland international headed home a second-half equaliser after Samu Omorodion had fired the visitors in front with just 18 seconds gone and then converted a late penalty to ensure an eventful afternoon at the Estadio Olimpico ended 2-1 to the hosts.
However, Samu was left to reflect on what might have been after passing up three further chances to add to his tally as Barca, who were without influential duo Gavi and Frenkie de Jong, turned in an abject first-half display before finally finding their feet.
The home side kicked off under some pressure after their their midweek Champions League defeat at Shakhtar Donetsk, which came in the wake of their El Clasico reverse and an unconvincing league win over Real Sociedad.
And they could hardly have got off to a worse start as they conceded inside the opening minute.
Ilkay Gundogan was robbed by Jon Guridi inside the Alaves half and he carved his way deep into Barca territory before picking out Javi Lopez, whose cross was swept past keeper Marc Andre ter Stegen by the 19-year-old Samu.
Things could have been significantly worse for Xavi’s men amid a shambolic start as they were repeatedly opened up by the visitors.
Samu fired into the side-netting after controlling Andoni Gorosabel’s pass, and then missed the target after the latter had split the home defence to send him one-on-one with Ter Stegen.
Shell-shocked Barcelona started to work their way into the game and Alaves keeper Antonio Sivera had to save from Lewandowski and Joao Felix.
But in the meantime, Lopez had scuffed a shot on the turn wide after catching defender Jules Kounde sleeping, and the France international was fortunate to escape for a second time when Samu fired after being muscled off the ball by the frontman.
Felix tried desperately to drag his side back into the game as time ran down, but Sivera remained largely untroubled and the locals made their feelings abundantly clear on the whistle.
Barca returned with much greater purpose and Joao Cancelo fired into Sivera’s midriff within three minutes, and they were back in it with 53 minutes gone when Lewandowski got ahead of defender Rafa Marin to power home a header from Kounde’s right-wing cross.
The visitors found themselves pinned back deep inside their own half, but almost profited from another Kounde error when he headed Ruben Duarte’s free-kick straight at Abdelkabir Abqar, although the defender was unable to convert.
Lamine Yamal tested Sivera with a swerving attempt, but the Catalans finally edged in front with 12 minutes remaining when, after Abqar had tripped substitute Ferran Torres in the box, Lewandowski emphatically dispatched the resulting spot-kick.
Xavi has insisted Barcelona are not in crisis as they look to get their campaign back on track against Alaves.
Pressure has mounted on the Barca boss after an El Clasico defeat was followed by an unconvincing win over Real Sociedad and a midweek Champions League loss to Shakhtar Donetsk.
Reports in the Catalan media claimed the squad had a players-only meeting on Wednesday night to discuss their issues.
But Xavi, whose side trail LaLiga leaders Girona by four points and still top their Champions League group, believes he faced bigger problems last season when he also came in for criticism before leading the club to the Spanish title.
“I had the worst moment as a coach last year,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday.
“What is happening now is not a crisis or anything like that.
“I have experienced terrible crises here and this is not it.
“You almost get used to criticism. This is Barca and you have to accept criticism.
“We have had two bad games and you have to be honest. We haven’t been up to par.”
Xavi is confident the players remain united and believes he has diagnosed the problem.
He said: “We’ve detected the issue. We have to get back to positional play and be more meticulous than ever. That’s how we’ll get better.
“The players are ready. They’re mentally prepared. This is a fantastic group.
“I’ve been in a lot of dressing rooms and this is one of the healthiest and most united I’ve ever seen. We are highly motivated.”
Xavi will again be without the injured Frenkie de Jong on Sunday, while his fellow midfielder Gavi serves a one-match ban after picking up five yellow cards.
But Pedri is “100 per cent”, according to Xavi, and could make his first start since August after coming through two substitute appearances against Real Sociedad and Shakhtar.
Key to Barca’s hopes of hitting form could be getting Robert Lewandowski back among the goals.
The Poland striker is in the middle of his worst goal drought in over a decade having not scored in his last six matches.
Xavi said: “He is in 100 per cent condition. He’s affected by the lack of positional play.
“We haven’t attacked well and we didn’t look after Robert like how we used to do.”
Alaves sit 14th in LaLiga and their only away win this season came against seventh-tier opponents Deportiva Murcia in the Copa del Rey.
Shakhtar Donetsk delayed Barcelona’s hopes of reaching the Champions League knockout stages after claiming a shock 1-0 win in their Group H clash in Hamburg.
Danylo Sikan headed the only goal in the 40th minute from a cross by Giorgi Gocholeishvili, while Shakhtar had a second effort from 18-year-old Newerton ruled out for offside.
The defeat ended Barcelona’s 100 per cent start to the group and enabled Porto to pull level on nine points at the top after they beat 10-man Royal Antwerp 2-0.
Evanilson’s early penalty and a late strike from Pepe sealed victory for the hosts and left the Belgians, who had Jurgen Ekkelencamp sent off in the 52nd minute, still hunting their first points.
Manchester City succeeded where Barca failed and duly booked their spot in the next stage after cruising to a 3-0 win over Young Boys at the Etihad Stadium.
Erling Haaland’s 23rd-minute penalty sent them on their way and superb strikes from Phil Foden and Haaland again sealed victory over the Swiss side, who had Sandro Lauper sent off early in the second half.
Also in Group G, goals from Xavi Simons and Lois Openda proved enough to give RB Leipzig a 2-1 win at Red Star Belgrade.
Atletico Madrid served up another Champions League nightmare for Celtic with both Antoine Griezmann and Alvaro Morata bagging braces in a 6-0 win at the Metropolitano.
Celtic were left incensed by the sending-off of Daizen Maeda after just 23 minutes following a VAR review of his challenge on Mario Hermoso.
Atletico’s win moved them top of Group E after previous leaders Feyenoord fell 1-0 at Lazio, for whom Ciro Immobile scored the only goal of the game in first half stoppage time.
Goals from Niclas Fullkrug and Julian Brandt proved enough for Borussia Dortmund to sink Newcastle 2-0 in Germany and move to the top of Group F.
Fullkrug scored in the opening period and Brandt’s effort 11 minutes from time dealt a potentially fatal blow to the Magpies’ hopes of progression to the knockout stages.
Paris St Germain lost top spot after a 2-1 defeat at AC Milan despite former Inter defender Milan Skriniar firing them in front after just nine minutes.
Rafael Leao equalised for Milan within three minutes and Olivier Giroud hit what turned out to be the winner five minutes into the second half.
Danylo Sikan’s first-half header earned Shakhtar Donetsk a memorable Champions League win after beating Barcelona 1-0 in Hamburg.
A frustrating first half saw the only real chance come from Mykola Matviyenko before Sikan gave the hosts the advantage five minutes before half-time with a looping header.
Giorgi Gocholeishvili and Oleksandr Zubkov had chances for the hosts after the break before Barca began to grow into the half following a quadruple substitution, but Shahktar held firm to see out the win.
It is a missed opportunity for Barcelona, where one point would have earned qualification with two games to spare, while victory earned Shakhtar a valuable second win in Group H.
Despite some early pressure from Robert Lewandowski, Shakhtar began to push forward but Barcelona were able to fend off the danger before having a chance of their own when Ilkay Gundogan fired over the bar.
Shakhtar went close when a looping ball found Mykola Matviyenko, who made a great run cutting in from the left, but he fired the ball straight at Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
The hosts continued their positive start with long spells of possession, moving the ball around the pitch, but were unable to break forward and have a shot, while Barca began to grow into the game after the half-hour mark, applying pressure on the Shakhtar defence.
Shakhtar took the lead in the 40th minute, stemming from a superb crossfield ball from Heorhiy Sudakov, who picked out Gocholeishvili on the right flank and his cross met Sikan in the middle where he had plenty of space to head the ball into the top corner.
A quick start saw Ferran Torres blast the ball over the crossbar just minutes into the second half before Shakhtar had a chance at the other end when Gocholeishvili’s shot from a tight angle was blocked by Ter Stegen.
The hosts defended well from an influx of crosses into the box and were on the attack again as Oleksandr Zubkov threaded the ball through to Sikan, but Ter Stegen saved.
In attempt to change the game around Xavi made a quadruple substitution in the 59th minute but Shakhtar continued their hunt for a second goal as Newerton fired wide.
Barcelona began to threaten with more intent around the box as substitute Joao Felix had a shot deflected behind for the visitors and Dmytro Riznyk then made a fine punch to clear the Portuguese’s dangerous cross.
The goalkeeper made another great punch to clear Pedri’s cross and Shahktar thought they had doubled their lead with minutes to go when Newerton’s excellent strike across goal was denied by the offside flag.
The visitors kept pushing in the final minutes, with plenty of balls being fired into the box, but Shakhtar held on to cap an inspired performance.
Barcelona can qualify for the knock-out stages of the Champions League when they face Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday night but Xavi Hernandez had a warning for his players before their trip to Germany.
After two seasons in which they failed to progress beyond the group stages of Europe’s top competition, something once unthinkable for the Catalan giants, Barcelona can wrap up qualification with two games to spare when they face Shakhtar in Hamburg.
But while they have cruised through Group H campaign so far, scoring eight goals and conceding only once in three wins, Xavi was left angered by his side’s performance in a sluggish 1-0 win over Real Sociedad at the weekend.
The coach felt his side were still carrying something of a hangover from their 2-1 home defeat to Real Madrid, but said the lack of intensity was unacceptable – and something they could not afford to repeat.
“We cannot play this football,” he said. “We entered the match with zero intensity. If we play like this in the Champions League, we will not compete. The first half is completely unacceptable for us.
“Last week we deserved to win and we lost. This week we didn’t deserve to win but we did. That is football.”
Barca’s injury problems eased at the weekend, with Robert Lewandowski making his first start since September – lasting 57 minutes – and Pedri coming off the bench following a hamstring injury which has troubled him from the second week of the season.
Both players are still a way off full fitness, but their return was a significant boost for Xavi, with captain Sergi Roberto and midfielder Frenkie De Jong now the only players missing.
“Lewandowski is coming back from an injury and it’s hard for him to stay 100 per cent fit,” the coach said. “We have to manage injuries and substitutions well…
“The face of the team is going to change. (Pedri) came back well and this is great news for him and for the entire team.”
Barca had to work hard to secure a 2-1 win when these sides met last month, the first game in charge for new Shakhtar boss Marino Pusic, who was encouraged by how quickly his players had taken on the roles asked of them.
Pusic secured his first league win at the weekend with an encouraging 1-0 victory away to Dynamo Kiev, further reinforcing the progress he is making.
“At this moment we work very hard together to play the game like we want to play, to be dominant and have good ball possession,” he said. “I can only say that the players are responding very well to it and are working very hard.
“I am very satisfied with their efforts and the way they worked.
“It is very good. It is always a parallel process: You work with the players, you work with the team, but at the same time you also think about how to improve the team, make them bigger and stronger.”
Barcelona snatched an unlikely victory after Ronald Araujo headed home the only goal of the game in the third minute of stoppage time at Real Sociedad.
The defending LaLiga champions had captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen to thank after the German goalkeeper made several crucial saves to keep an energetic Sociedad side at bay.
Xavi’s side struggled to muster any genuine openings until the final embers of the match and cruelly took all three points when Araujo planted a power header through the legs of goalkeeper Alex Remiro, which was initially ruled offside, with virtually the last attack to seal the 1-0 victory.
The hosts made a rapid start when Ander Barrenetxea forced ter Stegen into a fine diving save inside the first minute.
Aihen Munoz was next to try his luck and should have done better, while Mikel Merino glanced a free header wide during a frentic opening three minutes.
La Real continued their momentum as Barcelona struggled to get into the match and Takefusa Kubo found himself with a great chance to break the deadlock, but ter Stegen denied the Japan international’s fierce far-post effort.
Mikel Oyarzabal should have done better when he latched on to a slack back pass from Barca defender Jules Kounde, but the Sociedad captain poked his effort wide when one-on-one with ter Stegen.
Sociedad ensured play was deep in Barca’s half and piled on the pressure further through a series of corners around the half-hour mark, which created more opportunities to opening the scoring.
Martin Zubimendi juggled the half-clearance from a Kubo corner before sending in a low cross. His centre was deflected to ter Stegen, but he spilled the ball and Oyarzabal was fastest to react as he stabbed an effort goalwards, only to be denied by the goalkeeper for another corner.
As half-time approached, Barcelona appealed for two penalties, firstly when Robert Lewandowski went down under a challenge before Joao Felix jinked past Zubeldia, where there was substantial contact, but referee Javier Alberola Rojas and VAR decided it was not worthy of a spot-kick.
In the 66th minute, the home side appealed for a penalty when Oyarzabal was felled in the area but to no avail, before Sociedad tested the visitors’ goal once more.
A long throw was half-cleared by the Barcelona defence, which fell in the direct of Barrenetxea on the edge of the box to fire a brilliant volley which was pushed wide by ter Stegen.
From the following corner, Kubo then raced around Gavi to get to the byline inside the area, but his cutback was cleared by a retreating Pedri.
Substitute Raphinha fired a 25-yard free-kick just over for the away team before they produced one of their best moves of the match, with a flowing counter-attack resulting in Ferran Torres picking up the ball on the edge of the area, but he blazed way over.
Barcelona almost snatched victory when another break led Pedri to patiently lay off to Gavi inside the area, but his effort was expertly saved by Remiro.
Araujo initially looked in anguish as he headed home Ilkay Gundogan’s teasing cross after the assistant flagged him offside. However, following a VAR check, the Uruguayan defender had timed his run to perfection to be Xavi’s unlikely match-winner.
A fine imposed on Barcelona for a breach of UEFA’s financial reporting rules has been upheld following an appeal by the club.
Barca were fined 500,000 euros (£434,000) in July by the UEFA Club Financial Control Body (CFCB) First Chamber for wrongly reporting profits on the disposal of intangible assets, other than player transfers, in the financial year 2022 which were not considered as relevant income.
Now, the CFCB’s Appeals Chamber has rejected the club’s appeal and upheld the First Chamber’s initial decision and sanction.
UEFA has not said precisely what the profits wrongly reported by the club related to.
In 2022, Barcelona sold 25 per cent of their domestic television rights for the next 25 years to global investment firm Sixth Street. Sixth Street said the purchase of the first 10 per cent of those rights in June last year was worth 267million euros (231.7m) to the club.
The club are also the subject of a separate UEFA investigation into allegations they made payments to a former vice-president of Spain’s referees’ committee.
Reports in February claimed the club paid companies owned by Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira 7million euros (£6.2million) between 2001 and 2018.
Negreira was the vice-president of the Spanish football federation’s refereeing committee from 1993 to 2018.
Barcelona have denied any wrongdoing, with club president Joan Laporta saying earlier this year: “Barca have never bought referees nor influence.
“That was never the intention and that has to be clear. The facts contradict those that are trying to tell a different story.”
Barcelona boss Xavi admits he and his players are “raging inside” after losing El Clasico, but is determined to get back on track against Real Sociedad.
Jude Bellingham scored twice – including a dramatic stoppage-time winner – as Real Madrid came from behind to beat Barca 2-1 last weekend.
The England midfielder struck a stunning equaliser after 68 minutes at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium and then settled his first El Clasico with a close-range volley in the dying moments.
The home side had led at the interval through former Manchester City captain Ilkay Gundogan’s early goal, but the defeat dropped them four points behind their fierce rivals, who top LaLiga on goal difference from Girona.
Xavi’s men face a tough task to return to winning ways when they travel to fifth-placed Sociedad, who have won seven of their last nine games in all competitions.
“This will be a difficult test,” Xavi said in quotes reported on the club’s official website.
“(Sociedad manager) Imanol Alguacil does a wonderful job, he gets intensity and good football out of his players. As for us, we need to make higher demands of ourselves and keep humbly working to cut down the four-point difference on the leaders.
“And this game is the ideal scenario to demonstrate that we can do it. We always pursue excellence. FC Barcelona never settles for anything else.
”We need to reset at a difficult ground. We’re angry, we’re raging inside, but we have to make amends for our mistakes. It’s the small details that matter, we can’t afford to have any more lapses in concentration.”
Xavi will be boosted by the return to fitness of midfielder Pedri following a hamstring problem, the Spain international having not featured since scoring in the 2-0 win over Cadiz on August 20.
“We have a healthy squad,” Xavi added. “I am happy with the work and willingness of all the players. We have players that are hungry to win.
“And having Pedri back is really good news for the team. He is a capital player for getting us to play the way we want to.
“We have so many different options in this team. (Ronald) Araujo and (Jules) Kounde can both play, but I’m very happy with (Joao) Cancelo. He is a physically and mentally strong player.
“Raphinha and (Robert) Lewandowski are both looking good. But Frenkie de Jong is still feeling pain despite being able to train with the group.”
Barcelona and Spain midfielder Aitana Bonmati has won the women’s Ballon d’Or, France Football has announced.
The 25-year-old enjoyed a fine year for club and country – winning a league and Champions League double before playing a pivotal role in Spain’s World Cup success, where she also won the Golden Ball.
Bonmati beat Chelsea and Australia striker Sam Kerr into second place, with her Spain and Barcelona team-mate Salma Paralluelo coming third.
Two of England’s Lionesses who reached the World Cup final made the top 10, with Manchester United goalkeeper Mary Earps fifth and Rachel Daly of Aston Villa 10th.
Manchester City were crowned the men’s team of the season after Pep Guardiola’s side delivered the treble of Premier League, Champions League and FA Cup.
Meanwhile, City’s Erling Haaland won the Gerd Muller Trophy for the world’s top-scoring striker after hitting a record 56 goals last season.
Aston Villa and Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez won the Lev Yashin Trophy for goalkeeper of the year after his starring role in his nation’s World Cup win.
England international Jude Bellingham was voted the Kopa Award winner for the best under-21 player in the world.
The Real Madrid and England midfielder picked up the trophy after the 20-year-old finished 18th for the main award.
Bellingham has hit 13 goals in 13 appearances since moving to Madrid in the summer, including a double to lead Real to victory in his first El Clasico against Barcelona on Saturday, but his success was for last season – where he shone for Borussia Dortmund and England.
Real Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni has stressed that Barcelona’s Gavi was not to blame for the injury he suffered in El Clasico.
Tchouameni sustained a fracture in his foot during Saturday’s contest at Barcelona’s Olympic Stadium.
Replying to a social media post showing footage of a coming together between him and Gavi in the game, the France international wrote: “It’s not Gavi’s fault. I was injured at the end of the first half.”
Real had said on Sunday: “After the tests carried out on our player Aurelien Tchouameni by the Real Madrid medical services, he has been diagnosed with an incomplete stress fracture in the second metatarsal of his left foot.”
A dramatic encounter saw the visitors came from behind to win 2-1 thanks to a Jude Bellingham brace, with the England midfielder’s second goal coming in stoppage time.
Calo Ancelotti’s Real lead LaLiga on goal difference from second-placed Girona, while Xavi’s defending champions Barca are four points behind in fourth.
Jude Bellingham admitted he had done something great after almost single-handedly winning his first El Clasico for Real Madrid.
The England midfielder scored a stunning equaliser and dramatic stoppage-time clincher as Real came from behind to beat arch-rivals Barcelona 2-1 at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium on Saturday.
It continued Bellingham’s extraordinary start as a Real Madrid player, with the 20-year-old having now scored 13 goals in as many appearances for Los Blancos.
Bellingham told the club’s website: “I had watched many Clasicos from the sofa with my family and I told them that today it was my turn to live it first-hand and do something great. I’ve done that and I’m very happy.”
Real trailed at half-time to an early Ilkay Gundogan strike and Bellingham conceded he had not been at his best.
Such is his confidence, however, that he only had one thing on his mind when a shooting opportunity opened up 25 yards out with 68 minutes gone.
He duly lashed home a fine equaliser and he was not done there, volleying in from close range in the dying moments.
He said: “I wasn’t at my best. Sometimes it’s not about trying to do something special every time you have the ball, but to combine with those up top.
“I fulfilled that task well but as soon as I got the ball there I knew I was going to score.
“I got the ball on the edge of the box. I’ve been saying for a few weeks that I need to try from outside.
“Maybe the opponents expect me to try to get into the box or combine with a team-mate and I wanted to surprise them by hitting it from outside the box.
“I know I have the technique and it went into the top corner.”
Real coach Carlo Ancelotti, whose side moved back to the top of LaLiga with the win, has been stunned by the impact Bellingham has had.
He said: “We’re all surprised at the level he’s at, especially in terms of how effective he’s been. He could easily score 20 or 25 goals.
“He looks like a veteran. His attitude is very good. He’s the player who has made the biggest difference.”
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