Ancelotti gambles pay off as Real Madrid rally for win at Espanyol thanks to late Benzema double

By Sports Desk August 28, 2022

Carlo Ancelotti emerged with a sense of personal satisfaction after Karim Benzema's two late goals secured a 3-1 win for Real Madrid at Espanyol.

The head coach saw his substitutes come good in the closing stages of the game to pave the way for Benzema's heroics.

Regarded as a humble man, this time Ancelotti was happy to take credit for the decisions that saw him shuffle his Madrid pack in the second half of a hard-fought contest.

He brought off Luka Modric and Federico Valverde in the 58th minute, introducing Eduardo Camavinga and Rodrygo, before replacing Toni Kroos with Dani Ceballos.

Camavinga brought fresh vibrancy to the Madrid midfield, Rodrygo set up Benzema's first goal in the 88th minute, and Ceballos was fouled for the free-kick that led to a red card and Benzema's late clincher.

That final goal of the game came 10 minutes into stoppage time, after a marathon delay for the VAR to resolve the moment when home goalkeeper Benjamin Lecomte clattered Ceballos. Lecomte was sent off and home captain Leandro Cabrera, a defender, took over in goal, Benzema taking advantage by firing home from the set-piece. 

"We won the game because of that energy. That of Camavinga, Rodrygo or Ceballos," Ancelotti said. "The game was slow and we changed it. Each game has its own story."

He said it was impossible to know how the game would have flowed had he fielded his substitutes from the start, allowing the likes of Modric and Kroos to come on and change the game in the second half.

"Sometimes team selection is a gamble and today I think the Real Madrid coach has gambled well."

The veteran Italian coach said Madrid had started brightly, as was exemplified by the sharp movement that brought about Vinicius Junior's early goal.

Former Madrid reserve striker Joselu equalised with his seventh goal in nine LaLiga matches against Los Blancos, before Benzema's double provided the late twist.

Three days after picking up the UEFA men's player of the year award, Benzema showed why he is earning such accolades at this stage of his career. He turns 35 in December but shows no sign of slowing down.

Benzema has scored 28 goals for Madrid in 2022 across all competitions, the joint highest of all players from Europe's top five leagues. It puts him alongside Paris Saint-Germain's Kylian Mbappe, who snubbed a move to Madrid in favour of signing a new PSG deal in May.

In all, Benzema had eight shots, the highest of any player in a single game during the opening weeks of the LaLiga season.

The late show poured salt on Espanyol wounds, with the team from Barcelona having now failed to win in their last 10 league games, going back to last season.

Kroos told Movistar: "It's to be expected that we suffer against a great rival, also away from home. We controlled the game until their goal. We suffered a bit in the second half, but in the last 30 minutes we regained control.

"They looked tired and we took advantage of that. Winning away is not easy and we have done it three times in a row."

Madrid's first three league assignments have indeed come away from the Santiago Bernabeu, while work is carried out on the stadium, and wins over Almeria, Celta Vigo and now Espanyol have made it an ideal start.

Madrid sit top of the table but are joined on nine points by Real Betis, the team they host next Saturday.

Kroos says Madrid are braced for a busy run of games, as the Champions League group stage begins.

He said: "Every three to four days we are going to play against difficult opponents and there are always times when we are going to have to suffer."

Related items

  • Village Superstars win 2023 SKNFA Premier League title Village Superstars win 2023 SKNFA Premier League title

    After a long, hard-fought season, Rams Village Superstars were crowned 2023 SKNFA Premier League Champions when they defeated SL Horfords St. Paul’s United 8-7 on penalty kicks in the ultimate game 3 of the Super Six finals at Warner Park on Friday night. 

    It took sudden death penalty kicks after both teams were locked 0-0 after regulation extra time. Both teams also ended the match with 10 men with one of each sent off with red cards. This is Village’s 6th Premier League title and their triumph denies St. Paul’s United from winning their 3rd straight Premier League title after dominating other cup competitions this season.

    After an electrifying championship final between Rams Village Superstars and SL Horsfords St. Paul’s United, the curtain falls on the Premier League 2023. This season will be remembered for its breathtaking moments, coming down to the very last penalty kick.

    This season has been a display of tenacity, skill, and sportsmanship at every level. Each match showcased the best of football, with teams giving their all and fans unwavering in their support.

    The SKNFA extends heartfelt gratitude to all participating teams for a season pulsating with excitement and memorable moments. As we celebrate the triumphs, let's honor the exceptional talents of this season with our League Awards:

     

    League Awards

    Premier Division

    Coach of the Year:

    Iroy Jeffers (SL Horsford St. Paul’s United FC) - $1000

    Golden Glove:

    Clifford Samuel (Sol Island Auto Conaree FC)- $1000

    Best Defender:

    Denis Fleming (Rams Village Superstars FC)- $1000

    Best Midfielder:

    Yohannes Mitchum (Newtown United FC)- $1000

    Golden Boot:

    Keithroy Freeman (SL Horsford St. Paul’s United FC) - $1000

    Regular Season MVP:

    Keithroy Freeman (SL Horsford St. Paul’s United FC) -$10,000

    Finals MVP:

    Zaykeese Smith (Village Superstars FC)- $5,000

     

    Division 1

    Coach of the year:

    Jevon Francis (Trafalgar Southstars FC)- $500

    Best Goalkeeper:

    Abasti Tyrell (Trafalgar Southstars FC)- $500

    Best Defender:

    Ricaldo Archibald (Trafalgar Southstars FC)- $500

    Best Midfielder:

    Orlando Mitchum (Conaree Fireball International FC)- $500

    Golden Boot:

    Reynaldo Matthew (Dieppe Bay Eagles FC)- $500

    MVP:

    Abasti Tyrell (Trafalgar Southstars FC)- $5,000

  • Unai Emery savours ‘special’ Villa Park atmosphere in rout of Brighton Unai Emery savours ‘special’ Villa Park atmosphere in rout of Brighton

    Aston Villa boss Unai Emery feels there is a special atmosphere brewing at Villa Park after his side romped to a remarkable 6-1 win against Brighton.

    A hat-trick from Ollie Watkins and further strikes from Jacob Ramsey and Douglas Luiz, as well as Pervis Estupinan’s own goal, helped Emery’s side secure a 10th successive league win at home.

    Despite Brighton’s Ansu Fati briefly reducing the deficit to 3-1 at the start of the second half, Villa were at their clinical best to leapfrog the Seagulls in the table and extend their winning streak at home.

    Emery said: “We have to feel something special at Villa Park and try to create a positive energy between us and the supporters and try to work on the pitch to connect with them.

    “We want to compete the same at home and away, we will need time to build the team to be consistent but at home we feel strong with our supporters and the energy the supporters are transmitting to us, we need to keep being consistent at home.

    “Ollie Watkins is committed to the club, he is very happy here and we are very happy with him, he works hard every day and tries to learn every day. He did very good work scoring goals and working defensively to help the team.

    “We have to be very demanding and try to improve every day, each match is going to demand different things, we have to be ready and be strong in our work to be successful.”

    Villa blew Brighton away with three quickfire goals in the first half as Watkins scored the opener on 14 minutes with a close-range finish before netting again on 21 minutes with a low effort past Jason Steele at his near post.

    Estupinan’s own goal on 26 minutes put Villa in command before Albion responded when half-time substitute Fati scored his first goal for the club five minutes into the second half.

    However, Watkins completed his hat-trick on 65 minutes with a deflected effort before Ramsey curled home on 85 minutes and Luiz rounded off the scoring seven minutes into injury time to inflict a heavy defeat on the Seagulls.

    Brighton boss Roberto De Zerbi said: “Everything [went wrong], we played very bad.

    “It’s not a problem of our physical condition, first and foremost when we lose this type of game it’s my responsibility. If you lose 6-1, the biggest responsibility is of the coach.

    “We are not ready to compete and to play every three days, I’m trying to manage in different ways to keep the physical energy [up].

    “The physical energy is not enough, in football you have to be ready to give your all and your best in the head in the mentality. We can’t lose every tackle, every duel and every second ball otherwise you lose the game in this way.

    “But I believe in my players because I have big confidence in the people inside of my dressing room, we are suffering a lot for this defeat but this can happen sometimes if you are not ready and you have to adapt quickly.

    “We have to learn. We are suffering, it’s a very bad day but maybe one of the most important days – we want to reach this level.”

  • Napoli end Lecce’s home run with formidable display Napoli end Lecce’s home run with formidable display

    Napoli emphatically ended Lecce’s 100 per cent home record in Serie A with a 4-0 victory at the Stadio Via del Mare.

    Goals from Leo Ostigard and substitutes Victor Osimhen and Gianluca Gaetano had the visitors in control before Matteo Politano converted a penalty in added time.

    Both teams started the day in the top six with 11 points from six games but Rudi Garcia’s men were good value for their fourth win of the campaign to maintain the pressure on the Milan clubs.

    Garcia made three changes following the convincing 4-1 defeat of Udinese in midweek, with Mathias Olivera, Giovanni Simeone and Jesper Lindstrom coming in for Mario Rui, Osimhen and Politano.

    Napoli had early control in sunny Puglia with Lecce, the season’s surprise package, struggling to make an impression.

    The visitors’ early enterprise was rewarded in the 16th minute when they took the lead, central defender Ostigard heading in Piotr Zielinski’s free-kick from the left unchallenged at the far post.

    Lecce won only three home games last season but had already beaten Lazio, Salernitana and Genoa this time around and falling behind sparked them into life.

    Roberto D’Aversa’s men, who saw their best start to a Serie A season end on Tuesday with a 1-0 loss at Juventus, threatened in the 25th minute when Nikola Krstovic brought a low, diving save out of goalkeeper Alex Meret.

    Central defender Marin Pongracic then wasted the Salentini’s best first-half chance on the half hour, firing over from seven yards after a corner on the right.

    However, Napoli finished the half strongly and could have led by more than one goal at the interval.

    In the final five minutes of the first half, Simeone saw a powerful right-foot shot go just wide, Wladimiro Falcone saved from Zielinski, then Khvicha Kvaratskhelia was narrowly off-target with a free-kick.

    Osimhen replaced Simeone for the second half, and within six minutes of his introduction he had doubled Napoli’s lead with his fifth goal of the season, a header off the post from close range following Kvaratskhelia’s cross.

    Gabriel Strefezza had the ball in the visitors’ net in the 57th minute with a close-range header but it was ruled out for handball in the build-up by Krstovic.

    With a Champions League match against Real Madrid coming up on Tuesday, Garcia rotated his players, first replacing Lindstrom and Kvaratskhelia with Giacomo Raspadori and Politano.

    Raspadori’s low left-foot shot was saved by Falcone in the 67th minute, before Jens-Lys Cajuste came on for Stanislav Lobotka with 14 minutes remaining.

    Lecce could not find the breakthrough they needed to set up a tense finish and Napoli made it 3-0 when Gaetano, the last of their five substitutes to be introduced, increased the lead with two minutes remaining.

    Less than five minutes after his introduction, the attacking midfielder fired home powerfully from the edge of the penalty box.

    There was still time for a fourth goal, Politano sending Falcone the wrong way from the penalty spot after Ylber Ramadani had been penalised for fouling Gaetano.

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.