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

  • Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters Hurtig the hero after late goal sends Arsenal into Champions League quarters

    Lina Hurtig's 89th minute winner ensured Arsenal progressed to the quarter-finals of the Women's Champions League after edging Juventus 1-0 on Thursday. 

    After being frustrated for large parts of the encounter, Hurtig bundled home from close range after Martina Lenzini's poor clearance to book the Gunners' place in the last eight. 

    Despite Arsenal dominating the early exchanges, it was Juventus who had the first sight of goal, though Eva Schatzer's effort was easy for Daphne van Domselaar to gather.

    In a first half that saw just two shots on target, both coming from the visitors, Renee Slegers' substitutes proved to be the difference for Arsenal. 

    Slegers introduced Beth Mead, Stina Blackstenius and Hurtig late on, with the latter somehow putting Kim Little's cross over the bar from five yards out. 

    However, the Swede would atone for her earlier error, combining with fellow substitute Blackstenius to net against her former club and send them out of the competition with two group games remaining. 

    Meanwhile, in Group D, Barcelona edged closer to the quarter-finals of the competition with a convincing 4-1 victory over St. Polten at the Generali Arena. 

    The reigning champions are still three points behind Manchester City following their 2-1 win over Hammarby, and know a win against the Swedes next month will see them progress.

    Kika Nazareth opened the scoring in the 20th minute after capitalising on a mistake by Kamila Dubcova, notching her second nine minutes later from close range. 

    Barca found themselves three goals up at the break when Vicky Lopez netted her first goal in the competition to put the result beyond doubt. 

    There was also a landmark moment for Alexia Putellas, who netted her 200th goal for the club with a well-taken effort into the far corner. 

    Valentina Madl took some of the shine off an otherwise impressive display from the visitors, who have now taken their tally to 20 goals from their four matches in the competition. 

  • Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City Guardiola agrees two-year contract extension with Man City

    Pep Guardiola will be Manchester City manager for at least two more seasons after 2024-25, after he signed a two-year contract extension on Thursday.

    The 53-year-old was coming to the end of his City deal, which was due to expire at the end of the current campaign, but he has opted to remain at the Etihad Stadium.

    The deal itself will take Guardiola's tenure at the club to over a decade, making him City's longest-serving manager since Les McDowall in 1963.

    There had been suggestions that he may leave at the end of the season following the announcement that director of football Txiki Begiristain was on his way out.

    Guardiola was strongly linked with the England job after Gareth Southgate resigned in the wake of their Euro 2024 final defeat, but the Football Association appointed Thomas Tuchel last month.

    “Manchester City means so much to me," Guardiola said. “This is my ninth season here; we have experienced so many amazing times together. I have a really special feeling for this football club.  

    “That is why I am so happy to be staying for another two more seasons.

    “Thank you to everyone for continuing to trust and support me – The Owner, The Chairman Khaldoon, Ferran, Txiki, the players and, of course, the fans… everyone connected to Manchester City. It has always been an honour, a pleasure and a privilege to be here.  

    “I have said this many times before, but I have everything a manager could ever wish for, and I appreciate that so much.  

    “Hopefully, now we can add more trophies to the ones we have already won. That will be my focus.”

     

    Having been appointed in 2016, Guardiola is by some distance Manchester City's most successful manager of all time, having won 18 major trophies during his time at the club.

    That list includes their first-ever Champions League triumph in 2023 and six Premier League titles, including an unprecedented four on the spin.

    He also boasts a 72.04% win percentage across all competitions, which is unsurprisingly the highest of any full-time City manager in history.

  • Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League Shaw at the double as Man City progress in Champions League

    Khadija Shaw scored twice as Manchester City beat Hammarby 2-1 to seal their place in the Women's Champions League quarter-finals.

    Gareth Taylor's team entered Thursday's game with a perfect record in Group D, and their fourth win in as many European matches ensured they finished in the top two.

    Shaw—the leading scorer in the Women's Super League this season with eight goals—put them ahead in the 31st minute, driving into the area after taking in Yui Hasegawa's pass before seeing her shot deflect into the top corner.

    Shaw was booked for celebrating in front of the home fans despite appearing to have objects thrown at her from the stands, and Hammarby should have levelled when Julia Blakstad fired wide 10 minutes later.

    The hosts did draw level three minutes into the second half as Ellen Wangerheim tapped home while City's Laura Blindkilde Brown was down appealing for a free-kick. 

    That parity was short-lived, though, as Shaw blasted into the top corner from 25 yards out, taking her overall tally for this season to 12 goals in all competitions.

    In Group C, meanwhile, Bayern Munich lost their perfect record as they played out a 1-1 draw with Valerenga, boosting Arsenal's hopes of topping the pile.

    Jovana Damnjanovic came off the bench to put Bayern ahead 15 minutes from time in Norway, but Elise Thorsnes headed home following an 88th-minute corner to snatch a point for the hosts.

    Arsenal could now move within a point of Bayern when they face Juventus in Group C's other match later on Thursday.

© 2024 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.