UK News
Barcelona v Real Madrid: La Liga title on the line in clásico – live | La Liga
Key events
Tim Steppard gets in touch: “Never thought beloved and Bayern would ever be in the same sentence. Rather than FC Hollywood Real surely are appropriately more like the Windsors.”
As it stands at half-time:
Half-time: Barcelona 2-0 Real Madrid
As it stands. Barca are heading to a second successive title. Two fine goals have them on course, and though Madrid have not fallen apart – yet – it’s an awful long way back for a team struggling for coherency.
45+1 min: Joao Cancelo takes on Trent, who does his defensive job well. Madrid are yet to chuck in the towel just yet.
45 min: Pedri chants ringing out, as he takes control in midfield. Three minutes have been added on.
43 min: Trent is brought down by Dani Olmo. Madrid go on the attack, and Camavinga’s shot is blocked. A quick counter almost sends away Fermin Lopez. He’s the out-ball, with Trent being picked as a possible weakness.
42 min: Another free-kick from Rashford but this time it from a wider angle and Courtois punches it out with some ease.
40 min: Colin Livingstone gets in touch: “Well, first time Tchouameni hasn’t hit the target this week.”
Justin Kavanagh: “Just joining the game… 2-0 already? I would have thought Real Madrid would have more fight in them. They’re certainly less than a club these days.”
Camavinga gets the first booking, smashing downwards on Dani Olmo.
39 min: From the corner, Olmo slices wide. Madrid’s defence is rather less than secure.
38 min: Ooof, Rashford zips clear, afterburners on, from his own half, and forces a fine save from Courtois, after a fine ball from Eric Garcia. Great football all round.
37 min: Matt Dony gets in touch: “What a curious player Rashford is. There was a three or four month spell after the last World Cup when I genuinely think he was the best player in the world. (I say that as someone with a disdain for both Man United and England.) He hit an almighty, frustrating purple patch. But he’s had equally deep nadirs. And, let’s face it, he was monumentally badly managed at United. He’s generally flourished at Barcelona without pulling up trees, and that’s not exactly a low-profile gig. But he’s still hardly a shoo-in for this summer’s World Cup. At his best, he sort of reminds of of peak Sadio Mane. And that’s as high praise as I can imagine.”
36 min: Gonzalo and Martin clatter into each other. It’s getting tetchy out there, a few challenges coming in.
34 min: Alasdair Morrison gets in touch: “Is it just me or is Tino Livramento the spit of Pau Cubarsi? Genuine double take and Glendenning style “when did he move there?” moment.
“On a side note, always been a fan of your musical asides on the pod, not sure if you’re an electronic music fan, looking forward to the new Boards of Canada? If not, what are you listening to?”
I have heard the first song from the new one, looking forward to the whole album. I have everything they released, barring some of the early bootlegged stuff. Have lots of electronic stuff, off to see Kraftwerk and Autechre this year, not for the first time.
33 min: Tchouameni smashes wide, having been laid up by Vinicius.
32 min: Gavi, for such a small player, likes a tactical foul or two. This time, Camavinga is the recipient.
30 min: Barcelona are turning on the style, though this time Dani Olmo, a player of such movement and rare grace, is offside this time.
29 min: Charles Antaki gets in touch: “Thought for the day. If you’re going to win the league, you might as well do it playing fast, confident, entertaining football. And now, back to the London Stadium.”
28 min: Rebekah Voss gets in touch: “Mr. Brewin, my beloved FC Bayern has earned itself the moniker of “FC Hollywood” due to its tendency to start drama where there is none. Not undeserved, I must say; what went down with Nagelsmann and Tuchel was a comedy of errors that I never thought I would see again. I am seeing it now with the mighty Madrid. It makes me wonder if Real Madrid deserves the title of “FC Hollywood”more than Bayern.”
27 min: Colum Fordham gets in touch: “Rashford couldn’t have chosen a better moment to cement his place in the Barca team and convince Tuchel of his worth. What a stunning free kick from a position far more favourable to a left-footed player. That should set this El Clasico ablaze.”
26 min: Madrid have come back into it. Barcelona will always offer up chances. Their fans are already doing the olé stuff when their team starts passing the ball around.
24 min: A second look at that Gonzalo miss reveals he failed to make a proper connection.
23 min: Gonzalo steals between Martin and Cubarsi but hits the side-netting. That’s the closest yet for Madrid. Then Bellingham gets away and goes close to setting up Vinicius.
21 min: The party has already started in the Camp Nou. Madrid players have to deal with this barrage of noise. They’ve been well off it.
19 min: Barcelona’s switching of positions took Madrid apart there, and Lamine Yamal in the stands enjoyed that. Glum faces for Jude and Trent. This could get ugly, uglier than the scenes inside the dressing room?
Goal! Barcelona 2-0 Real Madrid (Ferran Torres, 18)
Cubarsi sets up a patient, glorious move, with Olmo’s flick sent to Ferran, and the finish is vicious.
16 min: Brahim Diaz is limping one minute, chasing a Gonzalo pass the next. He takes a whack from a Barca defender but is OK to keep playing.
15 min: Bellingham is fouled, and tells the referee that he’s been fouled twice now. This time it was Dani Olmo rather than Gavi.
14 min: Another piece of Brahim ball-carrying, and Trent bombs on, and that means Camavinga has to run back and cover.
13 min: Another “Trent” corner, knocked behind. Tchouameni heads the third in the sequence over the bar.
11 min: Brahim Diaz has been lively, and he forces a corner that “Trent” will take, which is flicked behind. Tchouameni has taken his shirt off for some reason.
10 min: Whatever happens to Rashford, and his future is uncertain, scoring a goal in a clasico is a special moment to take away.
Goal! Barcelona 1-0 Real Madrid (Rashford, 9)
A short run-up, and Rashford smashes in, and Courtois has no answer. What a goal!
8 min: Rudiger crops down Ferran. Barca have a free-kick on the very edge of the box.
6 min: Bellingham turns and is tripped by Gavi; that was a nasty one. Rashford gallops on and Asencio, who starts the game because of an injury to Dean Huijsen, comes across to clear.
4 min: Joao Cancelo sweeps the ball crossfield, it’s a slow pace so far, with injections of pace. Fermin Lopez sets off, past Trent Alexander-Arnold and his pass to Rashford is only just intercepted.
3 min: Long run, unchallenged, by Brahim, and he passes to Vinicius who shoots on goal but it’s not a clean hit.
Away we go on in the Clasico
1 min: Jeers great Madrid as they pass the ball around. Ferran Torres pushes up, and Gavi robs Brahim Diaz.
Vini Jr and Pedri shake hands at the toss of the coin ahead of a minute’s silence for Hansi Flick’s father, less a minute’s silence than a solemn moment of violin music.
Quite the scene as the two teams enter, a mosaic greeting them. Three Englishmen in the starting lineups, a first.
The teams are in the tunnel. Some warmth between the two sets of players before they head out. They won’t be able to show that once that kicks off.
Sad news: Hansi Flick’s father passed away in the small hours but the Barcelona coach is present in Camp Nou.
Pictures emerging of a fan in the stand with a Jose Mourinho scarf. A plant by the great man?
This Clasico win in October put Madrid five points clear.
The trophy will be presented to Barcelona tonight if they manage to put Real Madrid away.
Frenkie de Jong is on the Barcelona bench, having spoken to the Guardian last weekend.
De Jong faced regular rumours about a potential exit, with one leak claiming to detail his salary, though he says the figures were inaccurate. “The press can really influence how people see you; that’s something I especially noticed during that period. Back then, it was all about my contract, with all sorts of figures about what I was supposedly earning, while that was not true. But then you notice they [the outside world] see you differently from that point; they judge you differently … It starts to get into people’s heads.”
Last time out for both teams.
Reports from Barcelona and some social media footage of Real Madrid’s bus being attacked, and a window smashed.
The teams
Barcelona (4-2-3-1): J. Garcia; E. Garcia, Cubarsi, Gerard Martin, Cancelo; Gavi, Pedri; Ferran Torres, Olmo, Lopez; Rashford. Subs: Szczesny, Aller, Balde, Araujo, Lewandowski, Raphinha, Casado, Roony, De Jong, Bernal, Kounde, Espart.
Real Madrid (4-2-3-1): Courtois; Alexander-Arnold, Rudiger Huijsen, Fran Garcia; Camavinga, Tchouameni; Gonzalo Garcia, Bellingham, Diaz; Vinicius Junior. Subs: Lunin, Sergio Mestre, Alaba, Asencio, Carreras, Mastantuono, Cestero, Jiminez, Palacios, Thiago.
Sid Lowe has previewed a crucial Clasico.
This is a crisis that is cultural. When Vinícius Júnior stormed off having been substituted towards the end of the clásico in the autumn, threatening to walk straight out of the team, it brought the disconnect between him and Xabi Alonso into the open and in doing so made it irretrievable. He was not entirely alone in feeling that: Valverde too had made his discontent public. Nor, though, was the feeling unanimous. “It’s not the manager’s fault,” Tchouaméni had insisted, blame instead lying inside the dressing room, sides starting to be taken.
About that quiet week, it’s got to the stage where Jose Mourinho, just the man to calm things down, is in line for a return.
Preamble
Been a quiet week at Real Madrid? Well, even by the standards of the soap opera that is the world football’s equivalent of the Borgias, it’s been chaotic. On Thursday a fight with Aurélien Tchouaméni at Valdebebas left Fede Valverde bleeding and with what a club communique described as “craniofacial trauma”. Kylian Mbappe is missing, too, his popularity rating down at absolute zero. What’s worse is that Barcelona can clinch a second successive Liga title with a draw.
The family of Shaun Burton, say they are “devastated” by the loss.
Source link
Key events
In the opening half an hour against Cape Verde, Mikel Oyarzabal, the centre-forward, did not get a single touch.
Kyle Green gets in touch: “Your highlighting of Lalas and his absurdity is something that has prevented me from wanting to watch the coverage on Fox. While every channel has its pros and cons I just can’t.
“I’m 45 and probably the youngest of anyone who remembers him as a player instead of an opinionated insert insult here. As for the match this could be more competitive than it looks on paper Spain need a win the pressure is on them. Saudi Arabia could hold out for a draw and see what happens in their last match. “
News from the England camp, and it seems to be good news on Declan Rice.
“I’m ready and fit, raring to go. I was feeling a little bit of neural pain in my hamstring, which I was managing from after Christmas with Arsenal for a very long time. Obviously, not a lot of people would have known that. It was all behind-the-scenes stuff but it was a smart decision.
“In the end, that last 20 minutes is probably where you pick up the most, and it’s where you play a 70-minute match. But that last 20 is where you really feel your body going for it. And I think it was a smart decision because the last few days I felt really, really good.”
Alex Reid has penned today’s weekend special Football Daily.
Portugal v Uzbekistan on Tuesday enticingly pits the incredibly nice, incredibly 41-year-old-superstar-tolerant Roberto Martínez against Fabio Cannavaro, who’s won a Ballon d’Or as a player and the Chinese Super League as a coach. While the fixture following that game really does see the dream of Thomas Tuchel – in his first international job with England – taking on Queiroz, who is in charge of his ninth national side with Ghana.
The expected formations are 4-2-3-1 for Spain, and 5-3-2 for the Saudi Arabians.
The Saudi team features two Donis changes: Ali Lajami, a defender, and Nasser Al Dawsari, a midfielder, are preferred to Mohammed Abu Al Shamat and Mohamed Kanno. You may recall Salem Al Dawsari, the Saudi captain, as the man who scored the winner against Argentina.
An entertaining read, even for those of us who have just seen the clips.
In a conversation where his co-panelist is casually reminiscing about his days playing alongside Messi or exchanging shirts with Ronaldo Nazário at the World Cup, what exactly is Lalas going to talk about – coming on as a second-half substitute for Earnie Stewart in a friendly against Scotland in 1998? Helping the Kansas City Wizards finish last in the 1999 MLS Western Conference? Did Lalas enjoy an elite playing career? No. But does he do the background reading that could compensate for his relative lack of standing in a conversation with titans like Henry and Zlatan? Also no. But is he charming or funny or charismatic or otherwise magnetic on screen? Eh, no.
For the record, I once interviewed Alexi Lalas on the challenge of playing against Romario in the 1994 World Cup. He had this to say:
“He could kill you in so many different ways. If you remember from that World Cup, he scored so many types of goals. That ranged from solo adventures to an outside-of-the-right-foot half-volley off a corner kick. Romario was both the most difficult to play against and the best that I have faced.
“Roberto Baggio was doing his thing, but in terms of consistency and living up to the hype, he [Romario] was the best. As with all stars, there was a moment when the fans sit up in their seats, and that was a feeling I got with Romario. When it got close to him and the potential for his involvement in a play was there, everybody sat up in their seat. They knew that something spectacular would be happening.”
Saturday’s match reports here.
The Saudi Arabia coach, and Blackburn legend, Georgios Donis, spoke about the challenges facing his team: “Spain is not the same team when Yamal or Williams are on the bench.
“While they still have plenty of possession, they lack the individual one-on-one penetration when these two are missing. I’m not saying it’s a problem for Spain, but when those players are missing, they play in a different way. We saw this very clearly against Cape Verde.
“We are playing against one of the best teams in the world, and it’s very important that when you play against these kinds of teams, you should enjoy the experience and respect the opponent, but not too much.
“It is very hard for any team playing against Spain to have any time in possession. So what we must do is to be more in control of our movement and compact, and when the ball goes through the lines, be able to defend dynamically.
“It’s nice to see miracles in football, and we’ve seen favourites losing against underdogs. Of course, it’s great for Saudi football to have a great memory of the result against Argentina, but we aren’t drawing anything from that.
“I think we’ll feel more pressure in that [Cape Verde] game than we will against Spain.”
The Spain coach, Luis De La Fuente had this to say in his Saturday press conference: “This generation of footballers is highly competitive and really fired up… It’s going to be a completely different story,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Saturday. There is no drama or crisis. The bottom line is simply that we need to win tomorrow.”
Four changes for Spain: Lamine Yamal, Pedro Porro, Dani Olmo and Alex Baena also come into the side with Marcos Llorente, Fabian Ruiz, Ferran Torres and Gavi dropping out.
The teams – Lamine Yamal starts
Spain: Simon, Porro, Cubarsi, Laporte, Cucurella, Gonzalez, Rodri, Yamal, Olmo, Baena, Oyarzabal. Subs: Raya, Joan Garcia, Pubill, Grimaldo, Eric Garcia, Llorente, Merino, Torres, Fabian, Gavi, Pino, Williams, Zubimendi, Munoz, Iglesias.
Saudi Arabia: Al Owais, Abdulhamid, Tambakti, Lajami, Al Amri, Al Harbi, Nasser Al Dawsari, Al Khaibari, Al Juwayr, Al Buraikan, Salem Al Dawsari. Subs: Al Aqidi, Al Kassar, Majrashi, Yahya, Al Shehri, Al Boushal, Kadesh, Al Johani, Al Ghannam, Al Hajji, Al Hamdan, Mandash, Kanno, Thakri, Abu Al Shamat.
Referee: Raphael Claus (Brazil)
Perhaps one of the Saudi -players can write themselves into this high-grade selection?
Perhaps it can be their goalkeeper.
Madrid screening of Spain v Saudi Arabia cancelled due to heat
The public screening of Spain’s World Cup match against Saudi Arabia in Madrid on Sunday has been cancelled because of extreme heat forecast for the Spanish capital, officials said.
The match, due to kick off at 6pm local time on Sunday, had been scheduled to be shown on a giant screen installed by the Spanish football federation (RFEF) at a fan zone in Plaza de Colón in central Madrid.
Madrid city council and the federation decided to cancel the screening after national weather agency AEMET issued an orange heat warning – the second-highest level – for the Madrid region, with temperatures forecast to reach 40C.
“The decision has been taken with the aim of protecting the health of attendees, event staff and support services involved in the event,” Madrid city hall said in a statement, apologising for any inconvenience.
Officials urged supporters to watch the match indoors in air-conditioned spaces and avoid prolonged exposure to the heat.
Large parts of Spain are experiencing unusually high temperatures for June as a mass of hot air from North Africa moves across the Iberian Peninsula.
A total of 13 of Spain’s 17 regions are on orange alert for heat on Sunday, while the northern Basque Country bordering France is on red alert, the highest level.
Authorities advised residents and visitors to take precautions during the heatwave, including drinking water regularly, staying in cool environments, limiting outdoor physical activity during the hottest hours of the day and taking extra care of vulnerable people. AFP
Can Saudi Arabia repeat the magic of 2022?
Argentina arrived in Qatar on a 36-game unbeaten run. When Lionel Messi opened the scoring from the penalty spot after 10 minutes, a comfortable afternoon seemed in the offing. Saleh al-Shehri and Salem al-Dawsari had other ideas, Argentina had three goals disallowed for offside in the space of 13 minutes and the greatest comeback in Saudi Arabia football history was made. Argentina went on to lift the trophy, while defeats to Poland and Mexico meant the Saudis did not reach the knock-out stage.
Unai Simon over David Raya is a controversial choice for De la Fuentes. The Arsenal keeper could lay claim to being Europe’s best this season.
“Those at the Champions League final had a few more days, so I got there on the Wednesday night,” Raya says. “I arrived a bit before Fabián [Ruiz]. I was saying hello to some of the others in reception when he arrived. I went to say congratulations; that was almost the first thing I did. I couldn’t really talk [to him] after the final; I just didn’t have it in me. The next day we talked about the game properly. Just two mates chatting … I was happy for him that he could lift the trophy for a second time.”
A high pressure game for the European champions, as Sid Lowe reports.
“If we had scored one, the game would have changed,” Martín Zubimendi said. Immediately after the game, De la Fuente had offered a simple analysis: when the ball doesn’t want to go in it doesn’t want to go in, he insisted. Spain had racked up 27 shots, after all. Ferran Torres had hit the bar and seen another clear opportunity saved. Vozinha, the 40-year-old goalkeeper who stopped that, saved six more and was named the man of the match. “There’s nothing to reproach the team for,” Rodri said. “We generated chances but couldn’t put it away; the good thing is they created almost nothing.”
We wait to see what role Lamine Yamal will play today. His coach would surely like to be able to use him.
The worst mistake we could make would be to compare him to anyone. He is the midst of a process. He has exceptional footballing maturity and lives it all with total naturalness. He has great serenity and strength. We have to let him follow his path but those players who have something different are ready for that. They’re geniuses, like Dalí [who] can paint a picture, or Michelangelo. They’re different. What is exceptional to us, isn’t to them. In those extremes, they feel comfortable. Why? Because they are different. What we think is exceptional, they consider normal.
Preamble
Spain’s campaign did not get off to a flying start, and Luis de la Fuentes may wake up in the night to visions of Cape Verde’s Vozinha. He will have Georgia on his mind ever since Monday. Saudi Arabia are no pushovers and gave Uruguay a scare in their opening match. Memories of downing Argentina four years ago still abound, and so Spain might beware. They can ill afford to go into the final game with Uruguay at a disadvantage. All eyes on Lamine Yamal, whose fitness situation remains opaque, though Spain need their other forwards to come to the party.
Kick-off 5pm UK, 1pm ET, 2am AEST. Join me.
A topless man can be seen driving erratically in Edinburgh before abandoning his car and attacking a black man and a delivery rider.
Source link
-
Oxford News4 weeks agoJeremy Clarkson hits back with sweary response over BGT backlash
-
Crime & Safety4 weeks agoPhotos as 1979 Pontiac Firebird ‘bursts in flames’ at Tesco
-
Oxford News4 weeks agoJeremy Clarkson reveals new Clarkson’s Farm surprise guest stars
-
UK News3 weeks agoTwo arrests and three police officers injured in protest at asylum hotel
-
Student Life2 weeks agoHome Office proposes doubling of Campsfield capacity
-
Oxford News3 weeks agoOxford sports bar brawl with bottle and pool balls thrown
-
UK News3 weeks agoJohn Healey resigns as defence secretary in disagreement with Starmer over spending – UK politics live | Politics
-
Business & Technology4 weeks agoCar boot sale to return to Bicester after 20 years