After a minor injury that spiraled into 10 operations, an infection that ate away at his tendon and threatened foot amputation, a skin graft that resulted in part of his left arm tattoo moving to his right foot and ultimately, a spell of 636 days without football, Santi Cazorla made a remarkable comeback with Villarreal last season, appearing in 46 matches, scoring seven goals and providing 11 assists.
Real Madrid’s youth movement continued apace Tuesday with news that 21-year-old Serbian striker Luka Jović had completed his transfer from Eintracht Frankfurt on a six-year deal worth $67.5 million.
Jose Antonio Reyes, a fan favorite wherever he went, died in a car crash on Saturday morning at the age of 35.
The crash occurred in Reyes’ hometown of Utrera outside Seville, Marca reported.
We couldn't be confirming worse news. Beloved Sevilla star José Antonio Reyes has died in a traffic collision. Rest in peace. pic.twitter.com/qeGl2nsi3c
With two matches remaining in Spain’s Segunda División, Albacete has assured itself of at least a spot in the LaLiga promotion playoffs following Saturday’s 2-0 away victory over Sporting Gijón.
The first goal was scored by Eugeni from the penalty spot, and the second arrived in the 58th from 30-year-old Paraguayan attacker Javier Acuña. Acuña’s effort was from well inside his own half, but the pace and accuracy on the strike beat Sporting keeper Dani Martín, a 20-year-old who’s represented Spain at the youth levels.
Mexican soccer fans are known for their incredible passion for the sport and also their obsession for a fifth game at the World Cup. It goes without saying that fans have longed for a player to come and spearhead El Tri into a new era of greatness, a player that draws amazement and inspires those around him be greats.
Real Madrid completed its worst season in nearly 20 years with a 2-0 defeat to Real Betis on Sunday at the Bernabeu. Los Blancos’ return of 68 points was its worst since the 2001-02 season and they finished farther behind Barcelona than any time in the LaLiga era.
The season of futility, a massive failure to overcome the loss of Cristiano Ronaldo, resulted in a third-place finish, 19 points shy of Barcelona and eight points back of crosstown rival Atletico Madrid. The only redeeming quality of the season was ensuring Champions League play for next season.
PSG’s Kylian Mbappé scored two goals in a 4-0 rout of Dijon on Saturday to move within two of Lionel Messi in the race for the 2019 European Golden Boot. It took the span of 102 seconds for Messi to reassert his lead.
Messi scored in the 31st and 32nd minutes for his 35th and 36th goals of the season, wrapping up the LaLiga Golden Boot/Pichichi Trophy and giving the Argentine the inside track to the European honor.
The Camp Nou was just over half full on Sunday as Barcelona — already confirmed league champion — hosted Getafe in the penultimate game of the LaLiga season. Ernesto Valverde named a strong lineup for the meaningless match, giving the 57,000 in attendance the chance to voice their displeasure at the capitulation the team suffered last Tuesday at Anfield.
All Barcelona had to do was get one. One away goal and it would all be over for Liverpool. One simple goal from the team with the greatest goal scorer of this era, perhaps of all time.
But Alisson wouldn’t let it happen.
What a difference a goalkeeper makes.
Last year, Liverpool’s Champions League run was ended by poor goalkeeping, Loris Karius undoing all the good work done by Jurgen Klopp’s side against Real Madrid.
Real Madrid completed its penultimate home match of the season when recording a 3-2 victory over Villarreal on Sunday. With a Champions League spot already secure next year, los Blancos have nothing to play for, and that fact was mirrored in the stands at the Santiago Bernabéu.
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