Football: Real Madrid one win from La Liga crown after beating Granada

MADRID, Spain -- Real Madrid need one victory to secure La Liga after they held off a second-half comeback from Granada on Monday to win 2-1 and move four points clear of Barcelona.

With two games left, Madrid will be crowned champions if they beat Villarreal at home on Thursday regardless of how Barca fare at the Camp Nou against Osasuna.

But they were made to sweat by a Granada team that are gunning for Europe and have been arguably the division's surprise of the season after being promoted from second tier last year. 

Ferland Mendy and Karim Benzema looked to have set Madrid on course for a comfortable win at Los Carmenes but Granada were transformed after the break and Darwin Machis's 50th-minute strike gave them hope. 

An increasingly nervous Madrid were clinging on by the end and needed Sergio Ramos to clear one shot off the line as Zinedine Zidane's side dug in for a ninth consecutive victory. 

"Our vision when we start every season is to win the league," said Zidane. "There are two games left. We are close but we're not there yet."

When the final whistle blew, Zidane roared with relief and Ramos clenched his fists after coming through their toughest test since the restart. 

"We can't relax, we're a bit closer but we have to carry on," said Ramos afterwards. 

"We let our guard down here a bit on the second half. We won the first half and lost the second and maybe that's a warning for us. We have to make sure we don't repeat that mistake." 

Madrid could win La Liga for the third time in eight years at the Alfredo di Stefano Stadium on Thursday night. "It would mean a lot," said Ramos. 

"It's the prize for consistency over the whole year. Maybe we had a period of reflection during the suspension and we came back and reacted. We're in the race and hopefully on Thursday we can celebrate." 

If Madrid slip up against Villarreal, they will still have a second chance on Sunday when they finish at Leganes while Barcelona visit Alaves. 

Machis's goal was the first Madrid have conceded in six matches but few would have seen it coming after the first half. 

Madrid scored twice in six minutes, with both goals coming from breaks down their left. 

Mendy had space in front of him and kept going, accelerating between Victor Diaz and Dimitri Foulquier before firing high and into the roof of the net from an acute angle. 

The second goal came down the same side, Isco's backheel allowing Luka Modric to switch left to Benzema, who this time cut inside Diaz and shot into the far corner. 

Madrid cruised through the rest of the half, pushing the ball around at will, but comfort perhaps created complacency and Granada improved after the break. 

Machis pulled a goal back, striking through the legs of Courtois after Casemiro was dispossessed in midfield and Madrid were rattled as Granada began to dictate play. 

A scramble in Madrid's six-yard box saw several players hacking at the ball in panic and Courtois was twice required to make smart saves late on. 

The closest Granada came was when the ball fell to Ramon Azeez at the back post and he fired towards the near post with Courtois stranded but Ramos was on the line to clear. 

Earlier, Villarreal's hopes of Champions League football were dashed after they lost 2-1 at home to Real Sociedad to confirm that fourth-placed Sevilla will join Atletico Madrid, Barcelona and Real Madrid in the competition next season.

Villarreal remain fifth, three points ahead of Getafe and Real Sociedad, with all three hoping to secure a place in the Europa League. Getafe drew 0-0 against Alaves.

Agence France-Presse

Football: Messi gives new Barca coach Setien debut win

BARCELONA - Barcelona may have a new coach but Lionel Messi remains their unquestionable talisman after guiding the Spanish champions to a nervy 1-0 win at home to Granada in La Liga on Sunday in Quique Setien's first game in charge of the club.

The Argentine struck the only goal in the 76th minute, firing into the bottom corner to complete a well crafted team move shortly after the visitors had defender German Sanchez sent off.

"Messi did what he has done his entire life," said Setien of Barca's all-time top scorer, who proved the difference on a blustery evening at Camp Nou.

"He has done this so many times in games like this, games when you cannot find a way through, things aren't going for you and you are lacking inspiration, but he always conjures up something special.

"We made a few moves like this in the first half but it didn't come off but when the ball falls to Messi you know there's a very high chance it will go in."

READ: Liverpool fans already celebrating title after United win
The victory took Barca back to the top of La Liga on 43 points after 20 games, ahead of second-placed Real Madrid on goal difference.

Barca, who sacked Ernesto Valverde last week despite being La Liga leaders and winning the last two titles by considerable margins, enjoyed 82% of possession and made a staggering 1005 passes in their first game under Setien.

The former Real Betis coach is known for his devotion to the possession-based style of play Barca became renowned for under Johan Cruyff and perfected under Pep Guardiola, but Granada, who beat Barca 2-0 in September, proved stubborn opponents.

The visitors even came close to taking the lead when Cameroonian Yan Brice Eteki struck the post in a rare foray forward but they eventually caved in after Sanchez picked up a second yellow card and was dismissed for hauling down Messi.

Messi had come closest to scoring for Barca with two powerful yet inaccurate shots either side of halftime but he made no mistake when Arturo Vidal dragged the ball into his path in a slick passing move engineered by substitute Riqui Puig.

Twenty-year-old Puig was rarely given a look in by Valverde but he was given his first league appearance of the season by 61-year-old Setien, who has pledged to honour the club's tradition of giving young, home-grown players a chance.

"He did very well, he came on when we were in a good situation with an extra man and he read the game perfectly," added the coach.

"I'm very happy because we only conceded two shots in the game, we did many things well and I hope that little by little we'll get more fluid and get sharper in front of goal."

(Reporting by Richard Martin, editing by Pritha Sarkar)

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Football: Barcelona's poor start continues with defeat by Granada

MADRID, Spain -- Barcelona threw on their stars of the present and the future on Saturday but neither Lionel Messi nor Ansu Fati could save them from a dismal 2-0 defeat away at Granada. 

Messi was still not deemed fit enough to start at Los Carmenes while Fati, the 16-year-old who has lit up La Liga in recent weeks, also began the game on the bench. 

But while both came on at half-time with Barca trailing to Ramon Azeez's opener, it was Granada that scored again, Alvaro Vadillo converting a penalty after Arturo Vidal was found guilty of a handball. 

Barcelona have now won only two of their opening five league games and none away from Camp Nou, this their second loss already, just one fewer than the three they suffered during the entirety of last season. 

With seven points on the board, this is their worst start to a season since 1994.

"Obviously I am worried," said coach Ernesto Valverde. "Because we are not getting good results and when that happens in two or three games, it means we are not playing well."

Instead, Granada go top of the table after capitalising on Atletico Madrid's goalless draw at home to Celta Vigo a few hours before. 

They will stay there until Sunday, when Sevilla, Real Madrid or Athletic Bilbao could overtake them. 

Barcelona are sixth, grasping onto the consolation of Messi's second substitute appearance in five days that now suggests he has finally recovered from the niggling calf injury sustained at the start of August. 

Their problems though are unlikely to be solved simply by their captain's return. 

Junior Firpo's error two minutes into his first start for the club gifted Granada their opening goal and set the tone for a chaotic night in defence. 

And up front, Antoine Griezmann was quiet again, with little in any of the combinations to suggest Ernesto Valverde has yet worked out who will form his best attacking trio and in what positions.

"In the end, the coach is responsible and I feel responsible," Valverde said. "I always think you can win or lose but at least you have to deserve to win when you lose, and today it hasn't been like that."

Firpo's mistake came early, as he shaped to play a long ball over the top back to his goalkeeper. Instead, the lively Roberto Soldado stole possession and slipped in Antonio Puertas. 

- Messi impact limited -

With Firpo on the floor, Gerard Pique scrambled across but Puertas' shot only looped up off the defender to the back post where Azeez headed in. 

Granada seemed hungrier than Barca and their dominance persuaded Valverde to make two changes at half-time, Messi and Fati replacing Carles Perez and Firpo. 

Messi won a free-kick 30 yards out but hit it straight at the wall while Marc-Andre ter Stegen fumbled a cross and had to react quickly to claw it back off his own line. 

Any hopes of a Barca comeback were dashed in the 66th minute as Vidal handballed at the end of a scramble in the box and Vadillo made no mistake with the spot-kick. 

One break saw Messi supply Fati but the teenager took too long and then Messi tried himself but his shot was straight at the goalkeeper. In the end, Granada were comfortable winners. 

Atletico could have returned to the top of La Liga but were frustrated by a determined Celta Vigo. 

After coming from two goals down to salvage a point against Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday, Atletico failed to sustain the momentum in a match of few chances at the Wanda Metropolitano. 

Diego Simeone's side won their opening three league games but are now two without a victory, following last weekend's shock defeat away at Real Sociedad. 

This latest setback leaves Simeone with familiar questions to answer about his side's attacking threat. 

Summer signing Joao Felix started before being replaced by Alvaro Morata in the second half, the Spanish striker available again after recovering from a knee injury. 

But neither Felix nor Morata, or their partner Diego Costa, could conjur up the decisive opening, with full-backs Renan Lodi and Kieran Trippier by far the team's most creative outlets.

Atletico drop to third in the table while Celta climb to 14th.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Hat-trick hero Suarez leads Barca to title glory

BARCELONA- A ravenous Luis Suarez bagged a third hat-trick in five games as defending champions Barcelona won 3-0 at Granada to clinch their 24th La Liga title on Saturday.

The Uruguayan converted Jordi Alba's low pass in the 22nd minute to give Barca the lead. He then headed in Dani Alves' cross in the 38th before tapping Neymar's pass into an empty net in the 86th.

"We were on top of the table for many weeks and the most consistent team wins the title," coach Luis Enrique told a news conference.

"We will celebrate this, we enjoy our team and the style in which they play. We must value each title win because it is worth a lot."

Suarez finished the season as La Liga's top scorer with 40 goals, breaking Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi's grip on the honour since 2009.

Barca ended with 91 points, one ahead of Real Madrid who won 2-0 at Deportivo La Coruna.

Ronaldo scored twice for Real to reach 50 goals in all competitions for the sixth consecutive season.

He was substituted at halftime after hurting his foot but there is no suggestion he could miss the Champions League final against Atletico Madrid in two weeks' time.

Goals from Fernando Torres and Antoine Griezmann gave Atletico Madrid a 2-0 win over Celta Vigo while Athletic Bilbao beat Sevilla 3-1.

Atletico finished third on 88 points and Bilbao secured a place in the Europa League by ending up in fifth spot.

With attention on Wednesday's Europa League final against Liverpool, Sevilla coach Unai Emery put out a heavily-rotated team.

Gerard Pique came close to giving Barca an early lead against Granada when his header was tipped away by goalkeeper Andres Fernandez who also saved well from Messi.

Fernandez was powerless to stop Suarez's opener, however, the Uruguayan tapping the ball home at the far post.

The second goal was delightful. Javier Mascherano launched a long diagonal pass towards the byline and Alves raced to meet it before hooking a cross for Suarez to nod in from close range.

Suarez nearly laid on a third for Neymar but the Brazilian was denied by Fernandez.

Neymar then generously played in Suarez to complete his hat-trick before the end.

HARD WORK

"This title tastes great after so much hard work throughout the year and suffering right until the end," said Barca captain Andres Iniesta.

"The league is the tournament that tests your consistency throughout the year and it's the one we want to win every year."

Real got off to an ideal start at Deportivo when Gareth Bale manoeuvred his way past a defender on the left and cut the ball back to Karim Benzema who squared it for Ronaldo to score in the seventh minute.

The Portugal striker's second in the 25th minute had an element of good fortune, his header from a corner bouncing off Deportivo's Pedro Mosquera on its way into the net.

Ronaldo also hit the post and the crossbar before being replaced by James Rodriguez although there was no suggestion he had an injury two weeks before the Champions League final against Atletico Madrid.

Real ended a campaign that has witnessed upheaval and managerial change by picking up a 12th consecutive league win but their revival came too late to catch Barca.

"We're a little disappointed after the effort we made," said coach Zinedine Zidane. "After 38 league games we can't change the fact Barcelona are champions.

"They deserved to win the league but I take my hat off to my lads."

(Editing by Tony Jimenez)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com