Football: Madrid disappoint again in dreary draw with Leganes

MADRID -- Real Madrid took the Monday night slot reserved for La Liga's lower teams and never really looked out of place as Karim Benzema's goal was enough only for a 1-1 draw away to Leganes. 

Madrid delivered another thoroughly underwhelming performance at Butarque to remain 13 points adrift of Barcelona, with Zinedine Zidane's second reign as coach now delivering three wins, one defeat and a draw. 

Leganes might even have won it after Jonathan Silva gave them the lead shortly before half-time and while Benzema scored his 26th goal of the season, Madrid never looked like finding a winner. 

"It looks like we do not have much confidence," Zidane said. "We have to give a little bit more."

Instead, they sit four points behind Atletico Madrid and finishing second, and above their city rivals, appears unlikely. Leganes climb to 11th. 

Zidane was asked last month about the humiliation of playing on a Monday night, the time typically reserved for La Liga's sides not involved in European competitions and so unpopular that it will be abolished next season. 

It meant as Barcelona were preparing to face Manchester United in the Champions League quarter-finals on Tuesday, Real Madrid stepped out looking to salvage only pride and, perhaps, momentum ahead of what most expect to be a busy summer. 

Most of Zidane's press conferences have so far been dominated by questions about his players' futures and on this evidence, few will be feeling secure. 

Benzema has been, by a distance, Madrid's most consistent player this season and he showed again why Zidane has already said the striker will stay. Gareth Bale, meanwhile, was left on the bench for the second time in three matches, with his prospects looking ever-more bleak. 

"Today I wanted to make a change," Zidane said. "It is done." 

Chances were few and far between in the first half but Madrid could twice have taken the lead as Marco Asensio scuffed his finish after being put through by Isco and Raphael Varane's shot was blocked after a goalline scramble. 

Leganes, though, were otherwise rarely made to feel uncomfortable and shortly before half-time they took the lead. Madrid failed to clear, instead allowing Martin Braithwaite to roll back to Silva, who guided the ball into the corner. 

Zidane strode down the tunnel at half-time and his team emerged with greater purpose afterwards, with Benzema finding an equaliser six minutes in. 

Casemiro threaded a neat ball through to Luka Modric, who twisted and set free Benzema. His first shot was pushed out by Pichu Cuellar but only back to Beznema, who fired in the rebound. 

Silva headed straight at Navas and Youssef En-Nesyri had a goal correctly ruled out for offside late on. Neither side really deserved a winner. 

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Messi bags hat-trick as Barca equal La Liga unbeaten record

BARCELONA - Barcelona forward Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick in a 3-1 win over Leganes on Saturday which took the Catalans 12 points clear at the top of La Liga and also meant they equaled a Spanish top-flight record of 38 games without defeat.

Messi curled in from a free kick to break the deadlock in the 27th minute. Five minutes later the Argentine doubled the lead, taking one touch to control a through ball from Philippe Coutinho before delivering a cool low finish.

Nabil El Zhar pulled a goal back for 14th-placed Leganes in the 68th minute. However, Messi made sure Barca kept all the points by hitting his third with three minutes left, controlling the ball on his chest and calmly chipping goalkeeper Ivan Cuellar from close range.

Barca have not lost in the league since going down 2-0 at Malaga on April 8 last year and the win saw them match Real Sociedad's unbeaten run between 1979 and 1980. Ernesto Valverde's side are also undefeated in the Champions League this campaign.

"It's a historic record which gives you an idea of how competitive the team is," Valverde told a news conference, stressing that the record also belongs to predecessor Luis Enrique, who oversaw the first seven games of the unbeaten run at the end of last season.

"I can't explain how we have done it, all we try and do is focus on always winning the next game."

The Catalans are top of La Liga with 79 points after 31 games and have a 12-point advantage over second-placed Atletico Madrid, who visit champions Real Madrid in a local derby on Sunday.

Despite the huge margin his side have at the top, Valverde continued to resist talk about his side being champions-elect.

"When you start to feel like you are the champions, that's the moment you begin to make a mistake," he said.

"We still haven't won anything and there's still a danger we won't win it. We have to keep fighting until the end, just like our other rivals."

Sevilla suffered a humiliating 4-0 defeat at Celta Vigo as their former striker Iago Aspas struck a hat-trick in a rampant second-half display.

Spain forward Aspas scored all his goals in the space of 21 minutes, taking his La Liga goal tally this season to 19.

Sevilla's 20-year-old defender Guilherme Arana bundled the ball into his own net to put the home side ahead towards the end of the first half and Vincenzo Montella's side fell apart after the interval.

Sevilla are seventh in the standings and will drop down to eighth and out of the European places if Girona win at Real Sociedad on Sunday.

Real Betis climbed up to fifth and edged closer to a return to European football next season by beating Eibar 2-0 at home, while Alaves beat Getafe 2-0.

(Reporting by Richard Martin Editing by Christian Radnedge and Pritha Sarkar)

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LA LIGA: Barca win easily at Leganes, Atletico thrash Sporting

BARCELONA - Barcelona's attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar were all on target as the champions roared back into life in La Liga by thrashing promoted Leganes 5-1 away on Saturday, while Atletico Madrid thumped visitors Sporting Gijon 5-0.

Atletico strikers Antoine Griezmann, Fernando Torres and Kevin Gameiro all found the net as Diego Simeone's side warmed up for next Wednesday's visit to the Nou Camp.

Elsewhere, Las Palmas maintained their excellent start to the campaign by beating Malaga 1-0, and Sevilla's 15-month wait for an away victory continued after they were held to a 1-1 draw at nine-man Eibar.

Messi sidefooted in a simple cross from Suarez to strike the opening goal for Barca after 15 minutes and returned the favour for the Uruguayan to nudge in the second in the 31st.

Neymar stretched Barca's lead to three goals on the stroke of half-time, tapping in another lay off from Suarez, before Messi got his second from the penalty spot 10 minutes into the second half.

Rafinha rounded off the most comfortable of Barca victories with a curled finish in the 64th minute, although Gabriel Appelt salvaged a goal for the Madrid minnows in the 80th with a free-kick whipped into the top corner.

Barcelona, beaten 2-1 by newcomers Alaves last weekend in their first loss at the Nou Camp since April 17, now have nine points from their first four La Liga games.

They join Real, who can go clear again when they play at Espanyol on Sunday, and Las Palmas at the league's summit, while Atletico are one point behind.

"This is an important victory against a team that we knew would cause us problems in bringing the ball out. We exploited the space well and we were very active from the start," said Luis Enrique.

After squad rotations backfired against Alaves, Luis Enrique picked a similar team to the one that battered Celtic 7-0 in the Champions League on Tuesday in Barca's biggest ever win in European soccer's top competition.

Atletico kickstarted their league campaign last week with a 4-0 win at Celta Vigo and raced out of the traps against Sporting, Gameiro feeding Griezmann to tap in the opener in the second minute before curling in another in the fifth.

Griezmann then cut inside to lash in the third goal in the 31st before being replaced by Torres, and the homegrown Atletico hero further delighted the Vicente Calderon by rounding off the victory with two late strikes, including an injury-time penalty.

"We knew we were doing the right things to score goals," Torres told BeIN Sports after a rewarding afternoon for Atletico's strikeforce.

"It's good that all the forwards contributed with the goals and that I could do that from the bench. It's never a good time to visit Barcelona but now we can go there feeling confident."

Las Palmas surrendered their 100 percent record last week by losing 2-1 at Sevilla with two late strikes but got back to winning ways with a narrow win over Malaga, courtesy of midfielder Momo's penalty in the ninth minute.

At Eibar, Luciano Vietto scored his third goal in four games to put Sevilla ahead in the 27th minute and the Europa League holders looked on course for a first away win since May 23 2015 when the hosts' goalkeeper Yoel was sent off in the 45th minute.

Former Real Madrid midfielder Pedro Leon, however, leveled midway through the second half from close range to extend Sevilla's search for that elusive away win, while Eibar midfielder Dani Garcia was also given a straight red card late on.

(Reporting by Richard Martin, editing by Alan Baldwin)

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LA LIGA: Kroos missile delights Real, Atletico held again

BARCELONA - A late goal by Toni Kroos sealed victory as Real Madrid defeated an impressive Celta Vigo side 2-1 to win their first home La Liga game of the campaign on Saturday.

Atletico Madrid were held to a goalless draw at newcomers Leganes and already trail Real by four points while champions Barcelona visit Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

Alvaro Morata scored his first goal for Real since returning from Juventus to break the deadlock on the hour before Fabian Orellana levelled for Celta in the 67th minute.

Kroos then finished off substitute James Rodriguez's cut- back with a low drive from the edge of the area in the 81st minute, giving his side six points from their two league matches.

"We were made to suffer against a team that were a lot better than I expected especially in attack," Real coach Zinedine Zidane told a news conference.

"They caused problems for us on a few occasions but that's normal...it's never easy to win."

Croatia playmaker Luka Modric rattled the bar and tested goalkeeper Sergio Alvarez with two other efforts from distance but Celta's Theo Bogonda squandered the first clear opening, firing wide when John Guidetti was unmarked in the area.

Gareth Bale clipped the bar at the other end with a second- half free kick and the breakthrough arrived soon after.

Modric slipped a pass to Marco Asensio and the winger was thwarted by Alvarez, only for Morata to ram the loose ball into the net.

The former Juve forward almost grabbed a second goal a few minutes later when he latched on to a ball from Kroos and his effort bounced off the outside of the far post.

CRISP MOVE

Celta then levelled following a crisp move between Daniel Wass, Guidetti and Orellana, the Chilean sending a rasping drive high beyond Casilla.

Zidane called on substitutes Rodriguez and Mariano Diaz and it was the out of favour Colombian, who started on the bench for the third game running, who made the difference as he chased down a loose ball on the right and slid it back for Kroos to score.

After facing repeated questions about Rodriguez's future in recent weeks, Zidane praised the player's display on Saturday and confirmed he would not be leaving Real before the transfer window closes.

"When you come on you have to make a difference and he got chances and did well," said the Frenchman. "He's going to stay here."

The return of prolific striker Antoine Griezmann could not help Atletico break down Leganes.

Home keeper Jon Ander Serantes kept out efforts from the France international, Kevin Gameiro and Yannick Carrasco in an inspired display.

Atletico were involved in a thrilling three-pronged title race until the penultimate week of last season but have drawn both opening games against promoted sides, failing to win their first two matches for the first time under coach Diego Simeone.

"We have to get our act together because if we keep going like this we'll be fighting to avoid relegation," said Griezmann.

Elsewhere, Real Sociedad won 2-0 at promoted Osasuna thanks to a strike from new signing Juanmi and an own goal by Unai Garcia while Eibar beat Valencia 1-0 as Pedro Leon scored the only goal on the rebound after his penalty was saved.

Valencia striker Paco Alcacer was left out and is now expected to sign for Barcelona.

"Today he was not in an ideal situation to compete and we'll see what happens in the next few days," said coach Pako Ayesteran.

(Editing by Tony Jimenez)

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