GETAFE, Spain (AFP) - Real Madrid's dreary end to the season took another turn for the worse on Thursday (April 25) as they were left holding on for a goalless draw away to Champions League chasers Getafe.
Just 48 hours before Barcelona are set to be celebrating a 26th La Liga title at Camp Nou, Madrid drifted to a stalemate that leaves them 15 points behind the soon-to-be champions and, on this evidence, with significant ground to make up.
It says something that Getafe were, in the end, disappointed not to win here, Sevilla's 5-0 thrashing of Rayo Vallecano before kick-off meaning they stay fourth, only by virtue of a superior head-to-head.
Real Madrid were mathematically ruled out of the title race after Barcelona beat Alaves on Tuesday while Atletico Madrid look likely to finish above them too for a second consecutive year.
Zinedine Zidane has insisted La Liga will be the club's "bread and butter" next season, their priority ahead of the Champions League after seven years with only one league title to their name.
But they have work to do, with very few of his squad showing many reasons to keep tem this summer and several more looking like they could well be replaced.
Getafe still have a lot to play for. If they snatch a Champions League spot, it would be one of the greatest shocks La Liga has seen in years, perhaps even trumping Atletico Madrid winning the title in 2014.
Their average attendance here is just under 10,000 while the club's wage bill stands at a little less than 40 million euros. Madrid's is close to 570 million.
Karim Benzema skewed wide of the far post with 62 seconds on the clock and Madrid hardly created a better chance for the rest of the half.
Gareth Bale started and was greeted by silence rather than the whistles that have accompanied him at the Santiago Bernabeu in recent weeks. But he looked low on confidence, a shadow of the player he can be.
Bale pulled back for Benzema, who could only find the hands of David Soria on the slide while Casemiro had an instinctive effort blocked from six yards.
But Getafe were largely untroubled even if they lacked creativity, their best opening coming from a free-kick which Mauro Arambarri caught well but Keylor Navas was equal to.
For 10 minutes, Madrid peppered the Getafe goal after the break. Soria came out quickly to deny Bale, pushed a Casemiro shot around the post and then saved from Isco, who should have scored after Dani Carvajal picked him out.
Bale and Brahim Diaz departed, replaced by Marco Asensio and Lucas Vazquez, but it was Navas that was called upon next, making two quick-fire saves to keep out Jorge Molina and Jaime Mata.
Mata wanted a penalty for a Carvajal push as Getafe looked more likely to find a late winner. It was not to be. Getafe's Champions League dream hangs in the balance.
'Caption this': Pogba deletes cryptic post after Mourinho axed Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba quickly deleted a controversial social media post of him smiling after manager Jose Mourinho was sacked by the club on Tuesday.
'Caption this': Pogba deletes cryptic post after Mourinho axed
Eleven Sports hit by poor take-up rate in UK, Football News
Football: PSG's Cavani doubtful for Man United game
Home Contact Us Get Listed Directory About Us Consumer Portal Client Portal the internet pages.co.uk England Scotland Wales Ireland
The Sports News page - Rediff.com
Translate Kill. See 14 authoritative translations of Kill in Spanish with example sentences, conjugations and audio pronunciations.
Newcastle United to rival Barcelona for the signing of
An open letter to Tatsuma Yoshida, the Singapore national football team's new coach. 2019, with the headline 'Yoshida-san, restore the Lions' semangat, boleh?'. Print Edition | Subscribe.
Football: Yoshida-san, restore the Lions' semangat, boleh?
virginiabus.info/sports/football-yoshida-san-restore-the-lions-semangat-boleh/
There was a time when our Lions roared on the regional stage. But after three straight group-stage eliminations from the AFF Suzuki Cup, we have been reduced to whimpering pussycats of late. We are looking to you to restore the semangat - which is similar to the Japanese concepts of seishin and tamashii - and revive the energy and
Flipboard: Lions hungry for post-raya victory
Norwich City have been promoted back to the Premier League after a three-year absence, while Sheffield United are on the brink of having their own promotion confirmed. Following their relegation in 2016, it has been somewhat of a stagnant couple of seasons for the Canaries, finishing eighth and 14th respectively.
Sheffield United promoted to Premier League - ProSoccerTalk
The Straits Times - Get latest breaking news, business, sports, lifestyle, tech & multimedia and more news in Singapore, Asia & rest of the world at straitstimes.com.
Croatia, Hungary win to pull away in Group E | SBS News
Guardiola not worried about Man City players' social media use by BeSoccer @besoccer_com - 02 Feb 2019 0 672 Pep Guardiola is not concerned about the way his Manchester City players use social media, despite a post from Kyle Walker that appeared to mock Premier League title rivals Liverpool.
Guardiola not worried about Man City players' social media use
LONDON: Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp is relaxed about Mohamed Salah's goalscoring drought, saying the Egyptian forward remains a key part of the title chasers' attacking armoury. Salah, who scored 44 times in his maiden season at Anfield, has gone eight matches without finding the net but
Football: Klopp relaxed about Salah's Liverpool drought
Tottenham defender Jan Vertonghen will see a neurologist on Thursday after suffering a horrific head injury during his side's Champions League semi-final defeat against Ajax.
Tottenham's Vertonghen to miss Bournemouth game after head injury
The TV, live streaming and radio listings are legal broadcasts of Tampines Rovers - Home United in United States. Authentication or subscription with a TV, ISP or streaming provider may be required. Please note that not all channels are available to watch online. If available online, we will link to the official stream provider above before
Tampines Rovers FC Singapore statistics, table, results, fixtures
0 comments:
Post a Comment