BARCELONA: Rodrygo fired La Liga leaders Real Madrid to a 2-0 win over Athletic Bilbao with a superb brace on Sunday to restore their eight-point advantage on Barcelona.
Earlier Cristhian Stuani’s last-gasp strike earned Girona an entertaining 3-2 win over Real Betis, keeping the minnows on track for Champions League qualification.
After champions Barca, second, beat Las Palmas on Saturday to put pressure on Carlo Ancelotti’s side, Los Blancos responded with a solid showing at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Without suspended Brazil forward Vinicius Junior, his compatriot Rodrygo made the difference with two superb strikes against an Athletic with one eye on next weekend’s Copa del Rey final against Mallorca.
Los Leones coach Ernesto Valverde rested goalkeeper Unai Simon and defender Dani Vivian, along with Nico Williams, who had a minor muscular issue.
Defeat leaves fifth place Atletico Madrid able to rise above Athletic in fourth on Monday when they visit Villarreal.
Madrid, whose next match is Manchester City’s visit on April 9 in the Champions League quarter-finals, enjoyed a comfortable night thanks to Rodrygo.
“He played very well, he made the difference, he was able to score early, he has a lot of quality in his moves, it’s what he has to do,” Ancelotti told reporters.
Ancelotti said he was not concerned that Rodrygo, who had only netted once in his last 13 matches across all competitions, was inconsistent in front of goal.
“There are very isolated cases of forward who score all the time, like (Karim) Benzema or Cristiano (Ronaldo),” continued the Italian.
“With experience Rodrygo will improve in that aspect, he’s still young and plays with a lot of intensity, and sometimes because of that youth I ask him to do a lot of work, so that’s why sometimes he’s not as fresh in front of goal.”
Rodrygo broke the deadlock after just seven minutes with a strike from just outside the area, beyond the reach of Julen Agirrezabala and into the top corner.
Diaz crashed a shot against the post as Madrid sought a second goal to kill the game in the second half.
Rodrygo netted his and Madrid’s second after 73 minutes at the end of a slick move, ghosting inside Vivian and finishing at the near post.
La Liga’s joint top scorer Jude Bellingham, making his return after a two-match suspension for dissent, had a quiet night — quite literally at one point.
In complaining about a foul not called in his favor late on he acted out zipping his mouth shut, a reference to his recent punishment.
Eder Militao’s appearance in the final stages after a long-term knee injury he suffered against Athletic in August marked the end of a good night’s work for Madrid.
“I feel a lot of joy and happiness, hearing the fans when I went out to warm up is a joy that I can’t describe,” Militao told Real Madrid TV.
Their only concern was Fede Valverde limping off, but Ancelotti said it was not serious.
Michel Sanchez’s Girona had fallen badly out of form after running Madrid close in the title race for most of the season, but Stuani’s late goal earned them an important win.
Two David Lopez errors gifted Betis forward Willian Jose two goals to twice equalize goals from Girona forward Artem Dovbyk but veteran Uruguayan forward Stuani had the final say.
Girona, third, lead fourth place Athletic Bilbao by nine points, and are 10 behind Madrid and two off Barca.
“Until (qualification) is mathematically sealed, we’ll keep working and preparing for matches as if they were the last,” Stuani told DAZN.
“We’re on a good path, living through a historic year and let’s finish it in the best way we can.”
The hosts went ahead when Chadi Riad handled Dovbyk’s header and the Ukrainian netted the resulting penalty, before Jose lobbed home the equalizer.
Girona edged back in front with a good move finished by Dovbyk for his 16th goal, putting him level with Bellingham and Mallorca’s Ante Budimir as La Liga’s top scorer.
Betis were soon level after Lopez’s poor attempt at a clearance allowed Jose to strike, but Stuani pounced acrobatically in stoppage time to help Girona take their European dream one step closer to reality.
It would be a remarkable achievement for a club only in the top flight for the fourth season in their history.
Rodrygo keeps Madrid clear of Barca, Girona boost European dream
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Rodrygo keeps Madrid clear of Barca, Girona boost European dream
- Rodrygo broke the deadlock after just seven minutes with a strike from just outside the area, beyond the reach of Julen Agirrezabala and into the top corner
Inter continue Scudetto march after Champions League humbling
- Milan will be favorites to win at Cremonese in Sunday’s early fixture, with the local rivals set to face off next weekend in a match which will in all likelihood have little impact on the destination of the Scudetto
MILAN, Italy: Inter Milan bounced back from Champions League elimination with Saturday’s 2-0 win over Genoa which continued their march toward the Serie A title.
Federico Dimarco’s brilliant volley just after the half-hour mark and Hakan Calhanoglu’s second-half penalty were enough for Inter to extend their already huge lead over AC Milan at the top of the table to 13 points.
Milan will be favorites to win at Cremonese in Sunday’s early fixture, with the local rivals set to face off next weekend in a match which will in all likelihood have little impact on the destination of the Scudetto.
Inter, whose fans unloaded a collection of anti-Milan chants in anticipation of the derby, have dropped just two points in 15 league matches and have been a cut above the rest in Italy’s top flight this season.
Their domestic dominance comes in stark contrast to the humiliating manner in which they were dumped out of the Champions League by Bodo/Glimt on Tuesday night.
A 5-2 aggregate defeat to the Norwegian minnows cast doubts over not just the quality of Cristian Chivu’s team but of Italian football as a whole.
There was plenty of quality in Dimarco’s opener however, the Italy full-back beautifully placing a first-time finish from a tight angle after exchanging passes with Henrikh Mkhitaryan.
Little else happened in a humdrum encounter until Alex Amorim handled a cross from Luis Henrique, whose shot had been tipped onto the post just moments before.
Calhanoglu calmly stroked home the spot-kick on his return to action following niggling muscle problems which have caused him issues since before Christmas, sealing the points for Inter.
Big Rom back
Romelu Lukaku kept Napoli on course for a Champions League spot with a last-gasp winner in the champions’ 2-1 victory over rock-bottom Verona, the Belgium forward’s first goal of the season.
Lukaku forced home Giovane’s cross to snatch the win for third-placed Napoli with the last kick of the game at the Stadio Marcantonio Bentegodi.
Napoli had looked like dropping points in northern Italy when Jean-Daniel Akpa Akpro levelled Rasmus Hojlund’s early opener in the 65th minute.
But Lukaku, who only played his first game of the season in late January, gave Napoli a huge win with both Como and Atalanta pushing for a top-four placing.
“I was a dead player before coming here,” said Lukaku to DAZN.
“This season has been difficult, but we’ve got to aim high.”
Napoli’s title defense is all but over as they trail Inter by 14 points after an injury-ravaged season.
Napoli were missing key midfielders Scott McTominay, Kevin De Bruyne and Andre-Frank Anguissa on Saturday, as well as captain Giovanni Di Lorenzo.
Verona, under interim coach Paolo Sammarco following the sacking of Paolo Zanetti earlier this month, are 10 points from safety after a 12th straight match without a win.
Como, who face Inter in the first leg of the Italian Cup semifinals on Tuesday, strolled to 3-1 victory over strugglers Lecce to continue their push for a first-ever qualification for European football.
Cesc Fabregas’s team are two points behind Roma, in fourth and Juventus’ opponents on Sunday, and five behind Napoli.
Como are also two points ahead of sixth-placed Juve who face Roma trying to stay in touch with the Champions League places after being eliminated from Europe’s elite club competition by Galatasaray on Wednesday.
