European roundup: Real Madrid stunned by Villarreal before Chelsea tie

  • 4/8/2023
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Samuel Chukwueze scored twice to inflict a further blow on Real Madrid’s title hopes as they were beaten 3-2 by Villarreal at home in La Liga on Saturday despite twice taking the lead. Carlo Ancelotti’s side had been imperious as they thrashed rivals Barcelona 4-0 in the Copa del Rey semi-finals on Wednesday, yet they could not build on that momentum as they fell to a defeat that left them on 59 points in second place. Barcelona will go 15 points clear if they beat Girona on Monday. Real took the lead after 15 minutes when Marco Asensio’s cross bounced off Villarreal’s Pau Torres and into the net. Villarreal found the equaliser in the 39th minute through Chukwueze, who cut inside and beat Nacho before firing low out of Thibaut Courtois’s reach. Vinícius Júnior restored Real’s lead two minutes into the second half with a simple finish for his ninth league strike of the season but Quique Setién’s side levelled again in the 71st minute when Madrid’s defence failed to clear and allowed Jose Luis Morales to fire home from close range, with VAR overturning the initial offside decision. Chukwueze scored his second 10 minutes from full time with a spectacular strike from the edge of the box into the top left corner. Ancelotti said: “It was a difficult game, we had chances and we could have made it 3-1 and slowed down the pace of the game, but it didn’t happen. We should have defended better, but it was difficult for us to be 100% motivated. Wednesday [against Chelsea] will be different. On Wednesday we will be full on.” Chukwueze said: “It’s a crazy goal. It’s a dream to score this goal and win here. I’m very happy for this game. The future is going to be much better. I have to take advantage of this moment and keep improving.” Real Sociedad tightened their hold on fourth spot with a 2-0 victory against Getafe. Mikel Oyarzabal had his penalty saved by David Soria late in the first half but made amends with a header just before half-time to give the hosts the lead. Takefusa Kubo doubled Sociedad’s lead in the second half, finishing off a slick team move. The win opened up a six-point gap over fifth-place Real Betis who host Cádiz on Sunday. Athletic Bilbao won 2-1 at Espanyol thanks to goals from the brothers Iñaki Williams and Nico Williams. Osasuna overturned an early deficit against bottom side Elche, the winger Ez Abde scoring twice in the second half. An unstoppable long-range strike from Matthijs de Ligt handed Bayern Munich a 1-0 victory over Freiburg, keeping them two points clear at the top of the table with seven games remaining. The Bavarian side, who face Manchester City in the Champions League quarter-final first leg next week, had been beaten at home by Freiburg 2-1 in the German Cup last eight on Tuesday. Desperate to make amends, Bayern had possession and a couple of good chances in the first half. But it was Freiburg who came closer to scoring with Ritsu Doan catching Alphonso Davies napping on the stroke of half-time but sending his effort on to the post. De Ligt then took matters into his own hands after the interval, breaking the deadlock and beating keeper Mark Flekken with a screamer into the top corner. They should have scored again through Leroy Sané on the hour but he chipped over the bar with only Flekken to beat. Borussia Dortmund remain second, two pints adrift, after they struggled to a 2-1 home win over third-placed Union Berlin thanks to the 18-year-old substitute Youssoufa Moukoko’s second-half winner. The hosts, beaten 4-2 by Bayern last week, took a deserved lead through Donyell Malen in the 28th minute with the forward tapping in after a quick move. However they paid the price for some sloppy defending, with Kevin Behrens finding space to play a one-two with Sheraldo Becker and equalise just past the hour mark. Dortmund dug deep and bagged the winner 11 minutes from time when Moukoko pounced on a Union mistake to round Frederik Rønnow and find the net. RB Leipzig moved up to fourth place after a nervous 1-0 victory at Hertha Berlin, Amadou Haidara scoring just before half-time. In Serie A, Sergej Milinkovic-Savic and Mattia Zaccagni helped Lazio beat Juventus 2-1 at home as Maurizio Sarri’s side consolidated second place in Serie A. Lazio have 58 points, five ahead of AS Roma with nine matches left in the campaign. Juventus, who are fighting for a place in the top six, are seventh with 44 points, four points behind Atalanta who occupy the final European qualification spot. The hosts broke the deadlock seven minutes before the interval when Milinkovic-Savic converted a cross with a half-volley from close range. Adrien Rabiot bundled in a Juventus equaliser from a corner after Lazio keeper Ivan Provedel had saved Gleison Bremer’s header. But Lazio’s attacking prowess was evident eight minutes into the second half when Luis Alberto back-heeled the ball to tee up Zaccagni, who placed the ball into the bottom-left corner to seal the win for the hosts. A Paulo Dybala penalty and a superb defensive performance gave Roma a 1-0 win at Torino that lifted them to third place and boosted their hopes of a spot in next season’s Champions League. José Mourinho’s side are on 53 points and are one point ahead of fourth-placed Milan. The match was only eight minutes old when Dybala converted a penalty after a handball from Perr Schuurs. Despite the visitors’ overall control of the match, Torino’s Pietro Pellegri could have equalised late on when his shot towards goal was deflected inches wide. Roma will prepare for Thursday’s opening leg of their Europa League quarter-final against Feyenoord before hosting Udinese on 16 April. Atalanta’s top-four ambitions suffered a blow after a 2-0 home defeat by Bologna left them in sixth, four points behind Milan. Nicola Sansone put Bologna ahead just after half-time before Riccardo Orsolini sealed the victory late on.

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