MADRID: Jude Bellingham&#39;s goal helped Real Madrid beat Barcelona 2-1 to win a tense Clasico and move five points clear of their bitter rivals at the top of La Liga on Sunday. Champions Barcelona won all four times the teams were pitted against each other last season but in his first Clasico as Real Madrid coach, Xabi Alonso snapped that run. Kylian Mbappe, who later missed a penalty, fired Madrid in front, and although Fermin Lopez levelled for the visitors at the Santiago Bernabeu, Bellingham netted a second for the hosts before half-time, which proved decisive. Barca playmaker Pedri was sent off in the final stages for a second yellow card as tensions spilt over in the Spanish capital. Madrid&#39;s victory means they have won nine of their opening 10 league games, and Alonso&#39;s side proved against Barca that they can triumph on the big occasion, following their derby humbling by Atletico Madrid in September. &quot;Against Atletico we didn&#39;t play how we wanted, and today we had another chance to show what we can do, and we have to continue like this,&quot; said Madrid midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni. Alonso said his team &quot;needed this feeling of being able to win a big game&quot; after last season&#39;s struggles against Barca. The Spaniard&#39;s counterpart on the touchline was Hansi Flick&#39;s assistant Marcus Sorg, as the German coach was suspended following a red card last weekend as they scraped a victory over relegation-battling Girona. &quot;The season is long, we have 28 more games and we&#39;re not scared about the situation now,&quot; said Sorg after the defeat. Barcelona were without several regular starters, including Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo among others, while Lamine Yamal still does not appear fully fit after a groin injury but started. The teenager wound up Madrid fans in the week by claiming Los Blancos &quot;steal&quot; and &quot;complain&quot; and his name was greeted with a chorus of jeers when read out before kick-off. Barcelona had more of the ball in the first half but it was largely sterile possession and Madrid created the most dangerous opportunities. The hosts were awarded an early penalty when Yamal clashed with Vinicius Junior, but it was cancelled after a VAR review. Madrid fans&#39; ire at the officials grew when Mbappe blasted home from outside the area, but the goal was ruled out for a millimetric offside against the French superstar. Mbappe did not have long to wait before he could celebrate in earnest, after fine movement and a perfect pass by Bellingham sent him through on goal. The forward, the division&#39;s top goalscorer, netted his 11th league goal of the campaign with a lethal low finish past Wojciech Szczesny. The Polish goalkeeper made several more saves, and it was against the run of play when Barcelona equalized. Arda Guler gave away possession in a dangerous area and Marcus Rashford, playing in his first Clasico, crossed for Lopez to blast the visitors level in the 38th minute. Bellingham deciderBellingham struck Madrid&#39;s second five minutes later to give Los Blancos a deserved advantage at the interval. The England international, who scored his first goal at the Bernabeu since April in midweek against Juventus, gleefully tapped home after Eder Militao nodded Vinicius&#39;s cross back into his path. Madrid should have extended their lead at the start of the second half, but Szczesny made a fine save to push out Mbappe&#39;s penalty, after Eric Garcia was penalized for handball. Yamal, frustrated and struggling to make an impact on the game, sent a long-range shot high over the bar as Madrid closed ranks and kept the Catalans at a safe distance from their goal. Sorg sent defender Ronald Araujo up front during nine minutes of stoppage time in desperation, but unlike last weekend it did not pay off. Pedri was sent off in the final seconds for a second yellow card for a late foul on Tchouameni, sparking a brief sideline shoving match, while players from both sides rowed after the final whistle. &quot;(Yamal) needs more rhythm, more games, on the highest level, it&#39;s normal (after injury). He&#39;s 18, we have to help him, and we will do it all together,&quot; added Sorg, after the winger was nullified by Madrid. &quot;They defended well, Real. We have to accept this.&quot;

Football

Madrid's victory means they have won nine of their opening 10 league games, and Alonso's side proved against Barca that they can triumph on the big occasion, following their derby humbling by Atletico Madrid in September.

Bellingham claims Liga leaders Real Madrid Clasico win over Barca

MADRID: Kylian Mbappe extended his goalscoring streak to 11 consecutive games to help Real Madrid reclaim top spot in La Liga with a 1-0 victory at nine-man Getafe on Sunday. After rivals Barcelona briefly displaced Los Blancos with a narrow win over Girona on Saturday, Xabi Alonso&#39;s side restored their two-point advantage before next weekend&#39;s Clasico. Getafe fended off Madrid until Allan Nyom was dismissed a minute after coming on, and Mbappe quickly pounced to decide the game in the 80th minute. Alex Sancris was also sent off as Getafe unravelled in the final stages. Alonso started with Brazilian star Vinicius Junior on the bench, with the Champions League clash against Juventus on Wednesday and Barca&#39;s impending visit in mind. The winger turned out to be key as a second-half substitute, with both of Getafe&#39;s red cards issued for fouls on him. &quot;Vini had a great impact ... we told him this morning he could be so important,&quot; Alonso told reporters. &quot;It was a very demanding game, coming here to face Getafe is never easy ... it wasn&#39;t the prettiest game but we did what we had to do.&quot; Mbappe returned after an ankle problem kept him out of a France World Cup qualifier earlier in the week, leading the line at Getafe&#39;s Coliseum stadium. The French forward had scored in his previous 10 consecutive appearances for club and country and found the net once again. &quot;We are very happy with how Kylian is going; he&#39;s being decisive,&quot; said Alonso. Mbappe twice came close before Getafe earned a foothold in the game and began to frustrate the visitors, stopping them from creating much danger. Only towards the end of the first period did Madrid perk up again in attack, with Soria saving from Rodrygo Goes after good work by Jude Bellingham. Getafe&#39;s goalkeeper made a good stop from a powerful David Alaba free-kick, and Fede Valverde flashed a strike across the face of the goal before half-time. Alonso sent on Vinicius in the second half, and his spark began to worry the hosts, who resorted to fouls to fend off the Brazilian. Bellingham fed Mbappe, who fired off target, and then whipped a free-kick inches wide, as Madrid remained comfortably on top. Getafe see redThe game changed when Getafe substitute Nyom, under a minute after coming on, needlessly knocked down Vinicius off the ball with his arm and was sent off. Moments after play restarted, Real Madrid took the lead. Arda Guler fed Mbappe, who was just onside, and he turned nicely before firing past Soria and in off the post for his 10th league goal of the season, leading the charts both in La Liga and in the Champions League. Getafe continued to self-destruct and Sancris was sent off for a second yellow card, gained for another unnecessary foul on Vinicius, leaving Jose Bordalas&#39;s side with nine men. Alvaro Carreras fired wide after a cheeky scoop over the defence by Vinicius, whom Getafe fans booed. Despite their significant numerical disadvantage, the hosts had one golden chance to level in stoppage time, but Thibaut Courtois saved from Englishman Abu Kamara with his knee. &quot;We should not give away this chance, but Thibaut did his job,&quot; said Alonso. Getafe coach Bordalas said he did not believe Nyom deserved to be dismissed before Madrid&#39;s opener. &quot;Nyom&#39;s red card changed the game,&quot; said the Getafe coach. &quot;For me, it&#39;s not a red card, yellow at most.&quot; Elsewhere, newly-promoted Elche continued their good start to the season with a 0-0 draw against Athletic Bilbao, which left them seventh, one place above their Basque opponents. Rayo Vallecano climbed into 10th with a 3-0 win at Levante, while struggling Real Sociedad snatched a late 1-1 draw at 10-man Celta Vigo.

The 80th-minute strike sealed Real Madrid’s 1-0 win over nine-man Getafe, extending Mbappe's scoring streak to 11 games and restoring Madrid’s La Liga lead ahead of the upcoming Clasico against Barcelona.

Mbappe sends Real Madrid top as Getafe self-destruct

BARCELONA: &nbsp;Substitute Ronald Ara&uacute;jo snatched Barcelona a 2-1 victory over Girona in stoppage time in La Liga on Saturday and ended a mini losing streak before the clasico at Real Madrid next week.&nbsp;The central defender made the move of a striker when he slid in front of his marker as they raced to the near post and skilfully redirected a low pass from Frenkie de Jong and ignited the home crowd.&nbsp;Ara&uacute;jo&#39;s last-gasp goal came moments after Barcelona coach Hansi Flick was sent off with two quick yellow cards, apparently for complaining that the referee had not added more than four minutes of injury time.&nbsp;The sending off means Flick won&rsquo;t be on the sideline for the first clasico of the season.&nbsp;With his team stymied in attack and scorers Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha and Ferran Torres unavailable because of injury, Flick sent on Ara&uacute;jo in the 82nd and ordered him to join the attack in their desperate search for a winner.&nbsp;&ldquo;I am really happy for Ronald because he always plays with his whole heart for this team,&rdquo; Flick said. &ldquo;I spoke to him to ask if it was possible for him to play at this position.&quot;&nbsp;Before the international break, Barcelona lost to Paris Saint-Germain 2-1 in the Champions League and was stunned at Sevilla 4-1 in La Liga.&nbsp;Barcelona moved into the league lead with a one-point advantage over Madrid before it plays Getafe on Sunday. Before the trip to the capital, Barcelona hosts Olympiakos on Tuesday in the Champions League.

Substitute Ronald Araújo scored a stoppage-time winner as Barcelona beat Girona 2-1 in La Liga. Coach Hansi Flick was sent off and will miss next week’s clasico against Real Madrid.

Araujo strikes late as Barca snatch win over Girona

PARIS: France captain Kylian Mbapp&eacute; will miss his team&#39;s World Cup qualifier against Iceland on Monday because of a right ankle injury, the French soccer federation said Saturday. The Real Madrid star scored in France&#39;s 3-0 victory over Azerbaijan on Friday but limped off the field in the 83rd minute. Just before the international break, he had hurt the same ankle while playing against Villarreal. France confirmed that its star forward would not make the trip to Reykjavik and that he would return to Real Madrid. France, runner-up at the 2022 World Cup, is off to a perfect start in the qualification process for the 2026 edition. It has won all three of its games in Group D.

France captain Kylian Mbappé will miss Monday’s World Cup qualifier against Iceland due to a right ankle injury. He’ll return to Real Madrid after exiting late in Friday’s win over Azerbaijan.

Mbappé to miss France's World Cup qualifier vs. Iceland because of ankle injury

PARIS: Kylian Mbappe will undergo medical examinations on his right ankle when he meets up with his international team-mates ahead of the latest round of 2026 World Cup qualifiers, France coach Didier Deschamps said on Monday.&nbsp;The France captain sustained the knock at the end of Real Madrid&#39;s 3-1 La Liga victory over Villarreal on Saturday, casting doubts over his availability to the national team for their upcoming qualifying matches against Azerbaijan and Iceland.&nbsp;&quot;I spoke with Kylian, he had a small niggle but it&#39;s not serious, otherwise he wouldn&#39;t be here today,&quot; Deschamps told reporters at the French team&#39;s Clairefontaine base near Paris.&nbsp;&quot;We will take the time with the medical staff to assess the situation and then see how it develops.&nbsp;&quot;I don&#39;t have any further information at this stage as the players will be arriving around 4pm, so we&#39;ll take stock then as usual,&quot; he added.&nbsp;Liverpool defender Ibrahima Konate is also due to undergo tests, after coming off injured in the Reds&#39; 2-1 defeat at Chelsea on Saturday.&nbsp;Les Bleus are top of their group with two wins from two so far in qualifying.&nbsp; They host Azerbaijan on Friday at Paris Saint-Germain&#39;s Parc des Princes stadium before travelling to Iceland three days later.

France coach Didier Deschamps said Kylian Mbappe will undergo ankle tests after a knock with Real Madrid, though the injury seems minor.

Mbappe to undergo ankle tests ahead of France’s World Cup qualifiers

Reuters

Mbappe stars as 10-man Real Madrid beat Real Sociedad 2-1 to extend perfect LaLiga start.

Articles tagged with "Real Madrid"

Bellingham claims Liga leaders Real Madrid Clasico win over Barca

Mbappe sends Real Madrid top as Getafe self-destruct

Araujo strikes late as Barca snatch win over Girona

Mbappé to miss France's World Cup qualifier vs. Iceland because of ankle injury

Mbappe to undergo ankle tests ahead of France’s World Cup qualifiers

Mbappe shines as 10-Man Real Madrid hold on for 2-1 victory at Real Sociedad