PAMPLONA: Raul Garcia&#39;s superb 90th-minute strike consigned leaders&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/vinicius-bags-brace-as-real-madrid-take-liga-lead-end-sociedad-run" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Real Madrid</a>&nbsp;to a 2-1 defeat at Osasuna in La Liga on Saturday, in a blow to their title hopes. Champions Barcelona trail Madrid by two points but can overtake them on Sunday if they beat Levante at Camp Nou. Alvaro Arbeloa&#39;s Madrid put on a below-par performance in Pamplona and fell behind to an Ante Budimir penalty, before Vinicius Junior pulled the visitors level. The second leg of Madrid&#39;s Champions League play-off against Jose Mourinho&#39;s Benfica on Wednesday seemed to play on their minds as they failed to kick on at El Sadar. <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/uefa-opens-probe-into-discriminatory-behavior-towards-vinicius" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">Vinicius</a>, who scored a sensational goal to give Madrid a slender first-leg lead but was then the victim of alleged racial abuse, thought he had earned his team a point before Garcia blasted home the winner. &quot;It was not a good game from us... we have to play a lot better,&quot; Arbeloa told reporters. &quot;Nobody likes to lose, us least of all, but we&#39;re not hurt. There&#39;s a long way to go. &quot;We had control at some points but we lacked speed in our play... on Wednesday we have another final, another game that is very important for us.&quot; Croatian target man Budimir curled narrowly wide of Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois&#39;s far post early on, the first of many problems he gave the visitors. The Belgian stopper made an excellent save a few minutes later, after Budimir tried to nod home Ruben Garcia&#39;s cross under pressure from Alvaro Carreras. Budimir also clipped the post with a header as Osasuna impressed, with their victory helping them rise to ninth. Madrid defender David Alaba came close when Alejandro Catena blocked his shot, shortly before the hosts took the lead. Budimir burst into the area and went down under a challenge from Courtois. Although he was initially booked for diving a VAR review showed the goalkeeper stood on his foot. The veteran forward took the resulting penalty himself and sent Courtois the wrong way to give Osasuna the lead. &quot;I knew it was a penalty and I wanted to stay cool (while it was being reviewed),&quot; said Budimir. Osasuna sat deep at times in the second half, looking to fend off 15-time European champions Madrid. Arda Guler came close with a vicious shot that flew just over. Chasing an equaliser, Arbeloa threw on creative duo Trent Alexander-Arnold and Brahim Diaz and his team began to take control. French superstar Kylian Mbappe put the ball in the back of Osasuna&#39;s net but had edged offside, although the equaliser was not long in coming. Fede Valverde charged into the box with the ball, unperturbed by Osasuna&#39;s defenders bouncing off him, before crossing for Vinicius to tuck home. It was the Brazilian&#39;s fifth goal in his last four games across all competitions, having found his best form since Arbeloa replaced Xabi Alonso at the helm in January. Wasted chance Mbappe, La Liga&#39;s top goalscorer, should have put Madrid ahead with 10 minutes to go but Javi Galan brilliantly blocked his shot. Alexander-Arnold curled a free-kick wide as the clock ticked down and it looked like Madrid were left ruing two points dropped, when the third was taken away from them too. Raul Garcia cut inside the sliding Raul Asencio brilliantly and fired across Courtois and in at the far post. The striker&#39;s celebrations were cut short by the offside flag but a VAR review showed he was onside and the goal was given. It was the first time Osasuna have beaten Madrid in La Liga for 15 years. &quot;It&#39;s an incredible feeling... I think (that fact) is crazy. The fans deserved a victory like this after so many years,&quot; Raul Garcia told DAZN. &quot;When I saw (Asencio) coming I knew he was going to go to ground and after that I stayed calm to swerve him and was able to score.&quot; Real Betis, fifth, were held 1-1 at home against Rayo Vallecano earlier Saturday, leaving them three points behind fourth-placed <a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/olmo-and-torres-lead-barcelona-to-30-win-over-getafe-in-spanish-league" style="color:#0073e6;" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">Atletico Madrid</a>. Diego Simeone&#39;s side host Espanyol later on, aiming to make amends after last weekend&#39;s 3-0 defeat by Rayo.

Football

Raul Garcia’s 90th-minute goal handed Real Madrid a 2-1 loss to Osasuna, ending a 15-year winless streak. Madrid struggled despite Vinicius Junior’s equalizer, leaving them with title race setbacks.

Liga leaders Real Madrid stung by late Osasuna winner

VILA-REAL: Kylian Mbappe netted twice to earn Real Madrid a 2-0 win at Villarreal on Saturday and take his side to the top of&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/spains-la-liga-to-stage-its-international-match-an-annual-event" target="_blank" style="color:#0073e6;" rel="noopener noreferrer">La Liga</a>. Alvaro Arbeloa&#39;s team moved two points clear of arch-rivals Barcelona, who host bottom-of-the-table Real Oviedo on Sunday. La Liga&#39;s top scorer Mbappe reached 21 goals for the season in the competition to help Madrid see off a spirited&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/mbapp-scores-suffers-injury-as-real-madrid-defeats-villarreal" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">Villarreal</a>&nbsp;side, who are now fourth. Arbeloa&#39;s side have won three consecutive matches across all competitions and victory at Villarreal could be a vital step in the revival of their season. After the shock Copa del Rey defeat at second-tier Albacete in Arbeloa&#39;s first match at the helm just 10 days ago after replacing Xabi Alonso, his Madrid have started to take shape. The coach has made clear how important his star players are and none has been more crucial this season than French superstar&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/mbappe-matches-ronaldo-record-as-real-madrid-beat-sevilla" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">Mbappe</a>, who has netted 34 times across all competitions. Mbappe and Vinicius Junior &quot;are the best players in the world, they are players who can really unbalance teams, we try to get the ball to them as much as possible,&quot; Arbeloa told Real Madrid TV. &quot;They&#39;re two players who... I&#39;m really happy to have in this state of form and above all, because of the great work they are doing. &quot;They are really committed to the team, they are the first who are pressing... they&#39;re giving this effort and solidarity that we need from them, so I&#39;m very happy that their reward comes in the form of goals.&quot; It was a lively but imprecise start at Villarreal&#39;s Estadio de la Ceramica, as the game glowed but neither side was able to seriously threaten. Georges Mikautadze lashed a volley narrowly wide after veteran forward Gerard Moreno found him with a floating cross. At the other end, Madrid midfielder Arda Guler fired straight at Villarreal stopper Luiz Junior after some tidy footwork, and then shot high over the bar at the end of a swift break. Villarreal&#39;s Juan Foyth limped off hurt in a blow for the hosts, who created a good chance for Pape Gueye just before the break. The Senegal midfielder, a champion at the Africa Cup of Nations last weekend, powered narrowly wide of the post. Vinicius, who excelled in Madrid&#39;s 6-1 Champions League rout of Monaco in midweek, also came close with a rasping effort that sailed across Luiz Junior&#39;s goal and wide. The 25-year-old Brazil forward went a 13th straight La Liga match without scoring, but was involved as Mbappe found the net two minutes into the second half. &#39;Nightmare for defences&#39; Vinicius came into the box from the left flank, and his low cross was blocked, but Mbappe was on hand to squeeze home his 20th league goal of the campaign from close range. &quot;They are a nightmare for defences,&quot; said Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. &quot;I hope they can keep bringing joy.&quot; Villarreal had the better of the second half as they worked hard to pull level, but Moreno spurned their best chance by firing inches over when well-placed. In stoppage time, Mbappe was felled clumsily by Alfonso Pedraza in the box and the French forward cheekily dinked home the resulting penalty to seal Madrid&#39;s victory. Mbappe&#39;s team-mate Brahim Diaz, who missed a similar attempted Panenka penalty for Morocco in the&nbsp;<a href="https://www.pakistantv.com/article/salah-back-in-liverpool-squad-after-afcon" target="_blank" style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);" rel="noopener noreferrer">Africa Cup of Nations</a>&nbsp;final, was on the pitch to see it&nbsp;as he returned to action for his club. &quot;For you,&quot; Mbappe appeared to say to Diaz during the celebration, indicating it was a gesture of support. &quot;For me, the most important thing is that (the players) are united, we saw it last Wednesday with Vinicius&#39;s goal (against Monaco) and we saw it again today, with Brahim,&quot; Arbeloa told reporters. The Yellow Submarine are now 10 points behind leaders Madrid, having played one fewer match than Arbeloa&#39;s side. &quot;We have to be a bit more accurate in attack against these kinds of teams,&quot; admitted Villarreal midfielder Alberto Moleiro. Elsewhere, fifth-placed Espanyol fell to a 3-2 defeat at Valencia, leaving them seven points behind Villarreal.

La Liga's top scorer Mbappe reached 21 goals for the season in the competition to help Madrid see off a spirited Villarreal side, who are now fourth.

Mbappe double at Villarreal takes Real Madrid top of La Liga

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;

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.

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