Late Guardiola strike denies Madrid
Sevilla beat Granada 1-0 for 2nd win to start La Liga
MADRID, Aug 24, (RTRS): Real Madrid stumbled to a 1-1 draw against Real Valladolid in their first home game of the La Liga season on Saturday after the visitors levelled with an 88th-minute strike from former Barcelona trainee Sergi Guardiola.
Madrid striker Karim Benzema looked to have won the game when he gave the hosts a deserved lead in the 82nd minute with a splendid piece of skill, controlling a pass with his back to goal and swivelling before striking into the far corner.
Serbian striker Luka Jovic had gone close to breaking the deadlock earlier in the game when he headed against the crossbar barely a minute after coming off the bench, while Gareth Bale and James Rodriguez missed chances earlier in the game.
Valladolid had offered little in attack but grabbed a shock equaliser with only their second shot on target when Guardiola struck through the legs of Thibaut Courtois to complete a swift counterattack after Toni Kroos had surrendered possession.
Madrid have four points after two games, having beaten Celta Vigo 3-1 away in their opening fixture last week.
Midfielder Joan Jordán scored in the second half to help Sevilla beat Granada 1-0 on the road and win its second match in as many rounds in the Spanish league on Friday.
Jordán, one of several summer signings by Sevilla, finished off a shot by Luuk de Jong that was blocked by a sliding defender after Jordán set up his striker in the 52nd minute.
Granada, promoted this season, succeeded through its pressure to disarm Sevilla’s attack in the first half, but the host’s efforts waned after Jordán’s goal.
“We are very motivated and I think we can get a lot better,” Jordán, a former Eibar player, said.
The visitors lost right back Sergio Reguilón when he couldn’t recover from a hard head knock with Granada’s Victor Díaz and was carried off on a stretcher in tears in the 18th. Sevilla is coached by former Spain and Real Madrid manager Julen Lopetegui. It won its opener last weekend at Espanyol 2-0.
Villarreal’s Andres Fernandez has raged against the rule prohibiting goalkeepers from coming off their lines while facing penalties after his side were beaten 2-1 at Levante on Friday in La Liga. Fernandez saved a penalty from Roger Marti but the kick was ordered to be re-taken after a VAR review showed Fernandez had both feet off the line when the striker took the shot.
It was the first time in La Liga that a penalty was ordered to be re-taken after a VAR review, and Marti scored at the second attempt from the spot to cancel out Gerard Moreno’s opener in the 68th minute.
The technology was controversially used to order a penalty re-take in the Women’s World Cup earlier this year in a 3-3 draw between Scotland and Argentina which led to Scotland being eliminated. Fernandez was shown a yellow card for coming off his line and then gave away a second penalty a few minutes later for tangling with Marti, who scored again to give Levante a victory they barely deserved.
Juventus’ Miralem Pjanic (right), duels for the ball with Parma’s Simone Iacoponi during the Serie A soccer match between Parma and Juventus at
the Tardini stadium in Parma, Italy on Aug 24. (AP)