Real grab much-needed victory with late goals
madrid — Real Madrid ended their long wait for a La Liga victory by beating Real Valladolid 2-0 on Saturday with two late goals in interim coach Santiago Solari’s first home game in charge of the struggling European champions. Brazilian teenager Vinicius Jr. gave the new coach and an impatient Bernabeu crowd a lift in the 83rd minute by cutting in from the left and firing a shot which was heavily deflected into the net off Valladolid’s Kike Olivas and awarded as an own goal to the defender. Real had been very fortunate not to go behind on two occasions in the second half when Ruben Alcaraz and Toni Villa hammered the crossbar, but the home side sealed a first win in six league games when captain Sergio Ramos converted a penalty in the 88th minute.
The win lifted Real provisionally from ninth place up to sixth in the standings on 17 points, four behind leaders Barcelona who play at Rayo Vallecano later on Saturday. Earlier, Antoine Griezmann scored a brilliant free-kick but Atletico Madrid missed the chance to go top of La Liga on Saturday after drawing 1-1 at struggling Leganes.
Griezmann’s bending effort in the second half looked likely to prove the difference in a contest short on chances at Butarque but Guido Carrillo’s 82nd-minute equaliser earned Leganes a deserved point.
Atletico could have moved above Barcelona, for a few hours at least, but instead Diego Simeone’s side sit a point behind the league leaders, who face Rayo Vallecano later on Saturday. Leganes remain 18th and without a win in five matches.
Diego Costa, Diego Godin and Koke were all struggling with injury and absent from Atleti’s starting line-up, perhaps not deemed worth the risk, with a crunch Champions League clash at home to Borussia Dortmund. Atletico sit second in Group A, three points behind the German side.
But a stuttering run of form will be a concern too for Simeone, whose team were thrashed by Dortmund 4-0 only nine days ago and have now failed to beat Leganes, who are fighting relegation. —