Real Madrid moves to top of La Liga

Real Madrid took control of the Spanish title race by beating Real Sociedad 2-1 on the road on Sunday to move top of La Liga ahead of Barcelona after a second-half full of controversy.

Madrid captain Sergio Ramos

broke the deadlock in the 50th minute by converting a penalty after Vinicius Jr. went to ground in the area following contact from Sociedad’s Diego Llorente.

Sociedad thought they had levelled with a strike from Adnan Januzaj

from outside the box but the goal was ruled out after a VAR review showed Mikel Merino obstructing the view of Madrid goalie Thibaut Courtois

without touching the ball.

Their sense of injustice deepened a minute later when Karim Benzema

doubled Madrid’s lead in the 71st after controlling the ball with the top of his arm although Merino ensured an exciting finish by lashing in off the crossbar in the 83rd minute.

However, Zinedine Zidane’s side clung on for the win to move level with Barca on 65 points after 30 games but climbed above the Catalans due to a superior head-tohead record.

CELTA HAMMERS ALAVES

Celta Vigo thrashed Alaves 6-0 on to pull clear of the relegation zone, making the most of the visiting side having a player sent off in the first half.

Jeison Murillo headed Celta in

front in the 14th minute from a corner before leading scorer Iago Aspas scored from the penalty spot, making amends for spurning a spot kick in the 0-0 draw at Real Valladolid.

VALENCIA EARNS FIRST WIN

Valencia beat visiting Osasuna 2-0 in convincing fashion on Sunday with goals from Goncalo Guedes and Rodrigo to pick up their first victory in three matches since La Liga returned from its three-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Valencia forward Rodrigo Moreno looked to have scored early but the goal was ruled out for offside following a VAR review which took over two minutes, having also

had a goal snatched away by the technology in Thursday’s 3-0 defeat at Real Madrid.

INTER CLOSES GAP

Third-placed Inter Milan restarted their Serie A campaign with a 2-1 home win over struggling Sampdoria to close the gap on the leading pair, although they lived dangerously in the second half.

Romelu Lukaku and Lautaro Martinez put Inter 2-0 ahead in just over half an hour but Sampdoria, outclassed in the first period, pulled one back through Morten Thorsby early in the second and finished the match threatening an equalizer.