Messi boxed up again as Madrid beat Barcelona to go top in Spain
MADRID: Keeping Lionel Messi in check again in what could turn out to be his last Spanish league Clásico, Real Madrid continued the impressive run which has put them at the heart of the title race. Four days after beating Liverpool in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals, Madrid defeated Barcelona 2-1 on Saturday to return to the top in Spain. “We have to enjoy what we’ve been doing. We got two very good results and it wasn’t easy,” Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said. “Being in lead won’t change anything for us. We have to keep working hard.”
The victory in pouring rain left Madrid tied on points with Atlético. Madrid are ahead of their city rivals on the head-tohead tiebreaker. Barcelona, who had been unbeaten in 19 straight league games, stayed one point off the lead.
The 33-year-old Messi, who reached seven straight Clásicos without a goal, has his contract with Barcelona ending this season. Messi expressed his desire to leave the Catalan club last year but had the request denied.
Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos scored first-half goals to give Madrid their sixth straight win in all competitions. The defending league champions were coming off a 3-1 win over Liverpool in the Champions League on Tuesday. “It was a very important victory for us,” Madrid defender Nacho Fernández said on Saturday. “It’s always special to win a Clásico, and even more when we are so close together at the top in the fight for the title. You could say today was a final, but there is still a lot left in the league.” Barcelona got on the board in the second half with a goal by Óscar Mingueza. They nearly equalized with a shot from young substitute Ilaix Moriba that struck the crossbar in the final play of the match.
The hosts opened the scoring in the 13th minute with Benzema’s superb flicked shot from close range after a low cross by Lucas Vázquez. The French striker, who has scored 10 goals in his last nine matches, got in front of defender Ronald Araújo and flicked the ball toward the net with his back foot. He hadn’t scored against Barcelona in nine consecutive Clásicos.
Kroos added to the lead in the 28th from a free kick following a foul on Vinícius Júnior, who was coming off an outstanding performance in the win over Liverpool. Kroos shot from just outside the area and the ball was deflected by American defender Sergiño Dest before going into the net. Madrid almost added to the lead in the 34th when Federico Valverde hit the post after a breakaway led by Vinícius Júnior, who also hit the post in the second half. That was after Barcelona pulled one back in the 60th with a shot from Mingueza after a low cross by Jordi Alba.
Madrid played the final minutes a man down after Casemiro was sent off with a second yellow card. One of Messi’s best chances was with a corner-kick that curled across the area and hit keeper Thibaut Courtois’ far post in first-half stoppage time.
United rally to beat Spurs
MANCHESTER: Late goals by Edinson Cavani and Mason Greenwood sealed Man United a 3-1 comeback win against Spurs. Son Heung-min gave Spurs the lead in the 40th. Fred equalised before the hour-mark and Cavani scored with a diving header in the 79th minute. Substitute Greenwood made it 3-1 when he fired past Hugo Lloris with almost the final kick.