Late Benzema goal in Real win over Sevilla

Leaders overturn a two-goal deficit in second half against Sevilla to all but seal another La Liga title

MADRID: Karim Benzema completed another incredible Real Madrid comeback as they fought from two goals down to defeat Sevilla 3-2 in La Liga.

After trailing Chelsea 3-0 on Tuesday only to secure their place in the Champions League semi-finals, Madrid stunned Sevilla to seal the victory that has surely won them La Liga.

Defeat would have given fresh hope to the chasing pack, with Sevilla and Barcelona both beginning the day 12 points behind, Barcelona with two games in hand.

Instead, goals in the second half from Rodrygo, Nacho Fernandez and Benzema in the 92nd minute mean Madrid extend their advantage to 15 points with six games left to play. An Ivan Rakitic free-kick and Erik Lamela’s smart finish had put Sevilla two up at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan.

Benzema’s goal finished Chelsea off on Tuesday after Rodrygo had forced extra-time at the Santiago Bernabeu and those two, along with Vinicius Junior, were crucial again.

Benzema now has 39 goals in 39 appearances at club level this season and 15 in his last 10.

Rakitic gave Sevilla the lead in the 25th minute, curling a freekick into the corner after Luka Modric had brought down Papu Gomez.

Lamela doubled the advantage four minutes later, slotting after Tecatito drew out Thibaut Courtois and left the net open. But a superb Vinicius backheel for Dani Carvajal allowed Rodrygo to pull a goal back in the 50th minute.

Vinicius’ goal was ruled out in the 74th minute, but Madrid were undeterred as Rakitic headed away a corner, only for Carvajal to drive to the line and pull back for Nacho to finish.

And then in the 92nd minute, Benzema completed another remarkable revival, collecting Rodrygo’s pass, controlling and firing past three Sevilla defenders on the line.

PSG beat Marseille

PARIS: A Kylian Mbappe penalty proved decisive as Paris Saintgermain beat bitter rivals Marseille 2-1 on Sunday, meaning they could clinch the Ligue 1 title this week.

Mbappe converted from the spot in first-half stoppage time after the referee awarded a penalty for handball on a VAR review, restoring PSG’S lead following Neymar’s early opener and a Duje Caleta-car equaliser.

PSG are 15 points clear of second-placed Marseille with six games remaining and Mauricio Pochettino’s side—which also has a far superior goal difference—stands poised to reclaim the trophy they relinquished to Lille last season.

If Marseille fail to beat Nantes on Wednesday then PSG can clinch their eighth Ligue 1 title in 10 seasons if they have a better result against Angers at the same time.

Despite the apparently high stakes for the biggest fixture in

French football, there was a distinctly flat atmosphere at the Parc des Princes.

Authorities banned Marseille fans from the game over concerns of possible violence, a recurring them in France in recent months.

Bayern eye tenth title

BERLIN: Bayern Munich can secure a 10th straight Bundesliga title next weekend after they bounced back from their Champions League exit with a 3-0 win at Arminia Bielefeld.

An own goal by Bielefeld defender Jacob Laursen and strikes by Serge Gnabry and Jamal Musiala saw Bayern move nine points clear.

Bayern returned to winning ways five days after conceding a last-gasp equaliser at home to Villarreal to crash out of the Champions League with a 2-1 aggregate defeat in the quarterfinals. There are four league games left but Bayern can secure the title by beating secondplaced Borussia Dortmund in next Saturday’s top-of-the-table clash in Munich.

Fernandes in car crash

MANCHESTER: Bruno Fernandes will be fit for Manchester United’s Premier League trip to Liverpool despite being involved in a minor car crash on Monday. No parties involved are understood to have sustained serious injuries and Fernandes took part in training with the rest of the United squad on the eve of the game at Anfield. “Obviously the accident happened on the way to Carrington, but as far as I know nobody was injured,” Rangnick said at his pre-match press conference. “He trained with the team and he was okay. That’s why I think he will also be okay for tomorrow.”

Liverpool can go top with victory over their old rivals, who they thrashed 5-0 at Old Trafford earlier in the season.