Real Madrid and Atlético turn focus to decisive league derby
After both teams staved off elimination from the Champions League, Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid now face each other.
The Spanish rivals meet on Saturday at the Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium in a match that could prove key in the title race. Atlético can open a nine-point gap on fourth-place Madrid, leaving the defending champions in a difficult position to repeat for the first time in more than decade.
Both teams were in danger of being eliminated in the Champions League on Wednesday, but Madrid pulled through with a 20 win over Borussia Mönchengladbach in Group B and Atlético advanced with a 2-0 victory at Salzburg in Group A.
"The players showed their character from start to finish. This team has this ability to show its worth during difficult times," Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said. "We have to enjoy the moment but we also need to rest because we have another match on Saturday."
Madrid was winless in three straight league games before edging Sevilla 1-0 on Saturday to remain in fourth place with 20 points from 11 matches. Atlético, which has 26 points from 10 matches, is the only unbeaten team in the league this season, having won its last seven games in the competition.
Atlético will be trying to win eight in a row for the first time since it won nine straight in 2014, the year it won its last league title.
"I don't consider this a final because there so many matches yet to be played," Atlético coach Diego Simeone said. "Madrid will always be contending."
Madrid hasn't lost to Atlético in eight consecutive league games, with three wins and five draws since 2016.
Unable to put an end to its struggles, Barcelona hosts relegation-threatened Levante on Sunday looking to rebound from two consecutive setbacks — a 30 home loss to Juventus in the Champions League on Tuesday and a 2-1 defeat at Cádiz in the Spanish league on Saturday.
The Catalan club is ninth in the standings after 10 matches. It trails Real Madrid by six points and Atlético by 12 points.
"We are not where we want to be but we have some matches ahead in which we can recover some of the points that we've lost," Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen said. "That's our goal for these next weeks."
Second-place Real Sociedad hosts mid-table Eibar in a match between Basque Country clubs on Sunday. Sociedad will be looking to extend its unbeaten streak to nine matches. It won six straight in the league before drawing the last two.
Third-place Villarreal, coached by Unai Emery, is unbeaten in 14 games in all competitions and has drawn three straight in the league, including at Sociedad. It will visit Manuel Pellegrinicoached Real Betis on Sunday.
PSG facing big threat from Depay's 10-game unbeaten Lyon
Lyon travels to face Paris SaintGermain enjoying a 10-game unbeaten run and with Memphis Depay finding his best form at just the right time for Sunday's game.
Lyon reached last season's Champions League semifinals but did not even qualify for this season's Europa League. So with no European commitments, it had all week to prepare for this table-topping clash.
PSG played on Wednesday night against Basaksehir, one day later than was scheduled after players walked off on Tuesday in a protest against alleged racist language used by a fourth official.
Although PSG's defense was hardly threatened against the Turkish side, it has been leaking goals in the league with six conceded in three games. In addition, Depay carries a different threat than the forwards of Monaco, Bordeaux and Nantes.
No player has scored more goals from outside the penalty area than Depay since he started playing in the French league in January 2017. The Netherlands international arrived with low confidence following an unhappy spell with Manchester United, where he managed only seven goals in 53 games.
Among the 49 league goals that
Depay has netted for Lyon, 13 have been from outside the penalty area
That's two more than PSG's fleet-footed winger Angel Di Maria and three more than Neymar, although the Brazil star landed in Paris several months after Depay was already at Lyon.
Depay's 13th strike from range came last Sunday in a 3-1 win at Metz, when he received a pass from Karl Toko Ekambi and guided the ball with the inside of his right foot into the bottom corner.
One of his first from distance was a stunning injury-time winner against PSG, one year after joining Lyon and when the seven-time champion's fans were still undecided about his consistency.
After PSG lost the ball in midfield, Depay received a pass on the wide left. He cut inside, drifted effortlessly past two PSG defenders and, as defender Thiago Silva threw himself in anticipation of a low shot, Depay instead bent the ball with incredible power and accuracy into the top left corner.
That was not even his best goal for Lyon, which came against Toulouse the previous campaign. Depay turned smartly around a Toulouse player near the halfway line and — without even looking up — guided a magnificent lob over the goalkeeper from 46 meters.
But Depay is not just a spectacular scorer, he's also a great provider and has assisted on 32 goals — meaning he has either scored or created 81 times in 114 league games.
This season he has combined expertly with Toko Ekambi and Tino Kadewere, whose emergence has pushed striker
Moussa Dembele — who grabbed 24 goals last season for Lyon — onto the bench.
The trio have combined for 17 goals and eight assists in 13 games so far, so PSG's defense could be in for a busy night at
Parc des Princes if Depay and his teammates are in the mood.
Depay was close to joining Barcelona in the offseason when the Spanish giant was trying to replace the prolific Luis Suarez after his move to Atletico Madrid.
The deal fell through at the last minute, but Depay has since overcome his disappointment to become the on-field leader coach Rudi Garcia needs in a talented but erratic side.
Another big performance against PSG will be the perfect way for Depay to advertise himself once again to Europe's big clubs, and put Lyon on top of the league.