Fans giving Barca hole lot of abuse
EURO ROUND-UP
SERGIO BUSQUETS insists Barcelona must climb out of the “deep hole” their Euro exit left them in after a near half-empty Nou Camp made their feelings crystal clear.
The veteran midfielder was subjected to boos when he misplaced several passes in the first half of yesterday’s 2-0 win over Getafe in front of just 57,000 punters.
Philippe Coutinho suffered the bulk of the whistles and jeers after an abject display against former club Liverpool, who sent them out of the Champions League in midweek with a miraculous 4-0 win.
Busquets said: “The last few days have been very tough but we wanted to get out of this deep hole we have been in.
“We have to face the fans, they showed their anger but we have to move on now.
Arturo Vidal poked a loose ball home 39 minutes in after Gerard Pique’s flicked header was parried by keeper David Soria.
And a second for Ernesto Valverde’s side came in the 90th minute thanks to an own goal after Lionel Messi combined with Sergi Roberto and beat two players before his shot took a touch off Djene Dakonam.
Third-placed Real Madrid’s season took another stutter as they were reduced to 10 men then slumped to an 11th La Liga defeat, going down 3-1 at Real Sociedad.
With Zinedine Zidane opting once again not to include Welshman Gareth Bale in his squad, Brahim Diaz enjoyed a rare start.
And the 19-year-old got Madrid up and running with a sixth-minute opener after a solo run down the left wing.
Mikel Oyarzabal’s leveller was chalked off for offside after a lengthy VAR check only for Mikel Merino to fire in from the edge of the box.
Jesus Vallejo was sent off for a handball on the line five minutes before the break but team-mate Thibaut Courtois thwarted Willian Jose from 12 yards. That only delayed the inevitable as Courtois slipped in the 57th minute, letting Joseba Zaldua’s back-post header roll into the net.
A first goal for 18-year-old Ander Barrenetxea completed Madrid’s misery as Zidane, whose side face Real Betis on the final day, said: “I would rather the season ended as soon as possible.”
In Italy, Roma boosted their Champions League hopes as a 2-0 win over Juventus moved them a point off the top four.
Alessandro Florenzi struck 11 minutes from time after Cristiano Ronaldo’s effort was ruled out by VAR for offside.
Edin Dzeko then made sure two minutes into stoppage time, scoring his 87th Roma goal to move level with Abel Balbo on seventh in the club’s scoring charts.
In France, Moussa Dembele hit Lyon’s second in a 3-0 win over 10-man Marseille that strengthened their hold on third.
Maxwel Cornet fired an opener before Duje Caleta-Car’s 67th-minute red for a tackle on Martin Terrier paved the way for Dembele to finish and a Cornet second.