BARCELONA- - Barcelona won their 27th LaLiga title and first for four years after a 4-2 win at city rivals Espanyol on Sunday crowned a remarkable domestic campaign built around a rock-solid defence, a huge change from the club's traditional style of play. Barcelona have a history of success with teams playing an attractive brand of attacking football but this season they have had to adapt to a different reality and manager Xavi Hernandez has cast aside tradition to focus on relentless defence. The change in mentality may not have sat entirely comfortably with Xavi who said Barcelona's style was "non-negotiable" when he was appointed coach in November, 2021.
He often sounded frustrated yet resigned in interviews, trying to defend his team even after victories, sounding like he needed to explain that he had to prioritise his defence due to the urgency of getting the club back to winning ways. A former Barcelona player himself, Xavi was a symbol of their attacking style as a flamboyant midfielder who won every major title with the club and with Spain. "We have not betrayed any game model," Xavi said after his side earned a gutsy 1-0 win at Real's Santiago Bernabeu in March with an outstanding defensive performance against their bitter rivals who enjoyed 65% of possession but could not break Barcelona down. "I am not satisfied with not having the ball. Sometimes are the rivals and the circumstances that takes you there, but defending is also part of the game," he added. Top Scorer This season Barcelona have won 27 of their 34 games and although they are the second highest scorers in the division with 64 goals and boast the leading marksman in Robert Lewandowski, the foundation of their success has been at the other end of the pitch.
They have conceded 13 goals in the league, by far the best defensive record in Europe’s top five leagues. At home, their defensive numbers are even more impressive with only two goals conceded, one from a penalty and the other an own goal. At the core of their rearguard are three players enjoying stellar seasons -- goalkeeper Marc Andre ter-Stegen and defenders Ronald Araujo and Jules Kounde. The trio hold the key to stifling their rival's attacking threats, particularly Araujo who has arguably been Europe's top defender this season. Barcelona were last champions of Spain in 2018-19 when they still had club greats Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez leading their attack up-front.
As Barcelona fell into a deep financial crisis, however, they both had to leave due to Financial Fair Play (FFP) rules and the club's fortunes declined. Xavi signed Lewandowski, Kounde and winger Raphinha and re-signed Ousmane Dembele to add an extra spark to a core built around the youth and talent of midfielders Pedri and Gavi. Led by the experience of Sergio Busquets, Jordi Alba and Ter Stegen, this team gelled to form a strong unit and they beat Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup in January to earn Xavi his first trophy as coach before romping to the LaLiga crown.
CINCINNATI --Four pitchers combined on a six-hit shutout and Spencer Steer added a solo home run as the Cincinnati Reds cruised to a 5-0 win over the visiting New York Mets in the rubber match of the three-game series Thursday.
MADRID-- Kevin De Bruyne netted a stunning equaliser with a rasping low strike to give Manchester City a 1-1 draw against Real Madrid in their Champions League semi-final first leg on Tuesday on a night of glorious goals in the Spanish capital. The City midfielder powered home from distance in 67th minute after Vinicius Jr had opened the scoring in the first half with an equally sumptuous strike.
City dominated the match in the early stages but it was Real who took the lead as Vinicius netted a brilliant curling effort from the edge of the area that flew into the top-right corner with Real's first shot on target in the 36th minute. The holders got back on top in the second half and took control, but it was City who scored after they won possession high up the pitch and worked the ball to De Bruyne who drilled in with the outside of his boot to leave the tie poised ahead of next Wednesday's second leg. It was a frantic encounter at a sold-out Santiago Bernabeu with the home fans spending the first half hour of the match on the edge of their seats as City started strongly. Real struggled with City’s relentless pressure and the visitors dominated proceedings early and maintained control as the first half progressed. Pep Guardiola's team enjoyed a staggering 75% ball possession for a large part of the first half and by the halfway point of the opening period City had recorded six attempts, with four on target, compared to none from Real. But the hosts slowly started to get a foothold in midfield and started to test City on the counter, with Vinicius moving to a more central position, luring markers away from touchline and creating space for Eduardo Camavinga. After Camavinga and Vinicius combined to create two half-chances, they nailed a textbook counter attack.
Camavinga burst down the left touchline and passed to Vinicius, who let fly with a missile from outside the area that shot into the corner of the net. Real got on top in the second half and almost scored early on when Karim Benzema fired wide. The France striker seemed off the pace, making uncharacteristic errors and misfiring with several attempts on goal. It was after a poor pass from Benzema that Man City stopped another Real counter and, after recovering the ball high up the pitch after a poor attempt at a clearance by Camavinga, that De Bruyne netted the equaliser. City keeper Ederson made two critical saves to keep the scores level ahead of next week's return encounter.
"The tie remains open... we played a good game. They had possession early, yes, but no real chances... Too bad about the goal, we had more chances than they had," Luka Modric told Movistar Plus. "I don't think anyone goes to the second leg with a mental edge. It's an open tie, we already knew that this wasn't going to end here at Santiago Bernabeu, that nobody was going to take an advantage to kill it today. "The tie, before this game, was 50-50. And now, it's still the same."
MILAN- - Inter Milan scored two early goals to secure an impressive 2-0 win over AC Milan in the Champions League semi-final first leg on Wednesday and stay on course to become the first Italian team to win the trophy since they did so 2010. Inter struck after eight and 11 minutes, with Edin Dzeko smashing in a close-range volley before Henrikh Mkhitaryan doubled the lead from Federico Dimarco's cross to stun their city rivals at the San Siro. Milan were shell-shocked and although they improved in the second half, they rarely threatened a comeback and face an uphill task to stay on course to win their eighth European Cup. "It feels very good, especially because it's a derby. We played away on paper.
It's a great result for us," Dzeko told BT Sport. "Sometimes you get in this difficult moment where the ball doesn't want to go in. Patience and work always pays off. I was calm knowing the goals would come as always." Three-times European champions Inter made a fast start when Hakan Calhanoglu delivered a corner which fell to Dzeko and the veteran Bosnian striker expertly fired the ball into the top right corner. Inter, who came into the fixture in high spirits after four consecutive wins in Serie A, doubled the lead through Mkhitaryan after Dimarco served him with a brilliant pass and the Armenian broke into Milan's box to find the net from close range. Calhanoglu went close to adding the third when his powerful long-range shot hit the inside of the post and Mkhitaryan was denied by Milan keeper Mike Maignan. Milan, without injured forward Rafael Leao, were stunned and things could have got worse for the hosts when Lautaro Martinez was taken down inside the box just after the half-hour mark.
The referee pointed to the penalty spot but his decision was overturned following a VAR review. Milan showed more attacking intent after the break but failed to create many clear chances, with strikes from Brahim Diaz and Junior Messias missing the target and Sandro Tonali hitting the post. Substitute Tommaso Pobega also had a late chance to pull a goal back for Milan but goalkeeper Andre Onana kept out his low effort from the edge of the penalty area. It was the first time Inter have beaten their neighbours in a European knockout tie, with Milan progressing from both previous meetings, most recently in the 2004-05 Champions League quarter-finals. That was a stormy game and when Inter had a goal disallowed in the second leg, their fans reacted angrily and a flare thrown on to the pitch struck Milan goalkeeper Dida. The match was abandoned with Milan leading 1-0. Milan were awarded a 3-0 win, having won the first leg 2-0, and went on to lose a dramatic final to Liverpool on penalties. Inter host Milan in the second leg at the same venue on Tuesday and the winners will face Real Madrid or Manchester City in the final.
LONDON-- Willian and Tom Cairney both scored twice to help Fulham beat Leicester City 5-3 at home on Monday, ending the visitors' three-game unbeaten Premier League run and leaving them in the relegation zone after the day's other results.
