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Rediff.com  » Sports » PIX: Bale sees red after brace as Real draw at Villarreal

PIX: Bale sees red after brace as Real draw at Villarreal

September 02, 2019 11:07 IST
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A round-up of Sunday's matches in La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga.

Gareth Bale scores

IMAGE: Gareth Bale scores Real Madrid's first goal in Sunday's La Liga match against Villarreal. Photograph: Juan Medina/Reuters

Gareth Bale twice came to Real Madrid's rescue to salvage a 2-2 draw at Villarreal in La Liga on Sunday but the Wales forward ended the night in despair as he was sent off in added time for receiving two yellow cards.

 

Real were severely weakened by six injuries to attacking players and fell behind in the 11th minute when captain Sergio Ramos lost the ball in his own half and Villarreal broke quickly, with Gerard Moreno scoring on the rebound.

Bale equalised in stoppage time of the first half by tapping in a cross from Dani Carvajal from close range but Villarreal restored their lead in the 74th minute through Moi Gomez, after Karim Benzema had a goal ruled out for offside.

Bale has a long and successful record playing at Villarreal, scoring there on his Real debut in 2013 after completing his 100 million-euro move from Tottenham Hotspur and netting in a 3-2 win in 2017 and a 2-2 draw in 2018.

He again pulled Madrid out of trouble with a powerful low strike in the 88th minute but somehow contrived to get himself sent off by earning two yellow cards for fouls in stoppage time.

Real have picked up five points from their opening three games, one more than champions Barcelona, but Zinedine Zidane's side are four points behind leaders Atletico Madrid, who have won all three matches.

Zidane criticised his side for their lacklustre start but was pleased with how they reacted to going behind.

"We began the game without any intensity, we were barely in the game for the first 15 minutes, it's always important to make a strong start," he told a news conference.

"But we reacted well and we deserved to score more goals. We were up against a good opponent and we have to improve in defence because we know what we are capable of in attack.

"But I'm focusing on the positive things we did today, above all our reaction, because it was very important that we didn't lose today."

Partey time as Atletico recover to seal third win

Thomas Partey scores

IMAGE: Thomas Partey scores Atletico Madrid's third goal against Eibar. Photograph: Javier Barbancho/Reuters

Atletico Madrid maintained their perfect start to the La Liga season by staging a remarkable comeback from two goals down to beat Eibar 3-2 at home on Sunday thanks to a 90th-minute strike from midfielder Thomas Partey.

Diego Simeone's side had kept clean sheets in their opening two games but fell behind in the seventh minute to a headed goal from 35-year-old striker Charles and defender Anaitz Arbilla doubled Eibar's lead with a deflected effort in the 19th.

Atleti's 126 million-euro signing Joao Felix pulled the home side back into contention in the 27th minute by scoring his first La Liga goal for the club, side-footing a simple pass from strike partner Diego Costa into the net from close range.

Vitolo, the match-winner last week at Leganes, grabbed the equaliser early in the second half with a cool finish into the bottom corner and Costa had a strike ruled out for offside.

But Partey snatched a winner with a late show of strength and determination to fight off two defenders in the box before smashing the ball into the net.

"The most important thing about today is that we came back from a tough start, we were feeling some very strange sensations in the first 20 minutes," said Atletico coach Simeone.

Atletico are the only team in the Spanish top flight to have won all three of their games and they lead the La Liga standings with nine points, five more than last year's champions Barcelona.

The last time Atletico won their opening three matches of a league campaign was in the 2013-14 season, when they went on to lift the La Liga title, but Simeone did not want to draw comparisons between that side and his current players.

"That team was very experienced, now we have some very young players, a lot of new faces and we have to construct a new team," he added.

"We want to win, win again and then win some more. It's not easy to say goodbye to eight players, to bring in eight new players and to continue competing and that's what we're doing. But we must stay calm because it's going to be a long season."

Racist abuse mars Lukaku’s winning penalty for Inter

Romelu Lukaku

IMAGE: Romelu Lukaku scores from the penalty spot for Inter Milan. Photograph: Enrico Locci/Getty Images

Inter Milan's Belgium international Romelu Lukaku was subjected to racist abuse as he scored a second-half penalty to earn his new side a 2-1 victory at Cagliari in Serie A on Sunday.

The former Manchester United striker appeared to be the target of monkey chants from the home crowd at the Sardegna Arena as he prepared to take the decisive spot kick.

Former Juventus forward Moise Kean was also on the receiving end of racist abuse by Cagliari fans at the same stadium last season.

The 26-year-old Lukaku sent goalkeeper Robin Olsen the wrong way with 20 minutes remaining to mark his second goal in as many games for his new club before turning to glare at the home fans responsible for the taunts.

“I think that in Italy we must improve a lot and be more educated and respectful towards those doing their job,” Inter coach Antonio Conte told a news conference.

“In other countries you support the team, you don’t insult the opposition like this. There must be the maximum respect.

“Today I was treated well and wasn’t insulted, other times it hasn’t happened like that and it’s not nice.”

Lautaro Martinez had opened the scoring just before the half-hour only for the hosts to level through Joao Pedro soon after the break.

Inter lead Serie A after two rounds on six points along with Torino and champions Juventus, while Cagliari have yet to pick up a point.

The Milan club had got their season off to the perfect start with a 4-0 home win over promoted Lecce, but they struggled to find the same swagger against a Cagliari side featuring former Inter midfielder Radja Nainggolan.

“It was a different game to the win against Lecce, as I had warned everyone this would be tough," Conte added.

"Coming to Cagliari is never a walk in the park. Let it be known, I am very demanding and there is a lot we need to do in order to improve, but I also say we are glad to have won in a difficult arena."

Martinez headed the visitors in front after 27 minutes but his celebrations were cut short by a raised offside flag, although the goal was awarded after a lengthy Video Assistant Referee (VAR) review.

The Sardinian side levelled five minutes into the second half when Pedro powered a header home from a whipped Nahitan Nandez cross.

Stefano Sensi’s free-kick rattled the bar for Inter on the hour mark and the midfielder then proved crucial in the winning goal as he was tripped by Fabio Pisacane to hand Lukaku the chance to convert from the penalty spot.

Conte’s side welcome Udinese to San Siro in their next league fixture after the international break.

Paciencia scores late winner as Eintracht edge Fortuna

Eintracht Frankfurt's Goncalo Paciencia scored an 86th minute winner after setting up their first goal to help secure a 2-1 comeback victory over Fortuna Duesseldorf in the Bundesliga on Sunday, with new signing Bas Dost also on target.

Portuguese Paciencia, who scored for the second straight week in the domestic league and has netted another three goals in the Europa League qualifiers, found space down the right to fire home for the victory late in the game.

Earlier he had crossed for Dost, who signed on Monday, to cancel out Fortuna's first-half lead 13 minutes after the Dutchman came on as a substitute in the second period.

Eintracht now have six points from three matches.

Werder Bremen had to score three times against Augsburg to secure their first win of the season after the visitors twice came back from a goal down.

Yuya Osako's second goal in the 67th made it 3-2 and sealed the first three points of the season for Werder.

RB Leipzig are top on nine points from three games following their 3-1 victory at Borussia Moenchengladbach on Friday.

Bayern Munich crushed Mainz 05 6-1 on Saturday to climb to second on seven points while Borussia Dortmund are a point behind after a shock 3-1 loss at Union Berlin.

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