Real blow for Madrid

Madrid: Real Madrid had two players sent off in their 2-0 home defeat to Celta Vigo on Sunday and lost more ground to La Liga leaders Barcelona.

Madrid conceded early in the second half and then saw red cards for Fran García and Álvaro Carreras in their first defeat of the season at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in all competitions. Unused Madrid substitute Endrick also was shown a red card for complaining.

Williot Swedberg scored for the visitors with a nice flick from near the penalty spot in the 54th.

Madrid lost García with a second yellow card in the 64th and Carreras in stoppage time. Swedberg sealed Celta’s victory in a breakaway shortly after Madrid was reduced to nine players. “We are all upset. It wasn’t the game or the result that we wanted,” Madrid coach Xabi Alonso said. “The referee’s decisions threw us off balance. I didn’t like the refereeing.”

Madrid have won only two of their last seven matches across all tournaments. They next host Manchester City in the Champions League on Wednesday. Madrid’s only other league loss this season was a heavy defeat at Atletico Madrid in September. It also lost at Liverpool in the league phase of the Champions League in November.

Napoli beat Juventus

milan: Luciano Spalletti’s return to the team he led to the Serie A title was spoiled by Rasmus Højlund’s brace as host Napoli beat Juventus 2-1 on Sunday.

The result also lifted Napoli back to the top of the Italian league. The defending champions moved a point above Inter Milan and three points above AC Milan.

It was Juventus coach Spalletti’s first time at Napoli as opposition manager since he led the southern team to its first scudetto in more than 30 years in 2023. Napoli coach Antonio Conte was also facing his former team. He steered Juventus to three Serie A titles during his time in charge and also played for the Bianconeri for 13 years, winning

numerous trophies. agencies

Adding to the occasion, it was the first time the two coaches had faced each other. agencies