Bellingham, Vinicius shine as champions Madrid smash Alaves

Business May, 15 2024
Bellingham, Vinicius shine as champions Madrid smash Alaves
  • 177
  • 0

 MADRID: Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior inspired runaway Spanish champions Real Madrid to a 5-0 rout of Alaves on Tuesday.

Carlo Ancelotti's side continued warming up for the Champions League final with a comprehensive demolition of their Basque visitors at the Santiago Bernabeu. Bellingham scored the opener and played a part in Madrid's next three goals, two scored by Vinicius, finding his best form at the business end of the season. Turkish teenager Arda Guler added a late fifth to put the cherry on Madrid's cake and moving them 17 points clear of second-place Barcelona. "We've had just one defeat in the league and I think that a big part of the success is because of (the defence)," Ancelotti told reporters after his side's 30th consecutive league game unbeaten. Madrid celebrated their title with an open-top bus parade on Sunday but with the Wembley final a little over a fortnight away, nobody is letting their concentration slip. Least of all Belgian goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, who made a fine double save from Samu Omorodion in the opening minutes.

After missing most of the season with a severe knee injury, Courtois is hoping for a Champions League final start and boasts three clean sheets in three matches since his return. "I knew I'd come back strongly -- I'm the same Courtois, or even better," said the goalkeeper. Ancelotti selected the vast majority of his first choice line-up after resting them at the weekend, and Madrid's usual suspect opened the scoring. It was Bellingham, with his 19th league goal and perhaps his luckiest. The England international directed Toni Kroos' cross towards the far post where Dani Carvajal was running in, but the ball sank directly into the net. Bellingham trails La Liga's top scorer, Girona's Artem Dovbyk, by one goal. Madrid doubled their lead after Bellingham threaded a pass through for Eduardo Camavinga. The French midfielder burst forward in the box and unselfishly squared for Vinicius to tap home when other players might have taken the chance to shoot.

NC Big Stories

Saudi Arabia to host 2034 FIFA World Cup

Riyadh: Saudi Arabia was confirmed as the host of the 2034 men’s football World Cup, while the 2030 edition will be staged in Spain, Portugal, and Morocco, with one-off matches in Uruguay, Argentina, and Paraguay, FIFA announced.   The dec...

Musk advises Djokovic amid Australian Open interview controversy

LONDON: Tennis legend Novak Djokovic has been advised by tech-giant Elon Musk to speak to the public “directly” after the athlete refused a post-match interview during the Australian Open 2025 with Channel 9, the official broadcaster of t...

England beats Pakistan by 6 wickets in ICC U19 Women’s T20 World Cup

Johor: England beat Pakistan by six wickets in their ICC U-19 Women’s T20 World Cup match at the Johor Cricket Academy Oval in Johor, Malaysia on Monday, according to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The PCB said in a statement that England c...

Blake Lively’s secret ‘photo habit’ with Leonardo revealed

A recent Vanity Fair interview celebrating the 10th anniversary of Gossip Girl uncovered some juicy behind-the-scenes details, including a quirky habit of Blake Lively while she was dating Leonardo DiCaprio.   According to showrunner Joshua Saf...

More like this
Related

Aurangzeb attends World Economic Forum in Davos

KARACHI: Pakistan's Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb has traveled to Davos, Switzerland, to participate in the World Economic Forum (WEF) Annual Meeting, which is scheduled to take place from January 20 to 24, 2025. During his visit, the finance...

Gold price per tola increases Rs500

KARACHI: Gold prices in Pakistan saw an uptick on Monday, following a rise in international rates. In the local market, the price of gold per tola increased by Rs500, reaching Rs282,900. Similarly, 10-gram gold was sold for Rs242,541, marking a gain...

Rupee records marginal increase against USD

KARACHI: The Pakistani rupee saw a slight improvement against the US dollar on Monday, appreciating by 0.02% in the inter-bank market. The currency closed at 278.65, gaining Re0.06 against the greenback.In the previous week, the rupee experienced a m...

Govt to raise $200m from Chinese investors via Panda Bond: Aurangzeb

ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb announced that Pakistan plans to issue its first Panda Bond by June 2025, aiming to strengthen the country's presence in China's capital markets. In an interview with Hong Kong's TVB News Channel, he exp...
Need Help? Chat with us