Barça 12 points clear in title race after Kessié’s late winner against Real Madrid

20.03.2023 - 02:51 theguardian.com

After 26 matches and 91 minutes of nerves and tension, a swipe of Franck Kessié’s boot virtually delivered the league for Barcelona.

Barcelona had been hit by what appeared to be a late Marco Asensio winner that would have reopened the title race only to witness it get ruled out by VAR and the tightest of offsides.

Then they had resisted, and now they were virtually champions. One last run, a Robert Lewandowski backheel and a delivery from Alejandro Balde left Kessié there to finish the move the match and probably the season.

As the ball hit the net, it gave Barcelona a 2-1 win in the clásico and took them 12 points clear at the top of the table with 12 games to go.

Football Boxing Barcelona Title race Robert Lewandowski Franck Kessie Marco Asensio Alejandro Balde

Samu Chukwueze scored twice to inflict a further blow on Real Madrid's title hopes as they were beaten 3-2 by Villarreal at home in LaLiga on Saturday (Apr 8) despite twice taking the lead.

Real Madrid 2-3 Villarreal: Los Blancos throw away lead on two occasions as Samu Chukwueze stuns the Bernabeu

A brilliant Samu Chukwueze winner saw Villarreal beat Real Madrid 3-2 at the Santiago Bernabeu to surely end the hosts' title defence. Real took the lead through a Pau Torres own goal, which owed much to good work from Marco Asensio, but their control of the match loosened and Villarreal's equaliser was deserved when it came.

Barcelona 0-4 Real Madrid: Karim Benzema hat-trick sends Real into Copa del Rey final

Karim Benzema hit a hat-trick as Real Madrid secured a sensational 4-0 victory over Barcelona at the Nou Camp to turn a heavyweight semi-final tie around and book a place in the Copa del Rey final. Los Blancos were trailing 1-0 from the first leg at the Bernabeu but silenced the Catalan home crowd on the stroke of half time when Benzema cut the ball back for Vinicius Junior to stab in the opener via a deflection.

Elche CF 0-4 FC Barcelona: Robert Lewandowski hits brace as Barca go 15 points clear of Real Madrid at top of Liga

FC Barcelona beat Elche 4-0 to go 15 points clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga Xavi's side took the lead after 19 minutes with their first chance of the game. Ronald Araujo cleverly headed the ball into the path of Robert Lewandowski who, with the help of a slight mis-hit, was able to clip the ball over Edgar Badia and into the back of the net. Ad The hosts responded brilliantly to going 1-0 down, pushing further up the pitch and pressing Barcelona with more intensity.

Barca Snatch Clasico Win Over Real Madrid To Strike Title Blow

Barcelona snatched a 2-1 Clasico win over Real Madrid with Franck Kessie's late goal Sunday to move 12 points clear at the top of La Liga. The victory dents Madrid's ambitions of retaining the title and leaves the Catalans close to lifting the trophy for the first time since 2019. Carlo Ancelotti's Real took the lead through a Ronald Araujo own goal but Barcelona pulled level when Sergi Roberto tucked home just before half-time. Both sides had chances to win the game and Marco Asensio struck for Madrid, but the goal was ruled offside by VAR, before Alejandro Balde set up Kessie in the 92nd minute.