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La Liga: With late help from VAR, Atleti rallies to beat Bilbao

Associated PressNov 10, 2018, 4:05 PM EST
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MADRID (AP) Atletico Madrid rallied to defeat Athletic Bilbao 3-2 in the Spanish league on Saturday, with Diego Godin’s winner coming after a video review in second-half stoppage time.

Godin’s last-gasp goal was initially disallowed because of offside, but the call was reversed after the VAR confirmed the defender was in legal position when he headed the ball into the net.

The Atletico captain was playing with a muscle injury and stayed in the match only because Atletico had already made all three substitutions at Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.

The hosts twice came from behind after a pair of goals by Athletic forward Inaki Williams. Midfielders Thomas Partey and Rodrigo scored for Atletico in the second half.

The dramatic victory moved Atletico one point behind league leader Barcelona, which hosts Real Betis on Sunday. Espanyol can move past Atletico when it visits fourth-place Sevilla on Sunday.

Sixth-place Real Madrid, coming off three straight victories since interim coach Santiago Solari replaced the fired Julen Lopetegui, visits Celta Vigo on Sunday.

Atletico was coming off a convincing 2-0 win against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.

The last-minute loss added to a disappointing season for Athletic, which hasn’t won in 11 straight matches and can drop into the relegation zone by the end of the weekend. Its last victory was in August. Since then, the Basque Country club has drawn seven matches and lost four.

Willians’ first goal was an easy tap in after a shot by Mikel San Jose struck the post and bounced in front of the goal line in the 36th. His second came after a fast breakaway in the 64th, entering the area and sending a low shot into the net three minutes after Partey equalized for Atletico with a powerful long-range shot, hitting the upper right corner from more than 25 meters away.

Rodrigo evened the match for the hosts again with a header off a corner in the 80th, scoring his first goal since joining Atletico from Villarreal in the summer.

Godin’s winner came after Partey sent a free kick into the area and Griezmann redirected the ball toward the goal mouth as the Uruguay defender appeared behind the defenders.

WATCH: Benzema’s mazy dribble highlights Real’s four-goal half

Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images
By Nicholas MendolaNov 7, 2018, 3:59 PM EST
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Real Madrid is responding well to a disappointing outing against Viktoria Plzen on its last UEFA Champions League match day.

Two weeks after beating the Czech side 2-1 in Spain, the three-time reigning champions scored four first-half goals in the Czech Republic to open up a 4-0 lead at Doosan Arena.

[ LIVE: Champions League scores ]

Gareth Bale and Casemiro have scored, but the star of the show has been Karim Benzema.

The Frenchman’s first of two goals was a clever dribble past several Viktoria defenders.

We wouldn’t recommend he try a similar feat against better opposition, but again this is the team that did hold Real to two goals at the Bernabeu.

Three hurt in clash between radical fans before Barca vs Rayo

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Associated PressNov 4, 2018, 8:28 AM EST
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MADRID (AP) Emergency services say three people were hurt when radical fan groups supporting Barcelona and Rayo Vallecano clashed before a Spanish league match on Saturday.

[ RECAP: Barca comes back to win ]

Emergency services for Madrid say the three were taken from near Vallecas Stadium to a hospital to receive treatment for cuts and bruises.

Barcelona says in a statement it “laments and condemns” the fighting, which was near Rayo’s stadium according to Spanish media reports.

Barcelona says it “reaffirms its commitment to fight against any form of violence in the world of sport and once again puts itself at the disposition of the police and security forces to eliminate these groups.”

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More AP soccer: https://apnews.com/tag/apf-Soccer and https://twitter.com/AP-Sports

La Liga: Suarez scores two as Barcelona rally to late win

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Associated PressNov 3, 2018, 6:31 PM EST
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MADRID (AP) Luis Suarez netted his second goal of a 3-2 comeback win at Rayo Vallecano in the 90th minute on Saturday, extending his scoring run with Lionel Messi injured.

Rayo was winning the Spanish league match 2-1 until the 87th when substitute Ousmane Dembele drilled in a headed back pass by defender Gerard Pique, who joined the attack.

Suarez then scored his second goal to complete the fightback when he was left unmarked to stab in Sergi Roberto’s cross at the far post.

Barcelona increased its league lead to four points over Atletico Madrid, which drew at Leganes 1-1, and Alaves. Alaves visits Eibar on Sunday.

Suarez opened the scoring at Vallecas Stadium when he tapped in a back pass from Jordi Alba, who was played clear by a long ball from Ivan Rakitic.

But the hosts swung the match in their favor when Jose Pozo scored from outside the area with a shot that went in off the bottom of the upright in the 31st.

After Suarez hit the post, substitute Alvaro Garcia put Rayo ahead in the 57th when he finished off a header by Raul de Tomas that came off the post two minutes after he went on.

Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde sent on Dembele, Munir El Haddadi and midfielder Arturo Vidal to spark a rally that didn’t arrive until the final minutes.

“The game was very difficult for us, but we knew how to turn it around,” Suarez said. “You can lose leagues at grounds like this one.”

Suarez moved to the top of the league scorer list with nine in 11 rounds.

The Uruguay striker has six goals since Messi broke his right forearm on Oct. 20 against Sevilla, including a hat trick last weekend against Real Madrid. He also set up a goal in a 2-0 win over Inter Milan in the Champions League with Messi out.

La Liga: Real Madrid get late own goal, penalty to end slump

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Associated PressNov 3, 2018, 4:51 PM EST
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MADRID (AP) Real Madrid needed an own-goal and late penalty to beat Valladolid 2-0 and end its slump in the Spanish league as interim coach Santiago Solari made his home debut on Saturday.

Substitute Vinicius Junior’s off-target shot took a deflection off defender Kiko Olivas in the 83rd minute and caught goalkeeper Jordi Masip out of position. Masip touched the ball but couldn’t keep it from going in.

Sergio Ramos added a second goal from the penalty spot in the 88th after Karim Benzema was fouled by Fernando Calero.

Until then, Valladolid threatened to extend Madrid’s winless run. Ruben Alcaraz and Toni Villa hit the woodwork for the visitors with long strikes in the second half.

Madrid’s first win in six rounds lifted it from ninth to sixth place.

Madrid’s fans jeered its players when Valladolid went close to scoring, and especially when ineffective forwards Gareth Bale and Marco Asensio were substituted at 0-0.

“We understand how our supporters feel,” Ramos said. “We, as players, are the ones who are responsible (for the poor run) and we are the ones who have the opportunity to turn this around. These three points are important to boost our morale.”

Solari was named Madrid’s caretaker coach on Monday, when predecessor Julen Lopetegui was fired a day after a 5-1 loss at Barcelona. Madrid won 4-0 at third-division Melilla in the Copa del Rey in Solari’s debut on Wednesday.

“I would have liked to win 7-0 with three goals from bicycle kicks,” said Solari, a former Madrid midfielder. “But that’s not football, which is hard. There are moments when you have to have order, commitment, a serious attitude, effort and a competitive spirit, and we showed those tonight and we won.”

Valladolid is exceeding expectations after winning promotion last season. Owned by Brazil great Ronaldo, it entered the match at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on a six-match unbeaten streak. The defeat left it in eighth place.

“In the second half we played better than Madrid,” Valladolid coach Sergio Gonzalez said. “I’m happy for that but frustrated by the result, which doesn’t reflect the enormous effort of my players.”