Jude Bellingham on target again as Real Madrid beat Villarreal

By Sports Desk December 17, 2023

Jude Bellingham struck his 17th goal of the season as Real Madrid returned to the top of LaLiga with a thumping 4-1 win over Villarreal at the Bernabeu.

Bellingham paved the way for the hosts to leapfrog previous leaders Girona – who face Alaves on Sunday – when he struck midway through the first half before Rodrygo doubled Real’s lead.

Jose Luis Morales reduced the deficit for the visitors but Real made sure of victory with further goals from Brahim Diaz and Luka Modric.

Real Sociedad stay in sixth place, just above rivals Real Betis after the two clubs ground out a goalless draw in San Sebastian, while the match between bottom club Almeria and Mallorca also finished goalless.

Chris Ramos scored a late equaliser as Cadiz sealed their fourth consecutive LaLiga draw against Las Palmas, for whom Pejino grabbed an early opener.

Inter Milan stretched their lead at the top of Serie A to four points after a 2-0 win over Lazio in Rome.

Lautaro Martinez pounced on a calamitous back-pass by home defender Adam Marusic to put his side in front and Marcus Thuram’s second-half effort sealed the points before Lazio had Manuel Lazzari sent off late on.

City rivals AC Milan strengthened their grip on third place as they coasted to a 3-0 win over Monza at San Siro.

A third-minute strike from Tijjani Reijnders paved the way for a comfortable victory, with Jan-Carlo Simic adding a second just before half time and Noah Okafor completing the scoring in the second half.

Bologna kept in touch in fourth place with a 2-0 win over Roma courtesy of Nikola Moro and a Rasmus Kristensen own goal, while a late Lucas Beltran effort saw Fiorentina edge struggling Verona 1-0, and Udinese and Sassuolo shared the points in a 2-2 draw.

Harry Kane scored twice as Bayern Munich erased the memory of last weekend’s shocking 5-1 defeat at Eintracht Frankfurt with a 3-0 win over fourth-placed Stuttgart.

Kane hit the opener after just two minutes and doubled his tally early in the second half before Kim Min-Jae completed the scoring for the revived hosts.

But Bayer Leverkusen maintained their four-point lead by succeeding where Bayern failed and thumping Frankfurt 3-0 at the BayArena, with goals from Victor Boniface, Jeremie Frimpong and Florian Wirtz.

Freiburg claimed a 2-0 win over struggling Koln who had Julian Chabot sent off for two bookable offences midway through the second half.

Paris St Germain were denied an eighth successive Ligue 1 win as they were held to a 1-1 draw by Lille at the Stade Pierre-Mouroy.

Kylian Mbappe’s 66th-minute effort looked set to send his side to another victory but Jonathan David fired home in the fourth minute of injury time to salvage a point and protect fourth place.

In-form Brest were 2-0 winners at Nantes, while Marseille laboured to a 2-1 win at home to bottom club Clermont.

Strasbourg won 2-1 at Lorient, Montpellier edged a 1-0 win at Metz, while Toulouse and Rennes battled out a stalemate.

Related items

  • Arteta hails 'phenomenal' Arsenal drive to take Man City all the way Arteta hails 'phenomenal' Arsenal drive to take Man City all the way

    Mikel Arteta hailed the "phenomenal" drive shown by his Arsenal side to push Manchester City all the way in the Premier League title race.

    The Gunners moved one point clear of City at the Premier League summit on Sunday with a 1-0 win against Manchester United at Old Trafford.

    City have a chance to restore their advantage when they travel to Arsenal's fierce rivals Tottenham on Tuesday, before then hosting West Ham.

    Regardless of what happens in midweek, Arsenal will go into their final game of the campaign at home to Everton with the title battle still alive.

    Speaking to BBC Sport after his side's latest win, Arteta said: "It is a phenomenal thing they are doing."

    However, Arteta was not entirely pleased with the manner of his side's slender victory, even if they were good value for the win overall.

    "We weren't composed, clean enough, consistent enough and were unable to do the simple things right," he said. "That doesn't give you control. 

    "Some of the players have not been in this position; they don't know what is at stake and how you feel emotionally to have to win and win and win from December or January."

    Arsenal's win was just their second in 17 Premier League trips to Old Trafford, most recently coming out on top in November 2020.

    Lenadro Trossard scored what proved to be the winner with 20 minutes played, tapping in from close range after being set up by Kai Havertz.

    "We needed a result today in a really difficult place," Arteta added. "Our history was not in favour of a result today.

    "There was so much at stake and we're happy with the result. We started the game really well and were dominant. 

    "We scored the goal and I think the goal led to slightly bad things because we started to play too safe, too sideways, too backwards with not enough structure.

    "We started to give the ball away in good areas and that is a danger against them. But we defended well and didn't concede too much."

    Arsenal now find themselves cheering on Tottenham against City, knowing that anything other than a win for Pep Guardiola's men will leave their title fate in their own hands.

    Asked if he will be watching that game, Arteta said: "We will be sat watching and it’s true we need the result in order to achieve [the title]. In football there are always possibilities."

  • Tuchel skips goodbye from fans after final Bayern home game Tuchel skips goodbye from fans after final Bayern home game

    Departing Bayern Munich coach Thomas Tuchel opted on Sunday to quietly slip into the changing rooms instead of joining his players to celebrate after the Bavarians beat Wolfsburg 2-0.

    Tuchel will be leaving at the end of the season – a year earlier than his contract ends – following a disappointing campaign with no silverware.

    The win came four days after Bayern's Champions League semi-final exit to Real Madrid confirmed their first season without a trophy in over a decade.

    "These are the moments for the players," he said when asked why he did not join his squad who went in front of the Bayern ultras after their final home game of the season.

    "I don't want to be in the spotlight there. That's for the team. I know that the cameras are there.

    "I prefer to go in [to the changing rooms]. It is about the team. The fans are there for the team. They need to be celebrated."

    There has been little to celebrate for Tuchel in his 14 months in charge, with Bayern having managed to win only the Bundesliga title last season after Borussia Dortmund slipped up on the final matchday.

    He said he did not yet know what he would take away from his time at Bayern, who missed out on Bundesliga glory to Bayer Leverkusen this term.

    "Last home game and what remains I don't really know," he said. "It will take some time to see what is left.

    "It is a privilege to coach at this level. I came to win as many titles as possible. We did not succeed in that."

  • Juventus 1-1 Salernitana: Late Rabiot goal salvages home draw Juventus 1-1 Salernitana: Late Rabiot goal salvages home draw

    Juventus snatched a 1-1 draw at home to relegated Salernitana courtesy of a late Adrien Rabiot goal that cancelled out a first-half header from Niccolo Pierozzi in Serie A on Sunday.

    Juve are fourth on 67 points with two matches left, six points ahead of Atalanta, who have two games in hand.

    Salernitana shocked the Allianz Stadium as unmarked Pierozzi headed home after 27 minutes following a corner.

    But Juventus dominated the rest of the match and equalised in stoppage time when Rabiot slid the ball home at the back post after a corner was flicked on.

    Bottom side Salernitana were doomed to the drop last month.

    Juve play in the Italian Cup final against Atalanta on Wednesday in an effort to save a disappointing season and stop their winless streak at six matches in all competitions.

    Data Debrief: Another stalemate for Juve

    Juventus were grateful for a point come full-time, albeit it was a poor result in the grand scheme of things. Juve have now draw five successive matches in Serie A for the first time since between April and May 2009.

    In fact, only Heidenheim of the Bundesliga (10) have drawn more matches than Juventus have (nine from 18 games) across Europe's top five leagues in 2024.

© 2023 SportsMaxTV All Rights Reserved.