Football Review: Barcelona thump Madrid in El Clasico

WINDHOEK, OCT. 29 – The fate of Real Madrid manager Julen Lopetegui in the wake of their 5-1 loss to Barcelona in ‘El Clasico’ is the dominant news after a busy weekend of football in La Liga, Serie A and the Premier League.

At the time of writing Lopetegui remained in charge of ‘Los Blancos’ but it is widely expected that he will be relieved of his position following a heavy defeat to Barca at Camp Nou on Sunday evening which leaves Real seven points off the pace.

Barcelona’s Luis Suarez celebrates after scoring during a Spanish LaLiga soccer match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid at the Camp Nou stadium in Barcelona, north eastern Spain, 28 October 2018. EPA/Enric Fontcuberta

Yet the 5-1 score line (featuring a hat-trick from Luis Suarez, in the absence of Lionel Messi) was perhaps not a fair reflection of the game, with Madrid hitting the woodwork when the score was just 2-1 in favour of the Catalans – had Luka Modric’s strike gone in, the game could well have turned out very differently.

“It is hard, a defeat is always hard, even more at Barcelona. We have the feeling that we could have turned the game around, we had chances to equalise, and go on and win,” said Lopetegui in his post-match press conference.

The under-fire former Spain coach added, “”I feel sad at the moment, but with full strength to remain in charge of this group. This is a tough blow, but I am strong enough to know everything can be turned around. There is a long way to go, and I have a lot of faith in this group of players.”

Elsewhere in Spain, Thomas Partey’s Atletico Madrid shrugged off their heavy midweek loss in the UEFA Champions League to defeat Real Sociedad 2-0, Iago Aspas scored a hat-trick as Celta de Vigo hammered Eibar 4-0, and Mubarak Wakaso helped Deportivo Alaves to a 2-1 home win over Villarreal which sees them placed second behind Barca.

The big news in England was a return to winning form for Manchester United, who edged Everton 2-1 at Old Trafford thanks to goals from Paul Pogba and Anthony Martial, while Liverpool and Chelsea have moved into first and second positions after they racked up impressive wins at home to Cardiff City (4-1 – featuring goals from Sadio Mane [2] and Mohamed Salah) and away to Burnley (4-0) respectively.

Arsenal’s Granit Xhaka (left) and Alex Iwobi (right) celebrate Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (not pictured) scoring his side’s second goal of the game during the Premier League match at Selhurst Park, London.

Arsenal’s Pierre Emerick Aubameyang continued his scoring spree in a 2-2 draw away to Crystal Palace on Sunday, while Manchester City will fancy their chances of reclaiming pole position when they play away to Tottenham Hotspur at Wembley Stadium on Monday night.

In Italy, Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Juventus came from behind to win 2-1 away to Empoli to continue their control at the top of Serie A. The Portuguese’s performance levels remain astonishing and Juve manager Max Allegri believes he is the kind of player who will inspire for generations to come.

Juventus’ forward Cristiano Ronaldo (L) celebrates with his teammates after scoring the 1-1 equalizer from the penalty spot during the Italian Serie A soccer match between Empoli FC and Juventus FC in Empoli, Italy, 27 October 2018. EPA/GIANNI NUCCI

“The goal was a moment of magic from an extraordinary player and it’s something kids will try to copy in the schoolyard,” said Allegri. “It’s much easier to get kids passionate about that rather than explaining tactics to them.

“I continue to maintain there is too much theory in Italian football schools and it pains me to see kids go to training and not even enjoy themselves. We’ve got to focus on the simple things in life first.”

Milan’s Gonzalo Higuain (R) celebrates with his teammate Franck Kessie (L) after scoring the 2-2 equalizer during the Italian Serie A soccer match between AC Milan and UC Sampdoria in Milan, Italy, 28 October 2018. EPA/MATTEO BAZZI

Elsewhere in the Italian top flight, Kevin-Prince Boateng was on target late in the game to help Sassuolo salvage a 2-2 draw at home to Bologna (who featured a goal from Ibrahim M’Baye), Raman Chisbah netted in Frosinone’s 3-0 win at SPAL, Franck Kessie’s Milan defeated Sampdoria in a five-goal thriller and Kalidou Koulibaly’s Napoli lost ground in the title after they were held 1-1 by Roma.

Serie A will wrap up its round on Monday night as Kwadwo Asamoah and Keita Balde’s Internazionale head to Rome to face Lazio.

Premier League results & fixtures, 27-29 October 2018

Saturday 27 October
Brighton & Hove Albion 1-0 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Fulham 0-3 Bournemouth
Liverpool 4-1 Cardiff City
Southampton 0-0 Newcastle United
Watford 3-0 Huddersfield Town
Leicester City 1-1 West Ham United

Sunday 28 October
Burnley 0-4 Chelsea
Crystal Palace 2-2 Arsenal
Manchester United 2-1 Everton

Monday 29 October
22:00 CAT: Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City

Serie A results & fixtures, 27-29 October 2018

Saturday 27 October
Atalanta 3-0 Parma
Empoli 1-2 Juventus
Torino 1-1 Fiorentina

Sunday 28 October
Sassuolo 2-2 Bologna
Cagliari 2-1 Chievo
Genoa 2-2 Udinese
SPAL 0-3 Frosinone
Milan 3-2 Sampdoria
Napoli 1-1 Roma

La Liga results, 26-28 October 2018
All times CAT

Friday 26 October
Real Valladolid 1-1 Espanyol

Saturday 27 October
Girona 2-1 Rayo Vallecano
Athletic Bilbao 0-0 Valencia
Celta de Vigo 4-0 Eibar
Levante 2-0 Leganes
Atletico Madrid 2-0 Real Sociedad

Sunday 28 October
Getafe 2-0 Real Betis
Barcelona 5-1 Real Madrid
Deportivo Alaves 2-1 Villarreal
Sevilla 2-1 Huesca