The Spanish La Liga became the second major soccer league to return to action after previously suspending its 2019/20 season due to the coronavirus pandemic. The honor to lead the way belonged to crosstown rivals Sevilla and Betis, who faced in the popular Seville Derby on Thursday night.

Sevilla won the match 2-0 thanks to goals from Lucas Ocampos and Fernando.

Sevilla was dominant for the better part of the match while Betis focused on defending their goal and threatened from counterattacks. After a score 0-0 at halftime, Sevilla increased the pressure which resulted in a penalty kick in the 56th minute after Betis defender Marc Bartra fouled striker Luuk de Jong. Ocampos took the responsibility and calmly converted from the penalty spot to give his team the lead.

After scoring, the Argentinian winger decided to honor the fans by saluting the stands, despite the fact that the game was played without an audience.

“I had never played a derby here before and even though the fans are not here I still wanted to honor them and make it feel like they were and show that we are working hard for them,” said Ocampos.

Just six minutes after this, Fernando added to Betis’ misery. The veteran midfielder used the stir in the penalty area following a corner kick and scored with a header to increase Sevilla’s lead.

Betis tried to bounce back but lacked the creativity to make a worthwhile chance in front of Tomás Vaclík’s goal.

The win helped Sevilla solidify themselves on the third place in the standings and continue their push for a Champions League spot. Betis, on the other hand, remain in the 12th position and won’t play in Europe next season.

The post La Liga Returns with Sevilla’s 2-0 Win Over Betis appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After Bundesliga resumed its season in May, other top soccer leagues in Europe are following its footsteps. England’s Premier League, Spain’s La Liga, and Italy’s Seria A all announced that they are returning in June after they previously suspended their seasons due to coronavirus pandemic.

The Premier League announced on Thursday that the 2019/20 season will resume on June 17th with two matches: Aston Villa vs. Sheffield United and Manchester City vs. Arsenal. After these two games, the rest of the teams will also have their matches between 19th and 21st June.

On Friday, Seria A confirmed that the Italian clubs will also resume the 2019/20 season, with the first games being scheduled for June 20th. It is expected that teams play every three days in order to finish out the season as quickly as possible.

The earliest return, however, is reserved for La Liga, which resumes on June 11th with a match between Sevilla and Real Betis. According to the announcement, the games will be played each day in order to conclude the competition by July 19th.

Matches in all three leagues will be played without audience.

The post Premier League, La Liga, and Seria A Returning in June appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Spain’s domestic football league has returned to training over two months after the league was postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak as teams prepare for a proposed June return date to action.

Last week, hundreds of players and staff members from Spain’s first and second division clubs underwent coronavirus testing as a prerequisite to return to training. Five players reportedly tested positive, with three of them being members of Real Betis.

These five players will be forced to remain quarantined in their homes and will have to receive two negative test results before they are allowed back to their teams’ training grounds.

The rest of players have returned to the pitch as part of reduced groups that will spend time training individually, maintaining a significant distance away from both coaches and teammates as they look to get back in shape before returning to a team practice.

Over the weekend, it was revealed that La Liga’s current plan for the return to competition is on June 12th. These games, which will be played without fans, are expected to take place every two to three days as the league looks to finish its season before August.

If everything goes well and all players obtain negative COVID-19 test results, it seems that Spanish soccer is closer than ever to returning.

The post La Liga Teams Return to Training Ahead of June Games appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After the suspension of games in early March due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Spain’s La Liga has been rendered idled due to quarantine and social distancing guidelines, with teams unable to train as a group.

However, a bit of positive news came to light on Tuesday as Spanish president Pedro Sanchez announced new guidelines that could have teams back to training as early as early May.

According to the new guidelines established by the government, elite professional athletes will be able to train in small groups as soon as May 4th, provided that they test negative for the coronavirus.

While teams would not be allowed to train in full groups immediately, if the evolution of the pandemic continues to trend in a positive direction, teams could return to full squad training later in the month.

A return to game action, however, remains farther away. Teams will reportedly need at least a few weeks of full squad training in order to get back up to speed for game action.

This could lead to a return for La Liga in June behind closed doors.

FC Barcelona currently holds a slim two-point lead over Real Madrid for the top spot in the league, which still has a lot left to play for if it is ultimately able to return.

The post La Liga Teams Set to Return to Training in May appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Soccer fans in Spain are about to receive some devastating news. According to ESPN, La Liga clubs have been recently informed that the fans won’t be able to attend the games once the league activities resume. This decision is expected to stay in force until 2021.

La Liga suspended its season indefinitely last month due to coronavirus pandemic, and it is still unknown when the competition might make a comeback. But even when this does happen, the league officials intend to adhere to recommendations from the Spanish government and operate under strict measures.

ESPN’s sources report that the audience might be allowed to attend games starting January 2021, but even then, the stadiums won’t operate in full capacity.

La Liga officials underlined that the decision is open for a review, depending on the course of the health crisis. If the coronavirus in Spain gets under control more efficiently, then the fans might get access to stadiums earlier than projected.

Almost all major leagues in Europe are currently suspended, but there are indications that things might change in the near future as competitions like Bundesliga are contemplating resuming its activities as early as May. However, all of these leagues intend to play games without an audience.

The post La Liga Games Expected to Take Place Without Fans Until 2021 appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The Spanish La Liga became the second major soccer league to return to action after previously suspending its 2019/20 season due to the coronavirus pandemic. The honor to lead the way belonged to crosstown rivals Sevilla and Betis, who faced in the popular Seville Derby on Thursday night.

Sevilla won the match 2-0 thanks to goals from Lucas Ocampos and Fernando.

Sevilla was dominant for the better part of the match while Betis focused on defending their goal and threatened from counterattacks. After a score 0-0 at halftime, Sevilla increased the pressure which resulted in a penalty kick in the 56th minute after Betis defender Marc Bartra fouled striker Luuk de Jong. Ocampos took the responsibility and calmly converted from the penalty spot to give his team the lead.

After scoring, the Argentinian winger decided to honor the fans by saluting the stands, despite the fact that the game was played without an audience.

“I had never played a derby here before and even though the fans are not here I still wanted to honor them and make it feel like they were and show that we are working hard for them,” said Ocampos.

Just six minutes after this, Fernando added to Betis’ misery. The veteran midfielder used the stir in the penalty area following a corner kick and scored with a header to increase Sevilla’s lead.

Betis tried to bounce back but lacked the creativity to make a worthwhile chance in front of Tomás Vaclík’s goal.

The win helped Sevilla solidify themselves on the third place in the standings and continue their push for a Champions League spot. Betis, on the other hand, remain in the 12th position and won’t play in Europe next season.

The post La Liga Returns with Sevilla’s 2-0 Win Over Betis appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After Bundesliga resumed its season in May, other top soccer leagues in Europe are following its footsteps. England’s Premier League, Spain’s La Liga, and Italy’s Seria A all announced that they are returning in June after they previously suspended their seasons due to coronavirus pandemic.

The Premier League announced on Thursday that the 2019/20 season will resume on June 17th with two matches: Aston Villa vs. Sheffield United and Manchester City vs. Arsenal. After these two games, the rest of the teams will also have their matches between 19th and 21st June.

On Friday, Seria A confirmed that the Italian clubs will also resume the 2019/20 season, with the first games being scheduled for June 20th. It is expected that teams play every three days in order to finish out the season as quickly as possible.

The earliest return, however, is reserved for La Liga, which resumes on June 11th with a match between Sevilla and Real Betis. According to the announcement, the games will be played each day in order to conclude the competition by July 19th.

Matches in all three leagues will be played without audience.

The post Premier League, La Liga, and Seria A Returning in June appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Spain’s domestic football league has returned to training over two months after the league was postponed due to the ongoing COVID-19 outbreak as teams prepare for a proposed June return date to action.

Last week, hundreds of players and staff members from Spain’s first and second division clubs underwent coronavirus testing as a prerequisite to return to training. Five players reportedly tested positive, with three of them being members of Real Betis.

These five players will be forced to remain quarantined in their homes and will have to receive two negative test results before they are allowed back to their teams’ training grounds.

The rest of players have returned to the pitch as part of reduced groups that will spend time training individually, maintaining a significant distance away from both coaches and teammates as they look to get back in shape before returning to a team practice.

Over the weekend, it was revealed that La Liga’s current plan for the return to competition is on June 12th. These games, which will be played without fans, are expected to take place every two to three days as the league looks to finish its season before August.

If everything goes well and all players obtain negative COVID-19 test results, it seems that Spanish soccer is closer than ever to returning.

The post La Liga Teams Return to Training Ahead of June Games appeared first on SportzBonanza.

After the suspension of games in early March due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Spain’s La Liga has been rendered idled due to quarantine and social distancing guidelines, with teams unable to train as a group.

However, a bit of positive news came to light on Tuesday as Spanish president Pedro Sanchez announced new guidelines that could have teams back to training as early as early May.

According to the new guidelines established by the government, elite professional athletes will be able to train in small groups as soon as May 4th, provided that they test negative for the coronavirus.

While teams would not be allowed to train in full groups immediately, if the evolution of the pandemic continues to trend in a positive direction, teams could return to full squad training later in the month.

A return to game action, however, remains farther away. Teams will reportedly need at least a few weeks of full squad training in order to get back up to speed for game action.

This could lead to a return for La Liga in June behind closed doors.

FC Barcelona currently holds a slim two-point lead over Real Madrid for the top spot in the league, which still has a lot left to play for if it is ultimately able to return.

The post La Liga Teams Set to Return to Training in May appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Soccer fans in Spain are about to receive some devastating news. According to ESPN, La Liga clubs have been recently informed that the fans won’t be able to attend the games once the league activities resume. This decision is expected to stay in force until 2021.

La Liga suspended its season indefinitely last month due to coronavirus pandemic, and it is still unknown when the competition might make a comeback. But even when this does happen, the league officials intend to adhere to recommendations from the Spanish government and operate under strict measures.

ESPN’s sources report that the audience might be allowed to attend games starting January 2021, but even then, the stadiums won’t operate in full capacity.

La Liga officials underlined that the decision is open for a review, depending on the course of the health crisis. If the coronavirus in Spain gets under control more efficiently, then the fans might get access to stadiums earlier than projected.

Almost all major leagues in Europe are currently suspended, but there are indications that things might change in the near future as competitions like Bundesliga are contemplating resuming its activities as early as May. However, all of these leagues intend to play games without an audience.

The post La Liga Games Expected to Take Place Without Fans Until 2021 appeared first on SportzBonanza.