The race for the La Liga title in the 2019-20 season tightened up over the weekend, as Barcelona saw Real Madrid limp to a 2-2 draw against Celta Vigo after the Catalonians won their Saturday match against Getafe.

This allowed Barça, who came into the weekend trailing Real Madrid by three points in the standings, to cut Los Blancos’ advantage in the La Liga table to a single point.

Barcelona welcomed Getafe to the Camp Nou on Saturday and won despite a tough battle against third-ranked Getafe. Antoine Griezmann and Sergi Roberto scored to give the Blaugrana a 2-0 lead before halftime, and they managed to hold on for a 2-1 win despite Angel Rodriguez’s second-half goal.

Real Madrid was widely expected to beat Celta at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Sunday night, but the plucky Galicians put up a fight and earned a point that allowed them to climb out of the relegation zone.

Celta surprised by taking a 1-0 lead after a Fedor Smolov shot beat Thibault Courtois in the seventh minute of the game.

Real Madrid came back to take a 2-1 lead in the second half after a Toni Kroos strike and a Sergio Ramos penalty and looked to be in the driver’s seat for the win.

However, Celta substitute Denis Suarez connected with another sub, Santi Mina, with a beautiful pass in the 85th minute which knotted the game at 2-2, where it stayed until the final whistle.

Real Madrid will look to maintain their advantage next weekend as they face Levante on the road, while Barcelona will look to keep up their good form and maintain pace as they welcome Eibar to the Camp Nou.

The post La Liga Race Tightens as Real Madrid Draws at Home vs. Celta appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Real Madrid dominated Copa del Rey champions Valencia 3-1 in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to advance to the final of this year’s edition of the Spanish Super Cup.

Real Madrid will advance to play the winner of Thursday’s Barcelona-Atletico Madrid match in Sunday’s final.

This year’s Super Cup is being held in a four-team format and outside of Spain for the first time as the Spanish Football Federation looks to grow its brand internationally.

It was easy pickings for Los Blancos against Valencia on Wednesday. It didn’t take long for Zinedine Zidane’s side to find a lead after Toni Kroos scored a remarkable corner kick goal in the 15th minute of the match.

Less than a half hour later, Isco doubled Real Madrid’s lead with a goal that put his team comfortably ahead before the break.

Luka Modric, who might be playing his last season in the Spanish capital amid rumors of a possible departure to MLS, got in on the fun with a 65th minute wonder goal that turned the game into a laugher.

Dani Parejo’s stoppage time penalty after a Sergio Ramos handball gave Valencia a goal to get them on the scoreboard just before the match’s conclusion.

The competitions final will be held on Sunday evening in Jeddah.

The post Real Madrid Advances to Super Cup Final with 3-1 Win Over Valencia appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Real Madrid, who looked to be in dire straits after winning only one point in their first two Champions League group stage matches, got back on track in a 0-1 win in Istanbul on Tuesday night.

The 2017 and 2018 Champions League winners took down a feisty Galatasaray side by the minimum to get back on track for qualification to the knockout stage of play.

German midfielder Toni Kroos scored the game-winning goal in the 17th minute of action after being set up by a brilliant pass by Eden Hazard. The veteran midfielder rocketed a shot into the top corner of the net that Galatasaray keeper Fernando Muslera could do nothing to stop.

Despite the two teams combining for 38 total shots (27 for Madrid and 11 for Galatasaray) and 16 shots on goal (13 for Madrid and 3 for Galatasaray), this was the only goal scored in the tense match.

Los Blancos’ defense was able to hold on to keep Galatasaray out of the net despite an offense that kept pushing and a rowdy crowd that did its best to give a burst of home-field advantage to the hosts.

Real Madrid now finds itself with 4 points in Group A of the competition, which puts them five points behind PSG, who has completed a perfect first half of the group stage.

The post Real Madrid Gets Back on Track With 0-1 Win at Galatasaray appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Real Madrid is expected to have a major makeover in the summer in the attempt to get back to the top of the European soccer. And while it was widely rumored that the exit of German midfielder Toni Kroos might be part of the process, that won’t happen after all.

Real announced on Monday that Kroos signed a contract extension with the club that will keep him in Madrid until June 2023. The 29-year-old joined the team in 2014 from Bayern Munich in a transfer worth around $28 million.

The news was confirmed on Real’s official social media.

“I never thought of leaving. My head was always about staying,” – said Kroos in a statement. “I wanted to change the situation, to be happier, to be winning. But I never thought of leaving here. The club’s opinion was also that I should stay. I am not just happy here when we win things, but now I want to improve again together with this team. And that is what I am sure we are going to do.”

Since signing with Real Madrid, Toni Kroos established himself as one of the best soccer players at his position. He won 11 trophies with the club including one La Liga title and three Champions League trophies. Kroos played 233 games for Real in all competitions so far and scored 13 goals while providing 40 assists.

After extending Kroos, Real is now expected to enter negotiations with midfielder Luka Modric and defender Nacho, who both have just 12 months remaining on their contracts.

The post Real Madrid Extends Midfielder Toni Kroos Contract Until 2023 appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Germany star Toni Kroos has blasted his national team-mates after they fell to a 1-0 defeat against Brazil in a friendly international on Tuesday.

The under-strength German team was largely below-par on the night and fell to a 1-0 defeat against the Germans after Gabriel Jesus scored a first-half winner to seal a 1-0 win.

For Brazil, the result would have been revenge after they fell to a 7-1 defeat against the Germans during the semi-finals of the 2014 world cup.

Speaking after the game on Tuesday, Kroos slammed his team-mates and feels that the fringe players who were given an opportunity to impress ahead of the world cup did not make the most of their opportunity.

“We had some players on the pitch who had the opportunity to show themselves at this level – they did not take it. We allowed ourselves to be bossed around and then we saw that we’re not as good as we’re always told we are – and perhaps some of us think we are. That was clearly not enough from many of us,” – he said.

The post Germany’s Toni Kroos slams team-mates following defeat against Brazil appeared first on SportzBonanza.

The race for the La Liga title in the 2019-20 season tightened up over the weekend, as Barcelona saw Real Madrid limp to a 2-2 draw against Celta Vigo after the Catalonians won their Saturday match against Getafe.

This allowed Barça, who came into the weekend trailing Real Madrid by three points in the standings, to cut Los Blancos’ advantage in the La Liga table to a single point.

Barcelona welcomed Getafe to the Camp Nou on Saturday and won despite a tough battle against third-ranked Getafe. Antoine Griezmann and Sergi Roberto scored to give the Blaugrana a 2-0 lead before halftime, and they managed to hold on for a 2-1 win despite Angel Rodriguez’s second-half goal.

Real Madrid was widely expected to beat Celta at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium on Sunday night, but the plucky Galicians put up a fight and earned a point that allowed them to climb out of the relegation zone.

Celta surprised by taking a 1-0 lead after a Fedor Smolov shot beat Thibault Courtois in the seventh minute of the game.

Real Madrid came back to take a 2-1 lead in the second half after a Toni Kroos strike and a Sergio Ramos penalty and looked to be in the driver’s seat for the win.

However, Celta substitute Denis Suarez connected with another sub, Santi Mina, with a beautiful pass in the 85th minute which knotted the game at 2-2, where it stayed until the final whistle.

Real Madrid will look to maintain their advantage next weekend as they face Levante on the road, while Barcelona will look to keep up their good form and maintain pace as they welcome Eibar to the Camp Nou.

The post La Liga Race Tightens as Real Madrid Draws at Home vs. Celta appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Real Madrid dominated Copa del Rey champions Valencia 3-1 in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday to advance to the final of this year’s edition of the Spanish Super Cup.

Real Madrid will advance to play the winner of Thursday’s Barcelona-Atletico Madrid match in Sunday’s final.

This year’s Super Cup is being held in a four-team format and outside of Spain for the first time as the Spanish Football Federation looks to grow its brand internationally.

It was easy pickings for Los Blancos against Valencia on Wednesday. It didn’t take long for Zinedine Zidane’s side to find a lead after Toni Kroos scored a remarkable corner kick goal in the 15th minute of the match.

Less than a half hour later, Isco doubled Real Madrid’s lead with a goal that put his team comfortably ahead before the break.

Luka Modric, who might be playing his last season in the Spanish capital amid rumors of a possible departure to MLS, got in on the fun with a 65th minute wonder goal that turned the game into a laugher.

Dani Parejo’s stoppage time penalty after a Sergio Ramos handball gave Valencia a goal to get them on the scoreboard just before the match’s conclusion.

The competitions final will be held on Sunday evening in Jeddah.

The post Real Madrid Advances to Super Cup Final with 3-1 Win Over Valencia appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Real Madrid, who looked to be in dire straits after winning only one point in their first two Champions League group stage matches, got back on track in a 0-1 win in Istanbul on Tuesday night.

The 2017 and 2018 Champions League winners took down a feisty Galatasaray side by the minimum to get back on track for qualification to the knockout stage of play.

German midfielder Toni Kroos scored the game-winning goal in the 17th minute of action after being set up by a brilliant pass by Eden Hazard. The veteran midfielder rocketed a shot into the top corner of the net that Galatasaray keeper Fernando Muslera could do nothing to stop.

Despite the two teams combining for 38 total shots (27 for Madrid and 11 for Galatasaray) and 16 shots on goal (13 for Madrid and 3 for Galatasaray), this was the only goal scored in the tense match.

Los Blancos’ defense was able to hold on to keep Galatasaray out of the net despite an offense that kept pushing and a rowdy crowd that did its best to give a burst of home-field advantage to the hosts.

Real Madrid now finds itself with 4 points in Group A of the competition, which puts them five points behind PSG, who has completed a perfect first half of the group stage.

The post Real Madrid Gets Back on Track With 0-1 Win at Galatasaray appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Real Madrid is expected to have a major makeover in the summer in the attempt to get back to the top of the European soccer. And while it was widely rumored that the exit of German midfielder Toni Kroos might be part of the process, that won’t happen after all.

Real announced on Monday that Kroos signed a contract extension with the club that will keep him in Madrid until June 2023. The 29-year-old joined the team in 2014 from Bayern Munich in a transfer worth around $28 million.

The news was confirmed on Real’s official social media.

“I never thought of leaving. My head was always about staying,” – said Kroos in a statement. “I wanted to change the situation, to be happier, to be winning. But I never thought of leaving here. The club’s opinion was also that I should stay. I am not just happy here when we win things, but now I want to improve again together with this team. And that is what I am sure we are going to do.”

Since signing with Real Madrid, Toni Kroos established himself as one of the best soccer players at his position. He won 11 trophies with the club including one La Liga title and three Champions League trophies. Kroos played 233 games for Real in all competitions so far and scored 13 goals while providing 40 assists.

After extending Kroos, Real is now expected to enter negotiations with midfielder Luka Modric and defender Nacho, who both have just 12 months remaining on their contracts.

The post Real Madrid Extends Midfielder Toni Kroos Contract Until 2023 appeared first on SportzBonanza.

Germany star Toni Kroos has blasted his national team-mates after they fell to a 1-0 defeat against Brazil in a friendly international on Tuesday.

The under-strength German team was largely below-par on the night and fell to a 1-0 defeat against the Germans after Gabriel Jesus scored a first-half winner to seal a 1-0 win.

For Brazil, the result would have been revenge after they fell to a 7-1 defeat against the Germans during the semi-finals of the 2014 world cup.

Speaking after the game on Tuesday, Kroos slammed his team-mates and feels that the fringe players who were given an opportunity to impress ahead of the world cup did not make the most of their opportunity.

“We had some players on the pitch who had the opportunity to show themselves at this level – they did not take it. We allowed ourselves to be bossed around and then we saw that we’re not as good as we’re always told we are – and perhaps some of us think we are. That was clearly not enough from many of us,” – he said.

The post Germany’s Toni Kroos slams team-mates following defeat against Brazil appeared first on SportzBonanza.