Looking at relegation with almost a dozen points advantage. This is how Valencia de Vallecas comes out, with a hard-fought victory against a Rayo that no longer knows what to do to win at home. He approached, looked for it, but he became deflated until he was left without a prize.. [Narrative and statistics (0-1)]

“Wait wait wait”. This is what Sergi Canós shouted in the 60th minute after placing the Valencian goal into the corner of Dimitrievski's goal with a right-footed shot to the long post.. Too much time without good feelings after having fought to be on the team of his life. He spent the preseason waiting for the call from Valencia and paid the price for an injury that has prevented him from thanking the open arms with which Mestalla welcomed him on the pitch..

His goal was an injection of energy that the team, which had gone five days without winning, knew how to manage even with 10 players.. One more sign of maturity for Baraja's team, which suffered to maintain the tie in the first half.

Not a single corner

The dynamics of the two teams did not invite it to be an attractive duel and it was not.. Valencia finds it difficult to get away from the heat of Mestalla and Rayo fans have only seen their team beat Alavés, and that was when they went to the stadium in short sleeves, on September 15. That is why Francisco forced from the beginning, disturbing Raúl de Tomás and Camello and forcing the rival to have to adapt to his demands.

The first blow was saved by Mamardashvili, who grew bigger to take one-on-one against Isi Palazón in the 10th minute.. Then it was Lejeune who tried from the front. The connection with sparks from De Frutos, Isi and Camello made the Valencians roll up their sleeves and a timid shot from Diego López was the only concern the Vallecano goalkeeper had. Little ball, few chances and not a single corner.

In the second half, Rayo wanted to maintain their pressure, but they gave in and Valencia smelled that weakness.. Canós tried first, arming his leg from the right wing and forcing Dimitrievski. He had the prize a minute later appearing on the opposite side of the area. Diego López found him there and the man from Castellón, with infinite desire to vindicate himself, didn't even think about it.. The goal was his way of asking Valencia to wait for him.

Direct red after the VAR

Francisco undid his bet on the two forwards who accumulate the most minutes without seeing the net. He left RdT but sent Camello to the bench to look for Nteka's strength. Valencia knew how to handle the uncertainty of the locals with Baraja responding to the Vallecano coach's order. Hugo Duro headed a corner that was saved by Pathé Ciss and Lejeune stopped Fran Pérez's run as he faced the goal.

The question was whether Valencia, which this season has lost advantages in a flash, would withstand the pressure of a Rayo that, despite the emotional block, was going to attack Mamardashvili. In one of those accelerations, Thierry stopped Álvaro García on the same line at the front of the area. Alberola Rojas showed the yellow card, but the VAR invited him to send him off with a direct red card for being the last man, although there was a doubt that Diakhaby would arrive. The mysteries of video arbitration that may or may not reveal their conversations.

Clinging to the epic and with continuous skirmishes, Rayo could not knock down a Valencia that added the three points that tasted very rich.

Reunion with La Santina, the protector of cyclists. The 2024 Vuelta recovers the iconic summit of Lagos de Covadonga, crowned 40 years ago by Marino Lejarreta after being exhibited in the splendid places of La Huesera, the Mirador de la Reina and the Ercina and Enol reservoirs. El Junco de Bérriz was the best climber of the 1983 round, won by Bernard Hinault. The Frenchman's ride through the mountains of Ávila together with the Basque and Vicente Belda remains in history, in which he humiliated the leader Julián Gorospe. Since then, the Lakes became an emblem of the Vuelta. The Picos de Europa mountain has been climbed 22 times, the last winner was Primoz Roglic, in 2021. Pedro Delgado, Lucho Herrera and Laurent Jalabert are the only ones who have won twice.

The cliffs of Covadonga are the main attractions of an edition presented this Tuesday at the Marriott Auditorium hotel in Madrid. The test will begin on August 17 in Lisbon and will end on September 8 in Madrid, with visits to Portugal, Extremadura, Andalusia and the northern area. The center and east, excluded. The Portuguese capital will host the opening for the second time in its history, the previous one was in 1997, an edition won by the Swiss Alex Zülle.

The curtain will rise with a 12 kilometer time trial. The second stage will take place between Cascais and Ourém, the third will start in Lousã and will end in Castelo Branco. Portugal will host the first three days after contributing two million euros, an investment that they hope to recover with interest due to the arrival of the Vuelta caravan (3,000 people), tourists and fans.

Cuitu Negro

The entry into Spain will take place on August 20, starting in Plasencia and ending in Pico Villuercas, the first appointment with the mountain, with three kilometers on cement and 16% ramps.. Then the platoon will travel to Seville and Córdoba. In the vicinity of Granada there will be a double promotion to Hazallanas before the move to Ponteareas (Pontevedra), the cradle of Alvaro Pino and Delio Rodriguez. The 13th stage will end in the port of Ancares, where 'Purito' Rodríguez and Alberto Contador won. On this occasion, for the first time, the Leonese slope will be ascended. The 15th will be crucial, with the very tough climb to Cuitu Negru, in the Pajares pass, after a double pass through the Colladiella.

The last week will start with the media visit to Lagos de Covadonga and will conclude with a tremendous triptych. The event on Friday, August 6 will end at the top of Moncalvillo, a first category where Roglic won in 2020. Saturday's is the queen stage, with a chain route of seven ascents between Cantabria and Burgos, ending at the top of Picón Blanco, with more than eight kilometers in length and an average slope of 9%.

On Sunday the new closing of Madrid will arrive. Javier Guillén has dispensed with the traditional walk through the center of the capital to opt for a 22-kilometer individual time trial with a flat profile, starting in the Telefónica District and ending in Gran Vía. A tachycardia finish for a round in the that the American Sepp Kuss will defend the title and the presence of Juan Ayuso, Carlos Rodríguez and Nairo Quintana are expected. Four climbers for a test that looks upwards, with eight mountain stages and five medium mountain stages.

Football, under the tax microscope for years in which the Treasury carried out a general inspection operation regarding image rights, offshore companies and agent commissions, mainly, is beginning to come out victorious.

With four seeds, double that of the Premier and the Bundesliga, Spanish football promised them very happy yesterday at the House of European Football, where the draw distributed, with neat proportionality, the difficulties typical of the Champions League round of 16. Real Madrid and Barcelona start as undoubted favorites against Leipzig and Naples, while Atlético will play a tie without concessions against Inter, the current finalist. Finally, Real Sociedad will face PSG in a match that, regardless of the result, will remain forever in the memory of its faithful fans..

There is not much that Madrid can complain about, freed from commitments like the ones it has had to face since 2018 against Liverpool, City and PSG (twice). The winning momentum of Carlo Ancelotti's team has even prevailed over a devastating run of injuries.. If we add to this Leipzig's poor pedigree in moments of truth, the difficulties against the third team in the Bundesliga, recently eliminated from the Cup by Wolfsburg, should not be maximum.

Marco Rose's style book maintains its guidelines on vertigo and high blood pressure, which already caused more than one headache last year for the 14-time Champions League champion.. The sale of Josko Gvardiol, Christopher Nkunku and Dominik Szoboszlai to three Premier League giants has been alleviated, to a certain extent, by Xavi Simons, Loïs Openda and Benjamin Šesko. Of the three, the first deserves special attention. And not only because of his hair care. Raised in La Masia, where he showed media charisma, he ended up leaving through the back door on his way to PSG. From the Parc des Princes to PSV, for whom he scored 22 goals and 12 assists. Today, he looks great in any position. If in Eindhoven he shone on the left or as an attacking midfielder, in Saxony he prefers to play as a right-footed player.

“Now they are in a great moment and it is going to be very difficult,” predicted Emilio Butragueño with his more institutional profile. El Buitre, who is never overwhelmed by enthusiasm, also had to admit the evidence yesterday: “The return is at the Bernabéu, with everything that implies. And we are in a splendid moment.”

“The game at Reale, key”

Jokin Aperribay was slightly more upset in Nyon. “He was the rival to avoid, what are we going to do to him,” admitted the president of Real, somewhat suffocated by the intensity of the live match.. Fortune, elusive during the last two seasons in the Europa League (Leipzig, Manchester United and Rome), once again turned its back on the txuri urdin. However, Imanol Alguacil's team has been giving ample evidence of its ability to face a challenge of this magnitude.. Not only for what he offered in the league, where he ridiculed Benfica, a semi-finalist seven months ago, but for his irreproachable career in recent years..

The Real project is based on the youth team, with Mikel Oyarzabal, Martín Zubimendi and Ander Barrenetxea as banners, but it knows how to incorporate foreign talent without compromising the health of its accounts. Imanol has transcended his work as a coach, with a magnetic game plan, to become a transmission belt.

The entire city feels identified with its team. And that emotionality, added to a firm idea of football, usually pays off in the Champions League.. If not, ask PSG, lost for more than a decade in its search. Roberto Olabe, the other key piece in the mechanism, seemed to visualize everything yesterday. “It's going to be an open tie and the home game is going to be key,” predicted the sports director.

Inter's priority

Even more equality is expected in Atlético's visit to Giuseppe Meazza, because Inter, in a double match, has more arguments than PSG. It is not only about how it competes, nor about how it has been distributing efforts between Europe and Serie A, whose conquest has been established as a priority.. This same Sunday, at the Olympic Stadium in Rome, a couple of brush strokes and the calmness of Yann Sommer under the sticks were enough to penalize Lazio's mistakes. The Scudetto will be decided against Juventus, who are now four points behind.

What should worry Atlético the most is its rival's ability to cause discomfort and come out unscathed even in the most adverse conditions.. The talent of Lautaro Martínez and Nicolò Barella will test the red and white stability, although in KO duels Simone Inzaghi usually favors precautions. Just like El Cholo. When the moment comes for all or nothing, we will see who moves the piece first.

Waiting for Osimhen

Barça, of course, will be forced to show their cards against Naples, in search of a new boost with Walter Mazzarri. Because on Saturday, against Cagliari, the current Serie A champion added its first home victory since September 27. Not even the oldest in the shadow of Vesuvius remember a legacy as disastrous as the one left by Rudi Garcia, determined to give his author's touch to a group that flew alone. The Blaugrana, of course, will have to show the superiority of their squad.

Because Naples, with a desperate fragility, can barely supply balls to a striker as voracious as Victor Osimhen. The Nigerian dominates the area, who will go to the African Cup in January. Pending a last-minute play-off, all attacking responsibility should fall on Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. A decade after his goodbye, Mazzarri needs to breathe a breath of life into this team, which did a lot by getting rid of Braga. Under normal conditions, Xavi Hernández's group should not suffer even in Diego Armando Maradona.

Although if they have plenty of ambition, Barça should look up to the 2025 Club World Cup, where they still do not have a place, given their very poor record in the last four Champions Leagues.. With 55 points on their scale, seven less than Atlético, they need to advance at any cost and wait for a setback from the colchoneros. UEFA awards two points for a victory, one for a draw and another extra for each round passed.

Eight days after showing off against Barcelona at the Lluís Companys, Girona beat Alavés at home, in a demonstration of their ability to metabolize their unexpected role in the championship. He is once again a leader, a rank that Real Madrid had temporarily deprived him of, without any threat of implosion. Against a rival from what was supposedly their League, they functioned with the ease and authority of a team that assumes its new hierarchy without vertigo.. [Narrative and statistics (3-0)]

Until their left wing began to get oiled, with Savinho running over, with Miguel Gutiérrez less vertical than usual, Girona knew how to turn the wing game. From there, from the right, the three goals came, all of them with the participation of Yan Couto, brilliant and hyperactive all night, until he retired injured in the final stretch.

A shot by the Brazilian that bit a defender was rejected short by Sivera, giving Dovbyk the opportunity to head in the first goal.. It was also Couto who offered Portu, once again a starter due to absences, the possibility of a cross shot that turned out to be accurate and left his team with a comfortable lead before the break.

Different alternatives

The leader needed patience to find air among the crowded Alavés midfield, which in principle was content with appealing to Samu's speed on the counterattacks.. The player from Melilla hit with a header to provoke Gazzaniga's only intervention in the first half, a simple one, firmly catching the ball.

There is no rush when it comes to generating play for the Catalan team, which, as they already demonstrated against Barcelona, has different alternatives to search for the opposing goal.. The calmness of the night allowed Míchel to move the bench, after another great individual action by Couto, the best of the match, ended in a penalty converted by Dovbyk, in what was his tenth goal of the championship, in the 58th minute. A shot by Duarte against the crossbar was the most accurate testimony of the visitors, who passed almost on tiptoe.

After almost half the League, far from declining, Girona is still the best team in the championship, playing with freshness and joviality, as if its performance were not worthy of astonishment.