Atletico's title hopes hit by Espanyol draw
Atletico Madrid's La Liga title hopes suffered a blow as they were held to a draw by Espanyol.Cesar Azpilicueta, 35, opened the scoring with his first Atletico goal since joining from Chelsea in 2023, hitting a stunning volley into the top corner from 25 yards.But, in a game of few chances, Atletico gifted the hosts a route back into the match with 20 minutes left when Clement Lenglet upended Leandro Cabrera in the box.Winger Javi Puado duly converted past Jan Oblak from the penalty spot with what was Espanyol's first shot on target.The visitors pushed in search of a late winner and came closest through former Manchester City forward Julian Alvarez, whose effort went narrowly wide from just inside the area. Atletico are now without a win in their past three league matches, leaving them six points behind leaders Barcelona and three behind second-placed Real Madrid - having played a game more than both sides.Espanyol remain 15th, two points clear of the relegation zone. Barcelona host Girona on Sunday (15:15 BST), while Real are in action later on Saturday against Leganes (20:00 GMT).
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Daily Mail
6 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Thomas Tuchel responds to England fans labelling Keir Starmer a '****' after supporters sang abusive chants about the Prime Minister during the Three Lions' lacklustre 1-0 win over Andorra
Thomas Tuchel has responded after England supporters loudly labelled Prime Minister Keir Starmer a 'c***' during the 1-0 win over Andorra on Saturday. Around 7,000 Three Lions supporters made the trip to Barcelona to watch the dire World Cup qualifying victory, settled by Harry Kane 's 50th-minute goal. Some foul-mouthed individuals made their feelings toward Starmer clear during an uneventful first half and their songs were audible during ITV 's live coverage. Singing to the tune of KC & The Sunshine Band's hit Give It Up, they sang: 'Na-na, na-na, na-na, na-na-na-na now, Starmer is a c***, is a c***, Starmer is a c***.' Supporters at RCDE Stadium also chanted: 'Keir Starmer is a w****r, is a w****r.' The drab match was played out in front of a largely empty backdrop after the fixture was moved from Andorra to a ground over 100 miles away. Tuchel's side were jeered off at half-time and at the final whistle after delivering an underwhelming performance against opponents ranked 173rd in the world. At the time of the numerous abusive chants directed at Starmer, the Three Lions had been struggling to find a breakthrough against the minnows. But after the game, Tuchel said he did not hear any of the songs in question. 'If it happened, it's not acceptable,' he told reporters during his press conference. 'But I didn't hear any offensive songs or chants.' Saturday seemingly marked the first time England supporters have openly taken aim at Starmer, who has attended a number of Three Lions games in the past. Tuchel, meanwhile, laid into his team for 'playing with fire' against Andorra, warning them they were fortunate not to get burned by one of Europe's worst sides. 'I think in the end, we played with fire, honestly,' Tuchel said. 'I felt it almost like in a cup game where the favourite does not smell the danger. 'I didn't feel a team that was aware it was only 1-0 in a World Cup qualifier. Step by step the energy dropped when we needed exactly the opposite. 'But we couldn't deliver and so we got away with a win. I think we still deserved the win and we've got three wins and three clean sheets. 'We will not stop encouraging them and make clear after we have a proper look at the match what we want from them.' Tuchel also ripped into England's casualness, adding: 'I liked the attitude how we started, the first 25 minutes, but I didn't like the last 25. I think we lacked the seriousness and the urgency that is needed in a World Cup qualifier. 'I didn't like the attitude in the end. I didn't like the body language.'
BBC News
6 hours ago
- BBC News
'We played with fire' - Tuchel criticises England's 'attitude'
Thomas Tuchel criticised England's "attitude" and felt they "played with fire" in a narrow 1-0 World Cup qualifying win away to Three Lions laboured against the world's 173rd-ranked side in Barcelona, squeezing out a third successive win through captain Harry Kane's 50th-minute strike to top Group men were jeered off the pitch at half-time and again at the end, leaving the England manager "not happy" with the disappointing display."I was most worried in the last 20 minutes because I did not like the attitude that we ended the game with," said the German."I didn't like the lack of urgency and it did not match the occasion - it is still a World Cup qualifier. We will let them know [on Sunday] what we want from them."I think we lacked the seriousness and the urgency that is needed in a World Cup qualifier."I think we played with fire. I didn't like the attitude in the end. I didn't like the body language. It was not what the occasion needed."England dominated the ball with 83 per cent possession, but frustratingly could not break down Andorra's well-organised defence and were mainly restricted to efforts from slid home the winner from a Noni Madueke cross for his 72nd international goal, but the Three Lions had few clear-cut next face Senegal in a friendly at Nottingham Forest's City Ground on Tuesday and Tuchel expects a better performance."I think we started well in the first 20 or 25 minutes," he added. "We created a lot of chances and half chances, and we lost completely the momentum and couldn't get it back in the first half."Got a little bit [back] in the second half, but then ended up in a place that was not good enough in terms of urgency."We can just admit that, it's not what we expect from us. We need to look at it in detail and do better on Tuesday." 'They looked bored' - why were England below par? There were some mitigating circumstances for England's lethargic match came at the end of a long domestic campaign for many of the players and was also played in hot and humid conditions in Barcelona - this fixture played there because Andorra's national stadium was unavailable after the recent Games of the Small States of those watching clearly expected England to put in a more convincing performance against a side they had beaten six times previously by an aggregate score of 25-0."It looked like some of the players were bored in the last half an hour," former Manchester United and Republic of Ireland captain Roy Keane told ITV."Go and get some more goals and impress the manager who is still new to the job."Ex-England defender Lee Dixon added: "They will be getting pelters no doubt about that. "When you are fourth [in the rankings] and they are 173rd you expect to beat them handsomely, but that wasn't the case."Former Manchester City midfielder Michael Brown agreed the performance was poor, but the priority was to get the job done in the bid for qualification to next year's finals."It was a big disappointment but they did the job and won the game," he said on BBC Radio 5 Live."It could have been a lot more convincing in attacking positions. There is going to be criticism because of the team we were up against, but it is job done, move on to the next one." Henderson start was 'well deserved' Tuchel made five changes from the England team that beat Latvia 3-0 at Wembley in March and played Liverpool midfielder Curtis Jones at right-back and Reece James at left-back as he tried to make the most of England's control of the the 51-year-old handed a surprise start to Ajax midfielder Jordan Henderson, his first for his country since 17 November, Rice, one of England's key players came off the bench in the 81st minute as Tuchel used the match to have a look at options within his squad. "Declan [Rice] looked a little bit out of rhythm and I think Jordan [Henderson] deserved to play." said the England boss. "And also for what Jordan brings to this group, well deserved."We started well and then lost the rhythm and precision and also the energy to be more decisive and score more goals."It is necessary that we look at it and then present in detail to the players what we don't like, what we want to do better and what are the standards." 'Dangerous' Madueke takes chance to shine Chelsea winger Madueke has had a bright start to his England 23-year-old registered an assist on his Three Lions debut against Finland last September, and his pass for Kane's winner was his third in six international tried to use his pace to get behind the Andorra defence and Madueke was constantly positive on the ball, repeatedly trying to beat his created the most chances with four, and also had the most touches in the opposition box of any player (12)."He was, over the course of the match, the most dangerous. I could feel his hunger to do what was the plan throughout the whole of the match." said Tuchel."The message got across because we had a good 25 minutes, but then the energy and the determination weren't there anymore. Then it looks like it does."Madueke started the match on the left wing to give England width, the opposite side to where he usually plays for display could give him a chance of making the position his own as no-one in the England squad has regularly been able to shine in that spot.
The Independent
7 hours ago
- The Independent
Thomas Tuchel unhappy with England attitude in laboured victory over Andorra
Frustrated Thomas Tuchel felt England 'played with fire' due to their lack of 'seriousness and urgency' towards the end of their unconvincing World Cup qualification 1-0 win against minnows Andorra. Boos greeted the final whistle, just as they did at half-time, after the 6,950 travelling fans watched the Euro 2024 runners-up put in a limp performance against the side ranked 173rd in the world. England failed to turn their dominance into a goal as the first half ended scoreless, with Harry Kane finally making the breakthrough when turning in star man Noni Madueke's cross in the 50th minute. But Tuchel's side failed to kick on in Barcelona and the skipper's third goal in as many games under the German boss proved the difference in an underwhelming win against obdurate Andorra. 'I didn't like the attitude how we ended the game,' Tuchel said after his first away match in charge. 'I liked the attitude how we started the game, the first 25 minutes, but I didn't like the last 25 minutes, the last half an hour. 'I think we lacked the seriousness and the urgency that is needed in a World Cup qualifier. 'We played with fire and I didn't like the attitude in the end. I didn't like the body language and I think it was not what the occasion needed.' England tightened their grip at the top of Group K by continuing their 100 per cent start to World Cup qualification and life under Tuchel. 'In the end we played with fire, honestly,' the head coach reiterated at the RCDE Stadium. 'I felt it almost like in a cup game where the favourite does not smell the danger. 'I didn't feel a team that is aware it's only 1-0 in a World Cup qualifier because we were not happy with ourselves. 'I'm not blaming them, I even feel like (they felt) 'OK, we're not happy and this is stuck today, it will not happen today'. 'Step by step the energy dropped. We needed exactly the opposite but we couldn't deliver and so we got away with a win. 'I think we still deserved the win and we have three wins and three clean sheets. From there we go. 'We will not stop to encourage them and make clear after we have a proper look at the match what we want from them.' Supporters also want more from the players and Tuchel could not blame them for expressing their frustration in Spain, where he heard boos but not abusive songs from some about Prime Minister Keir Starmer. 'The booing is OK,' the England head coach said. 'First of all, the support was amazing, unbelievable. They created a fantastic atmosphere for a match like this. 'When I came out, straight away I was excited and they made it a very special atmosphere first of all. 'They were underwhelmed and not happy with our performance, especially how we ended the first half, so I don't think we can blame them for that. 'We cannot even blame them how we ended the match. In the opposite. I thought they were fantastic throughout the whole match. 'I did not hear anything about what you said about abusive songs or chants, so if it happens of course it's not acceptable but I didn't hear it.'
