Latest news with #MarioCortegana
Yahoo
20-05-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
⚠️ Jude Bellingham blow: the Englishman set for surgery
This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here. Jude Bellingham will undergo surgery on his left shoulder after the Club World Cup, as reported by Mario Cortegana. The English midfielder has been struggling with issues for several months that have affected his performance. Real Madrid and the player's entourage have decided that surgical intervention is necessary to definitively resolve the problem. 🚨 BREAKING: Jude Bellingham will UNDERGO SHOULDER SURGERY after the Club World will be OUT for THREE months. @MarioCortegana @GuillermoRai_ — Madrid Xtra (@MadridXtra) May 20, 2025 The operation, scheduled for after the Club World Cup, will involve an estimated downtime of three months, depending on the progress and type of surgery performed. This means that Bellingham will miss the start of the 2025-2026 season, including several LaLiga matchdays and Champions League group stage matches. The white club supports the player's decision, prioritizing his full recovery to avoid future relapses. 📸 Angel Martinez - 2025 Getty Images
New York Times
16-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Villarreal 1-2 Real Madrid: Mbappe, Courtois to the rescue and 72-hour rest-period row
Real Madrid won a La Liga game at La Ceramica for the first time since 2017 to move three points clear of Barcelona (two games in hand) and four clear of Atletico Madrid (one game in hand), who face each other today at the Metropolitano. The win was mainly thanks to goals from Kylian Mbappe and saves from Thibaut Courtois, and was marked by extreme fatigue from Los Blancos. Advertisement The Madrid squad were worn down by last Wednesday's spectacular battle in the Champions League last-16 second leg, decided on penalties, against Atletico. The image of several players including Jude Bellingham and Aurelien Tchouameni lying on the pitch as soon as the referee blew the final whistle summed up how they felt. Tchouaméni, Fran García (now with the doctors), Camavinga and Bellingham on the pitch after the end of the match. The team is exhausted. @TheAthleticFC — Mario Cortegana (@MarioCortegana) March 15, 2025 There was also controversy pre and post match as, with less than 72 hours rest since the derby game in Europe's leading competition, Carlo Ancelotti claimed Madrid had contacted La Liga twice to ask for the time of the Villarreal game to be changed. Madrid and the Spanish players' union highlighted concerns over player fatigue. La Liga sources indicated the club had not made a request before the schedule for this round of games was confirmed. The Athletic's Mario Cortegana analyses the main talking points. With Vinicius Junior on the bench due to muscular discomfort, Real Madrid needed Mbappe more than ever. That need became urgent with Villarreal's great start to take the lead, and so the Frenchman put on his hero's suit. Mbappe ignited the comeback with two sparks in the space of just six minutes. First, he struck a rebound after a shot from Brahim Diaz, whom Mbappe had masterfully set up. The 26-year-old's celebration was minimal as he prioritised a quick return to his own half to get on with completing the turnaround, which he did shortly after, converting a pass from Lucas Vazquez. The goals had as a common element Mbappe's central position, as a No 9, although the absence of Vinicius could have made it possible for him to occupy the left flank. Advertisement That debate has long since ceased to exist at Valdebebas, where they have been saying since January that with Mbappe at his current level, they would normally win La Liga. Mbappe has 31 goals (and four assists) in 44 games in his first season in white, surpassing the record of Ronaldo Nazario (30 in the 2002-2003) on his debut and within striking distance of Cristiano Ronaldo (33 in 2009-2010) and Ivan Zamorano (37 in 1992-1993). The same goes for La Liga goals alone, where he has 20 goals to Ronaldo's 26 and the Chilean's 33. 'Ronaldo and Cristiano are legends, if I score more goals it doesn't mean I'm bigger, but that my first season is being better,' Mbappe told RMTV. 'Scoring goals is important, but even more if we win the league, the Champions League and the cup.' Mbappe wants more and sets himself no limits, which is perhaps why he was seen making angry gestures when Arda Guler did not pass to him for what could have been his third hat-trick. Madrid conceded in less than seconds against Atletico in midweek, and the start from Ancelotti's side was not much better on Saturday. There was Juan Foyth's goal in the eighth minute, but Courtois was also called upon to make a couple of fine saves. 'Ayoze (Perez, the Villarreal player) had looked at me and said, 'You're not normal',' the goalkeeper revealed after the game. Soon after, Tajon Buchanan, on loan from Inter Milan, could have made it 2-0 and academy product Raul Asencio insisted his team-mates to do more and be focused. There were nine saves in total from the Belgium goalkeeper — his return to the national team was made official this week — compared to seven in Wednesday's derby. Real Madrid again showed defensive frailty, conceding 19 shots (nine on target) after receiving 17 (eight on target) at the Metropolitano. The curious thing is that the back four changed significantly between matches, from Valverde-Asencio-Rüdiger-Mendy to Lucas Vázquez-Tchouaméni-Asencio-Fran García. Despite this deficiencies, Ancelotti preferred to be positive at the press conference. 'Yes, I'm very proud,' he said. 'It's a victory that says a lot about this team and the resources of this squad'. Ancelotti post-match preferred to focus any negative word on the demanding schedule, something he had already slipped in on Friday at Valdebebas. 'I don't understand it, but we can't do anything about it,' he said when asked about the short time between games this week. 'The minimum recovery would have to be 72 hours'. Advertisement With the standings so tight, Ancelotti only rested two of his first-choice available players, Antonio Rudiger and Vinicius (he had not trained on Friday). The Italian wanted to spread the load of minutes and, despite the fact he usually finds it difficult to make changes, he had already made three by the 65th minute. In the 83rd minute, the usually indestructible Valverde then asked for a substitution. 'I'm just very tired,' told The Athletic in the mixed zone. After the match, Ancelotti said Madrid will refuse to play if they have another La Liga fixture scheduled with less than 72 hours rest beforehand. His players were also upset, including Mbappe, and Courtois, who told club media: 'I think it was disrespectful, maybe today we would have left with an injury.' Fran Garcia added: 'The body needs to rest and recover.' From then on, contrary versions appeared. Madrid said they had asked La Liga for the change twice, the first time minutes after the matchday fixtures were known (which is outside of the protocol deadline) and the second time on Wednesday after their Champions League tie went to extra time and penalties. However, Emilio Butragueno, the club's director of institutional relations, is said to have had two refusals from La Liga. La Liga said Madrid only made one request and outside the deadline, and stresses that on other similar occasions, requests were met. There will a rest now, at least from club games. With the international break beginning, Real Madrid will next return to action on March 29 against Leganes at the Bernabeu.
New York Times
02-03-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Real Betis 2 Real Madrid 1: Concerns as Ancelotti's side lose crucial ground in title race
Real Madrid are down to third place in La Liga after they were stunned by a Real Betis comeback on Saturday evening. Carlo Ancelotti's side are level on points with Barcelona (who host Real Sociedad later today) and are now two behind Atletico Madrid, who they face in the Champions League this week. Advertisement Madrid have taken just five of 15 points since the start of February, but this time they could not even look to the refereeing as an excuse. Their collapse prompted an honest reaction from their manager: 'Is the league slipping away from us? Yes, it's a hard blow and we have to react'. Mario Cortegana breaks down Madrid's calamitous evening at the Benito Villamarin. Although results can usually be explained through data and tactics, Madrid publicly and privately agreed that a lack of character was the key to the defeat against Betis. The team switched off almost immediately after Brahim Diaz's gave the side a 10th-minute lead. '(The game) started well, but after that we were not able to maintain the initial rhythm in terms of attitude and commitment,' Ancelotti said afterwards. The Italian, who highlighted the loss of 27 balls during the first half, was even harsher afterwards: 'Every team runs — and we didn't do well in this game.' And the truth is that as the minutes ticked by, Madrid slowly sank under the heavy rain that meant thousands of home fans had to take cover at the end of the first half and half-time. By contrast, Manuel Pellegrini — who coached Madrid in the 2009-10 season — and his squad came out on top, as if to live up to the famous saying that 'La lluvia en Sevilla es una maravilla' ('the rain in Seville is a marvel'). Las gradas no cubiertas están casi vacías al descanso por la lluvia. @TheAthleticFC — Mario Cortegana (@MarioCortegana) March 1, 2025 Several people close to the Madrid players — speaking on the condition of anonymity to protect relationships — admitted that the team had not played as if the league title was on the line. 'We've all been awful,' was one view from inside the dressing room. Having seen nothing he liked, Ancelotti also issued a warning: 'If we play like this, we won't win on Tuesday. That's quite clear'. Real Betis had 18 shots and generated a sense of danger with a multitude of attacks, leaving Madrid particularly exposed at corners. They capitalised with one of those deliveries to equalise, with Johnny Cardoso finishing unopposed. Lucas Vazquez continues to struggle at right-back, the area where Betis' winning penalty came from. According to Fede Valverde's entourage, the Uruguayan will be fit to play in Tuesday's Champions League derby, and many in the day-to-day running of the squad believe he should slot back in at right-back. Another conclusion from the defeat is that David Alaba does not look fully ready to play following his long injury layoff. The Austrian made his comeback in January after 13 months out with a serious knee injury. Ancelotti had announced that he was ready to start in the Champions League next week, with the qualifier that he shouldn't play two games in a week for the time being. That meant that Alaba's start against Betis was interpreted by some as a sign he would be on the bench on Tuesday, and by others as a test to see if his body is ready for more. If it was the latter scenario, then it is not a test that the centre-back seems to have passed. Academy product Raul Asencio was benched against Betis and there are some at Valdebebas who do not understand why the Italian does not use him considering his strong performances. There is one fact that supports his particularly: in Madrid's last three defeats, Asencio was not a starter. To make matters worse, Antonio Rudiger, who suffered a muscle injury in February, was seen in some discomfort and far from his best level, while Aurelien Tchouameni made mistakes — including nearly conceding a penalty for a foul on Ricardo Rodriguez — when he was moved from midfield to defence for 30 minutes. 'It seemed to me that the team in recent times was more organised and compact, and today we weren't like that,' noted Ancelotti. Madrid's fast start turned out to be just a mirage, but it should be flagged that Brahim's goal came after a sequence of 19 passes — the most in an away match in La Liga this season. 19 – Real Madrid's 1-0 goal over Real Betis had 19 passes leading to the goal, the most for a Real Madrid away goal in LaLiga 2024/25. Built. — OptaJose (@OptaJose) March 1, 2025 The Morocco international was replacing Jude Bellingham in the final game of the suspension for his red card against Osasuna. Bellingham will not be available in the Champions League either due to an accumulation of yellow cards, so his team-mates will have to redouble their efforts to cover his absence. Advertisement Yesterday, they lacked not only the Englishman but also the fluidity of the injured Dani Ceballos, who missed out on a chance to play at the stadium where he began his career. Kylian Mbappe, meanwhile, failed to score for the second consecutive La Liga match. The Frenchman played a part in the opening goal but didn't have a shot of any kind and lost control of the ball on several occasions. Even so, it was surprising that he was substituted with Madrid losing, something that Ancelotti justified with the 'problem' of this week due to the extraction of a tooth, because of which 'he has not trained much and was not at his best level'. Vinicius had only one shot on target and Rodrygo just once off target. The former, who was yellow carded again for protesting, has one goal and one assist in La Liga since November 24 (eight games) while the latter has gone five consecutive La Liga games without scoring or assisting. 'Hopefully, this game will wake us up,' Ancelotti reflected. With a huge week ahead of them, they need to. (Header photo: Cristina Quicler/AFP via Getty Images)
