Eden Hazard was Real Madrid s unlikely Copa del Rey matchwinner as the 10-man LaLiga leaders rallied to a 2-1 win at Elche in extra time.
Madrid have lifted the Copa only twice this century and looked highly unlikely to improve that record when Marcelo was sent off and Gonzalo Verdu capitalised from the subsequent free-kick in the 103rd minute.
Carlo Ancelotti s men had been awful to that point but staged a stunning recovery courtesy of goals from two substitutes.
Isco levelled with 12 minutes to play, teeing up Hazard – much maligned at the Santiago Bernabeu – to race away and net a decisive second, stunning poor Elche, who were contentiously denied their own equaliser and then had Pere Milla dismissed.
Elche must have feared they would be made to p…
Quique Sanchez Flores believes Watford are laying the foundations for a strong Premier League future as they prepare to host Tottenham on Monday.
The Spaniard s team have impressed upon their return to the top flight and occupy seventh place, just three points adrift of Mauricio Pochettino s side in fourth.
Saturday s 2-2 draw against Chelsea ended Watford s four-match winning streak, but Tottenham will travel to Vicarage Road to face the Premier League s form side, who have taken 13 points from their last 15 available.
Key to Watford s strong form this term has been a series of resilient showings on home turf, where they have conceded just six goals in nine games.
Odion Ighalo – who set a new club record by netting in a fifth straight Premier League match at Chels…
Messi happy to stay at home until the end / Image via cbssports.com
Arguing that tax fraud charges may urge Lionel Messi to leave Barcelona is simply poor judgment.
The 2015 FIFA Ballon d’Or winner is synonymous with Barcelona, with the club’s philosophy and values that are embedded in their mutual DNA to ever think about leaving.
It has nothing to do with whether he may do it somewhere else, on a cold winter’s night in Stoke in example, it has to do with the fact that the Argentine star thinks of Barcelona as his home and leaving home has never been an option for him.
Several European giant have been hoping for some time that they would be able to convince Messi to join them, placing their trust in the tax evasion scandal to ruin Messi’s desire …
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp admits he is more concerned with side’s defensive display than the role VAR played in denying his side a late Europa League draw in Toulouse.
Individual mistakes and a lack of collective cohesion saw the hosts take a 3-1 lead but Diogo Jota’s 89th-minute strike, after Cristian Casseres’ own goal had got them back into the game, set up a dramatic conclusion.
In the seventh and final minute of added time 20-year-old centre-back Jarell Quansah thought he had equalised but after a long delay referee Georgi Kabakov was advised to go to the pitchside monitor and he ruled Alexis Mac Allister had handled the ball, even though it had initially bounced up off his chest very early in the move for the goal.
“I only saw the video back no…