LA LIGA LEADERS Real Madrid dropped two points in a 1-1 draw at Osasuna on Saturday in which Jude Bellingham was sent off.
The Spanish champions took the lead through Kylian Mbappe before the referee expelled England international Bellingham for dissent towards the end of the first half.
Ante Budimir levelled for hosts Osasuna from the penalty spot after 58 minutes as Carlo Ancelotti’s side endured a third consecutive league match without victory.
Bellingham insisted he was expressing his frustration and not insulting the referee.
“It’s difficult when a referee isn’t sure, to determine that I’ve said something that I haven’t, and as a result it kind of hinders the team,” Bellingham told reporters.
“I think you can see clearly in the video, I remember the incident very well, it was an expression to myself.
“I’m not even directing myself towards the referee, but obviously there was a misunderstanding. He’s believed that I’ve said (something insulting) to him…
“There was no intent to insult him, there was no insult, and for that reason I think you can see there was a misunderstanding.”
Atletico Madrid blew the chance to claim the La Liga lead with a 1-1 home draw against Celta Vigo on Saturday, but played most of the game with 10 men after Pablo Barrios’ seventh-minute red card.
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After champions and leaders Real Madrid drew 1-1 at Osasuna earlier on, Diego Simeone’s side were aiming to capitalise at their Metropolitano stadium.
However Barrios’ early sending-off set Atletico back and Iago Aspas fired Celta ahead in the second half from the penalty spot.
Atletico target man Alexander Sorloth rescued a point for the Rojiblancos with a fine strike in the 81st minute, keeping them a point behind Los Blancos.
Meanwhile, Napoli were held to a 2-2 draw at Lazio after Boulaye Dia scored late on as the Italian Serie A leaders thought they were set to move four points clear of Inter Milan.
Senegal attacker Dia rolled home a smart low finish in the 87th minute in Rome to deny Napoli victory and give Inter a chance to move top of the pile with a win at Juventus on Sunday.
Champions Inter are two points behind Napoli, who have drawn three matches in a row and have failed to beat Lazio in three matches this season, ahead of that clash between fierce rivals in Turin.
Napoli looked to be collecting a big three points when Adam Marusic scored a bizarre own goal in the 64th minute, the defender sticking out his left foot to block Giacomo Raspadori’s deflected drive only to somehow chip it past goalkeeper Ivan Provedel and into his own net.
It was Raspadori who drilled Napoli level in the 13th minute following a neat exchange of passes with Romelu Lukaku, cancelling out Gustav Isaksen’s thumping early opener for Lazio.
Hosts Lazio briefly thought they had levelled the scores moments later through a sensational Mattia Zaccani bicycle kick before the Italy international was ruled offside as he flashed in his exceptional finish.
But Dia made sure Lazio got something from a keenly-contested match at the Stadio Olimpico and moved three points ahead of Juve in fourth place.
In the Bundesliga, a dogged defensive performance from Bayern Munich kept a dominant Bayer Leverkusen at bay in a 0-0 away draw on Saturday which preserved their eight-point lead on top of the table.
The result, just the fifth time Bayern have dropped points in 22 league games this season, keeps them firmly on track to win back the title from Leverkusen with 12 games remaining.
Borussia Dortmund’s slide continued on Saturday with a 2-0 loss at lowly Bochum, while Stuttgart missed a chance to climb to fourth, losing 2-1 at home to Wolfsburg.
Bochum, who started the game in last place, grabbed control in the first half when winter loan signing Georgios Masouras scored two goals in three minutes.
Masouras tapped a low Philipp Hofmann shot in from close range after 33 minutes and then pounced on a terrible back-pass from Niklas Suele to double the lead two minutes later.
Dortmund have won just one of their past seven league games, five of which were defeats, and sit 11th, eight points off the top four.
Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck said “we need to turn things around soon — it’s becoming a horror season.”
“There really aren’t any explanations,” a frustrated Dortmund goalie Gregor Kobel told Sky Germany. “We knew what to expect but we still couldn’t manage to hold our own.”
Stuttgart failed to take advantage of fourth-placed Leipzig’s scoreless draw at Augsburg on Friday, giving up a one-goal lead to lose 2-1 at home against Wolfsburg.
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Real Madrid held by Osasuna with Bellingham sent off as Dortmund's 'horror season' continues
LAST UPDATE | 15 Feb 2025
LA LIGA LEADERS Real Madrid dropped two points in a 1-1 draw at Osasuna on Saturday in which Jude Bellingham was sent off.
The Spanish champions took the lead through Kylian Mbappe before the referee expelled England international Bellingham for dissent towards the end of the first half.
Ante Budimir levelled for hosts Osasuna from the penalty spot after 58 minutes as Carlo Ancelotti’s side endured a third consecutive league match without victory.
Bellingham insisted he was expressing his frustration and not insulting the referee.
“It’s difficult when a referee isn’t sure, to determine that I’ve said something that I haven’t, and as a result it kind of hinders the team,” Bellingham told reporters.
“I think you can see clearly in the video, I remember the incident very well, it was an expression to myself.
“I’m not even directing myself towards the referee, but obviously there was a misunderstanding. He’s believed that I’ve said (something insulting) to him…
“There was no intent to insult him, there was no insult, and for that reason I think you can see there was a misunderstanding.”
Atletico Madrid blew the chance to claim the La Liga lead with a 1-1 home draw against Celta Vigo on Saturday, but played most of the game with 10 men after Pablo Barrios’ seventh-minute red card.
After champions and leaders Real Madrid drew 1-1 at Osasuna earlier on, Diego Simeone’s side were aiming to capitalise at their Metropolitano stadium.
However Barrios’ early sending-off set Atletico back and Iago Aspas fired Celta ahead in the second half from the penalty spot.
Atletico target man Alexander Sorloth rescued a point for the Rojiblancos with a fine strike in the 81st minute, keeping them a point behind Los Blancos.
Meanwhile, Napoli were held to a 2-2 draw at Lazio after Boulaye Dia scored late on as the Italian Serie A leaders thought they were set to move four points clear of Inter Milan.
Senegal attacker Dia rolled home a smart low finish in the 87th minute in Rome to deny Napoli victory and give Inter a chance to move top of the pile with a win at Juventus on Sunday.
Champions Inter are two points behind Napoli, who have drawn three matches in a row and have failed to beat Lazio in three matches this season, ahead of that clash between fierce rivals in Turin.
Napoli looked to be collecting a big three points when Adam Marusic scored a bizarre own goal in the 64th minute, the defender sticking out his left foot to block Giacomo Raspadori’s deflected drive only to somehow chip it past goalkeeper Ivan Provedel and into his own net.
It was Raspadori who drilled Napoli level in the 13th minute following a neat exchange of passes with Romelu Lukaku, cancelling out Gustav Isaksen’s thumping early opener for Lazio.
Hosts Lazio briefly thought they had levelled the scores moments later through a sensational Mattia Zaccani bicycle kick before the Italy international was ruled offside as he flashed in his exceptional finish.
But Dia made sure Lazio got something from a keenly-contested match at the Stadio Olimpico and moved three points ahead of Juve in fourth place.
In the Bundesliga, a dogged defensive performance from Bayern Munich kept a dominant Bayer Leverkusen at bay in a 0-0 away draw on Saturday which preserved their eight-point lead on top of the table.
The result, just the fifth time Bayern have dropped points in 22 league games this season, keeps them firmly on track to win back the title from Leverkusen with 12 games remaining.
Borussia Dortmund’s slide continued on Saturday with a 2-0 loss at lowly Bochum, while Stuttgart missed a chance to climb to fourth, losing 2-1 at home to Wolfsburg.
Bochum, who started the game in last place, grabbed control in the first half when winter loan signing Georgios Masouras scored two goals in three minutes.
Masouras tapped a low Philipp Hofmann shot in from close range after 33 minutes and then pounced on a terrible back-pass from Niklas Suele to double the lead two minutes later.
Dortmund have won just one of their past seven league games, five of which were defeats, and sit 11th, eight points off the top four.
Dortmund defender Nico Schlotterbeck said “we need to turn things around soon — it’s becoming a horror season.”
“There really aren’t any explanations,” a frustrated Dortmund goalie Gregor Kobel told Sky Germany. “We knew what to expect but we still couldn’t manage to hold our own.”
Stuttgart failed to take advantage of fourth-placed Leipzig’s scoreless draw at Augsburg on Friday, giving up a one-goal lead to lose 2-1 at home against Wolfsburg.
– © AFP 2025
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