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Madrid Triumph in Bilbao, Barca Scrape Past Getafe

Level with Raul: Real Madrid's Karim Benzema celebrates after scoring against Athletic Bilbao. ANDER GILLENEA / AFP
Level with Raul: Real Madrid's Karim Benzema celebrates after scoring against Athletic Bilbao. ANDER GILLENEA / AFP
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Madrid Triumph in Bilbao, Barca Scrape Past Getafe

Level with Raul: Real Madrid's Karim Benzema celebrates after scoring against Athletic Bilbao. ANDER GILLENEA / AFP
Level with Raul: Real Madrid's Karim Benzema celebrates after scoring against Athletic Bilbao. ANDER GILLENEA / AFP

Karim Benzema and Toni Kroos's goals kept Real Madrid on Barcelona's tail in La Liga with a 2-0 win against Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.

After the Catalans had beaten Getafe 1-0, champions Madrid won a tight clash at the San Mames to remain three points behind their rivals, AFP said.

Benzema broke the deadlock with a superb volley in the first half while Kroos fizzed home the second late on to kill off Athletic's hopes.

After losing the Spanish Super Cup to Barcelona last weekend, anxiety had increased in the capital, but a stirring Copa del Rey comeback against Villarreal on Thursday settled nerves.

This victory in Bilbao will reassure Los Blancos fans further, ahead of their derby clash in the cup with Atletico Madrid next week.

"It's clear that the team is defending well again, (we were) compact, solid," Real coach Carlo Ancelotti told DAZN.

"With us ahead in the game we needed to defend and we did it well. We did not give things away and in the end we won."

Madrid had let in eight goals in their previous four games across all competitions, but despite the injury absences of David Alaba and Aurelien Tchouameni, they were far more sturdy in the Basque Country.

Anticipating a physical clash with the Basques, Ancelotti benched midfield stalwarts Luka Modric and Kroos, opting to line up with Eduardo Camavinga and Fede Valverde as part of his central trio.

Dani Ceballos, Nacho Fernandez and Marco Asensio also started after their fine performances against Villarreal.

Athletic started well but Benzema volleyed Madrid ahead from Asensio's header back in his direction.

It was Benzema's 228th La Liga goal, pulling him level with the iconic Raul Gonzalez as Madrid's second top scorer in the competition -- with Cristiano Ronaldo leading the way on 311.

"What Karim does is incredible, he helps us a lot with his goals, it's good that's he's on fire for us," Nacho told DAZN.

The hosts fought hard for a leveler but were finished off by Kroos, who steered home from the edge of the box to wrap up Madrid's victory in the 90th minute.

Athletic sit eighth, five points below the Champions League qualification spots.

- 'Sluggish' -Pedri Gonzalez's goal made the difference for Barcelona in their single goal win over Getafe.

Without suspended striker Robert Lewandowski, Barcelona created few noteworthy chances, but did just enough to emerge with the three points to drive on their bid for a first league title since 2019.

"We didn't play well, we were sluggish, we didn't attack well," Barcelona coach Xavi Hernandez told Movistar.

"We did defend well, but it's always hard to attack a defensive line sitting so deep, but we weren't polished in our play, we didn't have a great game by any means and we have to improve.

"But we do take an important win, three points at home, and another clean sheet which is important too."

Xavi's side have won six games in a row across all competitions and fans chanted the coach's name in the final stages despite a sub-par display.

The coach selected Ansu Fati up front in place of Lewandowski but the young Spain international struggled to get into the game.

Barca's first real chance came in the 35th minute and was converted by Pedri from close range, turning home Raphinha's cross after a great interception by Andreas Christensen set the Brazilian free.

Former Madrid striker Mayoral should have equalized for the visitors but was denied by Marc-Andre ter Stegen when through on goal, after a poorly judged Pedri back-pass.

Barcelona's German stopper is back to his best this season after a long dip in form and that is reflected in their sparkling defensive record.

The Catalans have kept 13 clean sheets in 17 La Liga matches, conceding just six goals in the top flight.

The result leaves Getafe 16th, along with Celta Vigo and 18th place Real Valladolid on 17 points.

Earlier Villarreal, fifth, beat mid-table Girona 1-0 thanks to Dani Parejo's 100th minute penalty.

Bottom of the table Elche earned a 1-1 draw against Osasuna, seventh, but remain without a win this season in the top flight.

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Flotilla on Seine, Rain and Celine Dion Mark Start of Paris Olympics

Members of delegations are seen during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
Members of delegations are seen during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
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Flotilla on Seine, Rain and Celine Dion Mark Start of Paris Olympics

Members of delegations are seen during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024. (AFP)
Members of delegations are seen during the opening ceremony of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games in Paris on July 26, 2024. (AFP)

French President Emmanuel Macron declared the Olympic Games open on Friday after a soaking wet ceremony in which athletes were cheered by the crowd along the Seine, dancers took to the roofs of Paris and Lady Gaga sang a French cabaret song.

France's three-time Olympic gold medalists Marie-Jose Perec and Teddy Riner then lit the Olympic cauldron, suspended on a hot-air balloon, before Canada's Celine Dion sang Edith Piaf's "Hymn to Love", in her first public performance in years, drawing huge cheers from the crowd.

The 30-meter (98 ft) high balloon carrying a 7-meter diameter ring of fire took to the air and was hovering dozens of meters above the ground.

It will be in the air from sunset until 2 am local time every day, organizers said.

"We are so proud of this show, I'm so proud that sport and culture were celebrated in such a fantastic manner tonight, it was a first and the result was fantastic despite the rain," Paris 2024 organizing president Tony Estanguet told reporters.

A fleet of barges took the competitors on a 6 km-stretch of the river alongside some of the French capital's most famous landmarks, as performers recreated some of the sports to be showcased in the Games on floating platforms.

It was the first time that an opening ceremony has taken place outside a stadium, adding to the headaches for a vast security operation, just hours after a sabotage attack on the high-speed TGV rail network caused travel chaos across France.

"I invite everybody: dream with us. Like the Olympic athletes, be inspired with the joy that only sport can give us. Let us celebrate this Olympic spirit of living in peace," International Olympics Committee President Thomas Bach said as the ceremony came to an end at the foot of the Eiffel Tower.

More than 10,500 athletes will compete at the Olympics, 100 years since Paris last staged the Games. Competition started on Wednesday and the first of the 329 gold medals will be awarded on Saturday.

As the show started four hours earlier, a giant plume of blue, white and red smoke, resembling the French flag, was sent high above a bridge over the Seine as part of a show that included many postcard-like depictions of France, including a huge cancan line performed by Moulin Rouge dancers on the banks.

A more modern image of the country was on display when French-Malian pop star Aya Nakamura, the most-listened to French female singer in the world, sang some of her biggest hits, accompanied by the French Republican Guard's army choir.

Nakamura's performance drew some of the ceremony's biggest cheers. Rumors of her inclusion had sparked a row over French identity, with supporters saying she represented the vibrancy of modern-day France while her detractors said her music owes more to foreign influences than French.

POURING RAIN

While the celebration of French culture, fashion and history was warmly cheered by many of the 300,000 spectators lining the river, hundreds were seen leaving early as the rain fell.

"It was good other than the rain, it was nice, it was different, instead of being in a stadium being on the river, so that's always a good thing - interesting, unique," said Avid Pureval, 34, who came to the Games from Ohio.

"Once you're wet, it's fine," he said. Still, he was heading back to his hotel after the French boat passed, long before the ceremony ended.

"It would have been better with sun," said Josephine, from Paris, sitting beside her 9-year-old daughter and who paid 1,600 euros ($1,736) for her seat.

With many world leaders and VIPs present, the ceremony was protected by snipers on rooftops. The Seine's riverbed was swept for bombs, and Paris' airspace was closed.

Some 45,000 police and thousands of soldiers were deployed in a huge security operation in Paris for the ceremony. Armed police patrolled along the river in inflatable boats as the armada made its passage along the Seine.

WELCOMED IN TAHITI

A mix of French and international stars, including soccer great Zinedine Zidane, 14-times French Open champion Rafa Nadal, 23-times Grand Slam champion Serena Williams and three paralympic athletes were among the last torchbearers before the cauldron was lit.

It will blaze until the closing ceremony on Aug. 11.

At the start of the parade, applause erupted for the Greek boat - the first delegation, by tradition - and there were even bigger cheers for the boat that followed, carrying the refugees' team. The French, US and Ukrainian delegations also got loud cheers.

The two most decorated athletes in the Games' history, Michael Phelps and Martin Fourcade, unveiled the gold, silver and bronze medals.

At one point, there was a live crossover to the early morning welcome ceremony at the surfing venue, 16,000 km away in the Pacific island of Tahiti.

ISRAEL DELEGATION

France is at its highest level of security, though officials have repeatedly said there was no specific threat to the opening ceremony or the Games.

But since the last Games - the Winter Olympics held in Beijing in 2022 - wars have erupted in Ukraine and Gaza, providing a tense international backdrop.

Israeli competitors are being escorted by elite tactical units to and from events and are given 24-hour protection throughout the Olympics due to the war in Gaza, officials say.

The Israel delegation got some boos, but also a lot of cheers, as it sailed by spectators, Reuters reporters saw. Chants of "Palestine! Palestine! Palestine!" rose from the crowd as the boat passed.

Macron, who won a second mandate two years ago, had hoped the Olympics would cement his legacy. But his failed bet on a snap legislative election has weakened him and cast a shadow over his moment on the international stage.