Arsenal Must Stop Squandering Points, Says Jesus

16 April 2023, United Kingdom, London: West Ham United's Jarrod Bowen scores his side's second goal during the English Premier League match between West Ham United and Arsenal at the London Stadium. (dpa)
16 April 2023, United Kingdom, London: West Ham United's Jarrod Bowen scores his side's second goal during the English Premier League match between West Ham United and Arsenal at the London Stadium. (dpa)
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Arsenal Must Stop Squandering Points, Says Jesus

16 April 2023, United Kingdom, London: West Ham United's Jarrod Bowen scores his side's second goal during the English Premier League match between West Ham United and Arsenal at the London Stadium. (dpa)
16 April 2023, United Kingdom, London: West Ham United's Jarrod Bowen scores his side's second goal during the English Premier League match between West Ham United and Arsenal at the London Stadium. (dpa)

Arsenal must maintain the intensity for a full 90 minutes if they are to challenge for the Premier League title, forward Gabriel Jesus said after they squandered a two-goal lead in Sunday's 2-2 draw at West Ham United.

Arsenal were rampant early on and looked well placed to restore their six-point cushion over Manchester City after Jesus tapped home in the seventh minute and Martin Odegaard doubled their lead with a volley three minutes later.

However, Arsenal then lost their momentum and the hosts fought back through Said Benrahma and Jarrod Bowen. Bukayo Saka missed a second-half penalty for Arsenal, who lead Manchester City by four points but have played a game more.

Arsenal also let a 2-0 lead slip against Liverpool earlier this month and Jesus told the club's website they had to stop letting opponents off the hook.

"Once again, the three points were in our hands," he said. "The game is 90 minutes, it's not 20, in this case, today, 30 minutes. As a team, we have to raise the level and come back to our principles.

"We know our strength, we know what we can do. Where we want to attack the opponent, in the first 10 to 20 minutes we did so good, after that we dropped our level and that obviously cannot happen if you want to fight for the title."

Arsenal host Southampton on Friday before travelling to second-placed City on April 26.



Real Madrid Has 3-Game Home Run to Rebound from Barcelona Loss in Super Cup Final

 Soccer Football - Spanish Super Cup - Final - FC Barcelona v Real Madrid - King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - January 12, 2025 Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham look dejected during the trophy presentation after losing the Spanish Super Cup final. (Reuters)
Soccer Football - Spanish Super Cup - Final - FC Barcelona v Real Madrid - King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - January 12, 2025 Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham look dejected during the trophy presentation after losing the Spanish Super Cup final. (Reuters)
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Real Madrid Has 3-Game Home Run to Rebound from Barcelona Loss in Super Cup Final

 Soccer Football - Spanish Super Cup - Final - FC Barcelona v Real Madrid - King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - January 12, 2025 Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham look dejected during the trophy presentation after losing the Spanish Super Cup final. (Reuters)
Soccer Football - Spanish Super Cup - Final - FC Barcelona v Real Madrid - King Abdullah Sports City, Jeddah, Saudi Arabia - January 12, 2025 Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham look dejected during the trophy presentation after losing the Spanish Super Cup final. (Reuters)

Real Madrid hopes some home comfort will help the team get over yet another embarrassing loss to Barcelona.

After losing 5-2 in the Spanish Super Cup final on Sunday in Saudi Arabia, Madrid has a run of three home games over seven days.

The home run begins on Thursday against Celta Vigo in the Copa del Rey last 16. Las Palmas visits on Sunday in La Liga then Salzburg on Jan. 22 in the Champions League.

“We are sad and disappointed,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “We have no option but to look forward and try to regain the good momentum that we had until this match against Barcelona.”

Madrid won five in a row across all competitions before the loss to Barcelona. The Catalan side also routed Madrid 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu in October in La Liga.

“We have to stick together, be a team and react the same as we did after losing to them in La Liga,” Madrid midfielder Luka Modric said. “We showed a reaction and I hope we will react to this tough defeat, because we didn’t think we would lose like this. It’s good that the Copa game is coming up soon and we won’t have much time for regrets.

“It’s not nice to see your greatest rival score nine goals in two matches. But I’m sure that we are going to recover. We need to remain united and keep working hard. We are still going to give our fans a lot of reasons to celebrate. It’s a long season.”

Madrid is in second place at the halfway point in the Spanish league, one point behind city rival Atletico Madrid and five points ahead of third-placed Barcelona. In the Champions League, Madrid is 20th in the 36-team league phase of the competition.

Copa del Rey matches Barcelona follows the Super Cup by hosting Real Betis on Wednesday in the Copa del Rey last 16. Hansi Flick's squad has won three in a row this year after losing its last two in 2024.

Also on Wednesday, red-hot Atletico visits second-division club Elche looking to extend its 14-game winning streak in all competitions, already a club record.

Defending Copa champion Athletic Bilbao hosts Osasuna on Thursday, while Rao Vallecano visits Real Sociedad.