Endrick Scores in Extra Time to Help Madrid top Celta in Copa. Titleholder Athletic Loses to Osasuna

Soccer Football - Copa del Rey - Round of 16 - Real Madrid v Celta Vigo - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - January 16, 2025 Real Madrid's Endrick celebrates scoring their fifth goal REUTERS/Juan Medina
Soccer Football - Copa del Rey - Round of 16 - Real Madrid v Celta Vigo - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - January 16, 2025 Real Madrid's Endrick celebrates scoring their fifth goal REUTERS/Juan Medina
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Endrick Scores in Extra Time to Help Madrid top Celta in Copa. Titleholder Athletic Loses to Osasuna

Soccer Football - Copa del Rey - Round of 16 - Real Madrid v Celta Vigo - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - January 16, 2025 Real Madrid's Endrick celebrates scoring their fifth goal REUTERS/Juan Medina
Soccer Football - Copa del Rey - Round of 16 - Real Madrid v Celta Vigo - Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain - January 16, 2025 Real Madrid's Endrick celebrates scoring their fifth goal REUTERS/Juan Medina

Real Madrid needed two goals from Endrick in extra time to get past Celta Vigo in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey and avoid another embarrassing setback less than a week after losing 5-2 to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final.
Federico Valverde also scored in extra time Thursday as Madrid reached the quarterfinals with a 5-2 victory after squandering a 2-0 lead in a 2-2 draw in regulation at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium.
Kylian Mbappé and Vinícius Júnior scored a goal in each half but Celta rallied with goals by Jonathan Bamba in the 83rd minute and Marcos Alonso in stoppage time.
The 18-year-old Endrick, who entered the match in the 79th, put Madrid ahead in the 108th with a shot from outside the area and then sealed the victory in the 119th with a back-heel flick after Valverde had added to the lead in the 112th.
“It was tough, but with Madrid it’s always like this, we keep fighting until the end and we come out on top,” said Endrick, who profusely celebrated his first goal by taking off his shirt. “We never give up.”
Madrid was looking for a comfortable victory to bounce back from the rout against Barcelona. Carlo Ancelotti's team is trying to keep pace with Atletico Madrid at the top of the Spanish league and improve its standings in the league phase of the Champions League.
It was the first of a three-game home stretch for Madrid, which on Sunday hosts Las Palmas in the Spanish league and on Wednesday takes on Salzburg in the Champions League.
Mbappé put Madrid ahead in the 37th minute after picking up the ball before the midfield line and making a run all the way into the Celta area to finish with a left-footed cross shot. It was Mbappé’s second goal in his last five matches with Madrid. Vinícius scored his first goal in five matches after a breakaway in the 48th.
Celta pulled closer after Madrid midfielder Eduardo Camavinga lost possession near the area and allowed Bamba to score in the 83rd, and the Vigo team evened the match early in stoppage time with a penalty kick converted by Alonso after Bamba was fouled inside the area.
Endrick got off to a strong start in his first season with Madrid but had not been given much playing time by Ancelotti recently.
“(Ancelotti) knows what he's doing," Endrick said. “He doesn't have to do what's best for Endrick, he has to do what's best for the team. He knows that I've been working hard.”
Aurélien Tchouaméni, who struggled in the Super Cup final against Barcelona in Saudi Arabia, was booed by part of the crowd at the Bernabeu.
Defending champion beaten Titleholder Athletic Bilbao rallied from a two-goal deficit in the first half but still lost 3-2 to Osasuna at home.
The visitors took the lead with goals by Aimar Oroz in the 40th and Ante Budimir in the 44th before Athletic evened the match with Nico Williams in first-half stoppage time and Óscar de Marcos in the 55th.
Budimir netted the winning goal in the 70th to help Osasuna advance two years after it had eliminated Athletic in the semifinals.
Also Thursday, Real Sociedad advanced by defeating Rayo Vallecano 3-1 at home.
On Wednesday, Barcelona beat Real Betis 5-1. Atletico Madrid defeated second-division club Elche 4-0, while Getafe won 1-0 at fourth-division team Pontevedra and Leganes won 3-2 at second-tier side Almeria.



Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed Al-Rajhi Makes History with Dakar Rally Triumph

 Saudi driver Yazeed al-Rajhi (R) and co-driver Edouard Boulanger (L) celebrate after winning the Dakar Rally 2025 in the car category at the end of the 12th and last stage in Shubaytah, on January 17, 2025. (AFP)
Saudi driver Yazeed al-Rajhi (R) and co-driver Edouard Boulanger (L) celebrate after winning the Dakar Rally 2025 in the car category at the end of the 12th and last stage in Shubaytah, on January 17, 2025. (AFP)
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Saudi Arabia’s Yazeed Al-Rajhi Makes History with Dakar Rally Triumph

 Saudi driver Yazeed al-Rajhi (R) and co-driver Edouard Boulanger (L) celebrate after winning the Dakar Rally 2025 in the car category at the end of the 12th and last stage in Shubaytah, on January 17, 2025. (AFP)
Saudi driver Yazeed al-Rajhi (R) and co-driver Edouard Boulanger (L) celebrate after winning the Dakar Rally 2025 in the car category at the end of the 12th and last stage in Shubaytah, on January 17, 2025. (AFP)

Yazeed al-Rajhi made history on Friday by becoming the first driver from host nation Saudi Arabia to win the Dakar Rally.

The Overdrive pilot held onto his overnight lead to beat South Africa's Henk Lategan in a Toyota by 3min 57sec with Mattias Ekstrom of Sweden third in his Ford, 20min 21sec adrift.

Rajhi, 43, had previously recorded a best finish of third in 2022.

Saudi Arabia have hosted the Dakar Rally since 2020, when it moved from South America.

There was also a first win in the world's most famous endurance rally for Australia's KTM rider Daniel Sanders in the motorbike category.

The car category lost a lot of its gloss with two high-profile retirements early in the race.

Four-time winner and defending champion Carlos Sainz exited on the second stage after an accident.

A stage later it was France's nine-time world rally champion Sebastien Loeb who departed, his Dakar jinx continuing as he was disqualified by the race stewards after his Dacia car was damaged in a crash.

Five-time winner Nasser al-Attiyah never really landed a blow but the Qatari took final stage honors on Friday and finished fourth overall.

Sanders, 30, dominated from the moment he won the prologue and finished a comfortable 8min 50sec faster than Spanish runner-up Tosha Schareina on his Honda.

Sanders' sublime performance is underlined by being the first rider to record three successive stage wins since Spain's Joan Barreda did that in the 2017 edition between Bolivia and Argentina.

Sanders is the second Australian to prevail in the motorbike category, Toby Price emerging victorious in 2016 and 2019.

"It was a tough race," said Sanders, whose three successive stage wins.

"The last three days couldn't come quick enough. It was really, really exciting to see the finish line when we came over one dune.

"You see the whole bivouac, I just smiled and had chills go through my whole body. Super special, won't forget that moment."

Schareina, 29, said second place did not leave a bitter taste in the mouth, indeed he reveled in the achievement considering what the grizzled veterans of the event had told him.

"I'm super happy to be here on the finishing line," he said.

"It was a really hard race and many of the veterans have told me that.

"It was the toughest ever edition, so I'm super happy to be here on the finishing line, so happy for the team and for everybody taking this second place we have earned.

"I'm super happy for Daniel, he has done a great job and had a great two weeks.

"I think the ten minutes more or less he took on the first day allowed him to control the race from then, but I´m super happy for them."