Mbappe and Vinicius Score Penalties as Madrid Gets Help from Woodwork in Win at Sociedad

Real Madrid's French forward #09 Kylian Mbappe (C) celebrates scoring his team's second goal, from the penalty spot, during the Spanish league football match between Real Sociedad and Real Madrid CF at the Anoeta stadium in San Sebastian on September 14, 2024. (AFP)
Real Madrid's French forward #09 Kylian Mbappe (C) celebrates scoring his team's second goal, from the penalty spot, during the Spanish league football match between Real Sociedad and Real Madrid CF at the Anoeta stadium in San Sebastian on September 14, 2024. (AFP)
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Mbappe and Vinicius Score Penalties as Madrid Gets Help from Woodwork in Win at Sociedad

Real Madrid's French forward #09 Kylian Mbappe (C) celebrates scoring his team's second goal, from the penalty spot, during the Spanish league football match between Real Sociedad and Real Madrid CF at the Anoeta stadium in San Sebastian on September 14, 2024. (AFP)
Real Madrid's French forward #09 Kylian Mbappe (C) celebrates scoring his team's second goal, from the penalty spot, during the Spanish league football match between Real Sociedad and Real Madrid CF at the Anoeta stadium in San Sebastian on September 14, 2024. (AFP)

Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior converted penalties to help earn Real Madrid a 2-0 win at Real Sociedad after the host was repeatedly denied by the woodwork in La Liga on Saturday.

Vinicius put the visitors ahead in the 58th minute after an unnecessary handball by former Manchester City player Sergio Gomez gave the Madrid forward the chance to break the deadlock.

Mbappe put the result beyond doubt in the 75th after a video review by the referee determined that Sociedad defender Jon Aramburu stomped on Vinicius’ foot in the box.

But before the goals, Madrid had to weather a furious attack by the Basque club that found ways through the defending champion's defense only to be turned back by the goal-frame.

“We probably didn’t deserve to win,” Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. “But we knew how to dig in during the worst moments. I value that sacrifice that is often tough to see on a team with the talent that this one has.”

Ancelotti’s side drew its other two outings in the Spanish league. Its first away victory put it one point behind leader Barcelona before it visits Girona on Sunday. Madrid opens its Champions League defense against Stuttgart on Tuesday.

Sociedad matched Madrid’s pace and punch in a frenetic first half.

Luka Sucic hit the post twice, including a missile that rattled the crossbar in the 25th, and Sheraldo Becker also sent a ball off the crossbar.

On the other end, Madrid relied on Mbappe to provide its main threat, while Sociedad goalkeeper Alex Remiro did well to turn back an Antonio Rudiger header.

Sucic sent another ball off the post from a pass by Umar Sadiq just seconds after halftime.

“We got lucky with the posts,” Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said.

But Sociedad was undone when Gomez raised his arm above his head and blocked a shot by Arda Guler, allowing Vinicius to go to the spot where he fired right past Remiro. Mbappe then beat Remiro when he shot one way as the goalie dove the other.

“We played a great game against the best team in the league and one of the best teams in the Champions League,” Sociedad coach Imanol Agualcil said. “We are angry at ourselves because we were better than they were today.”

Sociedad has lost all three homes games this season.

Madrid forward Brahim Diaz was substituted in the first half with a leg muscle issue.

Veteran leadership

Jesus Navas rifled in a powerful shot from a tight angle to give Sevilla its first victory of the campaign after edging Getafe 1-0 at home.

The 38-year-old wing back won the European Championship with Spain this summer, adding to his 2010 World Cup. Afterwards, he announced he was retiring from international soccer and he would likewise retire from club competition at the end of 2024.

His goal in the 23rd minute relieved some pressure on new coach Francisco García Pimienta.

Sevilla defender Marcao was substituted in the first half after taking a hard knock to the head.

Espanyol treble

Javi Puado scored a hat trick to lead Espanyol to a 3-2 win at home over Alaves and secure a second consecutive win for the Barcelona-based club that spent last season in the second division.

Puado steered in a low cross to open the scoring in the 21st. He struck again with a glancing header to restore the host's lead in the 56th after Tomas Conechny equalized for Alaves.

The Espanyol forward took the winner from the spot after Nahuel Tenaglia pulled it even at 2-2. Puado converted the penalty earned after goalkeeper Antonio Sivera tripped Walid Cheddira in the area.

Also, Ayoze Perez scored late for Villarreal to win at Mallorca 2-1. That was his third goal in five games since Ayoze joined Villarreal from Real Betis in the summer.



Al Rajhi Takes over Dakar Rally Lead after Miserable Stage for Lategan

 Driver Yazeed Al Rajhi and co-driver Timo Gottschalk compete during the ninth stage of the Dakar Rally between Riyadh and Haradh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP)
Driver Yazeed Al Rajhi and co-driver Timo Gottschalk compete during the ninth stage of the Dakar Rally between Riyadh and Haradh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP)
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Al Rajhi Takes over Dakar Rally Lead after Miserable Stage for Lategan

 Driver Yazeed Al Rajhi and co-driver Timo Gottschalk compete during the ninth stage of the Dakar Rally between Riyadh and Haradh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP)
Driver Yazeed Al Rajhi and co-driver Timo Gottschalk compete during the ninth stage of the Dakar Rally between Riyadh and Haradh, Saudi Arabia, Tuesday, Jan. 14, 2025. (AP)

Local driver Yazeed Al Rajhi took advantage of a miserable stage by South Africa's Henk Lategan to grab the Dakar Rally lead in the Saudi Arabia desert on Tuesday.

Lategan led the Dakar for the past week, but errors and bad luck on the 357-kilometer ninth stage from Riyadh south-east to Haradh turned his overall lead of more than five minutes over Al Rajhi into a potentially decisive seven-minute deficit.

The rally has effectively two days and 400 kilometers remaining in the dunes of the Empty Quarter. The last day, Friday, is a ceremonial drive to the finish line in Shubaytah.

Al Rajhi, like Lategan, has never won the Dakar. This is the Saudi's 11th attempt with a best finish of third in 2022. He'd been lying second since last Wednesday. The title race appears to be between only them.

Third-placed Mattias Ekström of Sweden and five-time champion Nasser Al-Attiyah of Qatar were about 25 minutes behind.

“It's a bit of disaster to be honest,” Lategan said. “About 13 kilometers in we got lost. We thought we missed the waypoint but we actually had it. When we got lost we got one puncture and then towards the end we got another one and the wheel is actually flat. So, it was a messy, messy, messy day for us but it's not the end of the world, we're still in it.”

Lategan and navigator Brett Cummings were 11th on the stage and Al Rajhi and Timo Gottschalk third.

“We did a great job like we planned to,” Al Rajhi said. “We pushed well. We enjoyed it, that's the most important. I hope everything goes well the next two or three days to win the Dakar ... I will fight to win. It won't be easy.”

Al-Attiyah won the stage ahead of Belgium’s Guillaume de Mévius in under three hours to rise to one minute off third place overall.

His 49th car stage win, and first in the Dakar for Romanian manufacturer Dacia, lifted him to only one behind the record jointly held by Finland's Ari Vatanen and France's Stephane Peterhansel.

Sanders cushions motorbike lead Australian rider Daniel Sanders bolstered his motorbike lead to nearly 15 minutes when closest challenger, Spain's Tosha Schareina, crashed early.

The back wheel of Schareina's Honda hit a rock and sent him flying only 20 kilometers in. He resumed racing but the nearly four minutes he finished behind Sanders dropped him in the general standings.

Schareina's teammate Adrien van Beveren of France remained third, more than 20 minutes behind, while Sanders' KTM teammate Luciano Benavides of Argentina strengthened his position in fourth place by winning his second successive stage.

Benavides, thanks to collecting time bonuses of nearly five minutes by opening the way, beat Van Beveren by nearly two minutes, and repeated his win into Haradh two years ago. Sanders was third after leading until about 70 kilometers from the end.

“I only got lost a couple of times ... and lost a little bit of time,” Sanders said. “I could have pushed and made some more (time) but it's not too bad.”