- Real beat hosts Elche 3-0 in the 10th round of La Liga on October 19, an appeal after a court acquitted former football officials Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini of bribery and corruption.
Two goals were denied by VAR, but new Ballon d’Or owner Karim Benzema fired once, as Real beat hosts Elche 3-0 in the 10th round of La Liga on October 19.
Real won all the first 6 away matches in La Liga for the second time in history, after the 1991-1992 season.
At that time, the royal team only finished second with 54 points, one point behind champions Barca.
As for yesterday’s win over Elche, Carlo Ancelotti’s coach built the top spot with 28 points, six points ahead of Barca – the club that will meet Villarreal today.
Squad:
Elche: Badia, Bigas, Verdu, Mascarell, Clerc, Palacios, Milla, Guti (Josan 62), Fernandez (Gumbau 62), Morente (Quina 80), Boye (Ponce 79).
Real: Lunin, Rudiger, Militao, Alaba (Nacho 88), Carvajal (Vazquez 88), Kroos (Asensio 80), Modric (Tchouameni 62), Valverde, Benzema, Vinicius (Camavinga 80), Rodrygo.
Earlier Benzema celebrated his first Ballon d’Or in his career with an uplifting and emotional match.
He played the full 90 minutes, touched the ball 94 times, passed with 88 percent accuracy with a decisive pass, finished four times and was scored 8.5 points – the highest of the game.
In the 6th minute, Rodrygo smashed with Luka Modric close to the penalty area and poked a slot for Vinicius on the left flank.
The Brazilian striker stretched a touch for Benzema to cushion his right foot into an empty net.
However, VAR stepped in and denied the goal, determining Vinicius was offside.
In the 61st minute, Benzema celebrated missing a goal for the second time.
From Toni Kroos’ cross, Dani Carvajal crossed down the right flank and crossed for Benzema.
The 34-year-old striker braced the ball with his chest and then volleyed into the near corner. But VAR continued to disown the goal when it determined Carvajal was offside.
It took until the 75th minute for the Ballon d’Or 2022 to fill in the name on the electronic board.
From Rodrygo’s heel strike, Benzema sank into the corner to make it 2-0.
He made the gesture as a referee after consulting VAR, then ran to celebrate with his teammates.
At Manuel Martínez Valero yesterday, Real held the ball 62%, finishing 10 times with 7 hits, compared to Elche’s 10 and 3.
Five minutes after Benzema was denied the first goal, Real went ahead.
Vinicius shot past Elche to Federico Valverde’s post.
The Uruguayan midfielder supported his right foot and finished left-footed from outside the penalty area, sending the ball into the far corner.
This is Valverde’s third goal from outside the box in 2022-2023, the best of Europe’s top five leagues, equal to Leicester’s James Maddison.
In total, Valverde scored 6 goals in 15 appearances for Real this season in all competitions, equaling his first 148 appearances for the club.
In the 26th minute, David Alaba smashed with Benzema and then penetrated the penalty area, finishing from the corner of the hosts’ net. But the goal was not recognised as the French striker was offside.
Real’s other goal came in the 89th minute, when Rodrygo stretched for substitute Marco Asensio to make it 3-0.
Rodrygo is the first player born since 2001 to have two assists for Real in a La Liga game, and currently leads the league assists list, with four passes to goal, equals Real Sociedad’s Mikel Merino.
- An appeal after a court acquitted former football officials Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini of bribery and corruption
Swiss prosecutors filed an appeal after a court acquitted former football officials Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini of bribery and corruption.
After the court reached its conclusions, prosecutors said they needed time to review the sentence before deciding whether to appeal.
The OAG’s filing against Blatter and Platini could be a sign that they have found new evidence or facts of the case.
The two former officials therefore risk continuing to stand trial if the OAG appeal is granted.
Blatter, born in 1936, began as FIFA president from 1998 until announcing his resignation on June 2, 2015.
During his time leading FIFA, he made his mark with football development programs and projects around the world, especially focusing on poor and underdeveloped countries in Asia and Africa.
However, Blatter also contributed to the corruption in world football’s governing body occurring over a long period of time.
14 senior FIFA officials are under investigation by the FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice for $150 million in corruption over the past 24 years.
Blatter resigned under pressure from the corruption investigation. He was banned from football for eight years, and then his sentence was reduced to six years.
Platini is a French football legend, having won Euro 1984 and won the C1 Cup in 1985, winning 3 consecutive Ballon d’Or from 1983 to 1985.
After retiring, he briefly coached France, but without success, then joined the management.
Since January 1, 2007, Platini has been president of the European Football Association (UEFA).
When Blatter stepped down as FIFA president, Platini announced he would run for the seat, but withdrew in early 2016.
He was later embroiled in corruption charges with $2 million received from Blatter and banned from football in October 2015.
Swiss prosecutors filed an appeal after a court acquitted former football officials Sepp Blatter and Michel Platini of bribery and corruption.
Former FIFA president Blatter and former UEFA president Platini were accused of corruption for seven years, before the Swiss Federal Court found them innocent in early July.
However, two one-time senior leaders of world football have not escaped trouble when prosecutors appealed the case, asking the court to reconsider the decision.
“We confirm that the Swiss Attorney General’s Office (OAG) has submitted an application to the Appeals Chamber of the Federal Criminal Court on time to request the postponement of the entire first-instance sentence,” according to OAG.
Blatter was found to have transferred $2 million to Platini in 2011 without adequate explanation.
The case was exposed in 2015, prompting FIFA to launch a two-year corruption investigation.
As a result, two men who once held the most powerful positions in the world of football were banned for 8 years, then reduced to 6 years by the FIFA Inspection Commission.
On July 8, a judge in Switzerland accepted Blatter’s interpretation, saying that $2 million to pay Platini during his time as an adviser from 1998 to 2002 was justified.
As a result, Blatter was found not guilty of bribery, and Platini acquitted of corruption.
