MATT DOHERTY WAS an unused substitute for Atletico Madrid as they were held to a 1-1 draw by lowly Getafe in La Liga today.
The Irish international has joined Atleti on a six-month deal from Spurs but did not make his debut for the club this afternoon, watching on from the bench as Argentina’s World Cup-winning right-back Nahuel Molina played all 90 minutes.
Angel Correa sent Atletico ahead in the derby clash but Enes Unal clinically converted a penalty to level for the relegation-battling visitors.
Saul, who was Atletico’s hero last weekend off the bench, scoring the winner against Osasuna, became the villain at the Metropolitano.
The Spanish midfielder handled Borja Mayoral’s header in the box to concede the penalty a few minutes after coming on.
“We went in front making a great effort, we tried in every way, we played the game we wanted to play,” Atletico coach Diego Simeone told DAZN. “Circumstances are not predictable, we didn’t get the second goal and what appears in football appeared — a penalty in a play which was not dangerous. But we have to keep improving.”
Atletico stay fourth but missed a chance to move closer to Real Sociedad, third, four points above the Rojiblancos with a game in hand. Getafe are 19th on 18 points, two from safety.
Earlier, La Liga’s bottom side Elche stunned Villarreal 3-1, winning their first game all season.
The Yellow Submarine, provisionally fifth, are chasing Champions League qualification but were sunk by a Pere Milla hat-trick at the Manuel Martinez Valero Stadium.
In France, Lionel Messi scored a superb second-half winner as a Paris Saint-Germain side missing the injured Kylian Mbappe and Neymar came from behind to beat Toulouse 2-1 on Saturday and consolidate their lead at the top of Ligue 1.
Dutch midfielder Branco van den Boomen gave mid-table Toulouse the lead at the Parc des Princes from a 20th-minute free-kick, only for Achraf Hakimi to curl in the equaliser with half-time approaching.
Messi then put PSG in front just before the hour mark with a glorious first-time strike on his left foot low into the corner of the net from just outside the area.
Elsewhere, Lyon boosted their outside hopes of European qualification with a 3-1 win at Troyes in which Bradley Barcola and Rayan Cherki both scored before Alexandre Lacazette netted his 16th goal of the season.
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In Germany, Sebastien Haller crowned his recent return from testicular cancer with an emotional goal for Borussia Dortmund Saturday, as Union Berlin knocked Bayern Munich off the top of the Bundesliga with a dramatic late win over Mainz.
Six months after a shock diagnosis which saw him miss the entire first half of the season, Haller finally opened his account for the club he joined last summer.
The Ivory Coast international’s second-half header prompted wild celebrations among his team mates and helped Dortmund to a 5-1 win over Freiburg which kept them within two points of leaders Union.
Freiburg were reduced to ten men early in the first half after French full-back Kiliann Sildillia was booked twice in the space of two minutes.
Former Freiburg player Nico Schlotterbeck then heaped more misery onto his old club, his low snapshot beating goalkeeper Mark Flekken at the near post to give Dortmund the lead.
Schlotterbeck and Niklas Suele handed Freiburg a lifeline with some farcical defending on the stroke of half-time, allowing Lucas Hoeler to sweep in an unexpected equaliser.
Yet Karim Adeyemi wriggled his way through the Freiburg box to restore the lead with a neat finish early in the second half, before goals from Haller, Julian Brandt and Giovanni Reyna completed the rout.
Sebastien Haller celebrates his goal. Imago / PA Images
Imago / PA Images / PA Images
Meanwhile in the capital, Union Berlin were working on their own fairytale as a late winner from US international Jordan Siebatcheu sent the high-flying minnows top of the table.
Former Union player Marcus Ingvartsen had cancelled out Kevin Behrens’ first-half opener with a late penalty, but the Berliners rallied to claim a fourth straight win in 2023.
Eintracht Frankfurt also remained within four points of the top as France forward Randal Kolo Muani ran riot in a 3-0 win over hapless Hertha Berlin.
Having put Frankfurt ahead from the penalty spot, Kolo Muani ghosted through the Hertha back line to make it 2-0 before the half-hour mark, before Aurelio Buta added a third on the stroke of full time.
RB Leipzig’s 0-0 draw at Cologne meant that Frankfurt remain a point adrift of the Champions League places in fifth.
Hertha have slumped to four straight defeats since the beginning of 2023, and are now five points adrift of safety after fellow strugglers Bochum cruised to a 5-2 win over Hoffenheim.
Philipp Hofmann gave Bochum a deserved lead with a tap-in before Philipp Foerster and Takuma Asano showed up a lifeless Hoffenheim defence to make it 3-0 by half-time.
Erhan Masovic and Moritz Broschinski added two more for Bochum after the break, with Christoph Baumgartner and Munas Dabbur grabbing consolation goals for the visitors.
Finally in Italy, Roger Ibanez and Tammy Abraham scored in the first six minutes as Roma defeated Empoli 2-0 on Saturday to move into third place in Serie A.
Brazilian Ibanez opened the scoring at the Stadio Olimpico after just two minutes before English striker Abraham increased the lead four minutes later.
It was Abraham’s sixth Serie A goal of the season.
Argentine star Paulo Dybala set up both goals for Jose Mourinho’s team.
Roma have 40 points, the same as Inter Milan who are second.
Inter face champions and fifth-placed AC Milan in Sunday’s derby clash.
Leaders Napoli, who have a healthy 13-point advantage at the top, travel to relegation-haunted Spezia also on Sunday.
Atalanta slipped to a 1-0 loss at Sassuolo after playing with 10 men from the half-hour mark when Joakim Maehle was red-carded for a foul on Domenico Berardi.
They then ended the game with nine players after Colombian Luis Muriel was sent-off in the sixth minute of injury time, having only come on as a substitute in the 80th minute.
Armand Lauriente scored Sassuolo’s winner in the 55the minute.
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No La Liga debut yet for Matt Doherty, Messi nets important PSG winner
MATT DOHERTY WAS an unused substitute for Atletico Madrid as they were held to a 1-1 draw by lowly Getafe in La Liga today.
The Irish international has joined Atleti on a six-month deal from Spurs but did not make his debut for the club this afternoon, watching on from the bench as Argentina’s World Cup-winning right-back Nahuel Molina played all 90 minutes.
Angel Correa sent Atletico ahead in the derby clash but Enes Unal clinically converted a penalty to level for the relegation-battling visitors.
Saul, who was Atletico’s hero last weekend off the bench, scoring the winner against Osasuna, became the villain at the Metropolitano.
The Spanish midfielder handled Borja Mayoral’s header in the box to concede the penalty a few minutes after coming on.
“We went in front making a great effort, we tried in every way, we played the game we wanted to play,” Atletico coach Diego Simeone told DAZN. “Circumstances are not predictable, we didn’t get the second goal and what appears in football appeared — a penalty in a play which was not dangerous. But we have to keep improving.”
Atletico stay fourth but missed a chance to move closer to Real Sociedad, third, four points above the Rojiblancos with a game in hand. Getafe are 19th on 18 points, two from safety.
Earlier, La Liga’s bottom side Elche stunned Villarreal 3-1, winning their first game all season.
The Yellow Submarine, provisionally fifth, are chasing Champions League qualification but were sunk by a Pere Milla hat-trick at the Manuel Martinez Valero Stadium.
In France, Lionel Messi scored a superb second-half winner as a Paris Saint-Germain side missing the injured Kylian Mbappe and Neymar came from behind to beat Toulouse 2-1 on Saturday and consolidate their lead at the top of Ligue 1.
Dutch midfielder Branco van den Boomen gave mid-table Toulouse the lead at the Parc des Princes from a 20th-minute free-kick, only for Achraf Hakimi to curl in the equaliser with half-time approaching.
Messi then put PSG in front just before the hour mark with a glorious first-time strike on his left foot low into the corner of the net from just outside the area.
Elsewhere, Lyon boosted their outside hopes of European qualification with a 3-1 win at Troyes in which Bradley Barcola and Rayan Cherki both scored before Alexandre Lacazette netted his 16th goal of the season.
In Germany, Sebastien Haller crowned his recent return from testicular cancer with an emotional goal for Borussia Dortmund Saturday, as Union Berlin knocked Bayern Munich off the top of the Bundesliga with a dramatic late win over Mainz.
Six months after a shock diagnosis which saw him miss the entire first half of the season, Haller finally opened his account for the club he joined last summer.
The Ivory Coast international’s second-half header prompted wild celebrations among his team mates and helped Dortmund to a 5-1 win over Freiburg which kept them within two points of leaders Union.
Freiburg were reduced to ten men early in the first half after French full-back Kiliann Sildillia was booked twice in the space of two minutes.
Former Freiburg player Nico Schlotterbeck then heaped more misery onto his old club, his low snapshot beating goalkeeper Mark Flekken at the near post to give Dortmund the lead.
Schlotterbeck and Niklas Suele handed Freiburg a lifeline with some farcical defending on the stroke of half-time, allowing Lucas Hoeler to sweep in an unexpected equaliser.
Yet Karim Adeyemi wriggled his way through the Freiburg box to restore the lead with a neat finish early in the second half, before goals from Haller, Julian Brandt and Giovanni Reyna completed the rout.
Meanwhile in the capital, Union Berlin were working on their own fairytale as a late winner from US international Jordan Siebatcheu sent the high-flying minnows top of the table.
Former Union player Marcus Ingvartsen had cancelled out Kevin Behrens’ first-half opener with a late penalty, but the Berliners rallied to claim a fourth straight win in 2023.
Eintracht Frankfurt also remained within four points of the top as France forward Randal Kolo Muani ran riot in a 3-0 win over hapless Hertha Berlin.
Having put Frankfurt ahead from the penalty spot, Kolo Muani ghosted through the Hertha back line to make it 2-0 before the half-hour mark, before Aurelio Buta added a third on the stroke of full time.
RB Leipzig’s 0-0 draw at Cologne meant that Frankfurt remain a point adrift of the Champions League places in fifth.
Hertha have slumped to four straight defeats since the beginning of 2023, and are now five points adrift of safety after fellow strugglers Bochum cruised to a 5-2 win over Hoffenheim.
Philipp Hofmann gave Bochum a deserved lead with a tap-in before Philipp Foerster and Takuma Asano showed up a lifeless Hoffenheim defence to make it 3-0 by half-time.
Erhan Masovic and Moritz Broschinski added two more for Bochum after the break, with Christoph Baumgartner and Munas Dabbur grabbing consolation goals for the visitors.
Finally in Italy, Roger Ibanez and Tammy Abraham scored in the first six minutes as Roma defeated Empoli 2-0 on Saturday to move into third place in Serie A.
Brazilian Ibanez opened the scoring at the Stadio Olimpico after just two minutes before English striker Abraham increased the lead four minutes later.
It was Abraham’s sixth Serie A goal of the season.
Argentine star Paulo Dybala set up both goals for Jose Mourinho’s team.
Roma have 40 points, the same as Inter Milan who are second.
Inter face champions and fifth-placed AC Milan in Sunday’s derby clash.
Leaders Napoli, who have a healthy 13-point advantage at the top, travel to relegation-haunted Spezia also on Sunday.
Atalanta slipped to a 1-0 loss at Sassuolo after playing with 10 men from the half-hour mark when Joakim Maehle was red-carded for a foul on Domenico Berardi.
They then ended the game with nine players after Colombian Luis Muriel was sent-off in the sixth minute of injury time, having only come on as a substitute in the 80th minute.
Armand Lauriente scored Sassuolo’s winner in the 55the minute.
– © AFP 2023, with reporting by Gavin Cooney
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