Germany celebrate turnaround as confidence grows before hosting Euro 2024

MADRID: Kylian Mbappe secured Real Madrid a 1-1 draw against rivals Atletico Madrid which kept Los Blancos top of La Liga on Saturday.
Julian Alvarez dinked home a controversial first half penalty for Atletico but Mbappe was in the right place at the right time to bundle home early in the second half on his first appearance in the tense derby clash.
Real Madrid lead second-place Atletico by a single point, with Barcelona, third, given the chance to cut the gap on the top two when they face Sevilla on Sunday.
“We have to continue on this path, we’re there in the fight and we will continue there until the end,” Alvarez told Movistar.
“I can’t say I wasn’t a bit nervous (with the penalty), but I was sure, I knew what I would do, and it was a great goal for the team.”
Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti opted to deploy his four key attacking players in Mbappe, Vinicius Junior, Jude Bellingham and Rodrygo Goes, in lieu of a more conservative approach.
The star names got stuck in, not always a given in a defensive sense, and the first half was a hard-fought, intense battle with few clear openings for either side.
Vinicius dragged a shot wide midway through the first half when he found a rare sight of goal for the hosts.
Atletico were upset when Real Madrid midfielder Dani Ceballos was only booked for an ugly challenge on Pablo Barrios, but it was the hosts who were left raging when referee Cesar Soto Grado pointed to the penalty spot.
Aurelien Tchouameni, covering at center-back for Madrid with Antonio Rudiger and Eder Militao out among others, clumsily trod on Samuel Lino’s foot in the box.
After a VAR review Soto Grado awarded a controversial penalty to Madrid’s frustration, with the incident happening after the ball had run past the duo.
Los Blancos attacked Spanish refereeing earlier in the week after they were upset by a decision in a shock defeat last weekend, bringing heavy scrutiny on the officials ahead of the derby.
Alvarez took the penalty, the first given against Madrid in La Liga this season, and cheekily executed a Panenka down the middle.
“Corruption in the federation,” chanted Real Madrid fans in response, buying into their club’s stance.
Madrid pulled level early in the second half when Rodrygo broke loose on the right of the box and crossed for Bellingham.
The England international’s shot was blocked but Mbappe was on hand to turn home the rebound and score on his first Madrid derby appearance.
Bellingham twice came close to putting Madrid ahead, nodding against the crossbar from Vinicius’ cross and then heading straight at Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak from a similar position, kicking the post in frustration.
Madrid played with far more fluidity in the second half and pegged Atletico back, forcing coach Diego Simeone into some defensive-minded changes, including withdrawing his son Giuliano who had a quiet game on the right wing.
Oblak made a smart save to deny Vinicius after the Brazilian winger burst through the gap between two Atletico defenders and pulled the trigger from a tight angle.
The Slovenian goalkeeper also managed to keep out a dangerous free-kick from Rodrygo which was intended as a cross but almost flew in at the far post.
Oblak made a brave low stop from Mbappe in the 90th minute after Fede Valverde sent the French forward in behind the defense, and the two sides were left with a point apiece.

WOLFSBURG, Germany: Bayer Leverkusen dropped eight points behind league leaders Bayern Munich after a scoreless draw at Wolfsburg on Saturday, setting up a potentially season-defining duel between the top two next weekend.
Bayern’s 3-0 win over Werder Bremen on Friday, their seventh straight league win, increased the pressure on Xabi Alonso’s defending champions, who host the leaders next Saturday.
Alonso named a weakened starting lineup with Florian Wirtz, Patrik Schick and Jeremie Frimpong all left on the bench after playing 120 minutes in Tuesday’s extra-time German Cup win over Cologne.
Without their star trio, Leverkusen lacked fluency. Nordi Mukiele had a golden chance to put Leverkusen in front after 22 minutes, but headed over the bar while unmarked from point-blank range.
Wirtz and Frimpong came on after 60 minutes but the visitors had few chances despite dominating possession.
Wirtz went down in the box with 13 minutes remaining after some light contact prompting a VAR check, but the referee waved it away.
The 21-year-old had a chance to snatch his side the win in stoppage time, but blasted just wide.
Leverkusen have dropped four points in their past three league games, leaving their bid to defend their debut title on a knife-edge.
Conceding the eight-point gap to the league leaders was “much bigger than it should be,” Leverkusen captain Lukas Hradecky said “this weekend hasn’t made it easier for us to achieve our dream.
“With the way Bayern are at the moment, we can’t have anything but a home win,” Hradecky said of Bayern’s visit next week.
His manager struck a different tone, saying he was “not overly worried” about the widening gap.
“We’ll have a bit of a break and start preparing on Tuesday. We’re playing Bayern at home — top game, top atmosphere — we’re still focused on us, and what we can achieve.”
In Saturday’s late game, Eintracht Frankfurt drew 1-1 away at Borussia Moenchengladbach, continuing their struggles since the loss of Omar Marmoush to Manchester City in January.
Hugo Ekitike’s 31st-minute goal — his fifth in his past five games — canceled out a 26th-minute Tim Kleindienst header.
Frankfurt have won just two of six since Marmoush’s last game, but they still sit third, four points clear of fourth-placed Stuttgart.
Stuttgart won 2-1 at Borussia Dortmund to go fourth, spoiling Niko Kovac’s debut in the home dugout.
Stuttgart’s Deniz Undav and Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi had chances in the opening half before center-back Waldemar Anton, who left Stuttgart for the Westfalenstadion in the summer, put the visitors in front in the 50th minute.
Stuttgart’s Jeff Chabot put the visitors two goals up on the 61st-minute mark, knocking in a superb volley for his first Bundesliga goal.
Julian Brandt scored late but it was not enough, as Stuttgart beat Dortmund for a fifth straight time.
Kovac, named coach this week after Nuri Sahin was fired in January, has his work cut out for him, with Dortmund mired in 11th spot.
“The boys gave it their all — we shouldn’t have left the field as losers,” said Kovac.
Freiburg climbed to sixth with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Heidenheim, with a first-half header from Vincenzo Grifo the difference.
Italy winger Grifo, known for his set-piece prowess, headed in a Ritsu Doan cross to keep his side on track for a third European qualification in four seasons.
Union Berlin chalked up a statement victory in their battle to avoid the drop, winning 4-0 at struggling Hoffenheim.
Union, who were in the Champions League last season but started Saturday’s game in 14th, won thanks to a brace from Benedict Hollerbach and goals from Marin Ljubicic and Andrej Ilic.
The win took Union 10 points clear of Heidenheim, who sit in the relegation playoff spot.
Also on Saturday, Mainz and Augsburg played out a scoreless draw.