Manchester City, the dominant force in English football for over a decade, finds itself once again under the Premier League's microscope. This time, however, the allegations are not about intricate financial dealings or sponsorship controversies, but something seemingly more mundane: breaches of kick-off timing regulations. Recent reports confirm that City has been hit with a substantial fine of £1.08 million for delaying kick-offs and re-starts on nine separate occasions during the 2024/25 season. While a million-pound fine might seem like a drop in the ocean for a club of City's financial might, these sanctions underscore a deeper tension within the Premier League – a battle between sporting integrity, commercial interests, and the relentless demands of a global broadcasting behemoth. This isn't merely a trivial matter of punctuality. It speaks to the meticulous choreography of modern football, where every second is accounted for, and every deviation from the schedule has...
Real Madrid responded to Barcelona's La Liga title challenge with a tough 3-2 home win against Leganes.
Carlo Ancelotti's side returned from the international break needing to win at home against their local rivals in order to equalize the points table with their El Clasico opponents.Despite being outplayed for the duration of the game, Ancelotti's rotational team demonstrated steel late on, with Kylian Mbappe making the difference.
A low-key match sprang to life shortly after the half-hour mark, when Mbappe nonchalantly dinked home a panenka penalty to put the hosts ahead 1-0.
However, Diego Garcia equalised when Lucas Vazquez made a mistake, canceling out the lead within 60 seconds.
Ancelotti's woes worsened before halftime as Dani Raba hushed the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu, putting Leganes up 2-1.
Real Madrid had not lost a league game at home since October, and their title-winning tenacity showed immediately after the restart, as Jude Bellingham bundled home from close range to equalize the game.
With the hosts unable to settle for a draw as the title stakes remained high, Ancelotti turned to his bench, bringing on Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo Goes, and Fede Valverde, all of whom had been rested after long travels back from the break.
That increased the pressure on the Leganes defence, which was eventually undone by Mbappe magic, as he rolled a free kick to Fran Garcia and curled home a beautiful winner.
Goal number 33 of Mbappe's debut season in Madrid matches Cristiano Ronaldo's first season at the club in 2009/10, with just Ivan Zamarano now ahead of him in that list.
Ancelotti's team has no time to rest as they face a quick turnaround against Real Sociedad in the Copa del Rey semi-final second leg on April 1.
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