Real Madrid continued its quest to compete with its traditional rival Barcelona for the top spot in the Spanish League, after defeating its guest Rayo Vallecano 4-1 on Saturday, in the fifth round of the competition.
Real Madrid raised its score to 12 points in second place, equal in score with leaders Barcelona, which will be able to expand the gap when it faces Levante, on Sunday, in the same round’s competitions.
On the other hand, Rayo Vallecano's score froze at four points in fifteenth place.
Real Madrid took the lead in the 14th minute through Kylian Mbappé from a penalty kick, then his teammate Alvaro Carreras added the second goal in the 17th minute.
In the 35th minute, Jude Bellingham scored the third goal for Real Madrid, while Rayo Vallecano scored his only goal through Sergio Camilo in the 51st minute.
Mbappe concluded his team's quadruple in the first minute of stoppage time in the second half, scoring his second personal goal in the match.
Arsenal, the English Premier League title holder, narrowly defeated host Sunderland with two unanswered goals on Saturday evening, continuing its winning streak and achieving the full score after four rounds of the competition.
Brazilian midfielder Bruno Guimarães scored the first goal in the 56th minute, and two minutes before that, Enzo Lo Ve missed a penalty kick for Sunderland, which was saved by Spanish goalkeeper David Raya, keeping a clean sheet for the third match this season.
Bukayo Saka confirmed Arsenal's superiority with a penalty kick in the 92nd minute.
With this result, Arsenal raises its score to 12 points at the top, three points ahead of Manchester City, which will play the derby against Manchester United on Sunday evening as part of the same round’s competitions.
On the other hand, Sunderland's balance froze at 4 points in 14th place.
In the next round, Arsenal will play a new match away from home against Brighton on Saturday, while Sunderland will visit Manchester City on Sunday.
Ukrainian tennis player Dayana Yastremska said on Saturday that her home in the city of Odessa was destroyed as a result of a Russian attack.
The player posted pictures and video clips on Instagram showing a house engulfed in flames, and commented: “This is what the Russian world looks like: a direct hit by a Caliber cruise missile.”
She stated that the only thing that survived the destruction was a towel from the Roland Garros (French Open) tournament. “Part of the tennis world survived a Russian missile, but our house did not survive.”
Yastremska sent a direct message to the Women's Tennis Association and the International Tennis Federation, saying: “Look at these pictures with our eyes. This is the true meaning of your neutrality from the Ukrainian side of the field.”
It is noteworthy that professional Russian tennis players are allowed to participate in international tournaments in a “neutral” capacity, while it is customary for Ukrainian players not to shake hands with their Russian opponents after matches.
Yastremska, ranked No. 113 in the world, recently lost in the first round of the US Open in New York. In a related context, her compatriot Elina Svitolina stated, during the Grand Slam tournament, that her padel club in Kiev had suffered severe damage as a result of a Russian attack.
