Report: Chelsea Have Long-Term Interest In Inter Milan's Denzel Dumfries

 

Chelsea have interest in Inter Milan full-back Denzel Dumfries for a long time.

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As Chelsea search for a full-back to fill in for Reece James and provide competition for the full-back, the name Denzel Dumfries will not go away. The rumours are getting louder, and there is no smoke without fire.

Dumfries has been performing well for Inter Milan this season, and with his ability to play in a back three, he is certainly a player Chelsea are very much interested in.

The club want to bring in a right-back in January, and the Dutch defender could be the perfect choice.

© Provided by Chelsea Transfer Room on FanNation Chelsea have long standing interest in Denzel Dumfries. IMAGO / Richard Wareham

According to Fabrizio Romano, Chelsea have long standing interest in Inter Milan defender Denzel Dumfries, and have always appreciated the player.

If Chelsea do want to make the signing, they will have to pay more than €30million for Dumfries, which in the grand scheme of things is the going rate for any player of quality these days.

Dumfries was in the list for Chelsea during the summer as they looked to sign a right-back, but the deal was not an easy one to do and ultimately the player ended up staying at Inter Milan.

© Provided by Chelsea Transfer Room on FanNation Chelsea could move for Denzel Dumfries in January, but a deal won't be easy. IMAGO / Marco Canoniero

The deal will not be an easy one to do in January either with Inter holding the same stance over Dumfries, but Chelsea are likely to try and see if they can get a deal done.

Reece James is expected back from injury after the World Cup, but competition is still needed for the England full-back.

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Nicolò Fagioli finds place in Juventus side refreshed by fountain of youth

Juventus should have listened to Nicolò Fagioli a little sooner. “Young players need to play,” said the 21-year-old midfielder in May, as he prepared to return to the Bianconeri after a season on loan at Cremonese. He was talking in broad terms, citing call-ups by the Italy manager Roberto Mancini as evidence of shifting national attitudes, but also about his personal development at the same time.

“I have supported Juve since I was a boy and for me it would be a dream to wear that shirt, but I need to understand what their intentions are for me,” Fagioli said. “If they have a journey in mind for us to take together, then I could not be more up for that … I repeat, though, if they are good enough, young players need to play.”

For much of the summer, another loan deal appeared the most likely scenario. Several top-flight clubs made enquiries, Sampdoria and Empoli the most concrete among them. Promoted Monza tried to sign Fagioli outright. Instead, the player stayed and extended his contract to 2026.

Massimiliano Allegri is a long-term admirer. Already in 2018, during his previous stint at the club, the manager highlighted Fagioli’s promise, saying: “We have a kid, born in 2001, and watching him play football is a pleasure because he understands the game. He has the timing, he knows how to lose a marker, when and where to pass the ball.”

Fagioli was supposed to to make his senior debut that season, but a cardiac arrhythmia diagnosis put everything on hold. He underwent surgery and made a gradual return with Juventus Under-23s, competing in Italian football’s third tier. He finally made his Serie A debut under Andrea Pirlo in February 2021 before his season-long switch to Cremonese, for whom he chipped in three goals and seven assists to help secure promotion to the top flight.

Despite that, he started this season far down the pecking order at Juventus. In interviews, Allegri said he envisioned a starting midfield of Adrien Rabiot, Leandro Paredes and Paul Pogba, with Manuel Locatelli as the first change off the bench. Even as injuries derailed that plan, Weston McKennie and a different youth team graduate, Fabio Miretti, plugged the gaps.

Nicolo Fagioli (fourth from right), Samuel Iling-Junior (fifth from right) and Fabio Miretti (second right) pictured in Juventus training. Photograph: Daniele Badolato/Juventus FC/Getty Images

Fagioli had played a total of 39 minutes in Serie A this season before Juventus went away to Lecce on 29 October. He replaced McKennie at half-time with the game goalless and went on to score a sensational winner, pivoting to bend a shot in off the post. Allegri rewarded him with a Champions League start against Paris Saint-Germain.

Juventus lost – their fifth defeat in six group games – but Fagioli impressed with his confidence, enjoying a viral moment when he evaded Leo Messi in midfield. He kept his place in the lineup for Sunday’s Derby d’Italia against Inter. A show of faith, or simply a reflection of the scarce options available, with Pogba, Paredes and McKennie all injured and Miretti required to fill in as the No 10 due to further absences up front.

In theory, Juventus’s formation was a 3-5-1-1, but in practice it looked more like a 4-5-1 during a grim first half in which the Bianconeri showed little ambition beyond protecting their goal. They didn’t do a flawless job of that, either. Inter might have taken the lead with better finishing from Lautaro Martínez or Denzel Dumfries. But in the second half, everything changed.

Inter started on the front foot again, Hakan Çalhanoglu forcing Wojciech Szczesny to tip the ball onto his crossbar, but Juventus took the lead with a counterattack from a corner just four minutes later. Filip Kostic showed impressive strength to hold off Nicolò Barella before spinning away and sprinting 60 yards down the left flank. He cut the ball inside for Adrien Rabiot, who opened up his body for a first-time finish across goal.

Juventus thought they had extended their lead when defender Danilo bundled home from a corner, only for the VAR booth to intervene, alerting the referee to a handball. No matter. In the 84th, Gleison Bremer made a brilliant challenge to take the ball off the toes of Marcelo Brozovic as the Inter player bore down on goal.

Once again, Juventus broke forward, and once again the ball found its way to Kostic. His square ball found Fagioli, who took a touch before firing back across goal. The shot deflected off Robin Gosens and wrong-footed Inter’s goalkeeper, Andre Onana, on its way to the back of the net.

It was a less spectacular goal than Fagioli’s previous effort, but just as decisive. Juventus held on for a 2-0 win that lifts them above their rivals in the table. No small landmark for a team that began this season with two wins from its first seven games. Inter were supposed to be the form team coming into this matchup, with six wins and a draw from their last seven games in all competitions.

This is not a moment for hyperbole. Juventus did not have a shot on goal in the first half of Sunday and are fifth, 10 points off the top of Serie Aand badly bruised by their Champions League humiliation. Allegri dampened down any attempt to define this as a “turning point”, even if he did also hint that he still believes his team can compete for the Scudetto.

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Few might share that conviction, yet the role of young players in Juve’s recent uptick is allowing at least a measure of optimism to return. Before Fagioli, it was the English winger Samuel Iling-Junior making headlines as he came off the bench to transform the game away to Benfica, setting up one goal and helping to make another as Allegri’s team rallied from 4-1 down to almost steal a draw.

Miretti, meanwhile, has already played 17 times for Juventus this season. These stories represent a triumph for Juventus’s decision to relaunch the Under-23 side, recently rebranded as Juventus Next Gen, into the senior divisions after it became legal to do so four years ago.

On Sunday, Fagioli helped bring structure to the midfield, quietly constructing from his deep-lying position, playing the simple passes that allowed moves to begin. Allegri sees this as the player’s natural home, sitting in front of the defence, and has expressed frustration before now at the fact his previous coaches rarely used him here.

More than anything, though, what these academy graduates have brought is a fresh, wholehearted commitment. It was only a few weeks ago that Juventus’s president, Andrea Agnelli, accused his team of being afraid to make a tackle. Now they have kept four consecutive league clean sheets.

Quick Guide Serie A results Show

Friday: Udinese 1-1 Lecce. Sat: Atalanta 1-2 Napoli, Empoli 1-0 Sassuolo, Milan 2-1 Spezia, Salernitana 2-2 Cremonese. Sun: Bologna 2-1 Torino, Juventus 2-0 Inter, Monza 2-0 Verona, Roma 0-1 Lazio, Sampdoria 0-2 Fiorentina.

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“I remember Phil Foden when I was at Manchester City,” said Danilo last week. “He was 17 years old, I could see in his eyes that he had that desire to learn, to improve. Here at Juventus now I see players like Miretti, like Fagioli, who have that same desire. For those of us who are more experienced, it can give us that extra push.

“I try to talk to them often, to give them some advice, but it’s something that helps me first of all, that motivates me. I get something extra from being with them.”

Allegri will be wary of overburdening these young players, of the pressure that a few good performances can bring. Yet they themselves do not crave protection. Fagioli was explicit in that interview back in May: “Yes,” he told Sportweek magazine. “I feel ready for Serie A.”

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Chelsea want Brighton’s Winstanley to join Stewart on recruitment team

 

Chelsea are set to continue the rebuild of their recruitment department by appointing Monaco’s Laurence Stewart and are also looking to poach Brighton & Hove Albion’s head of recruitment, Paul Winstanley.

Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital have been making changes to Chelsea’s infrastructure since buying the club in May and are looking to build a strong recruitment team around the head coach, Graham Potter. Christopher Vivell, who was fired by RB Leizpig last month, is poised to join as technical director and Joe Shields is due to arrive as co-director of recruitment once he has seen out his gardening leave at Southampton.

A deal to hire Stewart, Monaco’s technical director, has been agreed and Chelsea have held talks over taking Winstanley from Brighton. Winstanley has developed a good reputation at Brighton, who have earned plaudits for their smart signings in recent years. The Guardian reported that Chelsea were looking at him last month and the club are ready to solidify their interest.

It is believed that Winstanley will work closely with Shields, Stewart and Potter’s recruitment analyst, Kyle Macalauy. Winstanley knows Macaulay well from his time at Brighton.

Chelsea want at least four recruitment experts, with Vivell potentially given the responsibility of coordinating the department. Plans to hire a sporting director have been put to one side.

There have been suggestions that Boehly and Clearlake would like to create something akin to a transfer think-tank. The recruitment team could feed up to Boehly, who has been working as interim sporting director since June.

Boehly took that role after Marina Granovskaia left, with the departures of Scott McLachlan and Petr Cech leaving other holes to fill. Chelsea had initially looked to hire a sporting director and were close to appointing RB Salzburg’s Christoph Freund, only for that deal to collapse.

The indications are that Chelsea would rather have several recruitment experts than be reliant on one person. They want a collaborative approach, with links between the coaching staff, recruitment department and ownership. Boehly, who oversaw a heavy summer spending spree, could continue to take an active role in transfer negotiations in January.

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Chelsea could also look to appoint a new chief executive and a football operations manager.

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Cristiano Ronaldo: Manchester United forward must face consequences, says Erik ten Hag

 

Ronaldo refused to come on as substitute - Ten Hag

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag has said there "has to be consequences" after confirming Cristiano Ronaldo refused to come on as a substitute against Tottenham on Wednesday.

Ronaldo, 37, left Old Trafford before full-time after leaving the bench and walking down the tunnel in the 89th minute of United's 2-0 win.

He has been dropped for Saturday's game at Chelsea and is training alone.

Asked directly whether Ronaldo refused to come on, Ten Hag said: "Yes."

He added that after the Portugal international did the same at half-time of the friendly against Rayo Vallecano in pre-season, he felt he had to act.

"The talk is between Cristiano and me. The statement is clear. It is also in the statement that he remains an important part of the squad," Ten Hag said.

"I am the manager, I am responsible for the culture here. I have to set standards and values and have to control them. We are in a team.

"After Rayo Vallecano, I said it was unacceptable, but it wasn't just him. The second time there has to be consequences. That is what has happened.

"We miss him tomorrow, that is a miss for us and the squad, but I think it is important for the attitude and mentality of the group and now we have to focus on Chelsea - that is the most important."

Cristiano Ronaldo's behaviour 'unacceptable' - Micah Richards

Ronaldo's actions have been widely criticised, with Match of the Day presenter Gary Lineker calling them "unacceptable" while former United goalkeeper Peter Schmeichel said this was the first time he had been "disappointed" in the player.

On Thursday, Ronaldo said "the heat of the moment" had got to him, though he stopped short of apologising.

He has scored just one goal in eight Premier League appearances this season, and also showed his displeasure at being substituted in Sunday's 0-0 home draw with Newcastle.

United go into Saturday's game at Stamford Bridge just one point behind Chelsea in fifth and Ten Hag said his players would not be distracted by this week's drama.

"It's part of playing in top football," he said.

"There are rumours and noise and you can't get distracted, you have to remain on the job and get the result."

Analysis

Erik ten Hag couldn't have done any better.

He addressed the major issue around Cristiano Ronaldo directly, then explained why he felt it was important to take the action he did.

Then, once the broadcast media had finished, he answered more questions from the written press, which will appear in Saturday's newspapers.

It was not the first major test of Ten Hag's authority. But it was the biggest - and he has come through it with his status enhanced and Ronaldo's diminished. If there is a winner in such situations, Ten Hag is it.

The other point worth nothing is when he first took the United job, Ten Hag's English was hesitant. Now he can communicate with the media effectively - and forcefully.

With United beating Tottenham as well, it has been a good 48 hours for the Dutchman.

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Ballon d'Or: Karim Benzema wins award as best player in world football for first time

Real Madrid and France forward Karim Benzema has won the Ballon d'Or - awarded to the best footballer of the year - for the first time.

Benzema scored 44 goals in 46 games as he helped Real win the Champions League and La Liga in 2021-22.

Lionel Messi (seven) and Cristiano Ronaldo (five) had won the award on 12 of the previous 13 occasions.

Bayern Munich's Sadio Mane, who was at Liverpool in 2021-22, was second ahead of Manchester City's Kevin de Bruyne.

Barcelona's Alexia Putellas retained the Women's Ballon d'Or, awarded to the best best female footballer of 2022.

England Euro 2022 winner and Arsenal forward Beth Mead was second.

Premier League champions Manchester City, who had six nominees at the ceremony, were awarded Club of the Year ahead of Liverpool.

The Ballon d'Or is awarded to the best footballer of the year, based on performance over the 2021-22 season.

Zinedine Zidane (right) was the last Frenchman to win the Ballon d'Or First Frenchman to win prize since 1998

Monday's ceremony in Paris saw French F1 driver Esteban Ocon arrive at the Theatre du Chatelet with the Ballon d'Or trophy in a racing car.

Benzema is the first Frenchman to win the prestigious award since Zinedine Zidane in 1998. Zidane was at the event to present his countryman with the prize.

"This prize in front of me makes me really proud," said Benzema. "When I was small, it was a childhood dream, I never gave up. Anything is possible.

"I'm really proud of my journey here. It wasn't easy, it was a difficult time for my family as well."

Benzema was the overwhelming favourite to win this year's award.

His 44 goals included a hat-trick in 17 second-half minutes against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League, and another away to Chelsea in the quarter-final first leg.

He also scored three more goals over two legs of the semi-final against Manchester City.

The 34-year-old, who has been at Real Madrid since 2009, is expected to play a key role for France at the World Cup in Qatar which starts on 20 November.

The Ballon d'Or is voted for by 100 journalists from around the world.

Warm reception for Haller

Borussia Dortmund's former West Ham striker Sebastien Haller, who has recently undergone chemotherapy for a testicular tumour, received warm applause from the audience when he walked on stage to present the Yashin Trophy to Real Madrid's Thibaut Courtois for best goalkeeper.

Liverpool's Alisson was second, with Ederson of Manchester City and Chelsea's Edouard Mendy third and fourth respectively. Tottenham's Hugo Lloris was 10th.

The Kopa Trophy, awarded to the best performing player under the age of 21, went to Barcelona and Spain midfielder Gavi, who turned 18 in August.

Sebastien Haller on stage at the Ballon d'Or awards ceremony

Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jude Bellingham, 19, was ranked fourth and England team-mate and Arsenal forward Bukayo Saka, 21, was eighth.

Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski won the Gerd Muller Trophy awarded to the best striker after scoring 57 goals for Bayern Munich and Poland in 2021-22.

The inaugural Socrates Award, a humanitarian prize, went to Mane for his charity work.

Five-time winner Ronaldo ranked 20th

Messi and Ronaldo have dominated the award in recent years, apart from in 2018 when Croatia midfielder Luka Modric won it.

Messi had already won the trophy more times than any other player and his seventh success in 2021 came after wins in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2015 and 2019.

However, he was not nominated this time after an underwhelming first season at Paris St-Germain.

Manchester United's Ronaldo, who last won it in 2017, was placed 20th of the 30 players nominated, the Portuguese's lowest Ballon d'Or ranking since 2005.

Ballon d'Or results

1. Karim Benzema (Real Madrid, France).

2. Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich, Senegal).

3. Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City, Belgium).

4. Robert Lewandowski (Barcelona, Poland).

5. Mohamed Salah (Liverpool, Egypt).

6. Kylian Mbappe (Paris St-Germain, France).

7. Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid, Belgium).

8. Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid, Brazil).

9. Luka Modric (Real Madrid, Croatia).

10. Erling Haaland (Manchester City, Norway).

11. Son Heung-min (Tottenham Hotspur, South Korea)

12. Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City, Algeria).

13. Sebastien Haller (Borussia Dortmund, Ivory Coast).

14. Fabinho (Liverpool, Brazil) tied with Rafael Leao (AC Milan, Portugal).

16. Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool, Netherlands).

17. Luis Diaz (Liverpool, Colombia) tied with Dusan Vlahovic (Juventus, Serbia) and Casemiro (Manchester United, Brazil).

20. Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United, Portugal).

21. Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur, England).

22. Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool, England) tied with Phil Foden (Manchester City, England) and Bernardo Silva (Manchester City, Portugal).

25. Joao Cancelo (Manchester City, Portugal) tied with Joshua Kimmich (Bayern Munich, Germany), Mike Maignan (AC Milan, France), Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid, Germany), Darwin Nunez (Liverpool, Uruguay) and Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig, France).

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Manchester United hold off Newcastle in high-tempo but goalless draw

Breathless and invigorating and a touch scrappy: contested in bright autumnal sunshine, this was the tale of a goalless draw that Manchester United and Newcastle each felt they might have won.

Erik ten Hag said his team wished to tell the story of the game but the visitors stymied his hopes and instead the fare resembled basketball in an end‑to‑end nature that largely bypassed measured midfield play.

In the closing moments Casemiro released Marcus Rashford who rounded Nick Pope but on passing to Fred the midfielder’s radar was awry: it was as fair a summation of the entertainment as Rashford somehow missing a point-blank header in added time.

A rueful Ten Hag said: “We broke them but didn’t kill them, by not scoring. We had the chances, Rashford. OK, that happens, football, happy with the performance but disappointed with the result.”

There were also several penalty appeals: Raphaël Varane on Callum Wilson early on; Kieran Trippier on Cristiano Ronaldo; Sean Longstaff on Jadon Sancho. Each manager offered a view.

“The Wilson shout was a strong one,” Newcastle’s Eddie Howe said.

Ten Hag was visibly chagrined throughout. “I shared that with them [the officials]. I don’t have a comment on the ref’s performance,” he said of Craig Pawson. “Everyone has seen what happened today on the pitch.”

United’s start was sharp. Fred, from distance, was the first to pull the trigger though his aim was askew. Lisandro Martínez stabbed the ball away from Miguel Almirón and the Reds roved forward and Ronaldo, in for an under-the-weather Rashford, troubled Fabian Schär. Martínez illustrated further verve when covering off a Wilson thrust, the latter thwarted by David de Gea, making a 500th United appearance.

Newcastle soon counter-punched. Luke Shaw had to repel Trippier in a passage that led to Joelinton’s corner from the left. Wilson, earlier, appealed in vain for the penalty referenced by Howe when Varane bumped him but Pawson and the VAR were not interested.

Kieran Trippier has his shot blocked by Luke Shaw. Photograph: David Klein/Reuters

The contest’s rhythm was jab-jab, thrust-thrust; one moment Fred sprinted on to a ball along the left, the next Trippier’s corner was headed by an unmarked Schär, United’s dead‑ball defending loose. Antony, on three league goals, made a familiar cut inside and blasted over. This followed a smart no-look pass from Casemiro that splayed Newcastle.

There was an invigorating muscularity on show: Antony crashed into Sven Botman, Joelinton and Casemiro bounced off each other. The latter tussle was ruled a Newcastle free-kick – Trippier smashed this into the wall, turned the ball back in, and Joelinton hit De Gea’s bar and right post and Diogo Dalot conceded another corner. Again United were second to Trippier’s delivery, Wilson’s header careering across goal.

The half was an incident-fest. Ten Hag upbraided David Coote for some on-field misdemeanour the fourth official might affect, Wilson yanked Martínez’s hand and received a Pawson lecture and, the referee moments later blew for treatment to a downed Joelinton. Next, an errant Casemiro pass presaged Almirón making a mug of Fred, in for the ill Christian Eriksen. Trippier, cleverly, drove the dead‑ball shin‑high and United somehow remained intact. Shots from Antony and Bruno Fernandes, who also headed at Pope, failed to find the elusive Newcastle net.

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Each team missed ruthlessness and Ronaldo, oddly for the arch‑predator, was often offside or caught away from the frontline where he had the best chance of adding career club goal No 701. There was more off-target shooting from Wilson to commence the second period and when the Portuguese was in position and beat Pope the strike was offside. At the free-kick given for that Ronaldo, believing Schär had touched it back to Pope, pilfered possession and scored. Pawson booked him, deciding the ball was merely given to the goalkeeper so he could take the set piece.

Both sides were unwilling – or unable – to slow the tempo and move the opponent around in chess-like manner. So when Antony, Dalot, Fernandes, Fred and Shaw did this suddenly Newcastle had a different problem. The move fizzled out yet here was a clue regarding how Ten Hag’s men might prosper.

At the hour Manchester hogged possession with 61.6% but the old issue of being primarily a fast-breaking unit meant an ideas surfeit when most of Newcastle were ahead of them. A lack of composure was a fair characterisation of the post-interval fare. Howe had replaced Jacob Murphy with Ryan Fraser so might Ten Hag shuffle his pack? Yes: off came Ronaldo as Rashford entered.

The home team, though, remained a side in search of a final ball, as personified by Antony failing to pick out Sancho when he raced along the right. When Trippier did find Almirón with a low-driven corner the latter blazed over and, later, Rashford’s wild free‑kick was another case study in how not to aim true. A point each was correct.

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LaLiga: Robert Lewandowski fires Barcelona to top of league; Atletico Madrid dominate sorry Sevilla

 Barcelona's Robert Lewandowski, center, celebrates with his teammate after scoring the winner against Mallorca. AP

Robert Lewandowski’s lethal finish sent Barcelona provisionally top of La Liga with a tight 1-0 win at Real Mallorca on Saturday.

Marc-Andre ter Stegen kept a fifth consecutive clean sheet in the top flight and, along with Lewandowski’s brilliantly taken strike in the 20th minute, it was enough to put Barcelona one point clear of Real Madrid, who host Osasuna on Sunday.

Earlier Atletico Madrid cruised to a 2-0 win over a toothless Sevilla, increasing the pressure on Julen Lopetegui.

Marcos Llorente and Alvaro Morata’s goals took Atletico provisionally up to sixth, while leaving the hosts 16th, just a point above the relegation zone.

In Mallorca, Xavi Hernandez’s side demonstrated they are ironing out the creases which caused them so many problems last season, improving both defensively and in attack, with the relentless Lewandowski leading the charge.

Barcelona’s coach earned a new domestic record of 18 consecutive league matches on the road without defeat, moving ahead of former Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane.

Ter Stegen, who has started this season in top form, beat his own personal record of 500 minutes without conceding in La Liga, reaching 534 minutes and counting.

At the other end, Lewandowski leads the scoring charts in Spain on nine goals from seven games, after clinically curling into the bottom corner to break the deadlock against Mallorca.

“This win will help us ahead of some very tricky weeks,” Ter Stegen told Movistar.

“The record isn’t as important as the win. I’m sure it will give me confidence. These wins put you in a good dynamic, these games mean a lot.

“They help us maintain the pressure on Real Madrid.”

Showing grit 

Xavi deployed young left-back Alejandro Balde out of position on the right side of his defence because of injuries to Ronald Araujo, Jules Kounde and Hector Bellerin, and brought Ansu Fati into the starting line-up.

It was the 19-year-old’s first start in La Liga since November 2021, after a string of injury problems, and his burst forward contributed to Barcelona’s opening goal.

The winger, left out of Luis Enrique’s most recent Spain squad and desperate to impress to try and get the call-up for the World Cup, fed Lewandowski, who cut inside and finished like few others can.

Mallorca should have levelled 15 minutes later but Marc-Andre ter Stegen made a superb save to deny Jaume Costa from close range.

Barcelona struggled to create more openings and the game threatened to boil over, with a flurry of bookings and Xavi’s assistant and brother, Oscar Hernandez, being issued a red card for apparent dissent.

Kang-in Lee sent a shot agonisingly wide of the far post as Mallorca tried to hit Barcelona on the counter at the death.

In previous seasons Barcelona might have caved, but Xavi’s side are starting to prove their fortitude.

“Generally we did very well, we limited them to just two chances, Ter Stegen made a brilliant save and Lewandowski scored a great goal,” said Xavi.

“(However) it would be poor to limit it to that. We defended very well. They are players that make the difference, but I would say the team competed well.”

At the Ramon Sanchez-Pizjuan and with only one win from seven league games, Sevilla supporters jeered their own side.

Sevilla coach Lopetegui said he would focus on the things he could control, amid speculation the club are considering his future.

“I’m focused on what’s up to me, these are circumstances intrinsic to football,” said Lopetegui.

“The situation is not one we wanted. I’m sure the team will turn it around. I am sad today, being weak is something else.”

Atletico dominated, with Morata missing two big chances and Llorente drilling into the far corner in the 29th minute, beyond the reach of Bono.

After a mistake by Jose Carmona, Morata doubled the lead before the hour mark, neatly lofting home.

Only impressive saves from Bono prevented Cunha and substitute Antoine Griezmann from adding to Atletico’s lead, as they answered their critics after derby defeat by Real Madrid.

“The team was a team again, we worked all together,” Atletico coach Simeone told DAZN.

Earlier Villarreal, sixth, could not find a way past Cadiz goalkeeper Jeremias Ledesma in a 0-0 draw on the road, while Real Valladolid won 3-2 at Getafe.

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