After seeing the replay, OG is the correct call. The shot was wide of the goal and the deflection by the defender put it on goal.
8 red cards? I may have to start watching women’s football.
…and then a hockey game broke out!
Ironically there’s no fighting in women’s hockey.
.
.
.
.
.
.
Okay that’s probably not true, but way, way less of the hurly burly than the men’s game.
Nevermind
Really? FIFA lying about WC attendance? NOOOOO! (said with sarcastic groan)
As a distraction from World Cup action, I offer the following:
So it looks like Real Madrid is hosting Deportivo Alavés on the weekend we’ll be there. But the schedule just shows the match on the weekend, but not whether it’s Saturday or Sunday. We could attend a Saturday game, but not on Sunday. When do they decide on the date and when do tickets typically go on sale? Also, is this a good matchup?
It looks like Atletico Madrid is playing away that weekend, which makes sense.
I don’t know when, but check whether there is a Champions League match the previous week ot the week after that. I guess that is not scheduled yet, as I believe some teams have yet to qualify (may be wrong here with the World Cup and that). But if Madrid plays in the Champions the Tuesday after “your” weekend they will play on Saturday to have a longer resting period. Should there be no Champions match the week after “your” weekend they will probably play Sunday.
Last season Alavés finished 14th with 43 points, Real Madrid finished second with 86. On paper Madrid should attack, Alavés will defend, and Madrid will end up winning.
That is a coincidence, they play in their own grounds. In Madrid there is also Rayo Vallecano (in a working class neighborhood) and Getafe (a bit on the suburbs side - working class suburbs, nothing like suburbs in the USA), who may play in Madrid or away that week-end. If they happened to play against Barcelona in Madrid that week-end I would rather watch that game, but that is me. Rayo and Getafe finished 8th and 7th, respectively. Small stadiums, but Rayo’s in particular is interesting:
It’s not coincidence that Real and Atletico Madrid aren’t playing at home the same weekend. When making the draw certain teams are “paired” so that they don’t play at home at the same time. This is to avoid pressure on local transport, infrastructure and police if both sides are playing at home. You’ll also find certain pairings in other leagues, for example in England, Man Utd/Man City, Liverpool/Everton and Arsenal/Tottenham
The very first day and they both play at home already:
Probably one will play on Saturday and the other on Sunday, but both at home. I did not check the rest of the year, but the only two weekends they will surely not both play at home is when they play against each other. The rest? Pure chance.
That can be achieved by splitting the games Saturday and Sunday, and they do.
My mistake about La Liga, but it’s certainly something that happens in the Premier League and in European Competition
I understand the argument, and it’s a good one, but for some reason it does not apply to La Liga. At least not this season, maybe it did in the past. No problem.
Looks like they’re both playing away that week.
This site is showing tickets for the Real Madrid vs Alaves match on Sunday 29-Nov, but I don’t know if that is officially the date: Buy Real Madrid CF vs Deportivo Alavés Tickets - 29 Nov 2026
They try to do that here with River and Boca and specially Independiente and Racing whose stadiums are about a block distant of one another.
My personal theory of the apocalypse is that someday they’ll slip and there will be Racing-Boca, Independiente-River simultaneous matches in Avellaneda…
(The rounded stadium is Racing’s, the blocky one is Independiente’s)
If it works like the Premier League, the “official” dates can easily be changed after being announced. So I would not take the website’s calendar as a guarantee that the game will absolutely be played on that day. Think of it as having been “penciled in”.
Thanks, we’ll have to hold off on making any ticket decisions until an official date is announced. Thank you all for your help.
Our local arena (TD Boston Garden) hosts the Celtics (basketball) and Bruins (ice hockey). When they play on the same day they have to switch over in a matter of hours by removing (or adding) the basketball floor with the ice underneath. It’s an interesting process.
The site you link to writes at the top:
Santiago Bernabeu, Madrid, Spain
29 Nov 2026 19:00 Date & Time to be Confirmed
And what Thing.Fish wrote. Maybe Sunday, maybe Saturday, if you’re lucky. It will probably not be sold out until quite late, if at all, so take your time until the date is confirmed. If you stay in a hotel in Madrid they often offer tickets to Real and Atlético matches, you could leave it to a last minute decision.
Doesn’t La Liga also have Monday games? Maybe I’m misremembering.
Yes, indeed, sometimes they do, every now and then. But not every week, I believe? Makes everything more complicated for Telemark.
Thanks, this is valuable information.