La Liga

GAVI suffered an embarrassing wardrobe malfunction during Barcelona’s 1-0 win over Athletic Bilbao last night.The 18-year-old was picked by boss Xavi alongside Sergio Busquets and Frenkie de Jong in midfield.
Gavi endured a moment to forgetCredit: LaLiga TV
The 18-year-old was in action for Barcelona against Athletic BilbaoCredit: Getty
He put in a typically tenacious performance… but his evening threatened to end on a bum note.
Gavi put himself about, even trying to tackle an opponent with his HEAD while on the ground – risking being kicked in the face for his team.
The academy graduate didn’t come out of the challenge badly, but he wasn’t so fortunate on another occasion.
While sliding for the ball, Gavi’s backside unfortunately slipped out of his shorts.
READ MORE IN FOOTBALL
Eagle-eyed fans spotted the highly-rated star’s full rear end.
Seeing the incident, one fan joked: “Today Gavi has given everything, even his a**.”
His efforts weren’t in vain, however, with Barcelona coming up with another vital three points in the title race.
Xavi’s men took the lead on the stroke of half-time, Raphinha rifling a right-footed shot home after a brilliant pass by Busquets.
Most read in Football
HOW TO GET FREE BETS ON THE CHELTENHAM FESTIVAL
Gavi made a determined challenge with his HEADCredit: LaLiga TV
The goal was initially flagged for offside, before the call was overturned by VAR.
Athletic Club pushed for an equaliser in the second half, but found Marc-Andre ter Stegen in inspired form.
They thought they’d finally equalised late on, when Inaki Williams belted home from close range.
After a lengthy VAR check, however, Iker Muniain was adjudged to have hand-balled in the build-up – much to the fury of the majority present at San Mames.
Inaki Williams thought he’d equalised… only to be denied by VARCredit: AFP More

FANS couldn’t help but respect Gavi’s “twisted” act to help Barcelona win and maintain their title charge.The LaLiga leaders scraped a 1-0 win away at Athletic Bilbao to retain their nine-point gap over Real Madrid at the top.
Gavi made an incredibly unorthodox tackle for BarcelonaCredit: LaLiga TV
The teenager put his head at risk to dispossess Dani GarciaCredit: LaLiga TV
The move prompted a mixed reaction on social mediaCredit: LaLiga TV

And they had midfielder Gavi to thank for an incredible tackle that left viewers baffled.
With 22 minutes on the clock, the energetic youngster made the bonkers decision to dispossess Dani Garcia with a sliding tackle with his HEAD.
As Garcia went to play the pass, Gavi came flying across the turf head first and knocked the ball away cleanly with his noggin.
But viewers were split over whether it was genius and brave or downright stupid from the 18-year-old La Masia graduate.
READ MORE IN FOOTBALL
One said: “Honestly at this point you gotta respect it from Gavi. This guy is twisted.”
Another wrote: “Gavi, the warrior 🔥”
A third added: “Ladies and gentlemen, this is Gavi for you! 😱👀”
Another commented: “Wow! This guy is something. Superb.”
Most read in Football
BETTING SPECIAL – BEST FOOTBALL BETTING SITES IN THE UK
And Barca legend Carles Puyol tweeted: “Gavi 🙌🙌🙌”
But one replied: “Dangerous play.”
And a final user commented: “Don’t mean to be pessimistic or anything but if he keeps going like this he’s in for a short career.”
Plenty of others compared the unorthodox tackling technique to Phil Jones and hilariously cited the forgotten Manchester United centre-back as Gavi’s idol and inspiration behind the “signature move”.

Amazingly, that was not the only time Gavi put his head into a compromising situation in yesterday’s game as he put in another masterclass performance to boss the midfield.
Another incident saw the 2022 Golden Boy winner head the ball as Raul Garcia went to kick it, again risking a potentially serious injury.
Fans made the comparisons to Phil Jones’ effort against ArsenalCredit: Getty Images – Getty
The midfielder is not afraid to get stuck inCredit: Reuters
He won the 2022 Golden Boy award and is one of the world’s best young talentsCredit: Getty
The victory saw Barca take another giant step towards the LaLiga titleCredit: Getty More

BARCELONA have been charged with corruption over claims the Catalans paid off the head of Spain’s refereeing committee for 17 YEARS.The Spanish giants are accused of syphoning more than £6million to a company owned by Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, who served as the committee’s vice-president between 1994 and 2018.
The LaLiga side have been charged with corruptionCredit: Getty
Barcelona are said to have made the payments between 2001 and 2018, including the four-year spell they were coached by Pep Guardiola — although there are no suggestions the Manchester City boss was aware of the agreement.
Spanish LaLiga chief Javier Tebas turned the matter over to state prosecutors because the alleged payments were outside his competition’s statute of limitations.
And now Barca, former presidents Josep Maria Bartomeu and Sandro Rosell, and Negreira have all been hit with official corruption charges.
Last week Tebas said current Barca president Joan Laporta would have to resign if the charges were proven.
READ MORE IN FOOTBALL
He added: “It doesn’t matter if it’s Barcelona or anybody else  — this is about the reputation of LaLiga.
“We are acting on the criminality side of this with the Spanish government.
“Barcelona have to explain a lot about those payments.”
Club chief Laporta has denied any impropriety.
Most read in Football
Laporta insisted: “Let it be clear. Barca have never bought referees and Barca have never had the intention of buying referees — absolutely never.”
Real Madrid have responded to Barcelona’s charges by calling for an urgent board meeting to determine their response.
The reigning LaLiga champions’ board will meet at noon tomorrow to decide on their next steps.
Real Madrid chief Florentino Perez has called an urgent board meetingCredit: EPA More