European football: Inter fritter away two-goal lead; goalkeepers sent off for fighting in Spain

Stuttgart were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Werder Bremen, denting their hopes of a return to the Champions League. Bremen’s Jens Stage continued his rich run of form, putting the visitors ahead early before Ermedin Demirovic levelled four minutes after coming on in the second half.

Stuttgart sit in fourth place and are level on points with Hoffenheim but ahead on goal difference, while Leverkusen are lurking two points behind. Stuttgart still have to play Hoffenheim and Leverkusen, as well as Frankfurt.

Rayo Vallecano rallied late to draw 3-3 with Real Sociedad in a La Liga match marked by a sudden turn of events after VAR erased a Rayo goal and awarded a penalty to Sociedad instead.

Rayo thought they had equalised 2-2 through Pedro Díaz in the 69th minute at Vallecas Stadium, but the goal was called back after the referee went to video review and awarded a penalty to Sociedad for a foul earlier in the buildup. Mikel Oyarzabal converted the 76th-minute penalty to make it 3-1 to the visitors. Rayo found a way to even the match with goals from Florian Lejeune in the 84th and Alemão in the ninth minute of stoppage time.

Sevilla plunged deeper into danger of relegation with a 2-1 defeat at Osasuna. The visitors took the lead through Neal Maupay in the 69th minute but Raúl García pulled the hosts level and Alejandro Catena struck in stoppage time. Sevilla are 18th, a point behind Real Mallorca, who lost at Alaves on Saturday.

Real Zaragoza’s goalkeeper Esteban Andrada was sent off for punching Huesca’s captain, Jorge Pulido, in a fiery Spanish second division clash that descended into a mass brawl, with Huesca’s keeper Dani Jiménez dismissed for punching Andrada.

Zaragoza’s Dani Tasende was also dismissed after a VAR review of the brawl.

With tensions simmering in a relegation scrap, Argentinian Andrada lost his composure moments before the final whistle. Ignoring the run of play, he approached Pulido and struck him in the face with his right hand, sparking chaotic scenes eight minutes into stoppage time. It was an ugly flashpoint in a match already short on finesse and heavy on nerves, and could carry serious consequences for the goalkeeper.

Huesca’s manager, José Luis, did not attempt to defend the scenes. “It’s hard to explain – I think it’s a complete loss of control. I can put myself in their shoes, given what was at stake and all. But it’s unjustifiable. It’s just that I don’t know what to do or how to stop it; a brawl breaks out,” he said.

“It’s ugly; this was supposed to be a celebration of Aragonese football. I’d like people to talk about the match, even though it was ugly, with little play but a lot of hard work.“

Óscar Sielva’s goal secured a 1-0 win for Huesca, lifting them to 36 points in 19th place, while Zaragoza remain second-bottom on 35.