Ruthless Bayern Munich scored five goals in the first 35 minutes on the way to a 7-1 demolition of AS Roma on Tuesday which bore an uncanny resemblance to Germany's win over Brazil by the same score in the World Cup semi-final.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique allowed himself a brief moment to savour Saturday's King's Cup triumph over Athletic Bilbao.
Paris St Germain went out of the Europa League despite a 4-2 win over Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday, losing their place to fellow big spenders Salzburg who fought back to win 3-2 at Slovan Bratislava.
Spain coach Luis Enrique promised evolution rather than revolution when he took charge of the national side following their disastrous World Cup campaign this year when they were eliminated in the round of 16.
Real Madrid have started the season flying with three wins from three games.
Injured Barcelona forward Lionel Messi is almost irreplaceable but the Spanish champions are determined to put his temporary absence behind them, coach Pep Guardiola said on Tuesday.
Substitute Sergio Araujo struck a late equaliser as Las Palmas held Real Madrid to a 2-2 draw and left them with a one-point lead over Barcelona at the top of La Liga on Saturday.
La Liga leaders Barcelona beat Real Madrid 1-0 to all but knock their rivals out of the title race on Saturday, while second-placed Atletico Madrid stayed seven points behind the Catalans with a 2-0 win at Real Sociedad on Sunday.
Antoine Griezmann headed two goals for Atletico Madrid in a 3-1 victory over Levante that kept them on the heels of La Liga leaders Real Madrid on Saturday.
Celta Vigo thrashed Barcelona 4-1 on Wednesday with Iago Aspas hitting a double.
Midfielder Santi Cazorla gave the home side the lead in the fourth minute of the game, which was rescheduled due to Real's participation in last month's Club World Cup, by bending a wonderful shot into the bottom corner.
Real coach Julen Lopetegui has come in for fierce criticism this season, having presided over a run of five games without a win -- the team going eight hours and one minute without scoring -- before Tuesday's unconvincing 2-1 triumph over Viktoria Plzen that saw the team whistled off the pitch by their own fans.
Lionel Messi rescued a nervy Barcelona with a late goal to earn a 2-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao in a thrilling La Liga match on Sunday.
Spain striker Fernando Llorente scored in Athletic Bilbao's 2-1 La Liga victory over struggling Real Zaragoza on Sunday to continue his prolific recent run.
Cani's brilliant effort from just inside Osasuna's half helped Villarreal to a 4-2 home win as La Liga reached the midway point of the season on Saturday.
Eric Abidal crowned a superb defensive display with a rare goal to help Barcelona to a 1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday and put the La Liga leaders through to the quarter-finals of the King's Cup on away goals.
Second division Mirandes caused an upset by knocking Deportivo La Coruna out of the King's Cup on Tuesday and Sevilla joined them in the quarter-finals after making light work of city rivals Real Betis.
'We want to play football and not roulette, which is what this type of refereeing provokes. The penalty claims by Neymar and me are clear but we already know how this works'
Atletico Madrid's Jackson Martinez scored his first goal for the club when he came off the bench and curled in a superb effort to seal a hard-fought 3-0 victory at Sevilla in La Liga on Sunday.
Villarreal continued their impressive revival after a season in the second division when Jeremy Perbet and Jonathan Pereira struck in a 2-1 win at home to Espanyol in La Liga on Thursday.
Messi stretched Barca's lead by finishing off a brilliant move with Luis Suarez in the 50th minute and the Uruguayan joined his close friend and strike partner on 15 league goals by robbing an Eibar defender and finishing inside the near post in the 68th.
Champions Barcelona lost 2-0 at Celta Vigo while Getafe earned an important 2-0 win over Girona in their bid to secure Champions League qualification.
World Champion Viswanathan Anand played out a quick draw with Vladimir Kramnik of Russia to remain in second spot after the end of the third round of the Bilbao final masters tournament.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique has decided to rest Lionel Messi, Neymar and most of his regulars for the King's Cup last 16, second leg match at Elche later on Thursday.
Barcelona striker Lionel Messi has returned home to Argentina but remains doubtful for World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Venezuela with his club confirming the 29-year-old is struggling with a sore left hamstring.
The Manchester United keeper let a tame shot from Cristiano Ronaldo through his arms for Portugal's second goal on Friday and has been criticised in Spain for his badly positioned defensive wall when Ronaldo struck the late equaliser.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
A moment of genius from Lionel Messi lit up the Nou Camp as Barcelona eased to a 3-1 win over Villarreal in La Liga on Saturday that put them two points clear of arch-rivals Real Madrid at the top of the standings.
Barcelona striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has been ruled out for the visit of Arsenal in the Champions League next week after picking up a calf injury on Saturday, the club said in a statement.
UEFA Cup holders Shakhtar Donetsk were knocked out of the Europa League after being held to a 1-1 draw by visitors Fulham in their round of 32 tie Thursday. Former European champions Liverpool and Juventus progressed to the last 16 and Werder Bremen striker Claudio Pizarro scored a hat-trick as his side went through with a 4-1 win over former England manager Steve McLaren's Twente Enschede.
David Villa netted twice to fire Valencia to a 4-1 win over 10-man Villarreal in La Liga on Sunday and lift Unai Emery's side to within three points of second-placed Real Madrid.
The knee injury Barcelona forward Thierry Henry sustained in Saturday's 6-2 win at Real Madrid has made him a major doubt for the UEFA Champions League final against Manchester United. Henry will miss the King's Cup final against Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday and the next three Spanish Primera Liga fixtures against Villarreal, Real Mallorca and Osasuna.
Real Madrid will not take any risk in rushing forward Gareth Bale back from injury and the Wales international will only return when he is ready, manager Zinedine Zidane said. Bale has not played since Jan. 17 after damaging a calf muscle in a La Liga match against Sporting Gijon. Spanish media have reported that Bale, whose Real career has been blighted by a succession of injuries, suffered a setback in his recovery. Zidane said Real needed to be "calm" about an injury that has been "going on for a bit more time for him". "If he's uncomfortable and it hurts him, it's normal that he could have a setback," Zidane told a news conference on Friday. "He's a very important player for us and we're not going to take any risks. We want him at 100 percent, not at 80 or 85." Zidane said Bale was "in good spirits" although he is set to miss at least the first leg of Real's Champions League last-16 clash with AS Roma in Italy on Wednesday.
Chelsea coach Maurizio Sarri said the refusal of his goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga to be substituted in Sunday's League Cup final was the result of a "big misunderstanding", adding that the Spaniard "was right but in the wrong way".
The result also means second-placed Real Sociedad can reclaim top spot if they beat Eibar on Sunday.
Here are five talking points from the weekend in La Liga.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Alhassane Keita's goal gave struggling Real Mallorca a 1-0 first-leg advantage over Real Betis in their King's Cup quarter-final on Thursday. The Guinean forward evaded two defenders chasing a long ball over the top to score midway through the second half.
Barcelona and Real Madrid maintained their perfect La Liga starts on Saturday, with Zlatan Ibrahimovic setting the champions on their way to a 2-0 victory at Malaga and Real winning 3-0 at home to Tenerife.
Barcelona moved to within a whisker of a second straight La Liga crown when Lionel Messi, Bojan Krkic and Pedro earned a nervy 3-2 win at 10-man Sevilla on Saturday.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances