Barcelona were gifted their 19th Primera Liga title without kicking a ball on Saturday when second-placed Real Madrid were beaten 3-2 at Villarreal. Robert Pires, Cani and Joan Capdevila scored for the hosts, delivering Barca's second piece of silverware in a week after the Catalans overcame Athletic Bilbao 4-1 in the King's Cup final on Wednesday. Barca can make it a treble by defeating Manchester United in the Champions League final in Rome on May 27.
Real Madrid's early-season woes deepened when they lost 2-1 at home to La Liga champions Atletico Madrid, while substitute Neymar struck twice in Barcelona's 2-0 win against visiting Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
Manchester City's Premier League home match against Arsenal has been postponed because players from the London club have had contact with the owner of Greek side Olympiakos Piraeus, who has contracted the coronavirus. Meanwhile La Liga matches will be played without fans for at least the next two rounds of fixtures to try to stop the spread of the coronavirus, the Spanish league said.
Barcelona teenager Ansu Fati scored twice to lead his side to a 2-1 win at home to Levante on Sunday, finding the net in a league game for the first time in more than four months and becoming the youngest player to net a La Liga double. Romelu Lukaku scored a quickfire second-half double to give Inter Milan a 2-0 win at Udinese on Sunday, ending their run of three successive 1-1 league draws.
Barcelona beat Girona 2-0 in a Catalan derby on Sunday to maintain their five-point lead at the top of La Liga, while Real Madrid thrashed Espanyol 4-2.
Karim Benzema made history at Real Madrid, the battle for the top four continues to heat up
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Here are five talking points from the weekend's action in La Liga.
Argentine striker Lautaro Acosta scored an injury-time winner to give Sevilla a 2-1 victory at home to Athletic Bilbao in their King's Cup semi-final first leg on Wednesday.
La Liga leaders Barcelona drew 0-0 at Huesca on Saturday and are nine points clear of second-placed Atletico Madrid, who cut the gap by beating Celta Vigo 2-0.
Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed a record 23rd La Liga hat-trick to guide leaders Real Madrid to a 3-0 victory over Celta Vigo. It also helped the European champions extend their club record winning streak to 18 matches in all competitions.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar motored past 100 goals for the season.
World champion Viswanathan Anand dropped out of contention for a top finish in the Bilbao Grand Slam final chess tournament after losing from a better position to Levon Aronian of Armenia in the eighth round.
Sevilla secured third place in the Primera Liga and automatic qualification for the Champions League when a last-minute header from Diego Perotti earned them a 1-0 home win over Deportivo Coruna on Saturday.
Viswanathan Anand settled for a draw with Ukrainian Vassily Ivanchuk in the first round of the Bilbao Grand Slam Final chess tournament.
With Vassily Ivanchuk and Magnus Carlsen eyeing his numero uno tag, World champion Viswanathan Anand, his pre-tournament favourite tag notwithstanding, just cannot afford to lower his guard in the Grand Slam Chess Final Masters starting in Bilbao, Spain, on Monday.
Barca, who were without injured talisman Lionel Messi, started on the back foot and fell behind when Nabil Fekir netted with a sublime angled strike in the 15th minute. Griezmann, who joined Barca last month from rivals Atletico Madrid, scored four minutes before halftime to level the scores.
Barcelona have been frighteningly good at home this season, scoring 15 goals in three games at the Nou Camp.
Barcelona beat local rivals Espanyol 2-0 in the Catalan derby on Saturday to maintain their 10 point lead at the top of La Liga, while Real Madrid scraped a 3-2 win against bottom side Huesca on Sunday.
Klaas Jan Huntelaar struck twice to help Real Madrid register a 5-2 win at 10-man Athletic Bilbao on Saturday and cut Barcelona's lead at the top of the Primera Liga to three points.
Cristiano Ronaldo is angry with his recent record in front of goal but not anxious about when he will find the net next, Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said on Friday.
Barcelona returned to winning ways and extended their Spanish Primera Liga lead with a 2-0 home victory over Athletic Bilbao on Saturday while Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw by city rivals Atletico at the Bernabeu. The win opened up a six-point gap over chasing Real, whose 10-match winning streak came to an end.
Chelsea agreed a deal to sign Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata, subject to the Spain international agreeing personal terms and passing a medical.
Juventus and Inter, who have 42 points each from 17 games, both play on Monday while Lazio, with 39 from 17, have an outstanding fixture at home to Verona to come in early February.
Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane made up for the absence of Sergio Ramos by scoring one goal and making another to help his side to a hard-fought 3-0 win at Getafe. La Liga leaders Barcelona were held to a 2-2 draw at struggling Espanyol on Saturday as China striker Wu Lei came off the bench to grab a late equaliser in a pulsating city derby.
Lionel Messi broke a Spanish hat-trick record and Luis Suarez struck twice as a rampant Barcelona took over top spot in La Liga with a 6-1 hammering of Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.
Barcelona and Sevilla claimed the final two places in the King's Cup semi-finals on Thursday, Barca knocking out city rivals Espanyol 3-2 and Sevilla coming through on away goals against holders Valencia. Sevilla, the 2007 winners, will play Athletic Bilbao for a place in May's final in Valencia, while Barca take on Real Mallorca.
World champion Vishwanathan Anand could not get the better of Teimour Radjabov's defence and settled for his second successive draw as second day of the Bilbao Grand Slam Final Chess tournament did not see a single result in any of the boards.
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde's conservatism was cited by the Spanish media as the main reason for their 3-0 defeat at AS Roma on Tuesday that led to a shock Champions League quarter-final elimination being regarded as 'a historic debacle'.
Luis Suarez picked up a hamstring strain in Tuesday's Champions League match at Bayern Munich.
The rest of Barcelona's squad will have to do "a little bit more" to make up for the absence of five-times World Player of the Year Lionel Messi for the next three weeks, according to captain Andres Iniesta. The Argentina forward faces a spell on the sidelines after sustaining a groin injury in Wednesday's 1-1 La Liga draw with Atletico Madrid. "There's no question we are stronger with Messi," Iniesta told Cadena Cope radio ahead of Saturday's match at Sporting Gijon. "When these things happen we all have to give a little bit more.
Gary Neville was sacked as Valencia manager on Wednesday as the club brought an end to his fraught four-month spell in charge after the former England and Manchester United defender had delivered only three league wins.
Vietto slotted the ball home with seven minutes to go after Karim Benzema had given visitors Real the lead early on.
World champion Viswanathan Anand on Tuesday fell from the top spot to be placed fifth in the latest world rankings issued by the game's world governing body FIDE. It is after a gap of over a decade that Anand is placed outside the top three.
Real Madrid suffered a shock 1-0 home defeat to Real Betis on Wednesday as an inspired performance from their former goalkeeper Antonio Adan and a stoppage-time winner from Antonio Sanabria stunned the Liga champions.
World champion Viswanathan Anand will take on world number four Vassily Ivanchuk of Ukraine in the first round of the Bilbao Grand Slam of chess. The event, which was opened on Monday, will be a crucial test for Anand ahead of the World Championship match against Vladimir Kramnik of Russia slated next month.
Neymar should return to Spain with renewed enthusiasm after leading Brazil to their first soccer gold medal at an Olympic Games, Barcelona defender Gerard Pique said. Neymar, who has scored 85 goals in 141 games in his three seasons at Barcelona, was given permission to stay in Brazil until after international games early next month. "I think it's a good decision to grant him (Neymar) that," Pique told El Mundo Deportivo. "He has earned it.
IMAGES from the soccer matches played in Spain and Italy on Saturday
Barcelona talisman has become just as dangerous from dead ball situations too
Images from football matches played across Europe on Sunday.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances