Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta believes his team will be made to suffer by Sevilla in the King's Cup final on Sunday, but that they will emerge victorious.
Barca are top on 72 points, Real have 66 and Sevilla, who lost 1-0 at home to Osasuna on Saturday, are a distant third on 52.
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Real Madrid's Gareth Bale came off the bench and coolly converted a controversial penalty to secure a 2-1 win at Levante in La Liga on Sunday as the European champions rode their luck to stay within nine points of leaders Barcelona.
Influential Spain defender Gerard Pique has said he will retire from international soccer after the 2018 World Cup, because he is "tired" of the criticism levelled at him from supporters. The Barcelona centre-back was the focus of attention in Sunday's World Cup qualifier with Albania after having cut off the sleeves from his shirt which bore Spain's colours of yellow and red. Pique, who has an awkward relationship with Spain fans for his repeated jibes at Real Madrid and his support for a referendum on Catalan independence, was heavily criticised on social media and in the sports press for the act.
Barcelona shook off the disappointment of their Champions League defeat by Chelsea to extend their lead in the Primera Liga to 11 points with a 2-0 defeat of Athletic Bilbao.
Viswanathan Anand drew with tournament leader Levon Aronian of Armenia in the eighth and penultimate round to stay in sixth position at the Altibox Norway chess tournament in Stavanger, Norway.
Manchester United said they would be prepared to accept a conditional transfer bid from the Catalan giants.
It is a scenario few could have foreseen after Real won a Liga and Champions League double last term and began this season so convincingly.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday
Cristiano Ronaldo scored the 750th goal of his remarkable career in a 3-0 win over Dynamo Kyiv on Wednesday
IMAGES from the Champions League 2nd semi-final first leg match between Barcelona and Liverpool at Nou Camp on Wednesday
'You realise the fear when Barcelona could get knocked out. It would hurt UEFA a lot. I don't know what they have to do for someone to send one of them off'
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi will be out for between six and eight weeks with a hamstring injury, the La Liga leaders said on Monday.
France international Dembele scored 10 goals and provided 20 assists in all competitions to help Dortmund finish third in the Bundesliga last season. The team also won the German Cup.
The centre-back was at the Madrid Open earlier this week, reportedly to discuss a 16-team knockout tournament with ATP Tour chief Chris Kermode. It would potentially replace the former World Team Cup event on the ATP calendar that was played from 1975 to 2012 ahead of Roland Garros.
Pep Guardiola will return to the Nou Camp in the Champions League group stage after his new club Manchester City were drawn against his former Barcelona team on Thursday. The two sides were drawn in Group C alongside Borussia Moenchengladbach and former European champions Celtic in one of the toughest of the eight sections. Spanish coach Guardiola, who won the Champions League twice with Barca, faced the Catalans when he was in charge of Bayern Munich two seasons ago and suffered a 5-3 defeat in the semi-finals.
The Catalan club is also close to reaching a deal to sign Sporting Lisbon's highly rated young winger Ricardo Quaresma.
Barca must beat Villareal on the weekend if they are to stand a chance of overhauling Real in the run in.
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The Brazilian World Cup winner tore a muscle in his right thigh and will almost certainly miss Barcelona's clash with arch rivals Real Madrid.
The Barcelona forward will miss Brazil's WC qualifiers against Peru and Uruguay due to a torn thigh muscle in his right leg.
Winning the treble last season has spurred Barcelona to try and win all six trophies up for grabs this year and replicate the feat they achieved in 2009, midfielder Andres Iniesta said on Monday.
Sevilla became surprise Liga leaders on Sunday after beating visiting Celta Viga 2-1 while champions Barcelona drew 1-1 at Valencia thanks to another Lionel Messi strike but are still without a victory in their last four league games.
Barcelona closed in on the La Liga title after beating 10-man Atletico Madrid 2-0 in Saturday's top-of-the-table showdown at the Nou Camp as late strikes by Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi gave the Catalans an 11-point lead at the top of the table.
World rapid champion Viswanathan Anand played out an easy draw with world No 1 Magnus Carlsen of Norway in the ninth round of the Tata Steel Masters in Wijk Aan Zee, the Netherlands. Settling for his sixth draw in nine games, Anand took his tally to five points and remains joint-sixth in the 14 players, 13-round tournament.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Champions Barcelona moved five points clear at the top of La Liga with a 2-1 win at Getafe, while Real Madrid fell to a 2-0 defeat by Real Sociedad.
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Three of Europe's biggest football clubs -- Barcelona, Manchester United and Juventus -- are teaming up for a pre-season tour of the United States to open new marketing opportunities and promote the sport there, the Spanish club said on Monday.
Two goalkeeping blunders from Ricardo Gonzalez gifted a below-par Mexico a 2-0 victory over Costa Rica.
Philippe Coutinho's versatility makes him a great acquisition for Barcelona, coach Ernesto Valverde said on Sunday as the Brazilian made his first public appearance at the Nou Camp following his 142-million-pound ($192.57-million) move from Liverpool.
Real Zaragoza went into the semi-finals of the King's Cup, drawing the second leg 1-1 to clinch a 2-1 aggregate victory.
