Former England and Manchester United defender Gary Neville is the new boss of Valencia -- his first managerial post.
Holders Barcelona reached the King's Cup semi-finals with a 2-0 win over Espanyol on Thursday to overcome a first-leg deficit on a night when new signing Philippe Coutinho made his debut.
Atletico Madrid set up a King's Cup final with city rivals Real after Diego Costa and Radamel Falcao scored in a 2-2 second leg draw at Sevilla on Wednesday, to progress 4-3 on aggregate.
Cristiano Ronaldo crushed Barcelona's treble hopes with two goals in a 3-1 away win for Real Madrid in their King's Cup last four, second leg on Tuesday to set up a showdown against Atletico Madrid or Sevilla in May's final.
Manchester City must rebuild for title challenge: Guardiola
Radamel Falcao's penalty ensured 10-man Atletico Madrid preserved their 100 percent home record in La Liga with a 1-0 victory over resurgent Espanyol on Sunday.
The Champions League group stages took on a less predictable look after Thursday's draw, helped by UEFA's decision to tweak the seeding system.
Real Madrid scrambled through to the final of the King's Cup with a 2-1 aggregate victory over Sevilla.
Manchester United's hopes of salvaging their season in the Europa League suffered a stinging setback when they lost 2-1 at Danish side Midtjylland in the first leg of their last-32 clash on Thursday.
Valencia climbed above Atletico Madrid and Sevilla into third in La Liga when Alvaro Negredo came off the bench to score a late winner in a 3-2 home victory over his former club Almeria on Saturday.
Cristiano Ronaldo warmed up in style for Wednesday's Champions League showdown with former club Manchester United by claiming a hat-trick and an assist as Real Madrid crushed Sevilla 4-1 in La Liga on Saturday.
Leaders Barcelona and second-placed Atletico Madrid took full advantage of Real Madrid's stumble on Sunday, Barca winning 4-0 at Levante and Atletico thumping visiting Sevilla by the same scoreline at the Calderon.
Coach Laurent Blanc parted ways with Paris St Germain, putting pen to paper on a 22-million-euro ($25 million) severance deal.
The AFA thanked 58-year-old Sampaoli and his assistants, who have also left their positions, for their services.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in his 150th European appearance to give Real Madrid a 3-1 victory at Borussia Dortmund, their first against them in Germany, and make it two wins out of two matches in their Champions League Group H.
Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema has not recovered sufficiently from a knee injury and has been left out of the squad for Tuesday's Champions League semi-final first leg at Juventus, the holders said on Monday.
The European champions, who were humbled 3-0 by tiny Eibar last week, took a fortuitous lead when Valencia midfielder Daniel Wass nodded a Dani Carvajal cross into his own net in the eighth minute after former Arsenal defender Gabriel Paulista had failed to clear the danger.
China's growing popularity as the preferred destination for ageing former English Premier League players shows no sign of slowing with striker Frederic Kanoute completing a move to Beijing Guoan, the Chinese Super League side said.
Rediff.com gives you a glimpse of the jubilant Catalan team...
After seeing Cristiano Ronaldo pick up a fifth Ballon d'Or on Thursday, Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane described the Portuguese forward as the greatest player ever.
The policy of buying players cheap and selling them for a higher price a few years on is a business model that worked well for clubs like Atletico Madrid and FC Porto. With the transfer window open for the next few weeks, Rediff.com takes a look at clubs that made smart deals over the years.
UEFA opened disciplinary proceedings against Dynamo Kiev on Thursday over alleged racist behaviour and crowd disturbances caused by their fans during Tuesday's Champions League match at the Olympiysky Stadium against Chelsea.
'This team is really good and we have invested a lot in it. Now we have to work with that'
Barcelona have been linked to a host of forwards during the winter transfer window as they seek experienced backup options for Luis Suarez.
Atletico Madrid have been unable to repeat the magnificent achievements of last season in this campaign but can congratulate themselves on a job well done if they secure a lucrative Champions League berth on Saturday.
The King's Cup final between record winners Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao on May 30 will be held at Barca's Nou Camp.
On a good night for English clubs in the Europa League, Manchester United hammered AZ Alkmaar 4-0, while Wolverhampton Wanderers also thrashed Besiktas 4-0 in Group K, and Arsenal came from two goals down to draw 2-2 away to Standard Liege and finish first in their pool. The upset of the night came in Group J as Crivelli scored a 90th-minute winner against Borussia Moenchengladbach to send Basaksehir through and knock the Germans out, with AS Roma grabbing the runner-up spot thanks to a 2-2 home draw with Wolfsberger as the Europa League group stage concluded on Thursday.
Barcelona fell to a first home defeat in any competition for more than two years
RB Leipzig scored twice in the opening 13 minutes but had to survive a late comeback from Manchester United to cling on to a 3-2 win on Tuesday that sent them into the Champions League knockout stage and eliminated the English side.
Atletico Madrid secured a berth in the Champions League group stage for next season and Deportivo La Coruna narrowly escaped relegation when they came from two goals down to draw 2-2 at champions Barcelona on the final day in La Liga on Saturday.
Real Madrid will go into next weekend's La Liga El Clasico at Barcelona eight points behind their great rivals after Cristiano Ronaldo netted a hat-trick in a 5-1 comeback win at home to promoted Deportivo Coruna on Sunday.
United's schedule contains 13 fixtures, including 11 league matches, but that total could potentially rise to 20 depending on their progress in the cup competitions.
Diego Costa scored twice as Atletico Madrid beat Valencia 3-0 to maintain their winning home run this season and keep pace with Barcelona at the top of the La Liga table.
Striker Roberto Soldado was left out of Spain's squad for Euro 2012 on Sunday, despite scoring a hat-trick in a friendly in March.
One player who is unlikely to be lining up for Liverpool for their Premier League opener against Arsenal on August 14 is defender Mamadou Sakho, who underwent treatment for a long-standing Achilles problem.
Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo has been given a two-match ban following his dismissal for kicking out at an opponent during their La Liga clash with Cordoba last Saturday, the Spanish league said on Wednesday.
Rediff.com brings you this and a lot more gripping sporting action from the week gone by...
Aritz Aduriz's second half hat-trick sent Barcelona spinning to a shock 4-0 defeat at Athletic Bilbao in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup on Friday.
Carlos Aranda's 90th-minute goal gave Real Zaragoza a 1-0 win at Levante in a King's Cup last 16 first-leg tie on Thursday while Real Betis were held to a 1-1 draw at second division Las Palmas.
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