Valencia lost ground in the battle with Atletico Madrid and Sevilla for third place in La Liga when they conceded a late Aritz Aduriz equaliser in a bad-tempered 1-1 draw at Athletic Bilbao on Thursday.
Aritz Aduriz nodded the first goal and set up another as Athletic Bilbao beat Espanyol 3-1 to climb to ninth in La Liga on Friday.
Valencia's Pablo Piatti scored twice to set up a meeting with Barcelona in the King's Cup semi-finals after helping his side to a 7-1 aggregate win at city rivals Levante on Thursday.
Andres Iniesta came off the bench to score as Barcelona battled to a 3-1 win over struggling Real Mallorca on Saturday, while Valencia moved up to second with an impressive home victory over Atletico Madrid by the same scoreline. Barcelona are top with 44 points from 17 matches, 11 ahead of Valencia, who saw off rivals Atletico at the Mestalla thanks to two goals from David Silva and a David Villa penalty.
Reigning champions Spain left it late but Gerard Pique's 87th-minute header earned them a deserved 1-0 victory over a dogged Czech Republic in their Euro 2016 Group D opener on Monday.
Athletic Bilbao missed a chance to tighten their grip on Spain's fourth Champions League qualification place when they had to come from behind to rescue a 1-1 draw at 10-man Villarreal in La Liga on Monday.
Real Madrid went five points clear at the top of La Liga after coming through a testing game at Athletic Bilbao to win 2-1 thanks to Brazilian midfield lynchpin Casemiro's strike on Saturday.
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.
King's Cup holders Barcelona have a fight on their hands if they are to remain in the competition after losing a fiery first leg of their last-16 tie at Athletic Club 2-1 on Thursday despite playing the final 10 minutes with a two-man advantage. Spain striker Aritz Aduriz headed Bilbao in front in the 25th minute and the veteran produced an audacious flick to tee up youngster Inaki Williams to volley in the second three minutes later. Talisman Lionel Messi pulled a full-strength Barca side back into the game with a free-kick in the 52nd minute which came off the underside of the bar and over the line.
La Liga champions Barcelona fell to their first opening day defeat of the season in 11 years when they were beaten 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao thanks to a sensational late overhead kick from veteran striker Aritz Aduriz.
Spain huffed and puffed, making hard work of their Euro 2016 opener before a late Gerard Pique goal blew away the CzechRepublic resistance -- yet it could not conceal further evidence that Vicente del Bosque's champions may lack a killer instinct.
La Liga leaders Real Madrid suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat at mid-table Athletic Bilbao on Saturday after a bullet header from Aritz Aduriz in the first half secured the points.
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has defended his decision to use the same starting side in all three Euro 2016 games so far.
Premier League-based trio Diego Costa, Juan Mata and Santi Cazorla were among a high-profile list of absentees when Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque named his provisional 25-man squad for Euro 2016 on Tuesday. Costa injured his hamstring against Liverpool in Chelsea's penultimate game of the season. Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres was also absent from the squad despite his improved form towards the end of the season, as were Arsenal midfielder Cazorla and Valencia forward Paco Alcacer, Spain's top scorer in their qualifying campaign.
'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'
Arsenal right back Hector Bellerin will be in Spain's Euro 2016 squad, the country's football federation said on Tuesday. The 21-year-old Bellerin and the other 18 players named to face South Korea in a friendly in Wals-Siezenheim, Austria on Wednesday, have been guaranteed spots in the European Championship squad. Bellerin was included after Real Madrid right back Dani Carvajal sustained a leg muscle injury in Saturday's Champions League final victory over Atletico Madrid. The Real Madrid and Atletico players in the squad will be named later on Tuesday when Spain coach Vicente del Bosque announces his final list.
Villarreal set up a King's Cup semis against Barca after Gerard Moreno gave them a 1-0 win
Striker Aduriz opened the scoring in the sixth minute at the San Mames with a trademark header before midfielder Garcia, who joined from Atletico Madrid last month, nodded in a second in the 24th minute.
Aritz Aduriz scored his first goal for Spain at the age of 35 to give the European champions a fortuitous 1-1 draw away to Italy in a Euro 2016 warm-up for both teams on Thursday.
In his absence, the league champions have made a lacklustre start to the season, losing their opening game to Athletic Bilbao before taking just four points from fixtures against Real Betis and Osasuna.
The value of an in-form striker was underlined as Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool and Athletic Bilbao needed goals from pivotal front men to grab vital wins that booked places in the Europa League last 32 on Thursday.
Ibrahimovic has not played since suffering a career-threatening knee ligament injury in United's Europa League quarter-final second leg match against Anderlecht at Old Trafford in April.
Athletic Bilbao checked promoted Villarreal's impressive early-season run when they beat the team with the distinctive canary-yellow strip 2-0 at their new San Mames stadium in La Liga on Monday.
Spain are steadily turning to the next generation ahead of their Euro 2016 opener against the Czech Republic later on Monday as the defending champions look to redeem themselves after a miserable World Cup two years ago. For Spain's disappointing showing in 2014, coach Vicente del Bosque retained 16 of the squad that won the title in 2010, but only eight winners remain for Euro 2016, with players such as Alvaro Morata, Hector Bellerin and Thiago Alcantara introduced as part of a significant changing of the guard. Sergio Ramos is confident the new boys, five of whom were part of the 2013 European under 21-winning side, can lead Spain into a new golden era.
Athletic Bilbao claimed their first silverware in more than three decades when they wrapped up a 5-1 aggregate win over 10-man Barcelona to win the Spanish Super Cup on Monday and unleash ecstatic celebrations in the Basque city.
Marcelino dismissed but Valencia keep pressure on Barcelona
Cristiano Ronaldo's bullet header helped Real Madrid to a 2-0 victory .
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 4-2 in a thrilling match at the Bernabeu to move within a point of leaders Barcelona in La Liga on Saturday.
Napoli went down 3-1 at home to RB Leipzig, Arsenal and AC Milan enjoyed comfortable away wins, and Borussia Dortmund's Michy Batshuayi scored twice to secure a 3-2 victory in Europa League last 32, first leg action
Joao Miranda and new signing Mario Mandzukic led Atletico Madrid to a 2-1 home win in La Liga on Saturday as visitors Eibar were unable to cope with the aerial threat of the champions.
Atletico Madrid surrendered top spot in La Liga to Barcelona when they were held to a 0-0 draw at home to 10-man Sevilla in a fiercely contested La Liga clash on Sunday.
For all Vicente del Bosque's confidence that he has the right balance of experience and youth to return Spain to their familiar place on the winner's rostrum, questions remain about his best starting line-up ahead of Euro 2016.
Lionel Messi struck a spectacular free kick, scored another goal and set up two more in a 4-1 victory for Barcelona over nine-man city rivals Espanyol in the first leg of their King's Cup last-16 clash on Wednesday.
A summary of Thursday's matches in Europe's second tier club football tournament
From sharp, flying tackles and tough possession-fights, bloodied noses to scissor kicks in attempt to finding those crucial goals and the ecstatic celebrations thereafter, Rediff.com gives you a quick rewind of all the excitement that has transpired over the last five days across France...
Real Madrid maintained their pursuit for the title by defeating Malaga 3-1 late on Saturday.
Luis Suarez had the Barcelona fans chanting his name after he set up Lionel Messi to score the opening goal in their King's Cup semis.
IMAGES from the Europa League matches played on Thursday
Lionel Messi scored his 12th league goal of the season but Barcelona had to rely on exceptional saves from Marc-Andre ter Stegen as they rode their luck to win 2-0 at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday and stay four points clear at the top of La Liga.
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.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances