zidane Image: Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane. Photograph: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images. An elated but pragmatic Zinedine Zidane has quickly turned his mind from the Champions League victory against AS Roma to Real Madrid's seemingly impossible task to catch Barcelona in La Liga. Real are getting better under Zidane, unbeaten in seven matches in all competitions after Wednesday's 2-0 win in the first leg of their last-16 tie in Rome, thanks to a brilliant Cristiano Ronaldo. But only a couple of hours earlier, Barcelona had left Real and Atletico Madrid with a tough task to overhaul them in the league race when they secured a six-point cushion with a 3-1 win at Sporting Gijon. With 14 matches to go for all the teams in La Liga, Barcelona have 60 points to Atletico's 54 and Real's 53 and are favourites to win a sixth title in eight seasons. "We are seven points behind and it will be difficult, but we are giving it everything and we are all happy," Zidane was quoted as saying on the Real website (www.realmadrid.com).
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Juventus won a second consecutive double when substitute Alvaro Morata's extra-time goal secured a 1-0 Italian Cup final win over AC Milan who missed out on Europe for a third successive season on Saturday.
Sacked Real Madrid coach Rafa Benitez says it was "an honour and privilege" to lead the club he has always supported and has sent a "good luck" message to his successor, former France great Zinedine Zidane.
AS Roma slipped up in their pursuit of Serie A leaders Juventus as they salvaged a 1-1 draw at mid-table Palermo on Saturday thanks to a second-half Mattia Destro equaliser.
AS Roma were dumped out of the Italian Cup on penalties by second-tier Spezia after a 0-0 draw at home extended their winless streak to seven matches and heaped pressure on coach Rudi Garcia.
Liverpool came into Saturday's Champions League final against Real Madrid on a wave of confidence but Zinedine Zidane's side showed exactly why they are the masters of Europe's top club competition in their 3-1 win.
Klopp fined by FA for referee comments after West Ham draw
Real Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas says the signing of Belgium keeper Thibaut Courtois has not affected his desire to remain at the triple European champions as he emphatically ruled out leaving the club in order to be assured of first team football.
A summary of Wednesday's group matches in the UEFA Champions League.
'The silky touch, the swerving runs, the parabola pass perfection, the goals -- Salah on a football pitch these days is a sporting experience so celestial you feel inebriated just witnessing it.' 'It is football of the gods: Pure, eye-popping and incomprehensible,' applauds Dhruv Munjal.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Real Madrid produced a gutsy performance to earn a 1-0 win at Sevilla, on Sunday, which took them level on points at the top of La Liga
Juventus appears to have surprised Serie A organisers by reaching the Champions League final, forcing last-minute changes to the domestic fixture list.
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In an exciting weekend for football lovers, Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi continued their extraordinary double act, both scoring hat-tricks as Real Madrid and Barcelona maintained their battle for supremacy at the top of La Liga. Chelsea's unbeaten start to the Premier League season ended with a dramatic 2-1 defeat at Newcastle United on Saturday but no-one can get the better of Bayern Munich, who marched on in the Bundesliga with a 1-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen. We present a summary of events in photos.
Lionel Messi scored twice to equal Raul's Champions League scoring record as Barcelona secured their place in the knockout stages by beating 10-man Ajax Amsterdam 2-0 on Wednesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Real Madrid got their Champions League title defence off to a strong start on Wednesday by convincingly beating AS Roma 3-0 at home with goals from Isco, Gareth Bale and a stoppage-time strike from returning striker Mariano Diaz.
From comments about the healthy relationship shared between Barca trio -- Messi, Suarez and Neymar, to questions about his goal drought in away matches, an angry Ronaldo had the response to it all
It has been a long time coming but Spain look as if they may finally have solved their number nine problems following Alvaro Morata's two goals in the 3-0 win over Turkey.
Rediff.com gives you a throwback to an eventful 2017, in pictures.
Atalanta forward German Denis took advantage of shocking defending by Napoli to score twice in a 3-0 win over Rafael Benitez's exasperatingly inconsistent team on Sunday.
This and more from the happenings in the world of football
Schalke 04 hit back from two goals down to draw 2-2 and overcome fellow Germans Borussia Moenchenglach on away goals in their Europa League last 16 tie while Manchester United edged Rostov 1-0 to progress on Thursday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Germany scored five times in 27 minutes in the first half to crush Estonia 8-0 and make it three wins in three Euro 2020 Group C qualifiers.
A summary of the Euro 2020 qualification matches played on Friday.
Juventus continued their charge towards a fourth successive Serie A title as they predictably swept aside AC Milan 3-1 on Saturday to complete a league double over their old rivals.
AS Roma stalwart Francesco Totti came off the bench with four minutes left and scored twice to give his Champions League-chasing side a dramatic 3-2 win over Torino in Serie A on Wednesday.
A spectacular piledriver from Juan Cuadrado gave Serie A leaders Juventus a 1-0 win over Inter Milan, ending a run of seven successive Serie A wins for their opponents in a pulsating end-to-end match on Sunday.
Barcelona lost ground on La Liga leaders Real Madrid when their 11-match winning streak was snapped by Malaga, while Premier League pacesetters Chelsea dropped points at home to Burnley. Bayern Munich enjoyed a second-successive goalrush in the Bundesliga after routing Paderborn 6-0 while AS Roma lost ground to Serie A leaders Juventus after yet another draw. This and more from the happenings in the world of football over the weekend.
Gonzalo Higuain pulled one back three minutes later with a typically opportunist goal, the Argentine's 13th in the league this season, to set up a tense final half hour.
Barcelona's Luis Suarez hit a brace and set up a double for a spritely Lionel Messi to score in his first start after injury in a rampant 6-1 Champions League victory over AS Roma on Tuesday.
Bayern Munich winger Arjen Robben sparkled on his comeback from injury after almost two months, scoring the champions' first goal in a 4-0 demolition of Cologne on Saturday for their 1,000th victory in the Bundesliga that put them 10 points clear at the top.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Here is the round-up of all the football action across Europe on the weekend
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Tuesday
Juventus look set to wrap up their fourth successive Serie A title in the next seven days although the crowd violence which marred Sunday's 2-1 defeat at Torino could take the shine of their celebrations.
Manchester City embark on a fifth Champions League campaign buoyant after a perfect start to their domestic season but still searching for the secret formula against Europe's top brass.
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