Misfiring Real Madrid need quick response ahead of Barcelona visit.
Dele Alli condemned Champions League holders Real Madrid to a horrendous Wembley debut with two goals as Tottenham Hotspur reached the last 16 with a stunning 3-1 victory.
Real Madrid coach Rafa Benitez has been relying on second-string players to get the club through a mini injury crisis but should have several of his heavyweights back when Paris St Germain visit in the Champions League on Tuesday.
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.
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).
Rediff.com takes you in flashback as we rewind the best from the sporting world in the week gone by.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 22nd La Liga goal of the season to set Real Madrid on their way to a laboured 2-0 win at home to Granada on Saturday that lifted them above Barcelona and Atletico Madrid to the top of the standings.
While it is unfair to blame the Wales winger for all of Real's recent woes, it cannot be denied that he appears to be struggling for form and confidence.
German champions Bayern Munich have completed the transfer of former World Cup winner Xabi Alonso from Real Madrid on a two-year deal as they seek to boost their midfield options following a string of injuries.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Manchester United smashed the British transfer record when they signed Argentina winger Angel Di Maria from Real Madrid for 59.7 million on Tuesday.
Barcelona came through a testing local derby at Espanyol, winning 3-0 to cling to their slender lead at the top of La Liga after rivals Real Madrid had set the challenge by beating Valencia 2-1 in the earlier kick-off.
A summary of Saturday's action in La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick to send Real Madrid through to the Champions League semi-finals with a 4-2 extra-time win and 6-3 aggregate success against 10-man Bayern Munich in controversial circumstances on Tuesday.
No details of the fee for Rodriguez were disclosed but media reports said it was around 80 million euros (63.2 million pounds).
Departing Real Madrid captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas was forced out by club president Florentino Perez and is too good to play for a 'third-tier' side like Porto, his parents were quoted as saying on Sunday.
Kaka wants Real fans to show more gratitude to Cristiano Ronaldo.
Barcelona dealt a stinging blow to Real Madrid's title hopes when Luis Suarez and Neymar continued their scintillating form to fire the champions to a stunning 4-0 victory in the La Liga 'Clasico' on Saturday.
Real Madrid ended their long wait for a La Liga victory by beating Real Valladolid 2-0 on Saturday with two late goals in interim coach Santiago Solari's first home game in charge of the struggling European champions.
Defender Gerard Pique grabbed a rare winner and Lionel Messi scored yet another beauty as Barcelona came from behind to beat Sevilla 2-1 at the Nou Camp on Sunday and reclaim an eight-point lead at the top of La Liga.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti hailed his "extraordinary" players after they set a Spanish record for consecutive victories of 19 thanks to a 4-0 success at home to Ludogorets.
Images from the Champions League matches played on Wednesday
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
Stopping prolific Barcelona forwards Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez in the Champions League final will be a formidable task, Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said after his side clinched their place in next month's showpiece in Berlin.
While Juventus look forward to a first Champions League final in more than a decade and the riches that success brings, former employees at the Italian giants' Singapore-based soccer school push on with their fight for unpaid wages.
Heavyweight trio Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea kept up their 100 per cent starts to the Premier League season this weekend.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti's decision to deploy defender Sergio Ramos in central midfield was the key to Wednesday's 1-0 Champions League victory over Atletico Madrid, according to captain Iker Casillas.
Javier Hernandez has been a bit-part player at Real Madrid since joining on loan from Manchester United but injuries handed the Mexico striker a rare chance on Wednesday which he took with aplomb.
The nine-times European champions have made the Welsh winger their priority and the 24-year-old is reportedly keen to move to the Bernabeu, but Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is renowned as a tough negotiator.
As soon as the final whistle confirmed Real Madrid's berth in the Champions League final against local rivals Atletico with a 1-0 aggregate victory over Manchester City on Wednesday, memories of 2014's all-Spanish final came flooding back.
Former Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson once said he would not sell Real Madrid "a virus" let alone Cristiano Ronaldo but, as even he found out, when the Spanish giants come knocking they usually get what they want.
Goals from Karim Benzema and Jese led Real Madrid to a 2-0 win over Osasuna in their King's Cup last-16 first leg at the Bernabeu on Thursday.
It will be "immensely difficult" for Real Madrid to improve their squad but they still plan to make more signings in the close season, new coach Rafa Benitez said.
In leading Real Madrid to their 11th European Cup less than five months after inheriting an unhappy team from Rafael Benitez, Zinedine Zidane has cemented his heroic status at the Bernabeu and appears to have assured his immediate future.
Former Real Madrid forward Raul, the Spanish giants' joint-record scorer, will hang up his boots in November after a stellar 21-year career as one of the game's finest talents.
A summary of sports events and persons who made news on Thursday.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has hit back at Gareth Bale's agent for suggesting the Wales winger's team mates do not pass to him enough, telling Jonathan Barnett it would have been better to keep quiet.
Barcelona have been boosted by the successful return from injury of talismanic playmaker Andres Iniesta as they prepare to host city rivals Espanyol in La Liga on Sunday.
Gareth Bale is suffering at Real Madrid because his team mates are not passing him the ball enough.
Barcelona have Gerard Pique back for Sunday's La Liga 'Clasico' at leaders Real Madrid but captain and fellow centre back Carles Puyol has not managed to shake off a knee injury, the Spanish champions said on Saturday.
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