Barcelona will attempt to give Luis Enrique his 100th victory in his 125th game in charge of the team when they play at Athletic Bilbao in la Liga on Sunday. A former Barca player, the 46-year-old led them to a La Liga, King's Cup and Champions League treble in his first year in charge and the domestic double last season. The Catalans started the campaign with a 5-0 aggregate triumph over Sevilla in the Spanish Super Cup and a 6-2 victory over Real Betis in La Liga.
Midfielder Dani Ceballos added: "It looks like us changing our coach worked. We have recovered some sensations we had lost and we have got the three points. Now our objective is to win all the games left and finish the season as well as possible."
Real Madrid brushed off the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale to beat Espanyol 2-0 away and maintain their 100 per cent start to the league season while matching the La Liga record of 16 consecutive victories.
Spanish soccer's 'El Clasico' encounters between Barcelona and Real Madrid will happen in December and April, two of the most anticipated games of the 2016-17 Primera Division season whose fixtures were announced on Friday. Defending champions Barca host Real on Dec. 4 at the Camp Nou. The reverse fixture will take place on April 23, at the Bernabeu stadium, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) confirmed after the draw. As the La Liga season kicks off, Barca will begin their title defence at home to Real Betis on Aug. 21.
Barcelona's inconsistency over the season had cost them the La Liga title, coach Luis Enrique has said.
Nolito is adamant that he will not allow growing speculation about his club future to become a distraction as he "lives a dream" with Spain at Euro 2016.
"Our club has reached an agreement with Gelson Martins, making him a new Atletico player," said a statement from last season's La Liga runners-up.
European Champions Spain produced a dominant display to thrash South Korea 6-1 in Salzburg, Austria on Wednesday in their penultimate friendly before Euro 2016.
European football was given good and bad reminders of its past on Thursday with an impressive 2-0 win for once-mighty Ajax Amsterdam over Schalke 04 in one Europa League game but ugly scenes in the crowd at Lyon delaying another.
Real Madrid's Javier Hernandez struck twice as they came from behind to beat Celta Vigo 4-2 away and keep the pressure on Barcelona at the top of La Liga on Sunday.
With the Catalans shorn of three of their top forwards, all eyes will be on Griezmann in his first appearance at the Camp Nou since his 120-million-euro ($133 million) move from Atletico Madrid, and not least because Barca need a win to kickstart their season.
Real are third in the league standings with 54 points after 28 games, two behind second-placed Atletico Madrid who visit Athletic Bilbao later on Saturday and nine points behind leaders Barcelona who play at Real Betis on Sunday.
Valencia continued their solid start to La Liga and climbed to second when recent Spain recruit Paco Alcacer set them on their way to a 3-0 win at Getafe on Monday.
Moreno, who holds a degree from the University of Barcelona in trade and international relations, began working alongside Luis Enrique with Barcelona's B team in 2010 in the scouting department.
Antoine Griezmann and Yannick Carrasco each conjured moments of magic as Atletico Madrid recaptured top spot in La Liga from Barcelona with a hard-fought 2-0 victory at Celta Vigo on Sunday.
Real Madrid barged their way back into the Spanish La Liga title race with a 3-1 victory over Atletico Madrid in a feisty derby at the Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday.
Messi's contract expires at the end of June and there has been no announcement on an extension.
Barcelona coach Gerardo Martino resigned on Saturday after just one season in charge having finished second to Atletico Madrid in the La Liga title race and failed to win a major trophy.
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has opened the door to out-of-favour midfielder James Rodriguez leaving the club by admitting the player's lack of appearances could become a problem.
After being named this year's UEFA's Best Player in Europe, Portugal and Real Madrid star striker Cristiano Ronaldo has insisted that Atletico Madrid forward Antoine Griezmann deserved the coveted trophy more than him.
Real Madrid showed their character by beating Barcelona 2-0 in Sunday's top-of-the-table 'Clasico', leapfrogging their rivals at the La Liga summit after a week in which their pride had taken a beating at home and in Europe. Brazilian teenager Vinicius Jr scored the opener in the 71st minute with a strike that deflected off Gerard Pique, flummoxing goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen who had made some jaw-dropping saves, and substitute Mariano added the second in added time.
Madrid won only two of their seven pre-season games
Real Madrid have launched an internal inquiry after their Argentina winger Angel Di Maria was seen to grab his crotch while he was being substituted in Monday's 3-0 La Liga win at home to Celta Vigo.
When Griezmann fired Atletico to victory over Olympique de Marseille in the Europa League final in May it was widely viewed as his last stand for Diego Simeone's side before a move to Barca but they successfully convinced the Frenchman to stay.
Unzue is one of the two leading candidates to succeed Luis Enrique, who announced this month he will leave at the end of this season, along with Athletic Bilbao coach Ernesto Valverde.
Images from Saturday's La Liga action.
A round-up of Saturday's action in La Liga, Ligue 1 and Serie A.
Stuttering Villarreal closed to within a point of the Champions League qualification places when a second-half Cedric Bakambu double secured a 2-1 comeback win at home to Rayo Vallecano in La Liga on Sunday.
Barca had the chance to go top after Real drew a fourth consecutive game in all competitions for the first time in over a decade but they were rattled by rampant Celta
Barcelona lost for the second straight La Liga game in a 1-0 home reverse against Celta Vigo but there was no such trouble for Manchester City, who beat 10-man Manchester United 1-0 thanks to Sergio Aguero.
Ajax Amsterdam produced a performance worthy of the club's illustrious past when they crushed Olympique Lyonnais 4-1 on Wednesday to move to the brink of their first European final since 1996.
Images from La Liga matches played on Monday.
Celta Vigo thrashed Barcelona 4-1 on Wednesday with Iago Aspas hitting a double.
IMAGES from soccer matches played in the EPL, La Liga and Serie A on Tuesday.
Recent episodes of vomiting suffered by Barcelona forward Lionel Messi are 'not normal' but they do not affect his performance and there is no cause for alarm, coach Gerardo Martino said on Friday.
Cristiano Ronaldo has urged Real Madrid to renew his contract and said he wanted to see out his career in the Spanish capital. Ronaldo's immediate future at Real has been in doubt all season, with speculation growing throughout the year that he was plotting a move to Paris Saint-Germain but the prolific Portuguese has now made it clear he wants to stay at the club. "Real Madrid would be making a smart decision if they offered me a new contract," Ronaldo told Spanish television programme La Sexta on Wednesday. "I want to stay here, there have been good moments and bad moments. Four years ago I wasn't happy here but now I am and I can't think of a better club to be at than Real Madrid, there's no team like it. The other clubs can forget it." Ronaldo overtook Raul Gonzalez as Real's all-time top scorer earlier this season and on Saturday will be hoping to inspire the team to their 11th European Cup success when they take on Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final in Milan.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
'It's evident that we are in a hole, we aren't at our best at the moment nor our most effective.'
James Rodriguez will return to Real Madrid's starting lineup for Sunday's La Liga game at home to Granada after being out for two months with a broken bone in his foot, coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Saturday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
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