After picking fifth Ballon d'Or, Ronaldo's reignites eternal debate
Zidane plays down Ronaldo injury; Liverpool's Gomez sidelined after surgey
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said he was shocked by the wild knee-high challenge on world player of the year Lionel Messi that triggered a straight red card for Atletico Madrid's Brazilian defender Filipe Luis on Saturday. The coach, whose side won 2-1 at home to go three points clear in La Liga, protested angrily on the touchline after the left back's studs-up tackle against the Argentine forward shortly before half time. "Did you see my reaction? Then you can imagine what I was thinking. It shocked me but I am not going to go into details about it," he told a news conference at the Nou Camp.
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Barcelona goalkeeper Victor Valdes is likely to be out of action until the end of the year after suffering a calf strain during Spain's surprise defeat by South Africa on Tuesday, the club said in a statement on their website.
Images from the Champions League round of 16 second leg matches played on Tuesday
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique played down talk of a rift with his squad after their surprise home defeat by Alaves and is hoping to put things right in their Champions League opener against Celtic on Tuesday.
Barca, with Lionel Messi absent through injury, hit the woodwork on four occasions but luck was not on their side as they lost their second consecutive away game following their 4-1 defeat by Celta Vigo.
Rediff.com takes you in flashback as we rewind the best from the sporting world in the week gone by.
A rousing 2-1 La Liga victory at Real Madrid on Saturday may suggest otherwise, but Atletico Madrid are still rebuilding after losing several key players in the close season, coach Diego Simeone said on Monday.
Spain are among the favourites to win the European Championship this summer but the team's 1-0 home defeat to Georgia on Tuesday has set alarm bells ringing. In their last warm-up game before the tournament and nearly two years on from their first-round exit at the World Cup in Brazil, Spain lost to a team ranked number 137 by FIFA. "Gatillazo" (Damp squib) was the headline in Wednesday's AS newspaper after the team's loss in Getafe.
Alexis Sanchez had equalised for the visitors, scoring on the rebound after Manuel Neuer saved his 30th-minute penalty but the Gunners suffered when captain Laurent Koscielny limped off injured to leave the defence exposed.
Real Madrid are hoping the fit-again Cristiano Ronaldo can lead them into the Champions League final although strike partner Karim Benzema remains a doubt for Wednesday's return match with Manchester City.
Guardiola is on track to lead Bayern to a third consecutive Bundesliga title but his three-year spell there will ultimately be judged on whether he can win Europe's elite club competition with them.
Take a look at images from events that caught our attention in the week gone by.
Juventus striker Carlos Tevez would be a perfect fit for Atletico Madrid and the La Liga club are in talks with the Argentine's agents, coach Diego Simeone has said.
Barcelona have had to overcome many changes to win their 23rd La Liga title, coach Luis Enrique said.
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.
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.
Barcelona leapfrogged Atletico Madrid to go top of La Liga after Lionel Messi's acrobatic volley secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory against tenacious Malaga on Saturday.
Luis Enrique's new task is to rebuild a Spain team that ruled international football between 2008 and 2012 by winning successive European Championships and the 2010 World Cup but have been deeply disappointing at their last three international tournaments.
Antoine Griezmann scored twice off the bench as Atletico Madrid sealed a place in the King's Cup quarter-finals with a 3-0 win at home to Rayo Vallecano on Thursday while Valencia also advanced with victory by the same scoreline at Granada.
James Rodriguez headed the opener before going off injured in Real Madrid's win.
Neymar took time to settle but is finally shining in Barcelona's devastating attacking trident with Villarreal the next La Liga opponents in their sights on Sunday as the Catalans continue their pursuit of Real Madrid.
David Moyes made light of his first dismissal when he leapt over a fence into the stands to watch the rest of the match and accepted crisps from a girl.
Atletico Madrid's French forwards Antoine Griezmann and Kevin Gameiro fired them to a first win in three league outings as they beat Valencia 3-0 on Sunday to maintain their hold on Spain's fourth Champions League qualifying place.
Chelsea's players must look at themselves and start performing, former Blues stalwart Frank Lampard said as speculation continues to swirl over the future of manager Jose Mourinho.
Facts and figures ahead of Saturday's Champions League final between holders Real Madrid and Liverpool in Kiev:
Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi scored stunning goals to edge Barcelona towards a fourth consecutive King's Cup final with a 2-1 win at Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, although the holders were lucky to survive a late onslaught from the hosts.
Atletico Madrid must not let down their guard after Wednesday's thumping Champions League win at home to Malmo, coach Diego Simeone said.
When Barcelona host local rivals Espanyol on Saturday hoping to edge closer to the La Liga title, many may be haunted by Raul Tamudo's 89th minute equaliser which wrecked their title bid in 2006/07.
Huge upsets lit up the basketball World Cup on Wednesday as France beat hosts Spain 65-52 while Serbia thumped Brazil 84-56 to set up an intriguing semi-final clash.
Bayern Munich are desperate to avoid losing a third consecutive Champions League semi-final to Spanish opponents when they host Atletico Madrid on Tuesday but coach Pep Guardiola has his work cut out to end his time in Germany on a high.
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.
Benfica coach Rui Vitoria faces another test of his powers of improvisation as he tries to patch up a team without topscorer Jonas against Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
"C'est fini". With those few words in French a tearful Iker Casillas brought to an end his farewell statement on Sunday to the Real Madrid fans he has served as first-team goalkeeper and captain for 16 seasons.
Atletico Madrid extended their dominance over neighbours Real with a 1-0 derby win on Saturday that leaves the Bernabeu team virtually out of the Liga title race.
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
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane reckons Cristiano Ronaldo is on top form as the Portuguese looks to increase his Champions League goals tally when they visit AS Roma in the first leg of their last-16 tie on Wednesday.
Real Madrid kept alive their hopes of overhauling La Liga leaders Barcelona when a James Rodriguez stunner set them on their way to a serene 3-0 home victory over struggling Almeria on Wednesday.
'He said sorry, he's not happy with the red card, but it's over now. These things happen and we can't chance it, but with 10 men we still managed to equalise'
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