A round-up of Saturday's action in the Premier League.
Real Madrid's miserable run of results continued on Saturday as they fell to a 2-1 defeat at home to Levante, their third successive loss in all competitions which piles more pressure on coach Julen Lopetegui.
Spain's strong show of unity after the sacking of coach Julen Lopetegui was almost enough to secure victory in their World Cup opener against Portugal on Friday, but Cristiano Ronaldo's late goal took some gloss off a superb performance.
Sporting Director of Spain's Football Federation (RFEF) Fernando Hierro has been named the national team's new coach for the duration of the World Cup in Russia, the Federation said in a tweet on Wednesday.
Real coach Julen Lopetegui has come in for fierce criticism this season, having presided over a run of five games without a win -- the team going eight hours and one minute without scoring -- before Tuesday's unconvincing 2-1 triumph over Viktoria Plzen that saw the team whistled off the pitch by their own fans.
The result continued a dismal streak for Madrid, who have won only two of their last five games in all competitions
Spain defender Sergio Ramos was surprised to learn that the country's record appearance maker and long-time captain Iker Casillas had been left out of the Spain squad by coach Julen Lopetegui. The Spain players met up with their new manager for the first time on Monday to prepare for the international friendly in Belgium on Sept. 1 and their opening World Cup qualifier at home to Liechtenstein on Sept. 5.
Chelsea striker Diego Costa has been ruled out of Spain's matches against Macedonia and England through injury, the Spanish football federation said on Thursday. Costa had been struggling to shake off a groin injury he suffered in Chelsea's 5-0 Premier League win over Everton on Saturday and immediately underwent medical tests when he met up with the Spain squad.
"The best team won, we struggled from the beginning and we couldn't deal with their long balls. Usually, you press the ball to win it, but this was different. They defended so deep and so well," City coach Pep Guardiola told the BBC.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
Centre-back Pique, who voted in the referendum and has criticised police violence against voters which resulted in hundreds of injuries, has long been targeted by Spain fans but Monday's barrage of insults was particularly severe.
"After many kilometres travelled together, the Spanish Football Federation and Fernando Hierro have called an end to their relationship now that Spain have finished their participation in the World Cup," said a statement on the Spain team's website (www.sefutbol.com).
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Here are five talking points from the weekend's action:
La Liga champions Barcelona slumped to a shock 2-1 defeat at struggling Leganes and Real Madrid were resoundingly beaten 3-0 by Sevilla on Wednesday as Spain's two biggest clubs lost on the same day for the first time since January, 2015.
Diego Costa gave Europa League holders Atletico a dream start against Champions League winners Real by firing them ahead after 49 seconds, knocking down a long pass and smashing the ball into the net from a tight angle.
Spain defender Gerard Pique accused Cristiano Ronaldo of diving to win a penalty and a crucial free-kick in Friday's epic 3-3 draw with Portugal.
Real were smarting from a surprise 1-1 draw at struggling Elche in their last match and were missing captain Sergio Ramos, who was out with a stomach bug.
Spain and Italy have undergone managerial changes since Antonio Conte handed Vicente del Bosque a tactical masterclass at Euro 2016, but Spain go into Thursday's World Cup qualifier in Turin in better shape than their Group G rivals.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, find themselves in the bizarre situation of having made poor starts to the campaign
Spain coach Fernando Hierro said he had no regrets at taking the job two days before the World Cup despite his side's second-round exit at the hands of hosts Russia on Sunday.
Jose Mourinho dismissed speculation linking him with a return to Real Madrid, on Monday, saying he wants to stay on as Manchester United manager beyond his current contract.
Moroccan Yassine Bono denied Marcus Rashford, Bruno Fernandes, Mason Greenwood and Anthony Martial in either half of the match to keep the match alive
Zinedine Zidane has stepped down as Real Madrid coach with immediate effect five days after his team were pipped to the La Liga title by city rivals Atletico Madrid, the Spanish club said on Thursday.
Real appointed former Spain manager Julen Lopetegui on Tuesday, but Allegri had been among the front-runners to take over from Zidane, who quit after winning a remarkable three successive Champions League trophies.
New coach Julen Lopetegui has been tasked with rebuilding the side following the Portugal forward's departure and the early signs are good, with Real already looking more of a unit than a collection of individuals.
Second-placed Sevilla were held to a 1-1 draw by Barcelona, while Juventus registered a routine 2-0 win over struggling Cagliari.
Real Madrid will sack Santiago Solari and reappoint former coach Zinedine Zidane on Monday, according to multiple Spanish media reports.
IMAGES from Champions League matches played on Wednesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Spain goalkeeper David de Gea made a rare error which led to his side drawing 1-1 at home to Switzerland in a World Cup warm-up friendly on Sunday which the hosts dominated but failed to make their superior possession count.
A second half double from Karim Benzema helped Real Madrid to a 4-1 victory at Girona on Sunday and maintain their perfect La Liga start in the post-Cristiano Ronaldo era.
"We are not going to deviate one iota from our footballing concepts," the distinguished former Spain defender Hierro said.
A round-up of Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Casemiro produced a performance worthy of a top striker by scoring twice in a 2-1 win for Zinedine Zidane's side over Sevilla
Five-time winners Sevilla made light work of AS Roma when first half goals from Sergio Reguilon and Youssef En-Nesyri gave them a 2-0 win over AS Roma and sent them into the Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday.
Spain arrived at the World Cup convinced they were ready to rule world football again but Sunday's defeat to Russia in the last 16 has set the 2010 champions back a decade and brought an end to a glorious generation.
The 2-2 draw in Kaliningrad was thrilling for neutrals but exposed huge vulnerabilities in the 2010 world champions, who had to come from behind twice after careless mistakes gifted two goals to already-eliminated Morocco.
Marco Asensio's strike earned Real Madrid a 1-0 win over Espanyol to send them top of La Liga and Thomas Lemar scored his first goal for Atletico Madrid in a 2-0 victory at Getafe on Saturday.
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