Barcelona extended their near-perfect start to the season when Alexis Sanchez tapped in at the far post from Neymar's clever assist to secure a 1-0 win at home to city rivals Espanyol in La Liga on Friday.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique declined to say if he will still be at the helm next season after leading them to a treble in his first season including Saturday's Champions League triumph over Juventus.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique made no excuses after they lost 4-3 at Celta Vigo and missed the chance to top La Liga on Sunday.
Lionel Messi produced a vintage second-half performance to help Barcelona to a 4-1 win over local rivals Espanyol on Sunday which saw the champions cut the gap on La Liga leaders Real Madrid to three points.
Valverde's knowledge of Barca and his many years of experience of coaching in Spain saw him pip Argentine Jorge Sampaoli and Luis Enrique's assistant Juan Carlos Unzue to the top job.
Two goals from Arda Turan and one from Lionel Messi gave Barcelona a 3-0 win over Sevilla in the Spanish Super Cup second leg on Wednesday to seal a 5-0 aggregate victory.
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane is under pressure to break up his misfiring attacking trio of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale when he takes the La Liga leaders to Alaves on Saturday.
Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos scored in the 90th minute to hold FC Barcelona to a 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou on Saturday.
Ibrahimovic has not played since suffering a career-threatening knee ligament injury in United's Europa League quarter-final second leg match against Anderlecht at Old Trafford in April.
A blond-haired Lionel Messi failed to get on the scoresheet but it hardly mattered as under-strength Barcelona taught Celtic a footballing lesson in a Dublin friendly.
Spain are steadily turning to the next generation ahead of their Euro 2016 opener against the Czech Republic later on Monday as the defending champions look to redeem themselves after a miserable World Cup two years ago. For Spain's disappointing showing in 2014, coach Vicente del Bosque retained 16 of the squad that won the title in 2010, but only eight winners remain for Euro 2016, with players such as Alvaro Morata, Hector Bellerin and Thiago Alcantara introduced as part of a significant changing of the guard. Sergio Ramos is confident the new boys, five of whom were part of the 2013 European under 21-winning side, can lead Spain into a new golden era.
Images from the Round of 16 match between Russia and Spain, in Moscow, on Sunday.
Like an ailing heavyweight, Spain and their hopes of a third straight European title ended in a tame surrender as their 2-0 defeat by Italy represented the definitive end to a golden era in their footballing history. A first-half effort from defender Giorgio Chiellini and a stoppage-time goal by striker Graziano Pelle sent the Azzurri into the quarter-finals at Euro 2016 and left Spain to mull over a second successive failure on the international stage.
Barca must beat Villareal on the weekend if they are to stand a chance of overhauling Real in the run in.
'It has been good on pitch and off pitch,' Lampard said.
Barcelona rarely looked capable of repeating their heroic comeback in the last 16 against Paris St Germain.
Barca are now second on 66 points, two behind Real who have a game in hand as they chase a first title triumph since 2012.
Spain are still favourites to finish top of Group E above Sweden, Poland and Slovakia but, after struggling to break down conservative sides such as Georgia and Greece in March, they know coming first will not be a procession.
Brazilian striker Neymar was named as the best player of the Confederations Cup after he helped Brazil seal a 3-0 win over world champions Spain in the final on Sunday, then said he would need minor throat surgery before his move to Barcelona.
Lionel Messi struck a spectacular free kick, scored another goal and set up two more in a 4-1 victory for Barcelona over nine-man city rivals Espanyol in the first leg of their King's Cup last-16 clash on Wednesday.
Real Madrid have defied injuries to keep the pressure on leaders Barcelona and notched up over 100 La Liga goals but they now face arguably the toughest test of their title charge in an away match to Sevilla on Saturday.
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.
The shock of the season saw Barca suffer their first league loss since going down 2-0 to Malaga on April 8, 2017, ending an incredible, record-breaking sequence that had lasted 43 games.
Croatia's players showed the world they are not like the supporters who brought shame on the country with their behaviour at Euro 2016, coach Ante Cacic said on Tuesday.
When Croatia meet Spain in their final Euro 2016 group match on Tuesday there will be as much scrutiny of developments in the stands as on the pitch.
Sevilla joined holders Real Madrid in the last 16 of the King's Cup when a quick-fire Iago Aspas hat-trick helped secure a crushing 11-2 aggregate victory over second-division Sabadell on Wednesday.
Barcelona capitalised on two disastrous own goals by A S Roma to thrash the Italian side 4-1 at the Nou Camp on Wednesday and take a huge step towards reaching the Champions League semi-finals for the first time in three years.
David Zurutuza struck twice to help Real Sociedad seal a remarkable comeback and beat Real Madrid 4-2 in La Liga.
After setting a Spanish record 35 matches unbeaten in all competitions, Barcelona coach Luis Enrique is relishing the run-in to the end of the season with his side on course for a second successive La Liga, King's Cup and Champions League treble.
Luis Suarez had the Barcelona fans chanting his name after he set up Lionel Messi to score the opening goal in their King's Cup semis.
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.
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.
Holders Barcelona crashed out of the Champions League after being stifled by a brilliantly well-organised Atletico Madrid.
'We have to improve and become stronger in defence, which is the most important thing.'
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez were on target as holders Barcelona thrashed Real Sociedad 5-2 to reach the King's Cup semi-finals for the seventh successive year with a 6-2 aggregate victory on Thursday.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi broke free from Arsenal's shackles to score two late goals and put the Champions League holders on the brink of the quarter-finals with a clinical 2-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.
The excitement is building among fans of Spanish third-tier side Villanovense ahead of the visit of Barcelona in the King's Cup on Wednesday, but both sides would prefer the two-legged tie to be decided by a one-off match.
Real Madrid's Welsh winger Gareth Bale has joined Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the race for FIFA's Ballon d'Or award.
India, hosting its first ever FIFA tournament in the U-17 World Cup, will set the record of having the farthest distance between two venues in the event's history.
The three sides who have bossed the ball the most in Russia, Spain, Germany and Argentina have all said "do-svidaniya" before the quarter-finals.
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