Atletico Madrid have agreed to sign Colombia striker Radamel Falcao from Porto for a fee of 40 million euros ($57.26 million).
Atletico Madrid right back Juanfran has thanked fans for the support he received following his penalty shootout miss in Saturday's Champions League final defeat by Real Madrid. The defender's effort rebounded off the post before Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winning spot kick to hand Real their 11th European Cup in Milan. Spain international Juanfran was in tears and did not speak to the media after the match but on Monday he wrote a letter on the club's official website. "I will never forget your displays of affection when I came to ask for your forgiveness," he said. "Seeing my tears reflected in the faces of the thousands of Atleticos that packed that end of the stadium helped me cope with the tremendous sadness I felt in those hard times."
Three consecutive defeats by direct rivals in the Primera Liga has left Atletico Madrid coach Javier Aguirre under pressure to get a good result against Liverpool at home in the Champions League.
Arsenal took the race to the final day last season and are strongly tipped to end Manchester City's dominance this time.
Real Madrid's early-season woes deepened when they lost 2-1 at home to La Liga champions Atletico Madrid, while substitute Neymar struck twice in Barcelona's 2-0 win against visiting Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
Atletico Madrid will face holders Real Madrid in the last 16 of the King's Cup after a double from Mario Mandzukic sealed a 5-2 aggregate victory over lower league Hospitalet on Thursday.
Barca looked set for a third consecutive league draw as they created scant opportunities but they were presented with the advantage of an extra man when Villarreal midfielder Daniel Raba was given a straight red card for a wild, studs-up challenge on Sergio Busquets on the hour mark.
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France and Spain will step up security ahead of the Champions League quarter-finals in Madrid and Paris on Tuesday and Wednesday nights, top officials said, as Islamic State threats cast a shadow over Europe's top club soccer tournament.
Barcelona had to come from a goal down to rescue a 1-1 draw at mid-table Levante on Sunday, leaving Atletico Madrid with a chance to go top of La Liga.
The Catalan side was routed by Atletico Madrid 3-0 in the Spanish first division league.
Atletico Madrid set up a King's Cup final with city rivals Real after Diego Costa and Radamel Falcao scored in a 2-2 second leg draw at Sevilla on Wednesday, to progress 4-3 on aggregate.
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Lionel Messi scored in his 12th consecutive La Liga game to help leaders Barcelona earn a 1-1 draw at Valencia, allowing second-placed Atletico Madrid to close to within nine points after a 1-0 win over Real Betis on Sunday.
Atletico Madrid have little time to celebrate their stunning La Liga triumph and must immediately turn their focus on Saturday's Champions League final against city rivals Real Madrid.
Spain and Liverpool legend Luis Garcia believes that Indian football can touch global heights if the players are given exposure to different leagues abroad and nourish young talents and coaches methodically.
Atletico Madrid took full advantage of Barcelona's defeat at Real Sociedad and closed to within eight points of the La Liga leaders when Adrian and Koke struck in a 2-0 win at home to Levante on Sunday.
Midfielder Koke issued a rallying cry to his Atletico Madrid teammates on Saturday ahead of next week's Champions League final against Real Madrid.
A late header by Imanol Agirretxe gave Real Sociedad, who are without a coach, a 2-1 victory over 10-man Atletico Madrid in La Liga on Sunday.
Unbeaten leaders Barcelona pulled six points clear of chasing Atletico Madrid and set a record for the best start to a La Liga season when Lionel Messi scored twice in a 5-1 drubbing of Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
There was one Chelsea player smiling after the club were knocked out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid on Wednesday - goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois who is on loan at the Spanish side.
A subdued Fernando Torres helped Atletico Madrid to a 2-0 win over local rivals Real in the first leg of their King's Cup last-16 tie on Wednesday in his first start since his return to his boyhood club.
Ahn, who famously scored the golden goal that knocked Italy out of the World Cup, was to join English premier league club Blackburn Rovers last August until the deal broke down due to visa problems.\n\n
A Marco Asensio-inspired Real Madrid crushed Eibar 3-0 to close the gap on La Liga leaders Barcelona to five points on Sunday, with Karim Benzema starting on the bench.
Atletico should have plenty of money available after talismanic striker Antoine Griezmann said last month he is to leave the club.
Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid made it four away wins from the opening four Champions League last-16 first leg matches when they triumphed at Arsenal and AC Milan respectively on Wednesday.
The Indian Super League trophy will go to the traditional home of Indian football as Atletico de Kolkata edged past Kerala Blasters 1-0 in the final.
'I expect a brave Napoli that plays from the back and presses high, that doesn't speculate, has a lot of individual talent, it's a big game and it's a great team, current champions of Italy.'
IMAGES from the Europa League matches played on Thursday
Barcelona got their bid for a third consecutive La Liga title back on course when Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique struck to lift the champions to a 2-1 win at Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
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Salzburg forced Lazio into a second-half capitulation as the Italians crashed out in the Europa League quarter-finals after losing 4-1 but Olympique de Marseille staged a thrilling fightback to see off visitors Leipzig 5-2 on Thursday. Arsenal also reached the semi-finals after recovering from a wobble to draw 2-2 at CSKA Moscow and progress 6-3 on aggregate, while favourites Atletico Madrid reached the last four after losing 1-0 at Sporting to go through 2-1 over the two legs.
Barcelona will begin their Spanish league title defence away to Getafe on Aug. 13 while Real Madrid visit Athletic Bilbao the same weekend.
Fernando Llorente netted a dramatic late winner for Athletic Bilbao to eliminate Sporting and Atletico Madrid comfortably held on to a first-leg lead to oust La Liga rivals Valencia on Thursday and set up an all-Spanish Europa League final.
Atletico Madrid set up a King's Cup final against Sevilla when they went through 6-3 on aggregate despite conceding two late goals to lose 3-2 at Racing Santander in their semi-final second leg on Thursday.
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.
Ajax Amsterdam's Netherlands defender John Heitinga has agreed to sign a five-year deal with Atletico Madrid, he told Tuesday's De Telegraaf newspaper.
The Brazilian scored twice in a 3-0 victory over Atletico Madrid that sent Real Madrid to the top of the Primera Liga.
Atletico Madrid ended a run of 23 league derbies without a win when Diego Costa struck early to clinch a 1-0 victory over city rivals Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on Saturday.
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