Messi brace leads Barca to within four points of La Liga summit
Real Betis right-back Emerson Aparecido's first year in La Liga went superbly well, but there is plenty to come from one of the league's most talented and determined rising stars.
Barcelona rode their luck to come from behind and win 2-1 at Real Sociedad on Saturday, continuing to banish their awful record in San Sebastian and maintaining their perfect start to the La Liga season.
Lionel Messi scored a 50th freekick goal for Barcelona as he led his side to a quick-fire comeback to win 3-2 at Valencia on Sunday and keep the pressure on La Liga title rivals Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid.
Kolkata-based Sanjiv Goenka is famously remembered as someone who dropped Mahendra Singh Dhoni as IPL captain.
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is eager to build his team around midfielder Paul Pogba despite media speculation linking the French World Cup winner with a move away from Old Trafford.
Teenager Curtis Jones grabbed a 58th-minute winner as an injury-hit Liverpool qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League with a 1-0 win over Ajax Amsterdam at Anfield on Tuesday.
Griezmann special earns Atletico 1-1 draw at Sevilla
Atletico Madrid demonstrated their remarkable team spirit to come roaring back from two goals and a man down to draw 2-2 at Liga debutants Girona on Saturday, after Antoine Griezmann had been sent off for the first time in his career.
Gareth Bale marked his return to action after a long injury layoff by sealing a 2-0 victory for Real Madrid over Espanyol on Saturday to provisionally stretch Zinedine Zidane's side's lead at the top of La Liga to three points.
Bayern travel to Arminia Bielefeld in the Bundesliga on Saturday and host Atletico Madrid on Wednesday in the first group match of their Champions League defence.
Real Madrid talisman Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona striker Luis Suarez took centre stage on Saturday in bailing their teams out with late strikes to silence their critics following slow starts to the season.
Sevilla became surprise Liga leaders on Sunday after beating visiting Celta Viga 2-1 while champions Barcelona drew 1-1 at Valencia thanks to another Lionel Messi strike but are still without a victory in their last four league games.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Pepe opened the scoring for Real with a looping header that flew past Jan Oblak in the 52nd minute and it looked like the hosts would earn three points to move five clear of Barcelona at the top of La Liga.
Second half of abandoned Rayo-Albacete will kick-off proceedings on return.
The 55-year-old Ernesto Valverde, who led Barcelona to successive La Liga titles in 2018 and 2019, came under fire this season for the team's dip in performance levels even though they top the league standings at the halfway point of the campaign.
A round-up of Sunday's matches in La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga.
Having won eight of the past 12 league titles coming into this campaign, where has it gone so wrong for Barcelona?
La Liga leaders Barcelona drew 0-0 at Huesca on Saturday and are nine points clear of second-placed Atletico Madrid, who cut the gap by beating Celta Vigo 2-0.
The draw means second-placed Atletico Madrid could close the 12-point gap with Barcelona, who are on 74 points, if they beat Celta Vigo later on Saturday.
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.
Ferran Torres scored a brace and Ousmane Dembele made two assists as a red-hot Barcelona rolled over Osasuna 4-0 on Sunday to earn their fourth consecutive LaLiga win.
Barcelona forward Ansu Fati will be sidelined for four months after undergoing knee surgery, the La Liga club said on Monday.
Images from La Liga and German Cup matches played on the weekend.
Luis Suarez was incredulous after being sent off in Barcelona's thrilling King's Cup semi-final second leg with Atletico Madrid on Tuesday, ruling him out of the final in May after playing a pivotal role in getting his team there.
Five-times European champions Liverpool survived a late scare to move into the last 32 of the Europa League with a 1-0 win over Italian side Udinese on Thursday.
Juventus moved top with 19 points to Inter's 18 and it was a deserved victory in an absorbing contest.
Real Madrid saw off a stirring Chelsea fightback to book their place in the Champions League semi-finals following a 3-2 defeat after extra time in a scintillating second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday to go through 5-4 on aggregate.
Real Madrid's miserable run of results continued as they slid to a shock 1-0 La Liga defeat at Alaves by conceding a goal deep in stoppage time on Saturday, marking their longest run without scoring in over 33 years.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The suspension was handed down by the Competition Committee of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) on Thursday and applies to Cup matches only.
The league, which was announced on Sunday with 12 founding members, has been championed by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, the new competition's chairman. It is now left with three Italian clubs -- AC Milan, Juventus and Inter Milan -- plus Perez's Real Madrid along with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid from Spain.
Barcelona great Xavi Hernandez has said it is his dream to coach his former side
Star winger Romeo Fernandes became the first-ever Indian footballer to play for a Brazilian club, enjoying a fairly successful debut in his club Atletico Paranaense's thrashing of Nacional over the weekend.
Last season's treble winners Barca are in their worst run of form in La Liga since coach Luis Enrique took charge in August 2014.
Simeone urges Atletico fans to keep violence out of football 'I don't think this (violence) has anything to do with sport and it seems they are using sport to make a greater impact'
Bayern edge closer to Bundesliga title after win at Arminia
The return leg will be played at Ajax's Johan Cruyff Arena on May 8.
The old format was skewed in favour of the bigger clubs, who could rest players for a first leg and swallow defeat before calling on their stars to turn the tie around in the return game.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances