Barcelona crashed out of the Champions League following a 3-0 defeat at Bayern Munich on Wednesday, failing to make it past the group stage of the competition for the first time since the 2000-01 season.
The French, who won their second world title in July, take on hosts Germany in the inaugural Nations League competition, their first game since the World Cup final against Croatia.
Brazilian Malcom, who started in place of Lionel Messi, curled home in the 58th minute to pull Barcelona level after Lucas Vazquez had fired Real Madrid ahead early on.
Ronaldo's replacement Dybala scored in the 77th minute with a goal the Portuguese would have been proud of. After a quick exchange of passes, the Argentine twisted past Alessio Romagnoli and beat Gianluigi Donnarumma with a right foot shot.
Images from Saturday's action in La Liga.
Champions Real Madrid were beaten at home by promoted Cadiz, while Barcelona fell to their first defeat in La Liga under new coach Ronald Koeman as they lost to Getafe.
With the Catalans shorn of three of their top forwards, all eyes will be on Griezmann in his first appearance at the Camp Nou since his 120-million-euro ($133 million) move from Atletico Madrid, and not least because Barca need a win to kickstart their season.
Kylian Mbappe believes Les Bleus have what it takes to win the title in Russia if they all stick together.
Neymar was in a class of his own again on Sunday, scoring a double to help Paris St Germain extend their Ligue 1 lead to 10 points with a 2-0 win at Lille. The Brazilian dedicated his goal to former Los Angeles Lakers player Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash on Sunday, by raising two fingers in one hand and four fingers with the other to signal the number 24 -- Bryant's shirt number.
IMAGES from the UEFA Champions League second semi-final played at Estadio Jose Alvalade in Lisbon on Wednesday.
An insatiable Lionel Messi hit a hat-trick as Barcelona hammered Espanyol 5-0 in a local derby on Saturday to make it three wins from three and take full advantage after Liga champions Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Levante.
Awesome images from the world of Sport 2018.
The Catalans are overwhelming favourites to win the game and have an outstanding home record in the Champions League, remaining unbeaten at the Nou Camp in the competition since losing to Bayern Munich in 2013.
Tottenham Hotspur lost their cool and their Premier League title hopes as they let slip a two-goal lead at Chelsea to draw a stormy London derby 2-2 on Monday.
'He's an exceptional talent, him and Cristiano have been the best players in the world the last decade and he showed why we think that and why this team have won the Champions League so many times'
Santiago Solari got off to the perfect start as Real Madrid's interim coach when his side thrashed Melilla 4-0 in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday.
Many former players believe that storming out of games is a powerful tool to counter racism, a move that will force administrators to take the problem more seriously, and act in a way that compels clubs to obliterate such a culture and evict those responsible, says Dhruv Munjal.
Reports this weekend have claimed Bale will put pen to paper on a three-year deal with Jiangsu and earn a staggering one million pound per week as he leaves Real Madrid following a six-season stint during which the winger has won four UEFA Champions League titles and the 2017 La Liga crown.
Didier Deschamps has tough choices to make ahead of his young team's World Cup opener against Australia and the experienced Olivier Giroud could find himself on the bench.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday.
Southampton's 15 million pound ($19.19 million) purchase of Lazio centre back Wesley Hoedt brought the overall spend by England's 20 elite clubs to a record 1.184.9 billion pounds.
'There is no price limit to let him go or a price that we are ready to give in'
The victory takes Barcelona up to fourth with 10 points after six games, one point behind surprise leaders Granada, Athletic Bilbao, who visit Leganes on Wednesday, and Real Madrid ahead of their game at home to Osasuna the same night.
The midfield duo, who both have dual Moroccan-Belgian nationality, kept Belgium alive with their goals off the bench in the extraordinary round of 16 comeback against Japan and were handed starts in the 2-1 win over Brazil.
Lionel Messi scored one penalty and missed another as Barcelona beat Real Valladolid 1-0 on Saturday to open up a seven-point lead at the top of La Liga.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field
Manager Pep Guardiola tempered his delight at ManchesterCity's ability to fight back three times in a thrilling 3-3 draw against Celtic in the Champions League on Wednesday by urging his players to understand the importance of a good start.
Centre forward Eder, who scored the winning goal in the Euro 2016 final against France, was among 10 players from that squad omitted from Santos's list. Other unlucky players included midfielders Andre Gomes and Renato Sanches, forward Nani and defender Eliseu.
Real Madrid ended their long wait for a La Liga victory by beating Real Valladolid 2-0 on Saturday with two late goals in interim coach Santiago Solari's first home game in charge of the struggling European champions.
Barca captain Messi opened the scoring with a "Panenka" penalty chipped straight down the middle in the 17th minute after Luis Suarez was fouled in the area, putting the home side ahead in the tie after a goalless first leg in France.
Neto will sign a four-year deal with Barcelona that will keep him at the club until the end of the 2022-23 season and he will replace Dutch goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen who moved the other way on Wednesday.
Leicester City's Kelechi Iheanacho scored two poacher's goals as they beat Manchester United 3-1 in their FA Cup quarter-final on Sunday to set up a last-four clash against Southampton.
Tottenham Hotspur will be without five key players for at least two weeks due to injury, but manager Mauricio Pochettino was in upbeat mood ahead of the Champions League clash with Barcelona on Wednesday.
With no clear sense of direction being set by Deschamps' selections, it may be up to the players to find their own way to deal with Messi.
Belgium's World Cup clash against England on Thursday could feel like a Tottenham training ground for players on both sides but defender Jan Vertonghen insists there will be no joking around.
Images from the football matches played across Europe on Wednesday.
Although he did not put up a scintillating display in midfield, Pogba powered into the box after a couple of one-twos and scored with a slightly deflected lob to earn Les Bleus all three points.
Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich survived several first-half scares in a 1-1 home draw with midtable Schalke 04 on Saturday as Philipp Lahm made his 500th appearance for the Bavarian club.
Borussia Dortmund missed a bagful of chances to draw 1-1 at home with Augsburg on Tuesday, as they squandered the opportunity to make up ground in the Bundesliga title race heading into the winter break.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances