Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid resume a nail-biting La Liga title race on Saturday after all notched up victories on Wednesday. Leaders Barcelona, who ended a four-game winless streak by hammering Deportivo La Coruna 8-0 away from home, host struggling Sporting Gijon on Saturday. Atletico battled to a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao to stay level on 79 points with Barcelona, who top the table with a superior head-to-head record and host Malaga. Real stayed one point behind their title rivals after beating Villarreal 3-0 and are expected to be without top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo for their visit to struggling neighbours Rayo Vallecano. The Portuguese forward was unable to finish the game against Villarreal after suffering cramp in stoppage time but eased concerns he had suffered a serious injury.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann appear among the 55 nominees for the FIFPro 2016 World 11 released on Friday but England forward Wayne Rooney failed to make the shortlist for the first time. Portugal captain Ronaldo, led his country to victory at Euro 2016, while France forward Griezmann was the top player at the tournament. It is the first time that 25-year-old Griezmann has made the cut, but England captain Rooney is absent for the first time in the competition's 12-year history, after England crashed out of Euro 2016 to lowly Iceland.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Former Real Madrid and England manager gives a clear explanation to the Messi vs Ronaldo debate
'We will need to have a good day to get past a rival of this magnitude'
Luis Suarez played a part in all three of Barcelona's goals in a scrappy 3-1 victory at Granada.
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.
Barcelona must to wait to confirm a place in the Champions League last 16 after dropping points for the first time in Group D in an absorbing 0-0 draw at Olympiakos Piraeus on Tuesday.
Neymar scored the opener to continue his rich vein of form as 10-man Barcelona won a one-sided La Liga derby against Espanyol.
Former Brazilian great Ronaldinho feels that Lionel Messi has been the perfect senior to Neymar at Barcelona, exactly the role played by him when the Argentine stalwart joined the first team of the Catalan giants more than a decade ago. "I think so. When Messi came in, he was a young kid and there was so much potential in him. I thoroughly enjoyed playing with him and we did share a great rapport on the field and off it too.
Regarded as the Oscar of sports, the nominations for 2018 Laureus World Sports Awards were finalised following a ballot by the world's sports media.
Italian PM Conte confirmed that football clubs would return to training on Monday along with other sports teams but could not give any details about when Serie A would resume.
Luis Suarez scored four goals and Lionel Messi grabbed a hat-trick as Barcelona all but wrapped up their King's Cup semi-final by crushing Valencia 7-0 in the first leg at the Nou Camp on Wednesday.
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone praised his team's spirit after knocking holders Barcelona out of the Champions League.
Conte wants 'perfect game', while hoping Messi's goal drought continues
Unzue is one of the two leading candidates to succeed Luis Enrique, who announced this month he will leave at the end of this season, along with Athletic Bilbao coach Ernesto Valverde.
Barcelona talisman has become just as dangerous from dead ball situations too
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.
European soccer's governing body UEFA on Monday said clubs and players joining the proposed breakaway Super League could be banned from all of its competitions and the World Cup as it condemned a "disgraceful and self-serving proposal".
The Champions League group stages took on a less predictable look after Thursday's draw, helped by UEFA's decision to tweak the seeding system.
Iniesta has spent all of his senior career at Barcelona and is their most decorated player ever along with Lionel Messi, having lifted 31 trophies, which is soon to be 32 if Barca clinch the Liga title on Sunday at Deportivo La Coruna.
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
The Spaniard became the most successful foreign manager in the history of English football, after clinching his fourth Premier League crown.
Bayern Munich have signed Dutch defender Matthijs de Ligt from Juventus on a deal until 2027, the German Bundesliga champions said on Tuesday.
The Catalans have kept five clean sheets in their last six games, which bodes well for their title run in.
Barcelona battled back from a goal down and scored twice in the second half to overcome hosts Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-1 in their Champions League Group C match on Wednesday despite the absence of the injured Lionel Messi.
IMAGES from Europa League matches played on Thursday.
Lionel Messi's exquisite Champions League double for Barcelona against Bayern Munich was a case of history repeating itself with an added magnificent assist for Neymar to seal an emphatic 3-0 semi-final, first leg win.
As Ronaldo cried over his fate while the moth sat on his eye, some smart folk decided to create a meme out of the situation.
Barcelona have had to overcome many changes to win their 23rd La Liga title, coach Luis Enrique said.
Barca overcome solid Bilbao challenge to scrape through 1-0.
Barcelona were third on 648.3 million euros.
From bloody noses to sparks on the race track, Rediff.com has the best pictures from the last week snapped right here...
Claudio Bravo was pictured leaving Barcelona Airport on Tuesday and his expected move to Manchester City is likely to trigger the departure of England goalkeeper Joe Hart. The 33-year-old Bravo is set for a medical this week at the Etihad Stadium where he will team up again with Pep Guardiola, his former manager at Barca. The Spanish champions said on Saturday they had reached a "preliminary agreement with City" for the sale of the Chile captain.
Barcelona rubber-stamped a decade of domestic dominance by clinching the La Liga title on Sunday
'Dad, I understand and respect your opinion but my decision has been taken. I ask that you support me as you always do'
Federico Valverde finished off a stunning move in extra time to give Real Madrid a 3-2 victory over arch-rivals Barcelona
Lionel Messi reclaimed the FIFA Ballon d'Or award for the world player of the year on Monday from his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo who had walked off with the award for the previous two years.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Barcelona midfielder Ivan Rakitic embraced the art of winning ugly after they beat 10-man Real Betis 2-0 to move closer to retaining their La Liga title.
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