Images from the football matches played across Europe on Wednesday.
Barcelona's stuttering title bid suffered another setback when they lost 2-1 at home to Valencia on Sunday, while Atletico Madrid moved level on points with the La Liga leaders after a comfortable win over Granda.
Barcelona manager Luis Enrique believes his team deserves to win "the best league in Europe" as they aim to clinch La Liga in a potentially thrilling climax to the Spanish season on Saturday.
Thomas Partey scored his first goal for Atletico Madrid as they reached the last 16 of the King's Cup with a 1-0 home victory over third-tier Reus on Thursday that secured a 3-1 aggregate success.
Cristiano Ronaldo has accepted that he needs to rest more and that sitting out the odd game is in the interests of him and Real Madrid, coach Zinedine Zidane said on Friday. Real's all-time top scorer has missed four of his team's 15 league games this season, two more than in the whole of the last campaign, and he was a surprise omission from the squad for Wednesday's King's Cup game against Sevilla. Zidane remarked last year that he would prefer Ronaldo to rest more after injuries forced him to miss vital games at the end of the season, although the Frenchman appears to have reached agreement with his talisman this campaign.
Images from football matches played in La Liga and Serie A in Spain and Italy on Wednesday.
Saul Niguez's second-half strike gave Atletico Madrid a 1-0 win at home to Las Palmas on Saturday, their first victory in four games in all competitions.
Four-times winners Germany enjoyed a 3-0 win over Group J rivals Iceland
Images from Thursday's action in the Europa League Europa League - Round of 16 Second Leg - matches.
London sides Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal made winning starts as did fellow Premier League club Leicester City.
Lionel Messi notched a 20th assist of the season to help a lacklustre Barcelona secure a 1-0 win away to Real Valladolid on Saturday, maintaining the pressure on La Liga leaders Real Madrid. Cristiano Ronaldo converted two penalties, both awarded for handballs and the second in the last minute, as Serie A leader Juventus twice hit back to draw 2-2 with Atalanta to move closer to a ninth successive Serie A title on Saturday.
These images prove we live in a wonderfully weird world.
Images from football matches played across Europe on Sunday.
Arsenal might be struggling in the Premier League but they are 100 per cent in Group B of the Europa League
Valencia recaptured fourth place in La Liga from Sevilla when Sofiane Feghouli scored the pick of the goals in a 4-0 stroll at home to second-from-bottom Granada on Monday.
Atletico coach Simeone defends VAR for making football fairer
Messi scored twice and created goals for Arturo Vidal and Luis Suarez as champions Barca moved top of the table with 22 points from 10 matches.
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 week ago, Barcelona still had a chance of repeating the historic treble of 2009 but defeats in Europe and La Liga mean Wednesday's King's Cup final against Real Madrid may be their only hope of major silverware this season.
The underdogs kept their noses in front as Liverpool beat Manchester City 3-2 to stay top of the Premier League and Atletico Madrid won 2-0 at Getafe to increase their lead in La Liga after Barcelona slipped up at lowly Granada. Read on to meet the players of the weekend...
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.
Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur built hefty leads with emphatic away wins in their Europa League last 32 first-leg matches but AC Milan were held to a 2-2 draw at Red Star Belgrade as the competition resumed on Thursday.
Federico Valverde has already made over 100 appearances at senior level - while winning silverware and recognition both with his current side Madrid and country Uruguay, and showing the physical, technical and mental attributes to become one of world football's outstanding midfielders.
Atletico Madrid's troubles away from home continued when they were held to a goalless draw at Alaves on Saturday, dropping points on the road for a second consecutive week and losing Uruguay international Jose Maria Gimenez to injury.
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.
Barcelona forward David Villa has been admitted to hospital due to a bout of renal colic and may be unavailable for Saturday's league game at Granada, the La Liga leaders said on Monday.
There are no differences between the two genders when it comes to fantasising about sex -- they think in the same direction!
Images from the football matches played across Europe on Sunday.
Barcelona goalkeeper Claudio Bravo injured his calf in their 2-0 victory at Real Betis in La Liga on Saturday, making him a doubt for the final two games of their title challenge.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 22nd La Liga goal of the season to set Real Madrid on their way to a laboured 2-0 win at home to Granada on Saturday that lifted them above Barcelona and Atletico Madrid to the top of the standings.
Real Madrid can pip Barcelona to the La Liga title on Saturday even though their destiny is out of their hands, coach Zinedine Zidane said on the eve of the season finale.
Cristiano Ronaldo said on Tuesday his sadness had nothing to do with money as the Real Madrid forward looked to head off media speculation he simply wanted for a more lucrative deal.
Cristiano Ronaldo's sadness has come as a surprise to his Real Madrid team-mates, defender Alvaro Arbeloa said as he joined up with the Spain squad on Tuesday.
Real Madrid notched their first victory of the La Liga campaign at the third attempt when Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice in a 3-0 win for the champions at home to 10-man Granada on Sunday.
Real Madrid full back Marcelo looks set to miss the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie away to AS Roma next week after dislocating his shoulder.
Barcelona moved ever closer towards a successful defence of their La Liga title after nearest challengers Atletico Madrid suffered a shock late collapse at struggling Sporting Gijon to lose 2-1 on Saturday.
Julen Lopetegui's side were awarded a penalty early in the game after a VAR review determined forward Nolito had been fouled by Valladolid's Javi Moyano as he shaped to shoot, even though his team mates had barely appealed for a foul.
Check out the top footballers of the weekend...
Barcelona closed in on the La Liga title by thrashing local rivals Espanyol 5-0 on Sunday as Atletico Madrid dropped out of the race after losing 2-1 at Levante and Real Madrid beat Valencia 3-2.
Spain's soccer federation (RFEF) announced a three-year deal to play the revamped tournament in Saudi Arabia
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances