With a fifth world player of the year award safely tucked away in the trophy cabinet, Lionel Messi can set his sights on one of the next milestones in his remarkable career: reaching 500 goals for club and country. The Barcelona and Argentina forward can add to his jaw-dropping tally of 479 in 609 official games -- 430 for Barca and 49 for his national team -- in Sunday's La Liga match at home to Athletic Bilbao. The 28-year-old from Rosario, who picked up the FIFA Ballon d'Or on Monday, is looking close to his best following a two-month injury layoff late last year and netted a hat-trick when second-placed Barca crushed Granada 4-0 at the Nou Camp last weekend in their most recent outing in Spain's top flight.
Italy's ability to get over the line in by far their biggest challenge of the Euros so far has made many people on the peninsula more convinced than ever of their ability to go on and win it on Sunday.
Chelsea's Marcos Alonso and Real Madrid's Nacho were notable absentees in defence, along with Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke.
Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta believes his team will be made to suffer by Sevilla in the King's Cup final on Sunday, but that they will emerge victorious.
David Zurutuza struck twice to help Real Sociedad seal a remarkable comeback and beat Real Madrid 4-2 in La Liga.
Luis Suarez completed a hat-trick thanks to a cheeky Lionel Messi assist from the penalty spot as Barcelona crushed Celta Vigo 6-1 to restore their three-point cushion over Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga on Sunday.
IMAGES from the UEFA Nations League matches played on Sunday.
There was no dearth of praise for little magician Lionel Messi who struck his 500th goal for FC Barcelona on Sunday.
Five-times European champions Barca, with their trident of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar subdued, have not exited in the last 16 since going out to Liverpool in the 2006/07 season and the score equalled their worst Champions league loss.
Lionel Messi scored within three minutes of returning to action for the first time in more than three weeks to help fire La Liga champions Barcelona to a resounding 4-0 home win over Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday.
Cristiano Ronaldo ensured Atletico Madrid fans will have bitter memories of the last local derby at the Vicente Calderon stadium by scoring a hat-trick in a 3-0 win for La Liga leaders Real Madrid on Saturday. Ronaldo's deflected free kick put Real in charge in the 23rd minute in the first meeting of the teams since the Champions League final in May. The prolific Portuguese killed off Atletico's resistance by winning and converting a penalty in the 71st minute and capped a harrowing night for the home side by tapping in the third in the 77th.
Barcelona's outlay of 20 million euros ($22 million) on Jeremy Mathieu last July prompted plenty of criticism but the France centre back has been worth his weight in gold in the La Liga leaders' last two outings.
Spain ended European champions Italy's world record 37-match unbeaten run as Ferran Torres scored twice in a 2-1 win at the San Siro stadium in an entertaining Nations League semi-final on Wednesday.
A lacklustre Barcelona squandered the chance to go top of La Liga after crashing to a shock 1-0 home defeat by Malaga on Saturday.
Neymar took time to settle but is finally shining in Barcelona's devastating attacking trident with Villarreal the next La Liga opponents in their sights on Sunday as the Catalans continue their pursuit of Real Madrid.
Lionel Messi netted the 400th goal of his storied career on Saturday as Barcelona trounced Granada 6-0 to maintain the pace at the top of La Liga.
The South American trio of Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez reached a scorching 108 goals for the season following the La Liga leaders' 8-0 destruction of Cordoba on Saturday but the team's defence is yet to dispel doubts
Barcelona's new midfield playmaker Arda Turan has said it will be tough for him not being able to play until January due to a ban on the club on registering players.
The unseeded Indian beat the 11th seed 21-11, 13-21, 21-7 in a second round match that lasted an hour and two minutes.
The plane carrying Chapecoense to the Copa Sudamericana final, first leg against Atletico Nacional crashed into mountains outside Medellin, Colombia on November 28 after running out of fuel, killing 71 of the 77 people on board
'We still depend on ourselves. Our margin for error has run out and we are aware of the challenge.'
First meets second as Barcelona host Atletico Madrid on Saturday looking to tighten their grip on the La Liga title race. The sides are level on 48 points at the top of the table, but Barca have a game in hand on Atletico and can take a huge step towards a fifth title in seven years with an eighth consecutive win in all competitions. Indeed, Luis Enrique's men remain on course for a repeat of the treble of La Liga, Champions League and Copa del Rey they won last season after progressing to the semi-finals of the Cup with a come from behind 3-1 win over Athletic Bilbao in midweek. Yet, the European champions have been far from their best in the past week as they were outplayed by Malaga and Bilbao in the first-half before being salvaged by individual moments of magic after the break. "We are aware of the errors we need to correct," said Luis Suarez after taking his tally for the season already to 30 with the equalizer against Bilbao.
A Chelsea deal for Barcelona forward Lionel Messi would be impossible under financial fair play rules, assistant coach Steve Holland said on Friday.
The excitement is building among fans of Spanish third-tier side Villanovense ahead of the visit of Barcelona in the King's Cup on Wednesday, but both sides would prefer the two-legged tie to be decided by a one-off match.
Uruguay's Luis Suarez has been suspended for nine matches and banned for four months from any football-related activity for biting an opponent, during the World Cup match against Italy.
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone praised his team's spirit after knocking holders Barcelona out of the Champions League.
Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos scored in the 90th minute to hold FC Barcelona to a 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou on Saturday.
A magical Lionel Messi goal, the first of a personal double, led treble-chasing Barcelona to a 3-1 victory over Athletic Bilbao in the King's Cup final on Saturday.
Real Madrid warmed up for their crunch meeting against Barcelona by thrashing Sevilla 4-0 and coach Zinedine Zidane believes his team "can do great things" if they match the performance they produced against Unai Emery's side.
Tuesday's match was the latest masterclass from the South American trio, known in Spain as 'MSN', whose goals have put Barca on the brink of repeating 2009's treble of Champions League and Spanish league and Cup triumphs, the only time a La Liga club have achieved the feat.
A summary of Saturday night's matches in the Euro 2020 qualifiers.
'I've been here 20 years and many times had the opportunity to leave. I don't have to convince you my preference has always been Arsenal'
Atletico Madrid captain Gabi said his team would not be lulled into complacency by Barcelona's faltering form when they host the Champions League holders in the second leg of their quarter-final on Wednesday.
Coach Zinedine Zidane learned the lessons of predecessor Rafael Benitez's disastrous tactics in the last encounter and employed defensive midfielder Casemiro in favour of more attack-minded players, opting instead to sit and wait for Barcelona.
Memories and images of Johan Cruyff will provide an emotional backdrop to Saturday's Nou Camp 'Clasico' against Real Madrid when Barcelona pay tribute to the man who transformed the club from also-rans into one of the game's superpowers.
Defender Gerard Pique grabbed a rare winner and Lionel Messi scored yet another beauty as Barcelona came from behind to beat Sevilla 2-1 at the Nou Camp on Sunday and reclaim an eight-point lead at the top of La Liga.
Suarez moved ahead of Ronaldo as the league's top scorer on 34 goals after netting four times, twice with penalties, in the space of 25 second-half minutes
Lionel Messi was in inspired form as champions Barcelona hammered Celta Vigo 5-0 on Saturday, recording a fourth straight league victory which keeps them top of La Liga after Real Madrid had put the pressure on the Catalans with a 4-1 win at Eibar.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi broke free from Arsenal's shackles to score two late goals and put the Champions League holders on the brink of the quarter-finals with a clinical 2-0 victory at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday.
Four-times winners Germany enjoyed a 3-0 win over Group J rivals Iceland
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances