'To win the Olympic gold medal, I have been really working really hard for the past five years now, and it has always been my dream.'
A 'winning culture' may be one of the most over used terms in modern football but Real Madrid and Carlo Ancelotti proved on Saturday, at Liverpool's expense, that there truly is meaning and value in the concept.
The meeting between the last two Wimbledon champions proved one-sided as Poland's Kubot and Brazil's Melo, seeded seventh, had no answer for the tactical game deployed by the third-seeded American duo.
Former Argentina boss Marcelo Bielsa resigned as manager of Lazio after just two days in charge, the Italian Serie A club said in a statement on Friday.
Images from La Liga matches played on Sunday
Leander Paes reached the mixed doubles second round with partner Jelena Ostapenko while Rohan Bopanna progressed to the quarterfinals
Spanish winger Asensio cost Real a mere 3.5 million euros from Mallorca in 2014 and entered the game only in the 79th minute but played a decisive role in Cristiano Ronaldo and Marcelo each scoring late on to give the European champions the edge in the tie.
Zinedine Zidane's Real side demonstrated their new-found grit to re-take the lead
The goal gave Argentina all three points and condemned their neighbors to a losing start to their Copa campaign.
Real Madrid defender Marcelo says the club needed new direction after stuttering under Rafael Benitez and has praised Zinedine Zidane for 'breathing life back' into the team since taking over as coach in January.
Leeds United returned to the Premier League after a 16-year absence on Friday as West Bromwich Albion's loss at Huddersfield Town guaranteed them a top-two finish in the Championship. Three times English champions, Leeds were relegated from the Premier League in 2004 after hitting financial trouble and being forced to sell a host of big-name players such as Robbie Keane, Jonathan Woodgate and Lee Bowyer.
A round-up of Saturday's action in LaLiga, Ligue 1 and Serie A.
Karim Benzema netted a second-half hat-trick as Real Madrid got back to winning ways with a 3-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao in La Liga on Sunday.
The German pair, who beat 16-time major champions Mike and Bob Bryan en route to the final, raced through the opening set with two early breaks.
Chelsea remain in fourth place, and are two points off third-placed Leicester City who have a game in hand.
Sumit Nagal was beaten by world number 46 Albert Ramos-Vinolas 6-4, 2-6, 5-7.
La Liga leaders Barcelona earned a narrow 1-0 win over Real Valladolid to move seven points clear at the top, while Real Madrid lost 2-1 at home against Girona to fall to third behind Atletico Madrid.
Images from Saturday's La Liga action.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
Delhi Dynamos dominated the proceedings but yet again played out a draw in a 1-1 result against FC Pune City in a familiar show of their strikers missing chances galore in the Indian Super League football match in New Delhi on Thursday.
The FIFA 2022 World Cup will kick-off in Qatar on Sunday, November 20. Here is a list of the 26-man squads playing in the quadrennial global football extravaganza.
A round-up of Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
The sixth seed and world No. 6 Indian needed 42 minutes to get the better of Beiwin Zhang of the United States, ranked eight places below her, 21-14, 21-17.
A Marco Asensio-inspired Real Madrid crushed Eibar 3-0 to close the gap on La Liga leaders Barcelona to five points on Sunday, with Karim Benzema starting on the bench.
Real have three days to recover from the humbling defeat before Saturday's crunch local derby against Atletico Madrid
La Liga leaders Barcelona moved 10 points clear with a 4-1 win at Real Betis on Sunday after second place Atletico Madrid slipped up at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday in a 2-0 defeat.
Rahim Sterling, something of a surprise starter after a flat end to the domestic season but a favourite of manager Gareth Southgate, slid home a 61st-minute shot after great work by Kalvin Phillips to end an individual drought that had run through England's three previous major tournaments.
Images from Sunday's action in the Premier League.
Bayern edge closer to Bundesliga title after win at Arminia
Nicolas Gonzalez equalised for Argentina four minutes before half-time when he bulleted a header home from a Giovani Lo Celso corner kick.
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
The Argentine's representatives and Barcelona did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
An 87th-minute header from defender Diego Llorente gave Leeds United a 1-1 home draw with Liverpool in the Premier League on Monday after the home side staged a protest against the breakaway Super League prior to the kickoff.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Sunday.
Betis fans bow to 'extraordinary' Messi after sublime hat-trick Lionel Messi is used to receiving adulation at the Nou Camp but on Sunday he got a rapturous reception from rival supporters for a majestic hat-trick in Barcelona's 4-1 win at Real Betis. Messi opened the scoring with an unstoppable free kick then combined with devastating effect with Luis Suarez to carve Betis open and score a second goal right before halftime. The Argentine saved his best goal for last, completing a victory which took Barca 10 points clear at the top of La Liga with a spectacular first-timed chip from the edge of the area after playing a one-two with Ivan Rakitic. Beaten Betis goalkeeper Pau Lopez looked on in awe while the home supporters, renowned for devotion to their side, rose to their feet, bowed down to Messi and chanted his name. "Even though the opposition concedes goals to Messi they can still enjoy this unbelievable era which he has created, they enjoy it too and today they recognised that," said Barca coach Ernesto Valverde. "It's significant that they gave him this ovation, it's an acknowledgement. Our rivals' supporters have to suffer him but they also appreciate him, because of the player he is. "Leo's performance was extraordinary, he got three goals but he could have got four, that shows you how good he is." Betis coach Quique Setien commended his supporters for their treatment of Messi while saying he felt honoured to work in the same era as the Argentine. "I really like the fact that our supporters showed their appreciation for a great player, today he really made us suffer," Setien said. "It's only fair and it's right to recognise this, our fans behaved in an extraordinary way and I'm very proud of them. I've seen some magnificent players do great things but no-one can match the things Messi has done over the last 12 years. "It's a privilege to have been able to start this era with him and see him in action every weekend." The five-times world player of the year moved on to 39 goals in all competitions this season with two months still left in the campaign. It was Messi's 51st career hat-trick but he could not recall receiving such applause from a rival team's fans. "I cannot remember anything like this before and I'm very grateful for the fans' reaction," Messi said. "I'm very grateful to them and happy for the victory, which was very important."
Images from matches played across European leagues on Saturday
"We suspended the deal as a simple preventive measure, since there are complaints that could not be explained well by the complainant, so we opened a preliminary investigation last week," said Rosario, head of the Federal Comptroller General.
Portuguese forward Goncalves opened the scoring in the 15th minute, before putting Chennaiyin two-up by converting a penalty in the 21st minute.
Sevilla last week lost a crucial game 1-0 at home to Valencia, who are fifth, but fared better this time as Mesa gave them the lead with an exquisite first-time finish into the far top corner in the 41st minute.
Images from Sunday's action in La Liga and Ligue 1.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances