Images from the Champions League matches played on Tuesday
Rafa Benitez kicked off his tenure as Real Madrid boss with a frustrating 7-6 penalty shootout loss to AS Roma in a pre-season friendly on Saturday.
Real Madrid endured their toughest test at Granada on Monday since La Liga restarted but showed real determination to grind out a 2-1 win and record their ninth consecutive victory as they moved within touching distance of reclaiming the title. Early goals from Ferland Mendy and Karim Benzema were enough to restore a four-point lead over Barcelona and Real will clinch their first league title since 2017 with a win over Villarreal on Thursday or at Leganes on the final day of the season.
Images from La Liga matches played on Saturday.
Striker Robinho scored twice in a virtuoso second-half display to help Real Madrid to a 4-2 victory over 10-man Olympiakos in an action-packed Champions League game at the Bernabeu on Wednesday.
Karim Benzema is returning to full fitness at just the right time for Real Madrid, who will play Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final on May 28. Coach Zinedine Zidane was relieved to see the Frenchman come back from a hamstring problem and score in Sunday's 3-2 triumph over Valencia, a result that kept Real just a point behind Barcelona with one game to go in the race for the league title. "He's not been at 100 percent for a while. We've seen that it wasn't easy for him physically," Zidane told Real's website. "(Against Valencia) he coped with it well and without any problems. We've got two games left. He's getting better every day and he's not feeling any discomfort from his last injury."
A summary of Tuesday night's matches in the Champions League.
Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale said on Wednesday he has an extra incentive to reach a third Champions League final in four years because the title game will be played in his hometown of Cardiff. "This is the reason I came to Madrid - to play in the Champions League, to win the Champions League," the 27-year-old Bale said in an interview with UEFA.com. "To have the Champions League final in my home town is an even bigger motivation," he said.
Images from the El Clasico match between Barcelona and Real Madrid played at Camp Nou on Saturday.
Madrid went into halftime with a three-goal lead after Marco Asensio scored twice in three minutes and debutant Javi Sanchez also got on the scoresheet late in the half.
Ten-man Real Madrid slumped to a surprise 1-0 defeat at Levante on Sunday as the tiny Valencia-based club ended the nine-times European champions' perfect start to the season.
Harry Kane scored his 36th goal of the season but Bayern Munich let a second-half lead slip to draw 2-2 with Hamburg SV.
Spain's Real Madrid retained the title of the world's richest football club in the past year thanks to sponsorship and TV deals robust enough to endure a season without a major trophy, a study showed on Thursday.
Real Madrid's talismanic striker Raul bid an emotional farewell to the La Liga club on Monday after 16 seasons and said he is eying a move to the German Bundesliga or the English Premier League.
Real Madrid chose a design led by German architects GMP for the remodelling of the Bernabeu, which was opened in the 1950s and holds just over 80,000 spectators, at an estimated cost of 400 million euros.
No details of the fee for Rodriguez were disclosed but media reports said it was around 80 million euros (63.2 million pounds).
Barcelona came within a whisker of an improbable comeback after last month's thrashing, with 18-year-old midfielder Marc Bernal, starting in place of the injured Frenkie De Jong, scoring in each half and Raphinha converting a penalty after Pedri was fouled.
'An act of racism is a criminal act... From now on, FIFA will take legal actions with local authorities too, we will join complaints filed in local justice.'
A round-up of Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Real Madrid are attempting to revive former glories to inspire them on their mission to overturn a two-goal deficit at arch-rivals Barcelona in Tuesday's Champions League semi-final second leg.
Barcelona playmaker Xavi has dismissed the idea that Real Madrid's battling performance with 10 men in La Liga on Saturday would give them a confidence boost for Wednesday's King's Cup final.
Real Madrid's unbeaten start to the La Liga season came to an abrupt and surprising end as Real Mallorca claimed a stunning 1-0 victory at a rocking Son Moix on Saturday to climb out of the relegation zone.
English champions Chelsea maintained their perfect start to the season but Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid were held 0-0 at Real Mallorca and German champions Bayern suffered a shock defeat to Kaiserslautern.
A spectacular goal by Jean Makoun gave Olympique Lyon a 1-0 win over Real Madrid in their Champions League last-16 first leg on Tuesday, handing the Spaniards their first away defeat in this season's competition. Lyon picked up their third successive home win over Real in the Champions League after the Cameroon midfielder drove a stunning 25-metre shot into the top corner of the net in the 47th minute.
Manuel Pellegrini's future as Real Madrid coach was called into question on Wednesday after the big-spending side's 4-0 thrashing at third-tier Alcorcon in the first leg of their King's Cup tie.
James Rodriguez curled home a superb free kick to cap Real Madrid's 3-0 win over Inter Milan in a friendly in Guangzhou on Monday.
Real Madrid extended their lead at the top of the Primera Liga with an unconvincing 4-3 home victory over Real Mallorca at the Bernabeu on Sunday.
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said there was nothing wrong with talisman Cristiano Ronaldo as the Portuguese marked his longest run without scoring at the Santiago Bernabeu with a near anonymous display in a 3-0 win over Leganes on Sunday. A Gareth Bale double and a second half strike from Alvaro Morata sealed the win that kept Real top of La Liga but Zidane faced further questions about the form of Ronaldo, who has not scored in five home games, his longest run without a goal in front of Real's fans since joining the club in 2009. Ronaldo's last goal at the Bernabeu came against Sporting Lisbon on Sept. 14. His only goal there in the league was against Osasuna on Sept. 10.
Barcelona's rescheduled La Liga game at home to Real Madrid is set to take place on December 18 as both clubs came to an agreement after the match, due to be played on October 26, was postponed amid violent political demonstrations in Catalonia.
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho has responded to criticism of his tactics from honorary club president Alfredo Di Stefano by pointing out he is the one who makes the decisions about the way the team plays.
'We aren't playing well and we can't blame the coach, as the players are the ones who have to perform on the pitch'
Nine-time European champion Real Madrid have ended Manchester United's run as the world's most valuable soccer team, according to an annual survey released by Forbes on Wednesday.
The Frenchman, who won nine trophies in two-and-a-half years, suggested it is events off the pitch, rather than on it, that made him leave.
Adrien Rabiot scored two goals as AC Milan came from behind to earn a 3-1 victory at Como on Thursday.
A Cristiano Ronaldo hat-trick helped Real Madrid fight back to beat classy Villarreal 4-2 on Sunday to cut Barcelona's La Liga lead to two points.
Holders Real Madrid reached the Champions League final for a third year in a row after taking advantage of Bayern Munich's carelessness in attack and defence to draw 2-2 in their semi-final second leg on Tuesday, and winning 4-3 on aggregate, at the Santiago Bernabeu, in Madrid, Spain, on Tuesday.
The Real Madrid midfielder defended the club's Galactico policy.
Napoli have agreed to buy Spain centre back Raul Albiol from Real Madrid, the Serie A club said on Sunday.
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