Luis Suarez and Rafinha scored in the first half before three late goals in seven minutes including two from Neymar gave Barcelona a 5-0 win at 10-man Sporting Gijon on Saturday, their first game this season without Lionel Messi. ? After a slow and dull start by Barca, Arda Turan set up Suarez and the Uruguayan rounded Sporting goalkeeper Ivan Cuellar to tap in the opener in the 29th minute.
Barca, who had a rather disappointing season, managed to restore some pride with victory over last season's second division champions in what was the final match to be played at Atletico Madrid's Vicente Calderon Stadium.
Argentina was due to host this year's Copa America but withdrew at the last minute due to a surge of COVID-19 cases. The tournament was moved to Brazil, even though the death toll there is higher than anywhere outside the United States.
Barcelona have denied wrongdoing after local media said Spain's public prosecutor had asked for charges to be brought against the club for alleged tax fraud in last year's signing of Brazil forward Neymar.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Wednesday night.
Major world record deals are here.
This and more from the happenings in the world of football
Argentina finished their 2021 Copa America campaign unbeaten. Lionel Scaloni's side finished top of their group with three wins and a draw against Chile. In the quarter-final, they beat Ecuador 3-0 to progress to the final four.
You may be entranced by the foot magic, but don't miss the hair cuts!
'We want to play football and not roulette, which is what this type of refereeing provokes. The penalty claims by Neymar and me are clear but we already know how this works'
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.
Rediff.com brings you some interesting clicks from the by lanes of Indian cities that summarise the soccer madness...
PSG have never reached the semi-finals of the Champions League
Arsenal's defence not afraid of Barcelona trio, says Ozil
Check out some exciting hairstyles sported by the players at the ongoing football World Cup in Brazil.
Images from the football matches played across Europe on Tuesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Paris St Germain suffered their first defeat of the season when they were beaten 2-0 at Stade Rennais on Sunday to drop their first Ligue 1 points of the season.
The Brazilian, the only player to claim three World Cup winner's medals and a man often called the greatest footballer of all time, said all monies raised will help Brazil's fight against and recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Real Madrid's Portugal striker Cristiano Ronaldo was crowned the best soccer player in the world for the second year running at FIFA's The Best awards gala on Monday.
Barcelona have asked Spain's Court for Sport (TAD) to open disciplinary proceedings against La Liga chief Javier Tebas after he criticised the team's reaction to an empty bottle being thrown in from the stands during a goal celebration.
One goal determined the outcome of the Champions League final on Sunday but there could be no doubt that Bayern Munich deserve to be crowned European champions for the sixth time. With a 1-0 victory over Paris St Germain courtesy of Kingsley Coman's header, Bayern have achieved what no team have managed in Europe's elite club competition -- win every game.
Brazil scored twice in the last four minutes, the second a first international goal from Real Madrid striker Rodrygo, to cap a comfortable 4-0 win over Paraguay in Tuesday's World Cup qualifier in Belo Horizonte.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The historic rivals will meet again twice in August in the Spanish Super Cup and this International Champions Cup match set the entertainment bar high, with Barcelona maintaining their 100 per cent record in pre-season.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored the 750th goal of his remarkable career in a 3-0 win over Dynamo Kyiv on Wednesday
On Saturday evening, Lionel Messi finally got what had eluded arguably the finest footballer of his generation throughout his glorious career -- a trophy playing for his country.
The Barcelona striker has won the FIFA World Player of the Year a record six times and is widely considered one of the greatest players ever to play the game, alongside Pele and countryman Diego Maradona. But his inability to win an international title with Argentina always left an asterisk beside his name on the all-time greats list.
The PSG frontline is already formidable, with Messi's former Barca team mate Neymar and young France striker Kylian Mbappe seen as two of the best players on the planet.
Liverpool were beaten 1-0 away to Atletico Madrid in their last-16 first leg on Tuesday.
Photos from the UEFA Champions League Round of 16, 2nd leg match played between FC Barcelona and Arsenal at the Camp Nou on Wednesday
Defending champions Brazil advanced to the quarter-finals of the men's Olympic soccer tournament after a 3-1 victory over Saudi Arabia on Wednesday helped them top Group D, while Ivory Coast booked their berth by sending Germany home.
Cristiano Ronaldo helped Juventus continue their unbeaten start to the Serie A season with a comfortable 2-0 home victory over struggling SPAL on Saturday.
Two late moments of Lionel Messi magic and a goal from Neymar helped Barcelona break the resistance of Bayern Munich in a pulsating 3-0 victory in their Champions League semi-final first leg at the Nou Camp on Wednesday.
There is never a dearth of drama in European football and here is proof...
Serie A witnessed some breath-taking football action, especially when AC Milan could not convert the umpteen chances they had against Sassuolo while Inter went to top. In Ligue 1 action, all the star players found the net for PSG. Here are images from the soccer matches played across Europe on Sunday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Brazil remain bitter about the tackle that ended their marquee striker Neymar's World Cup but hope his absence will inspire the rest of the team in Tuesday's semi-final against Germany.
Barcelona's Neymar struck twice to put the Spanish side in the Champions League final despite a 3-2 loss at Bayern Munich on Tuesday as they progressed 5-3 on aggregate and will face Real Madrid or Juventus next month.
