Barcelona seized control of their King's Cup quarter-final tie against Atletico Madrid when Lionel Messi followed up his saved penalty to score and secure a 1-0 first-leg victory at the Nou Camp on Wednesday.
An under-strength Barcelona got their Champions League campaign off to a solid if unspectacular start when Gerard Pique's header secured a laboured 1-0 win at home to APOEL in their Group F opener on Wednesday.
Barcelona take a 32-match unbeaten run to Arsenal for the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie on Tuesday as the Catalans continue their bid to become the first team to retain the trophy in 26 years.
Lionel Messi fittingly sealed Barcelona's 26th La Liga title on Saturday by coming off the bench to score the goal in a 1-0 win over Levante in front of a jubilant Nou Camp crowd, who celebrated a remarkable eighth league crown in 11 years.
'We were not lying yesterday when we said in the press conference Iran is a tough team'
Spain goalkeeper David de Gea made a rare error which led to his side drawing 1-1 at home to Switzerland in a World Cup warm-up friendly on Sunday which the hosts dominated but failed to make their superior possession count.
Lionel Messi marked his 300th La Liga appearance with a record-equalling hat-trick and an assist for Neymar as Barcelona stayed hard on the heels of leaders Real Madrid with a 5-0 romp at home to Levante on Sunday.
Barcelona's lead at the top of La Liga was cut to two points on Saturday as they squandered a two-goal advantage to draw 2-2 at Sevilla while Real Madrid powered their way to a 3-0 home win over Eibar.
The 41-year-old has made 640 appearances in Serie A, within striking distance of the 647-game record of AC Milan defender Paolo Maldini. Buffon began his career at Parma before moving to the Turin club in 2001.
A second-string Spain celebrated coach Vicente del Bosque's two-year contract extension with a 2-1 away win over Equatorial Guinea in a friendly on Saturday that was marred by an injury to Xabi Alonso.
Lionel Messi scored his 12th league goal of the season but Barcelona had to rely on exceptional saves from Marc-Andre ter Stegen as they rode their luck to win 2-0 at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday and stay four points clear at the top of La Liga.
Bigger than ever, the European Championship kicks off in Paris next month with a four-week feast of football that promises to elevate the game above the corruption scandals and security fears that have overshadowed its build-up.
A summary of Thursday's second leg quarter-final matches in the Europa League.
Setien was named Barcelona coach late on Monday, tasked with the job of restoring the club's iconic passing style, but the appointment represents a huge gamble for the Catalans given the 61-year-old's lack of success at the highest level.
Paris St Germain buried the ghosts of their embarrassing 2017 exit as they drew 1-1 at home with Barcelona on Wednesday to complete a 5-2 aggregate victory that sent them into the Champions League quarter-finals.
Luis Suarez struck twice and Lionel Messi scored on his 500th appearance for Barcelona who set a new Spanish record of goals in a calendar year with a 4-0 win over Real Betis that lifted them top of La Liga on Wednesday.
Barcelona forwards Ousmane Dembele and Lionel Messi fired the Catalans to a confidence-boosting 2-0 win at in-form Sevilla on Saturday to keep the pressure on La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid.
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has called Atletico Madrid's Brazil-born forward Diego Costa into his squad for the first time for this month's friendlies away to Equatorial Guinea and South Africa.
Lionel Messi was back in scoring business for Barcelona on Sunday, leading them to a resounding 4-0 win at home against Villarreal in a near-perfect La Liga opener for the Catalans under new coach Ronald Koeman.
If you ask Barcelona and Spain fans about their most cherished footballing memories over the past decade the chances are they will involve an exquisite intervention from midfield maestro Xavi.
Barcelona wrap up 23rd La Liga crown with Lionel Messi goal.
Underlying tensions mean Luis Enrique will not be remembered with the same reverence as Pep Guardiola, even though he has delivered a similar trophy haul.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Real Madrid dropped points for the third time in seven games since Zinedine Zidane's return as they were held to a 0-0 draw away to Getafe in La Liga on Thursday, which harmed their neighbours' hopes of a top-four finish.
Bigger than ever, the European Championship kicks off in Paris on Friday with a four-week feast of football that promises to elevate the game above the corruption scandals and security fears that have overshadowed its build-up. All eyes will be on hosts France when they get the ball rolling against Romania in the Stade de France -- 210 days after suicide bombers at the same venue triggered a night of horror across the capital which killed 130 people.
Barcelona suffered a first home defeat of the season when they lost 3-2 against Valencia after finishing with 10 men in La Liga on Saturday, leaving the door open for Madrid rivals Atletico and Real to move above them.
Real Madrid's stuttering season continued as they were reduced to 10 men and then slumped to an 11th La Liga defeat of the campaign by going down 3-1 at Real Sociedad.
Barcelona are still trying to lure Paris St Germain centre back Thiago Silva to the Nou Camp but will look elsewhere if they fail to snare the Brazil international, coach Tito Vilanova said on Tuesday.
Real Madrid's star striker Cristiano Ronaldo made up for his otherwise quiet night by scoring the winner to beat Barcelona 2-1 win at the CampNou in Barcelona on Saturday.
With five titles, Barca are now level with AC Milan on all-time UEFA Super Cup winners list
Coach Ernesto Valverde and midfielder Sergio Busquets were due to give a news conference before the training session but spoke to the media after training due to their late arrival.
Barcelona took a big step towards the Champions League semi-finals.
La Liga champions Barcelona began the new campaign with a 3-0 win over Alaves on Saturday with the help of a spectacular under-the-wall free kick from Lionel Messi, who scored twice, and a curling shot from substitute Philippe Coutinho.
Former world champions Spain will have to wait to regain their past glory but they need not discard their attractive brand of football that earned them fans and laurels, World Cup-winning defender Joan Capdevila told Reuters in an interview.
Leicester rely on the old fashioned virtues of work rate, no-nonsense defending and speedy attacks.
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.
Images from football friendlies played on Wednesday.
Wayne Rooney celebrated his 100th England cap by scoring a penalty to lead his team to a 3-1 win over Slovenia in a Euro 2016 Group E qualifier at Wembley on Saturday which only came to life after halftime.
The Champions League Group F match between Barcelona and Ajax was a cracker of a contest.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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