Real Madrid captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas has called for a big improvement after the European champions suffered a surprise early-season setback at Real Sociedad in La Liga on Sunday.
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.
Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice to lift Real Madrid to a 4-1 home win over Real Sociedad on Sunday which trimmed Barcelona's lead at the top of La Liga to seven points.
Dimitar Berbatov struck a spectacular hat-trick to steer Manchester United to a 3-2 win over Liverpool in the Premier League and former Old Trafford favourite Cristiano Ronaldo was on target for Real Madrid.
Atletico Madrid took a giant step towards the La Liga title
'It's a prize that's called The Best and the guy who is, for us, the best player in the world wasn't there.'
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone may have played down the significance of Sunday's 2-1 La Liga defeat at Real Sociedad but it has raised further questions about the champions' ability to defend their title.
Barcelona forward Neymar has trained with the squad for the first time since injuring his ankle last month and is close to a return to action, the club said on Monday.
AC midfielder Franck Kessie scored from a penalty to give AC Milan a 2-2 draw away to Napoli in Serie A on Sunday, sparing the blushes of his goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma whose mistakes provided the hosts with both their goals. Sevilla closed in on Champions League qualification by beating struggling Real Mallorca 2-0 at home to open up a nine-point gap in the race for fourth spot in La Liga.
Barcelona's Champions League last-16 second leg match with Napoli scheduled for March 18 will take place without spectators due to fears over the spread of the coronavirus, a club spokesman said on Tuesday. The match will take place at Camp Nou after a 1-1 draw in Napoli, but no supporters will be allowed to enter the stadium.
Cristiano Ronaldo shrugged off the boos of his own supporters to fire Real Madrid to a 3-0 win over Real Sociedad on Sunday.
The 28-year-old did not reveal where he would be playing next but widespread reports in the Spanish media said he would be joining Barcelona.
Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo's knee problem is getting better but he still might have to sit out their Champions League match at home to Atletico Madrid, coach Maurizio Sarri said on Monday.
Barcelona made a brisk start to the season with new coach Luis Enrique at the helm in place of Gerardo Martino and a host of additions to the squad, including midfielder Ivan Rakitic and goalkeeper Claudio Bravo.
Here are five talking points from the weekend's La Liga action:
A summary of Sunday's action in Serie A and Bundesliga.
Barcelona's lead at the top of La Liga was cut after a second consecutive defeat and LeicesterCity's improbable march towards the Premier League title showed no sign of slowing as they won a fifth straight match. Juventus stayed six points clear of Napoli after Italy's top two both won and Bayern Munich extended their Bundesliga lead to seven points. Here is a summary of results from football matches played across Europe over the weekend.
France forward Griezmann, 28, rejected a move to Barcelona last year but announced in May he was leaving the Madrid side, where he has spent the last five seasons since signing from Real Sociedad in 2014.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Lionel Messi was at the top of his game as Barcelona earned a 3-2 win at Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday to move up to third in La Liga.
Real coach Julen Lopetegui has come in for fierce criticism this season, having presided over a run of five games without a win -- the team going eight hours and one minute without scoring -- before Tuesday's unconvincing 2-1 triumph over Viktoria Plzen that saw the team whistled off the pitch by their own fans.
Manchester City's quadruple bid remained intact as Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin de Bruyne secured a 2-0 win at Everton in their FA Cup quarter-final clash
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
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 football matches played across Europe on Wednesday.
Bayern Munich will not only have to overturn a 3-0 Champions League semi-final first leg deficit against Barcelona on Tuesday but they will have to do it against a superb defence and in the midst of their biggest slump in years.
Twenty-three-times Cup winners Athletic Bilbao were dumped out in sensational circumstances by tiny island side SD Formentera, who sneaked a 1-0 win at San Mames with a header by Alvaro Muniz deep in stoppage-time to reach the last 16 for the first time with a 2-1 aggregate victory.
Images from the soccer matches played across Europe on Saturday.
Sunderland named David Moyes as their new manager on Saturday, replacing Sam Allardyce who was appointed as England manager.
Wales manager Chris Coleman has poured cold water on the possibility of him filling the England manager's post recently vacated by Roy Hodgson.
It was Messi's 56th converted penalty in La Liga and saw him draw level with Hugo Sanchez as the league's second-top penalty taker, behind record holder Cristiano Ronaldo on 61.
Barcelona's inconsistency over the season had cost them the La Liga title, coach Luis Enrique has said.
The England captain has been left out because of a rib injury.
Unai Emery's Villarreal were much improved in the second half and had spurned numerous chances before Moreno's leveller.
Real Madrid set up a King's Cup semi-final against holders Atletico Madrid or Athletic Bilbao when they beat Espanyol 1-0 in their quarter-final, second leg on Tuesday for a 2-0 aggregate success.
Zinedine Zidane has said his side are in a delicate situation as they prepare to host arch-rivals Barcelona in a La Liga title showdown on Sunday
United have struggled this season, collecting 10 points from their opening seven Premier League matches and being dumped out of the League Cup by second-tier Derby County.
Lionel Messi is back in the Argentina squad for next month's World Cup qualifiers against Brazil and Colombia after missing the last three due to injury in which his team have dropped seven points. Messi was named on Friday in coach Edgardo Bauza's 26-man squad and will captain Argentina away to arch-rivals Brazil in Belo Horizonte on Nov. 10 and at home against Colombia in San Juan five days later. Argentina have slipped down the South American group standings to fifth after a shock 1-0 home defeat by Paraguay and 2-2 draws with Peru and Venezuela, all without Messi.
The rest of Barcelona's squad will have to do "a little bit more" to make up for the absence of five-times World Player of the Year Lionel Messi for the next three weeks, according to captain Andres Iniesta. The Argentina forward faces a spell on the sidelines after sustaining a groin injury in Wednesday's 1-1 La Liga draw with Atletico Madrid. "There's no question we are stronger with Messi," Iniesta told Cadena Cope radio ahead of Saturday's match at Sporting Gijon. "When these things happen we all have to give a little bit more.
Cristiano Ronaldo netted a first-half penalty as injury-depleted Real Madrid recovered from their derby defeat by Atletico Madrid at the weekend with a 3-1 win at Levante on Wednesday.
