Brazil forward Neymar will sign a new five-year contract with Barcelona on Friday, the La Liga champions said on Monday.
Real Madrid have defied injuries to keep the pressure on leaders Barcelona and notched up over 100 La Liga goals but they now face arguably the toughest test of their title charge in an away match to Sevilla on Saturday.
Valencia coach Gary Neville described his team's 7-0 drubbing by Barcelona in the Spanish King's Cup semi-final first leg on Wednesday as one of his worst experiences in football.
Defender Gerard Pique grabbed a rare winner and Lionel Messi scored yet another beauty as Barcelona came from behind to beat Sevilla 2-1 at the Nou Camp on Sunday and reclaim an eight-point lead at the top of La Liga.
Barcelona must to wait to confirm a place in the Champions League last 16 after dropping points for the first time in Group D in an absorbing 0-0 draw at Olympiakos Piraeus on Tuesday.
Asia-focused bank Standard Chartered has extended its sponsorship of Liverpool Football Club for two years, continuing one of the most lucrative deals in English sport.
Barca finished the season second in the standings on 82 points, four behind champions Real Madrid who visit Leganes later on Sunday. Alaves are 16th on 39.
Liverpool are working closely with Merseyside police in an attempt to identify a man who appeared to have made racist gestures during their FA Cup fourth round victory over Manchester United at Anfield on Saturday.
Substitute Dirk Kuyt struck two minutes from time to give hosts Liverpool a 2-1 FA Cup fourth-round victory over Manchester United on Saturday with visiting captain Patrice Evra being booed throughout and making a mistake for the winner.
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."
Chile beat Ecuador 2-1 in their closing South American qualifier in Santiago on Tuesday as both went through automatically to the 2014 World Cup finals in Brazil.
From comments about the healthy relationship shared between Barca trio -- Messi, Suarez and Neymar, to questions about his goal drought in away matches, an angry Ronaldo had the response to it all
Liverpool striker Andy Carroll headed an 87th minute winner to secure a 2-1 victory over Merseyside rivals Everton in an error-strewn FA Cup semi-final at Wembley Stadium on Saturday.
Napoli put a foot in the Europa League semi-finals with a perfectly crafted 4-1 win at VfL Wolfsburg on Thursday as Marek Hamsik scored twice in an Italian masterclass to bring cheer to beleaguered coach Rafael Benitez.
Chelsea and England captain John Terry will be prosecuted for the alleged racial abuse of Queens Park Rangers defender Anton Ferdinand in a Premier League match in October, British authorities said on Wednesday.
Australian Open winners Leander Paes and Radek Stepanek saw off stiff resistance from Juan Monaco and Kei Nishikori to advance to the quarter-finals of the ATP Indian Wells Masters. The seventh-seeded Indo-Czech pair beat their unseeded opponents 7-6(5), 6-4 in a second round match.
Italy, Spain, Portugal and India are among the countries easing coronavirus restrictions. Social distancing, mask wearing are the new norms as these countries continue to battle the virus pandemic, but are venturing out of their homes after extended periods of staying at home.
Joleon Lescott's 62nd-minute goal and a brilliant late save by goalkeeper Joe Hart sent Manchester City back to the top of the Premier League with a tense 1-0 win at Aston Villa Sunday.
Peter Odemwingie scored a hat-trick as West Bromwich Albion triumphed 5-1 at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday to move further away from danger and leave their beleaguered local rivals inside the Premier League drop zone.
Joaquin, 37, became the oldest scorer in a Seville top-flight derby when he rose to head home at the near post in the 79th minute, shortly after the visitors had had midfielder Roque Mesa sent off for two bookings.
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If Barcelona fail to secure their eighth consecutive UEFA Champions League quarter-final appearance, Lionel Messi's failed penalty at Manchester City on Tuesday could well prove their "what if" moment.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
The calls for calm towards frenzied fans before Manchester United travel to Liverpool were at odds with manager Alex Ferguson's desire on Friday to simply talk about "a game of football".
An insatiable Lionel Messi hit a hat-trick as Barcelona hammered Espanyol 5-0 in a local derby on Saturday to make it three wins from three and take full advantage after Liga champions Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Levante.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique is still not satisfied despite winning five trophies in 2015 and is aiming to do even better next year.
It was Messi's 30th goal in 39 competitive games against Atletico
Chelsea wrapped up their pre-season tour of the United States on a high note by beating Barcelona in a shootout after their International Champions Cup match ended 2-2 on Tuesday.
Lionel Messi scored twice as La Liga champions Barcelona saw off a persistent Valencia side, who had Eliaquim Mangala sent off in the first half, to win 4-2 on Sunday and stay on the heels of leaders Real Madrid.
Barcelona have sacked Andoni Zubizarreta as their director of football, the Spanish club said on Monday.
Johnson to meet Medvedev in Winston-Salem final
Barcelona forward Lionel Messi was back in training on Monday five days before the La Liga leaders play at second-placed Real Madrid in the first of the season's two Clasicos.
Images from Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
The second seeded Indo-Russian pair needed just over an hour to get the better of the Argentine team of Gisela Dulko and Paola Suof 6-2, 6-3.
Real Madrid overcame an early howler from Sergio Ramos to beat Real Sociedad 3-1 at home on an eventful Saturday at the Santiago Bernabeu, where Gareth Bale was loudly booed by his own supporters and Luka Modric returned to his very best form.
Sania Mirza and Elena Vesnina recovered from a second-set lapse against Timea Bacsinszky and Alberta Brianti to advance to the doubles quarter-finals of the Indian Wells WTA Premier event.
Barca dominated possession and Luis Suarez had several early chances but it was Villarreal who took the lead with Denis Cheryshev redirecting a Mario Gaspar shot past keeper Claudio Bravo on the half hour.
This season's FA Cup favourites Tottenham Hotspur were held to a 0-0 draw at third tier Stevenage Sunday but Liverpool laid their claim to be the real frontrunners with a 6-1 fifth-round thrashing of Brighton & Hove Albion.
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.
Uruguayan striker Luis Suarez returned after a nine-match absence but failed to inspire Liverpool to victory in a cagey 0-0 draw with Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Monday.
Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde, who will lead the club for the first time in Saturday's pre-season match against Juventus, has dismissed speculation linking Neymar with a move to Paris Saint-Germain.
