'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.'
Barcelona have one hand firmly on the La Liga title after winning 2-0 at Alaves on Tuesday, leaving them 12 points clear at the top of the table with four games to play.
Roberto Firmino scored twice as Liverpool boosted their hopes of Champions League football next season
German international Ilkay Gundogan scored twice and was at the heart of City's hugely impressive display as Pep Guardiola's side delivered the kind of football that took them to title wins in 2018 and 2019.
Images from Euro 2020 matches played on Monday.
Striker Antoine Griezmann lashed home the historic spot kick in the 58th minute but Australia hit back with a penalty of their own when Samuel Umtiti inexplicably handled the ball in the box four minutes later.
Real Madrid barged their way back into the Spanish La Liga title race with a 3-1 victory over Atletico Madrid in a feisty derby at the Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday.
Saturday's draw left Spain third in Group E with two points and needing a win against Slovakia on Wednesday to guarantee their place in the next round of Euro 2020.
IMAGES from football matches played in the Spain, Germany and Portugal on Wednesday.
Evergreen Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick, including two late goals, to give Portugal a 3-1 win over Switzerland in a Nations League semi-final featuring an extraordinary VAR incident on Wednesday.
Phil Foden and Riyad Mahrez scored two goals apiece as the hosts showed their impressive strength
Manchester City moved 17 points clear of the pack with a 3-0 win at Fulham on Saturday
Five-time winners Sevilla made light work of AS Roma when first half goals from Sergio Reguilon and Youssef En-Nesyri gave them a 2-0 win over AS Roma and sent them into the Europa League quarter-finals on Thursday.
The two key moments happened within six seconds of each other early in the match played behind closed doors at the Allianz Stadium.
Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes fired home a late penalty to rescue a point for the visitors in a lively 1-1 draw at Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League on Friday.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos once again proved to be the man for the big occasion as he converted a fiercely debated penalty to help his side to a 3-1 win over rivals Barcelona at an empty Camp Nou in La Liga on Saturday.
Images from the World Cup qualifying matches played on Wednesday night.
United looked dead and buried as they struggled to get back into the contest after the break but 19-year-old Brandon Williams's first senior goal 18 minutes from time sparked them into life. However, substitute McBurnie denied the visitors in stoppage time to add a further twist to the breathless encounter, squeezing a strike past De Gea, with the goal awarded after a lengthy VAR review.
Ousmane Dembele struck early and Lionel Messi converted a late penalty as Barcelona won 2-0 at Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday after Alvaro Morata had three goals disallowed for offside for the Serie A side.
James Maddison scored a brilliant winner to help Leicester City come from behind and beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 in the Premier League on Saturday in a match dominated by VAR drama.
Chelsea's 0-0 home draw with second-placed United ensured Thomas Tuchel is still undefeated in nine games since replacing Frank Lampard, but it meant they failed to dislodge fourth-placed West Ham United who became Manchester City's 20th successive victims in all competitions on Saturday.
Arsenal turned around its recent poor form to beat Leicester 3-1 on Sunday
Here are five talking points from the weekend's La Liga action:
Images from football matches played in Europe on Friday.
Images from the matches played across football leagues in Europe on Sunday.
IMAGES from the English Premier League match between Liverpool and Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday
Juventus raced into a 2-0 halftime lead after Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret was sent off in the 25th minute. The visitors then had Pjanic dismissed and Napoli's Jose Callejon pulled one back before Insigne let the Turin side off the hook.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Images from Sunday night's English Premier League matches.
Algeria won the Africa Cup of Nations for the second time on Friday when a freak second-minute goal by Baghdad Bounedjah gave them a 1-0 win over gallant Senegal in the final.
IMAGES from Saturday's English Premier League matches.
Argentina became the first ever side to come from three goals down to avoid defeat in a women's World Cup match.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
IMAGES from soccer matches played across Europe on Sunday.
Leaders Barcelona and Real Madrid were held to draws while Sevilla made up ground on the top two and Alaves slipped after a promising start. Here are five talking points from the weekend's La Liga action.
Riyad Mahrez struck twice as Manchester City reached the Champions League final for the first time thanks to a 2-0 victory over Paris St Germain at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday that secured a 4-1 aggregate win.
Manchester City have dominated English football in recent years under Pep Guardiola, although they finished second to Liverpool in the Premier League this season, but have yet to add Europe's most coveted prize to their trophy cabinet.
The Argentine then lifted his shirt to reveal a red and black replica kit of his hometown club Newell's Old Boys bearing the number 10 which Maradona wore during his brief spell at the Rosario side in 1993.
An extra-time goal from Roberto Firmino gave Liverpool a 1-0 victory over Brazil's Flamengo to win the Club World Cup at the Khalifa International stadium on Saturday. It is the first time Liverpool have won the competition, which features each continent's champions, and they became only the second English team to lift the trophy after Manchester United in 2008.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances