Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored with an acrobatic header on his La Liga debut to seal Barcelona's 3-0 win over Sporting Gijon as they opened their title defence in style on Monday.
Leicester City boss Claudio Ranieri is not losing sleep over his team's Premier League title defence and believes the pressure to succeed is more on the new managers of the big-name clubs.
Samuel Eto'o scored a scintillating home hat-trick for holders Inter Milan in the Champions League on Wednesday as former Barcelona teammate Lionel Messi's magic went missing in a 1-1 draw in Russia.
Panathinaikos could be on the receiving end of a Champions League backlash from a wounded Barcelona on Tuesday after the La Liga giants were stunned 2-0 at fortress Nou Camp by unfancied Hercules at the weekend.
Champions Barcelona suffered a humiliating 2-0 home defeat to Hercules on Saturday when Nelson Valdez struck twice to give the tiny promoted club a shock La Liga victory at a stunned Nou Camp stadium.
City did not replace Argentine striker Sergio Aguero last year when the club's all-time top scorer moved to Barcelona on a free transfer.
Double strikes by Thierry Henry and Lionel Messi powered a rampant Barcelona to a 6-2 thrashing of champions Real Madrid in a spectacular Primera Liga clash at the Bernabeu on Saturday. The victory meant Barca, chasing their first title in three years, extended their lead over second-placed Real to seven points with four games left.
As the domestic soccer season across Europe comes to a close, Associate Editor Bikash Mohapatra takes a look at an elite list of coaches who tasted league success in their first season in charge.
Atletico players accused Manchester City of time-wasting in the final minutes, which the English club denied.
Chinese Super League club Hebei China Fortune have appointed former Manchester City coach Manuel Pellegrini as their new manager, Chinese and British media reported on Saturday.
Chelsea won their second Champions League title and denied Pep Guardiola's Manchester City their first with Kai Havertz grabbing a first-half goal to secure a 1-0 win in Saturday's all-English final at the Estadio Do Dragao in Porto.
Images from the Champions League quarter-finals second leg match played on Tuesday.
Lionel Messi netted a brilliant first-half hat-trick and added a late fourth to fire holders Barcelona past Arsenal into the last four of the Champions League on Tuesday.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has been named the Premier League manager of the month for February, while in-form Tottenham Hotspur striker Harry Kane picked up his fourth player of the month award.
Manchester won the English Premier League, the English League Cup and FA Cup this season
Barcelona restored their two-point lead at the top of La Liga when Lionel Messi finished a slick move to fire the champions to a hard-fought 2-1 home win over Malaga on Saturday.
Manchester City won the English League Cup for the second successive season as the beat Chelsea 4-3 in a penalty shootout after the Wembley showpiece had ended 0-0 after extra time.
Seydou Keita hit a hat-trick and Zlatan Ibrahimovic netted twice to lead Barcelona to a 6-1 thrashing of Real Zaragoza and send the La Liga champions three points clear of Real Madrid on Sunday.
Frank Rijkaard will leave Barcelona at the end of the season and former captain Pep Guardiola will take over as coach of the team, club president Joan Laporta announced on Thursday. Former Netherlands international Rijkaard took charge of Barcelona in 2003 and led them to back-to-back league titles and victory over Arsenal in the Champions League final in Paris in 2006.
It would be a big surprise if Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola strays from the club's traditional, offensive 4-3-3. Manchester United are less tied to a set formation. Manager Alex Ferguson has frequently used the 4-3-3 to good effect, but if he decides to field Ji-sung on the right he may opt for a 4-4-2.
Sergio Aguero scored a dramatic late winner as Atletico Madrid twice came from behind to stun visiting Barcelona 4-3 on Sunday, leaving the Catalans just four points clear at the top in Spain.
Manchester City face Chelsea in the Champions League final on Saturday. Here are five key tactical battles to watch out for:
Seydou Keita made the most of a rare place in the starting lineup to give Barcelona a 1-0 win at home to Real Zaragoza on Saturday that put the champions 10 points clear of Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.
Barcelona have the chance to secure top spot in Champions League Group C and prove they are not dependent on striker Lionel Messi to win matches when they visit Sporting on Wednesday. Barca's nine-match winning streak in the Spanish Primera Liga came to an end with a 1-1 draw at home to Getafe on Sunday, as Pep Guardiola's outfit struggled to open up their well-organised opponents.
Barcelona trounced visitors Atletico Madrid 6-1 at the Nou Camp on Saturday to move into second place behind Villarreal in the Primera Liga. Villarreal have 16 points from six games after coming from behind to beat Real Betis 2-1 while Barca are on 13 after a scoring spree led by a double from Samuel Eto'o.
Barcelona earned their first Primera Liga win of the season with a 6-1 rout away to promoted Sporting Gijon on Sunday.
Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Racing Santander in the Primera Liga on Saturday, leaving new coach Pep Guardiola still seeking his first league win at the helm. Lionel Messi came off the bench in the second half to inspire a toothless Barca, who lost 1-0 at Numancia in their season opener, and scored a 71st minute penalty.
The Riazor jinx returned to haunt Real Madrid and the champions fell 2-1 away to Deportivo Coruna in their Spanish Primera Liga opener on Sunday, while Pep Guardiola's Barcelona were stunned 1-0 away to promoted Numancia. The performance of the day came from Atletico Madrid, who qualified for the Champions League group stage during the week, and stormed to the top of the standings with a 4-0 demolition of another newly promoted side Malaga.
The Argentine joined Barca on a free transfer during the close season, but made only five appearances in all competitions due to a calf injury and his cardiac issues, scoring once in a 2-1 home defeat by Real Madrid.
Alves joined Barcelona from Sevilla in 2008 and made 391 appearances, becoming a regular under ex-managers Pep Guardiola, Tito Vilanova, Tata Martino and Luis Enrique before leaving for Juventus in 2016.
Holders Liverpool survived a penalty shootout to see off third-tier Derby County
It will be difficult for Lionel Messi to remain at Barcelona after he made public his desire to leave the Spanish club, his father and agent Jorge Messi said on Wednesday as he arrived in the city to negotiate his son's future.
Chelsea beat Manchester City 1-0 on Saturday to book a place in next month's FA Cup final, thanks to a second-half goal by Hakim Ziyech which ended City manager Pep Guardiola's dream of steering his side to an unprecedented quadruple of titles.
Manchester City left back Oleksandr Zinchenko set aside some time on his wedding day to clarify comments he and his new bride Vlada Sedan made about manager Pep Guardiola in the wake of the club's Champions League defeat by Olympique Lyon.
Holders Barcelona were knocked out of the King's Cup on Wednesday when they won a thrilling last-16 second-leg clash at Sevilla 1-0 but were eliminated on the away goals rule after the tie ended 2-2 on aggregate.
2023 was marked by outstanding sporting achievements, shattered records, and the crowning of new champions, all captured by photographers documenting every significant twist and turn.
English Premier League champions Manchester City cruised to a 2-0 win over struggling Manchester United in their derby at Old Trafford on Saturday.
City will look to extend lead against United at Old Trafford
Erling Haaland arrived at Manchester City nearly a year ago to questions about how a "battering ram" of a centre-forward would fit into mastermind manager Pep Guardiola's nuanced and tactically demanding style.
Chelsea's Spanish striker Diego Costa was named along with usual suspects Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the 23- man FIFA Ballon D'Or short-list released on Tuesday.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances