'We were not lying yesterday when we said in the press conference Iran is a tough team'
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.
Italy's Daniele De Rossi scored a late penalty to earn a 1-1 draw against Spain in their World Cup qualifier on Thursday, sparing home goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon's blushes after he gifted the visitors the lead. Buffon, making his 164th appearance, rushed out of his area as Vitolo broke clear but the 38-year-old completely mistimed his tackle, allowing the Spaniard to go round him and put the ball into an empty net in the 55th minute. Italy, who had been outplayed in the Group G clash, fought back and levelled in the 82nd when Eder was fouled by Sergio Ramos and De Rossi converted the spot kick, their only shot on target in the match.
Barcelona won the La Liga title with a comfortable 3-0 victory at Granada thanks to a Luis Suarez hat-trick in the season finale on Saturday.
Barcelona finished three points behind Real Madrid last season but there is concern the gap between Spain's biggest two sides could be far larger this season.
Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid resume a nail-biting La Liga title race on Saturday after all notched up victories on Wednesday. Leaders Barcelona, who ended a four-game winless streak by hammering Deportivo La Coruna 8-0 away from home, host struggling Sporting Gijon on Saturday. Atletico battled to a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao to stay level on 79 points with Barcelona, who top the table with a superior head-to-head record and host Malaga. Real stayed one point behind their title rivals after beating Villarreal 3-0 and are expected to be without top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo for their visit to struggling neighbours Rayo Vallecano. The Portuguese forward was unable to finish the game against Villarreal after suffering cramp in stoppage time but eased concerns he had suffered a serious injury.
Barcelona have been haunted by their recent failures in the Champions League and there are concerning signs for the Catalans as they prepare for Tuesday's last-16 first leg away to Olympique Lyonnais.
Barcelona put pressure on La Liga leaders Real Madrid by picking up their first win in four games as two second-half strikes from Lionel Messi and one from Luis Suarez secured a 3-0 win at struggling Osasuna on Saturday.
A recall for one-Test paceman Pat Cummins has been a long time coming but New South Wales captain Moises Henriques believes it still might be too soon for the bowler he considers a "freak of nature".
AS Roma pulled off one of the great Champions League comebacks by knocking Barcelona out with a remarkable 3-0 win in their quarter-final second leg on Tuesday, overcoming a 4-1 deficit from the first game to reach the last four on away goals.
Feedback has led the brand to ramp up its shirts collection, despite the popularity of its polo t-shirts.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday
Real Madrid and Atletico each slipped 10 points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona after an intense Madrid derby finished goalless and the Catalans picked up an 11th victory in 12 games by winning 3-0 at Leganes.
Piqued by the Congress' sustained tirade against the Bharatiya Janata Party's election campaign committee chief Narendra Modi following his multi-pronged attack on the ruling party, BJP on Wednesday replied by dubbing Congress as the "most communal" party suffering from "Modi-phobia".
Streaming a diverse range of moods and moments, these films are a fairly commendable effort if not always riveting, feels Sukanya Verma.
Recent episodes of vomiting suffered by Barcelona forward Lionel Messi are 'not normal' but they do not affect his performance and there is no cause for alarm, coach Gerardo Martino said on Friday.
Barcelona are on the verge of Champions League elimination after being thrashed 3-0 by Juventus in Turin on Tuesday, and few believe lightning can strike twice.
'His contributions in setting up transparent precedents of governance are still basically intact despite the cynicism of several of his successors,' notes Jamini Bhagwati.
'We still depend on ourselves. Our margin for error has run out and we are aware of the challenge.'
A round-up of Saturday's action in Serie A, La Liga and Bundesliga.
Emotions ran high as Nantes paid tribute to their former player Emiliano Sala on Wednesday in their first game since the Argentine went missing in a light aircraft over the English Channel.
Real Madrid have enviously looked on as Barcelona claimed six La Liga titles in the last eight years, but Zinedine Zidane's side can take a huge step towards a first crown since 2012 with victory over their bitter rivals at the Nou Camp on Saturday.
'The saffron party is under pressure from RSS and other Hindutva quarters to move swiftly on construction of Ram temple at the disputed site in Ayodhya.'
Cameroonian teenager Wilfrid Kaptoum scored a late equaliser to give Barcelona a 1-1 draw at Valencia that wrapped up an 8-1 aggregate success in their King's Cup semi-final on Wednesday.
Most Turks well integrated in Germany, government says after Ozil's racism comments
Friday's win should add weight to the predictions of many that Spain are favourites to capture a third straight European title.
Sukanya Verma glances at Virushka's photo album of loveliness.
Athletic Bilbao's Spanish Super Cup victory against Barcelona not only earned them their first major trophy in 31 years but also ended coach Ernesto Valverde's long wait for silverware.
Athletic Bilbao claimed their first silverware in more than three decades when they wrapped up a 5-1 aggregate win over 10-man Barcelona to win the Spanish Super Cup on Monday and unleash ecstatic celebrations in the Basque city.
Holders Barcelona cruised into the King's Cup quarter-finals when a side missing several regulars beat city rivals Espanyol 2-0, with Munir El Haddadi netting both goals in a thumping 6-1 aggregate success on Wednesday.
Stunning goals from Dutch captain Robin van Persie and Arjen Robben ensured an awful start to Spain's World Cup defence as the Netherlands destroyed one of the tournament favourites 5-1 in Group B on Friday.
Thanks to Sharad Pawar and him alone, Maharashtra has shown that the Modi-Shah duo can be halted. The next step is to take the battle to Dilli, says Saisuresh Sivaswamy.
IMAGES from the La Liga matches played on Tuesday
Manchester United have not given up their pursuit of Barcelona's Cesc Fabregas and talks to bring the Spain midfielder to Old Trafford are "ongoing", coach David Moyes said.
Barcelona's poor run away to Real Sociedad continued when the champions were held to a 1-1 draw at Anoeta on Sunday and slipped six points behind La Liga leaders Real Madrid before next week's 'Clasico' against their arch rivals.
Coach Zinedine Zidane learned the lessons of predecessor Rafael Benitez's disastrous tactics in the last encounter and employed defensive midfielder Casemiro in favour of more attack-minded players, opting instead to sit and wait for Barcelona.
Real Madrid's unbeaten start to the La Liga season came to an abrupt and surprising end as Real Mallorca claimed a stunning 1-0 victory at a rocking Son Moix on Saturday to climb out of the relegation zone.
Barcelona's outlay of 20 million euros ($22 million) on Jeremy Mathieu last July prompted plenty of criticism but the France centre back has been worth his weight in gold in the La Liga leaders' last two outings.
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.
The player, who came under fire for having his photograph taken with Turkey's authoritarian President Tayyip Erdogan in May, was especially piqued by criticism from German Football Association (DFB) head Reinhard Grindel, who he said blamed him for Germany crashing out of this year's tournament.
