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.
Barcelona will attempt to give Luis Enrique his 100th victory in his 125th game in charge of the team when they play at Athletic Bilbao in la Liga on Sunday. A former Barca player, the 46-year-old led them to a La Liga, King's Cup and Champions League treble in his first year in charge and the domestic double last season. The Catalans started the campaign with a 5-0 aggregate triumph over Sevilla in the Spanish Super Cup and a 6-2 victory over Real Betis in La Liga.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The result also means second-placed Real Sociedad can reclaim top spot if they beat Eibar on Sunday.
The Frenchman, voted the world's third best player of 2016, has been the subject of intense transfer speculation since signing a new contract with Atletico in May 2017.
Real Madrid suffered a shock 1-0 home defeat to Real Betis on Wednesday as an inspired performance from their former goalkeeper Antonio Adan and a stoppage-time winner from Antonio Sanabria stunned the Liga champions.
New England manager Sam Allardyce believes it is just the right time in his career for him to be taking on what some have called the impossible job.
Spanish soccer's 'El Clasico' encounters between Barcelona and Real Madrid will happen in December and April, two of the most anticipated games of the 2016-17 Primera Division season whose fixtures were announced on Friday. Defending champions Barca host Real on Dec. 4 at the Camp Nou. The reverse fixture will take place on April 23, at the Bernabeu stadium, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) confirmed after the draw. As the La Liga season kicks off, Barca will begin their title defence at home to Real Betis on Aug. 21.
IMAGES from football matches played in the Spain, Germany and Portugal on Wednesday.
La Liga leaders Barcelona won a tight and tense 'Clasico' 1-0 at Real Madrid on Saturday, beating their great rivals at their Bernabeu home for the second time in four days and moving a staggering 12 points clear of them in the standings.
Real Madrid's reliance on their talisman Cristiano Ronaldo was more evident than ever on Tuesday as the Spanish and European champions meekly lost 1-0 at Espanyol in La Liga.
Leaders Barcelona edged closer to their third consecutive league title with a 2-0 away win over struggling Real Sociedad in the Primera Liga on Saturday.
Manchester United will be without defender Nemanja Vidic and striker Robin van Persie when they attempt to book a Champions League knockout stage spot at Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday.
Real coach Fabio Capello had said Beckham would never play for the Primera Liga side again.
Barca's second-half stamina key to their massive lead in the standings this season
Real Madrid opened a two-point lead over Villarreal at the top of La Liga when Cristiano Ronaldo set a club scoring record in a 3-0 stroll at home to Levante on Saturday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field on Thursday
Ibrahimovic has not played since suffering a career-threatening knee ligament injury in United's Europa League quarter-final second leg match against Anderlecht at Old Trafford in April.
Real Madrid defender Alvaro Arbeloa reignited his long-running war of words with Barcelona's Gerard Pique by suggesting that the Spanish League leaders manage to win only if opposing teams have had players sent off. La Liga leaders Barca surprisingly succumbed 1-0 to mid-table Real Sociedad on Saturday, a result that not only condemned the Catalans to their second successive league defeat but also blew the title race wide open. They now lead second-placed Atletico Madrid by three points and third-placed Real by four. "Look how difficult it is to win against 11 men," Arbeloa mocked on Twitter, referring to the fact that Barcelona have often benefited from opposing players being sent off. Barca were trailing 1-0 in last Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg with Atletico Madrid but secured a 2-1 win after Atletico goal scorer Fernando Torres was dismissed in the 35th minute.
Gareth Bale said Real Madrid are determined to wrest back the Spanish league title from Barcelona this season after going four years without tasting La Liga success. Bale has won the Champions League twice and the King's Cup since joining the Bernabeu club in 2013, but the league title has proved elusive. Real missed out on the league to Barcelona on the final day of last season by a point and have not won the title since 2012, when they collected a record 100 points under Jose Mourinho.
Barcelona's 100 per cent start to the season was ended by Catalonian neighbours Girona, who picked up a draw at the Nou Camp, allowing Real Madrid to take advantage with a victory over Espanyol.
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone praised the 'decisive' Antoine Griezmann after his two goals helped down Olympique de Marseille 3-0 in the Europa League final on Wednesday and tried to convince the striker to resist the lure of Barcelona.
Ronaldo has been left out of the Real Madrid squad to play Real Sociedad on Sunday after failing to make a full recovery from an ankle injury.
The France international is widely expected to move to Liga champions Barcelona at the end of this campaign.
The Real Madrid striker will be out of action for up to three weeks with a muscle tear in his right thigh.
Barcelona's grip on top spot in the Primera Liga was strengthened when Real Madrid were held goalless by Real Betis and Valencia lost 2-1 to Racing Santander.
Henrik Larsson and Samuel Eto'o scored in Barcelona's 2-0 win at Real Sociedad
.jpg)
Atletico Madrid's La Liga title challenge took a nosedive when they slumped to a shock 3-0 defeat at Osasuna on Sunday, leaving Real Madrid three points clear at the top.
A bomb threat forced Real Madrid's match against Real Sociedad to be abandoned on Sunday.
Cristiano Ronaldo will play no part in Real Madrid's game against Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday after the prolific Portuguese forward was left out of the squad on Friday.
The Croatian replaced Sam Allardyce in June 2015 and led the club to a seventh-placed finish in his first season. He also oversaw their move to the London Stadium last season, but has won just two out of 11 league games in the current campaign.
The ace striker scored both the goals in 2-0 win over Real Sociedad that revived their hopes winning the Spanish league.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Cristiano Ronaldo continued his rich vein of form by scoring twice in Real Madrid's 2-1 home win over struggling Sporting Gijon on Saturday, although the La Liga leaders got a lucky break when the visitors squandered a second-half penalty.
The two clubs will meet for the fourth time in five seasons in the first knockout phase of the Champions League
© 2026 Rediff.com - Investor Information - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances