Lionel Messi-inspired Barcelona crushed Espanyol 5-1 on Sunday, while Villarreal exacted Real Sociedad s first Liga loss under David Moyes.
Luis Enrique s men were made to pay for a sloppy start as Barca academy product Sergio Garcia gave the visitors an early lead, but the hosts eventually found their stride and La Liga s record goalscorer Messi added another hat-trick to his record.
Espanyol had not scored at their city rivals since another La Masia graduate, Ivan de la Pena, netted twice in a 2-1 win back in February 2009.
But Garcia ended that five-match drought after just 13 minutes and Sergio Gonzalez s men continued to threaten on the counter-attack.
Barca finally restored parity just before the break, however, as Messi bent a fine strike past Kiko…
Chelsea secured comfortable progress to the fifth round of the FA Cup with a 3-0 win over Sheffield Wednesday on Gonzalo Higuain s debut.
Maurizio Sarri named the striker, who signed on loan from Juventus in midweek, in his starting XI but the new arrival had minimal impact as the holders saw off their Championship opponents at Stamford Bridge on Sunday.
The Argentina international passed up the opportunity to make it a goalscoring bow, refusing Willian s offer of taking the 26th-minute penalty that the Brazilian subsequently tucked away for his 50th Chelsea goal.
In the build-up to the game, Callum Hudson-Odoi had reportedly handed in a transfer request amid interest from Bayern Munich but Sarri s selection was vindicated as the winger netted a fine second short…
Porto goalkeeper Iker Casillas has described himself as one of Europe s last rock stars , along with Paris Saint-Germain s Gianluigi Buffon and Arsenal s Petr Cech.
The former Spain captain, 37, has played in all four of his side s league matches this season, keeping clean sheets against Chaves and Moreirense.
Buffon, meanwhile, signed a contract with PSG in July that could see him play for the Ligue 1 champions until he is 42, while 36-year-old Cech is keeping new Arsenal signing Bernd Leno out of the team at Emirates Stadium.
Casillas thinks the hugely successful trio must continue to enjoy their remaining playing days as they draw closer towards retirement.
We re the last rock stars, the oldest players who are still playing, at least on the European s…
Cristiano Ronaldo insists he has never concealed anything after appearing in court to face accusations he avoided €14.7million in taxes relating to his image rights between 2011 and 2014.
The Real Madrid forward, who denies all wrongdoing, changed plans to address the press on the steps of the court in Pozuelo de Alarcon the Madrid suburb where he lives but later issued a statement.
Ronaldo is accused of creating a business structure in 2010 to conceal his earnings, a claim which has also been strenuously denied by his agents, Gestifute.
The Spanish Treasury knows in detail all my income, because we gave it to them, Ronaldo said in the statement. I have never concealed anything, nor did I intend to evade taxes.
I always do my tax returns volun…
Antonio Conte wants Tottenham Hotspur to sign Stefan de Vrij from Inter Milan, according to . It has been reported that former Inter and Juventus head coach Conte is close to being appointed as the new manager of Spurs and wants the North London club to bring in central defender De Vrij.
De Vrij is one of the best central defenders in the world and has been on the books of Inter since 2018. The Netherlands international is under contract at Inter until the summer of 2023 and is valued at £40 million.
Conte worked with De Vrij at Inter and is fully aware of how good the 29-year-old is. Tottenham could do with better defenders in their squad, and a partnership between the Dutchman and Cristian Romero would be very good for the team.
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Florentino Perez insisted Sergio Ramos will not leave Real Madrid on a free transfer after confirming the club s captain is considering a move to the Chinese Super League (CSL).
News emerged on Monday that Madrid star Ramos had reportedly requested permission to join a team in China after meeting with president Perez.
The 33-year-old centre-back was believed to be close to joining Premier League giants Manchester United in 2015 before extending his Madrid contract, which now runs until 2021.
Perez was asked about speculation over Ramos and the Madrid boss said he is not prepared to sanction a CSL deal that would see the defender leave on a free.
ONE year ago today
Kiev
LA DECIMOTERCERA! |
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden)
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Luciano Spalletti is hoping the champions at Barcelona can help Inter seal Champions League progression, but insists he will only focus on his team s final group-stage outing.
A 1-0 loss to Tottenham at Wembley on Wednesday saw Inter slip behind Spurs and down to third in Group B, substitute Christian Eriksen netting the winner 10 minutes from time.
In order to reach the last 16, Spalletti s side must earn more points in their clash with PSV than the Premier League team do on their trip to group winners Barca on December 11.
The Inter boss thinks the quality the Catalan giants possess and the fact they have not lost a Champions League match at Camp Nou since May 2013 boosts the Nerazzurri s chances, but getting a win against PSV at San Siro is his sole worry.
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Benfica defender Ruben Dias appears set to join Manchester City after the Portuguese giants coach Jorge Jesus confirmed Saturday s 2-0 win over Moreirense was almost certainly the centre-back s final outing in Portugal.
Dias, 23, came through Benfica s academy and has been a regular in the club s senior side since the 2017-18 campaign.
In that time he has reportedly been tracked by many of Europe s biggest clubs, including Manchester United, but it appears his next move will see him wear blue instead of red.
City are said to have offered €55million (£50m) and Nicolas Otamendi to Benfica for the highly rated Dias, who is also a regular at international level with Portugal.
Dias scored the opening goal in Saturday s victory and also wore the captain s ar…
Charlie Austin has been charged by the Football Association for an abusive and/or insulting gesture he made during the defeat to Manchester City on December 30.
As the Southampton striker was substituted in the second half of the Premier League match, which City won 3-1, he was booed by a section of the St Mary s Stadium crowd.
Television cameras showed Austin appearing to make a two-fingered sign in response.
The 29-year-old has until 18:00 local time on January 7 to respond to the FA charge.
In December 2013, Jack Wilshere was banned for two games after accepting a misconduct charge following a similar gesture made to City fans while playing for Arsenal.
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Barcelona snatched an unlikely victory after Ronald Araujo headed home the only goal of the game in the third minute of stoppage time at Real Sociedad.
The defending LaLiga champions had captain Marc-Andre ter Stegen to thank after the German goalkeeper made several crucial saves to keep an energetic Sociedad side at bay.
Xavi’s side struggled to muster any genuine openings until the final embers of the match and cruelly took all three points when Araujo planted a power header through the legs of goalkeeper Alex Remiro, which was initially ruled offside, with virtually the last attack to seal the 1-0 victory.
FULL TIME!!!!!
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona)
The hosts made a rapid start when Ander Barrenetxea forced ter Stegen into a fine diving…