Madrid, Spain | AFP | Zinedine Zidane said Karim Benzema “shuts people up a bit” when he scores goals like his stunning volley against Valencia on Thursday. Benzema brilliantly lifted the ball over defender Hugo Gillamon with his right foot and then shot with his left into the top corner as …
Read More »Barca cruise past Leganes to turn up heat on Real Madrid
Madrid, Spain | AFP | Lionel Messi was rugby tackled and then scored a penalty as Barcelona put the pressure back on Real Madrid by easing to a 2-0 victory over Leganes at an empty Camp Nou on Tuesday. Messi was hauled to the ground in the first half by a …
Read More »Tougher tests await for Madrid and Barca in race for La Liga
Madrid, Spain | AFP | Real Madrid and Barcelona will have tougher tests to come but emphatic victories on their return to action at the weekend suggest there may not be much margin for error in what is left of La Liga’s title race. Leaders Barca hammered Real Mallorca 4-0 on …
Read More »Zidane tells Real Madrid to adopt World Cup mentality for La Liga finish
Madrid, Spain | AFP | Zinedine Zidane wants Real Madrid to treat their remaining 11 games in La Liga like a World Cup as they aim to overhaul Barcelona to win their second league title in eight years. Real sit two points behind Barca and return after three months away against Eibar on Sunday, when …
Read More »Lifelines for Hazard and Suarez as La Liga title race looks to forgotten stars
Madrid, Spain | AFP | When La Liga stopped they were not expected to play any part in the rest of the title race but when the season resumes on Thursday, Eden Hazard and Luis Suarez could be set to decide it. Hazard was looking beyond Real Madrid to the Euros …
Read More »La Liga gets its wish for season return but not without compromise
Madrid, Spain | AFP | La Liga president Javier Tebas said the games would have to go on and from Thursday they will, with stadiums full of virtual fans, crowd noise from a computer game and fewer than 300 people allowed to attend. As Ligue 1 in France was called off …
Read More »The night Real Madrid and European football struck gold
Paris, France | AFP | Exactly 60 years ago, in an era when going to a big football match meant cramming together with no thought to social distancing, 127,000 people crowded into Hampden Park in Glasgow to see the European Cup final and were rewarded with “a fantasy staged in heaven”. …
Read More »Barca and Madrid seek boost in crisis Clasico between giants in decline
Madrid, Spain | AFP | La Liga’s most important Clasico for years might also be the most mediocre on Sunday as Barcelona and Real Madrid each fight to lift the gloom by deepening the other’s sense of crisis. Two points separate the league’s leading pair, making this weekend’s meeting at the …
Read More »Jesus, De Bruyne give Man City comeback win at Real Madrid
Madrid, Spain | AFP | Manchester City came from behind to beat Real Madrid 2-1 in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday. Gabriel Jesus’ header and a Kevin de Bruyne penalty within five second half minutes gave City a lead to take back to the …
Read More »Man City take fight to UEFA on and off the field
London, United Kingdom | AFP | Manchester City may be set to go to war with UEFA, but time is of the essence for the English champions to satisfy their quest to win the Champions League. City head to the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday, knowing failure to beat 13-time winners Real …
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