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 …
Read More »Barcelona and Real Madrid knocked out of Copa del Rey
Madrid, Spain | AFP | Barcelona and Real Madrid both crashed out of the Copa del Rey on Thursday night as Athletic Bilbao and Real Sociedad pulled off a shock Basque double to reach the semi-finals. Barca were beaten 1-0 by Bilbao at San Mames, where Inaki Williams scored a dramatic …
Read More »Reformed Copa del Rey shows the way for pure drama of domestic cups
Madrid, Spain | AFP | Alvaro Romero had just scored the biggest goal of his life, against Real Madrid in the Copa del Rey, when he asked for a change of career. “I’m actually a journalist so if there are any newspapers out there that want to hire me, I am …
Read More »Five talking points in European football this weekend
Paris, France | AFP | Several countries may be in the midst of their winter breaks, but the football goes on elsewhere, with Spain’s biggest clubs having an eventful few days in Saudi Arabia while the race for the title continues in Serie A and Ligue 1. AFP Sport looks back …
Read More »Barcelona, Real stalemate in politically-charged Clasico
Barcelona, Spain | AFP | Barcelona and Real Madrid could not be separated on Wednesday in a Clasico that was briefly interrupted by Catalan independence protests, when dozens of yellow beach balls were thrown onto the pitch at Camp Nou. After being postponed in October, there were renewed fears of …
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