Page 5 - La Liga

Neymar to leave PSG! Could choose between Al Hilal and Barcelona: Reports

Neymar, who was omitted from the first squad training before the Ligue 1 opener of PSG against Lorient, has not returned to training unlike Kylian Mbappe

La Liga: Real Madrid in toruble, defender Militao to undergo knee surgery

Real Madrid defender der Milito will need to undergo surgery after injuring his left knee in the team's Spanish league opener, the club said Sunday. Madrid said Milito has been diagnosed with a torn anterior cruciate ligament and will undergo surgery in the coming days. The club did not specify how long it expects the defender to be sidelined, though such injuries usually require several months of recovery. The 25-year-old Brazil defender got hurt early in the second half of Madrid's 2-0 win at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday. He went down in pain when his left knee appeared to twist awkwardly and had to be helped to walk off the field by two team doctors. Madrid had already lost starting goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois because of a knee ligament injury last week. Newly signed midfielder Arda Gler also won't be available for some time reportedly several weeks because of a knee problem that will also likely require surgery. Madrid's next game it at Almeria in the Spanish league on Saturda

La Liga: Jude Bellingham scores on debut, Real Madrid win 2-0 vs Bilbao

Jude Bellingham enjoyed a dream debut for Real Madrid after the England midfielder scored his team's second goal in a 2-0 win at Athletic Bilbao in their Spanish league opener on Saturday. Wearing the No. 5 of Madrid great Zinedine Zidane, Bellingham started the match while Luka Modric and Toni Kroos, the veterans he is tapped to take over from, watched from the bench at San Mames Stadium. His goal was not a work of beauty like so many crafted by Zidane, and he perhaps had a bit of good fortune to guide it into the net. A left-side corner kick by David Alaba found Bellingham unmarked in the area, where he knocked the ball with one touch down onto the turf, only for it to bounce high and sail into the net over Spain goalkeeper Unai Simn. The 20-year-old Bellingham jogged to the endline and raised his arms to soak up the applause from the section of Madrid fans in the otherwise red-and-white stands. First game, first victory, first goal. Hala Madrid! Bellingham said in Spanish in a .

Harry Kane in focus on Matchday in European football; Madrid, Arsenal play

A look at what's happening in European soccer on Saturday: ENGLAND ========= The first round of the Premier League continues with Arsenal hosting Nottingham Forest in one of six games. A late collapse saw Arsenal fall short of the title last season and the London club has signed Declan Rice, Kai Havertz and Jurrien Timber in a bid to further close the gap to champion Manchester City. Promoted teams Luton and Sheffield United play their first games against Brighton and Crystal Palace, respectively. Newcastle, which finished fourth last season, hosts Aston Villa. West Ham visits Bournemouth, and Fulham is at Everton. SPAIN ====== Real Madrid kicks off its season by visiting Athletic Bilbao with doubts regarding both its striker and goalkeeper positions. Little used Andriy Lunin will start in goal for Carlo Ancelotti's team two days after Thibaut Courtois tore a knee ligament. Ancelotti will have to decide who will lead his attack after the club did not bring in a world-class replac

Real Madrid look to finally sign Kylian Mbappe after Benzema's departure

The door looks wide open for Real Madrid to try signing Kylian Mbapp, because Karim Benzema's sudden departure leaves the Spanish giant short of a star striker. Madrid will hope it's third time lucky, after Paris Saint-Germain rejected an offer of 180 million euros ($190 million) for Mbapp in 2021. Madrid missed out again last year when Mbapp amid frenzied speculation that Madrid would get him to join signed a new three-year deal with PSG until 2025. Now he's stunned the club by saying he will not trigger a 12-month extension on his contract, which expires at the end of next season. The France superstar confirmed his decision in a letter to PSG, a person with knowledge of the correspondence told The Associated Press on Monday. The person, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, also said PSG would not allow Mbapp to leave as a free agent. This immediately raised the possibility of an immediate transfer bidding war by Madrid and other clubs this summer. The 24-year-old Mbapp has

Football: Barca striker Robert Lewandowski rules out move to Saudi Arabia

FC Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski ruled out moving to the Saudi Professional League this summer as "he has other priorities" and his contract with the Spanish champions is valid until 2026

La Liga: Atletico Madrid tops Valladolid, continues pursuit of Real Madrid

Atletico Madrid won't slow down in its pursuit of Real Madrid for second place in the Spanish league. Atletico continued its strong push on Sunday by picking up its eighth win in nine matches with a 5-2 victory at Valladolid. Third-place Atletico scored three times in the first half and added two late goals in a result that kept Diego Simeone's team two points behind city rival Madrid with six rounds remaining. Madrid beat Almeria 4-2 on Saturday at home. Second place is especially important because it guarantees a spot in the lucrative Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia. Atletico's only recent setback was a 1-0 loss at leader Barcelona at Camp Nou two rounds ago. Barcelona beat Real Betis 4-0 at home on Saturday and has a comfortable 11-point lead over Madrid entering the final stretch. "We have good momentum, we've been competing very well, Atletico defender Jos Mara Gimnez said. There is still a lot of league left and we have to stay on this path. Atletico scored through Nahuel

Messi scores and assists in PSG win, helps maintain a six-point lead

One week after being jeered by his own fans, Lionel Messi scored one goal and set up the other as Paris Saint-Germain won at a wasteful Nice 2-0 to maintain its six-point lead of the French league. Messi was booed by some PSG fans in last weekend's home defeat to Lyon, leading to increased speculation he could leave this summer. Argentina's World Cup-winning star clipped in a cross from left back Nuno Mendes in the 26th minute. Then Messi's corner from the left was headed home by veteran defender Sergio Ramos in the 76th. Nice was unbeaten in 14 matches overall before this game and went close to equalizing in the first half, but PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma kept out efforts from Nicolas Pp and striker Terem Moffi. Veteran defender Dante's shot came off the underside of the crossbar and appeared to cross the line in the 51st. But referee Jrmie Pignard was not alerted by goal-line technology that it crossed, even though video replays showed a goal should likely have been ...

Madrid tops Barcelona 4-0 at Camp Nou with Benzema hat trick

Barcelona entered the final "clasico" of the season with a chance of earning a fourth straight win against Real Madrid in the same season for the first time. But when it was all over, it had endured one of its worst ever home losses to its archrival. With another hat trick by Karim Benzema, Madrid overturned Barcelona's advantage in the Copa del Rey semifinals with a resounding 4-0 win at Camp Nou Stadium to reach the final for the first time in nearly a decade. Madrid hadn't beaten Barcelona by four goals at Camp Nou since a 5-1 win in 1963. Vincius Jnior also scored as Madrid advanced 4-1 on aggregate after having lost the first leg 1-0 at home. Benzema also had a hat trick in Madrid's 6-0 rout of Valladolid in the Spanish league on Sunday. "It's obvious that after Karim improved, the team improved as well," Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti said. "When he is at his best, everything is better for us. And (Luka) Modric and (Toni) Kroos also had great games. In these types of matches,

Real Madrid draws with Osasuna; Barca tops La Liga football standings

Real Madrid surrendered the leadership of La Liga to Barcelona after being held to a 1-1 draw at home by Osasuna on Sunday evening

La Liga: Real Madrid keeps on dancing, beats Atltico to stay unbeaten

Rodrygo and Vincius Jnior didn't hesitate after Real Madrid opened the scoring at the Metropolitano stadium. The Brazilian duo went toward one of the corner flags and began doing their samba-like dance moves near the Atltico Madrid fans. With its young Brazilians not backing away from their dancing, Madrid beat city rival Atltico 2-1 in the Spanish league to extend its perfect start to the season on Sunday. Rodrygo and Federico Valverde scored first-half goals as the defending champions won their ninth match in a row in all competitions. Dance wherever you want, Vincius wrote on Twitter in a message directed at Rodrygo after the game, along with a photo of them celebrating the goal. The result restored Madrid as the league leader after it had been overtaken by Barcelona on Saturday following the Catalan club's 3-0 win against Elche for its fifth straight victory. Madrid leads Barcelona by two points. It was a different game, the derby is always different, Rodrygo said. This one

Real Madrid keeps up 100% start of 4-1 over Mallorca as Barca beats Cadiz

Real Madrid came back from a goal down and the loss of Karim Benzema through injury to win 4-1 at home to Real Mallorca and maintain their unbeaten record at the top of La Liga

Spanish Club Barcelona looks to rebound quickly after early setback

The expectations were high for Barcelona coming into the new season. The club's financial maneuvers allowed for some high-profile signings that significantly boosted the squad after a trophyless campaign without Lionel Messi. The new players performed well in the preseason and Barcelona president Joan Laporta said the club would meet the Spanish league's strict financial fair play regulations. Barcelona was back in its place, seen as a reference in world soccer again, Laporta boasted a few days before the league opener. But it didn't take long for the hype to turn into more disappointment, and the Catalan club enters the second week of the season reeling and looking for ways to rebound. Another setback in a tough visit to Real Sociedad on Sunday could leave the club in a deep hole early on. Laporta was not able to register all the new signings as he had expected ahead of the opener, and on the field the team struggled yet again, beginning its league campaign with a 0-0 home draw ..

Granada relegated from Spanish league after missing second-half penalty

Granada was relegated from the Spanish league after missing a second-half penalty kick which could have kept the team up, with Cdiz taking advantage to stay in the first division.

Madrid clinches record-extending 35th Spanish league title

In a dominating season for Real Madrid, it was fitting that it didn't even need its best players to win the Spanish league. Using its backups before the Champions League semifinals, Madrid earned a record-extending 35th Liga title with a comfortable 4-0 home win over Espanyol on Saturday. Players and coaches celebrated with the crowd at Santiago Bernabu Stadium long after the match ended, then paraded to the team's usual party spot at Cibeles plaza, but there was not a lot of time to rejoice. On Wednesday, Madrid is back at the Bernabu to host Manchester City in the second leg of the Champions League semifinals. Madrid lost 4-3 in the first match in England. "We know we have an important match ahead of us, but today we have to celebrate," said Brazilian veteran Marcelo, who reached a milestone with his 24th career title with Madrid, the most in the club's history. "We have to enjoy it, this could help us on Wednesday," said Carlo Ancelotti, who became the first coach to win the to

La Liga: Benzema stays hot as Madrid keeps momentum after PSG win

Karim Benzema stayed hot as Real Madrid kept momentum from its epic win over Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League with a 3-0 victory at Mallorca to extend its Spanish league lead. Benzema scored twice and set up Vincius Jnior's goal to help give Madrid a 10-point lead over second-placed Sevilla ahead of the clsico against Barcelona on Sunday at Santiago Bernabu Stadium. Benzema's double came five days after he scored a hat trick in less than 20 minutes to lead Madrid to the Champions League quarterfinals with a stunning comeback win over PSG. Benzema has eight goals in his last five matches in all competitions and comfortably leads the Spanish league's scoring list with 22. The match ended with concern over Benzema's fitness, though, as the French striker had to leave a few minutes from the end with what appeared to be a left leg injury. Madrid, which had already made all five substitutions, also lost forward Rodrygo and left back Ferland Mendy with injuries ahead of the mat

Real need to get back to playing like before Christman, says Ancelotti

Real Madrid slumped to defeat in their first match after the winter break as they lost 0-1 to Getafe and coach Carlo Ancelotti said they need to get back to playing like they were before Christmas

La Liga: Getafe ends Madrid's unbeaten streak; virus-hit Bara wins

After watching Real Madrid lose its first match in three months, Carlo Ancelotti had one simple message for his players: The holidays are over

La Liga: Covid crisis worsens; 50% attendence cut in Basque Region

The ongoing wave of Covid-19 cases in Spain has been reflected by a sharp rise in the number of infections being reported in La Liga as teams return to training after the short holiday break.

La Liga: Athletic Bilbao, Real Madrid to close 2021 in Covid-19 worry

Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao will end 2021 in what promises to be an entertaining game in Athletic's San Mames Stadium on Wednesday night -- if the Covid-19 pandemic allows.