Barcelona: Dethroned as Europe's dominant team, Barcelona can begin rebuilding their reputation by clinching the Spanish league title this weekend. Barcelona can secure their 22nd domestic title and their fourth in five years if they beat Real Betis at Camp Nou on Sunday and second-place Real Madrid drops points at home against Valladolid the day before.
Barcelona and Madrid were both eliminated from the Champions League semi-finals this week. Yet while Madrid almost rallied back against Borussia Dortmund before falling 4-3 on aggregate, Bayern Munich humbled the once mighty Barcelona by the combined score of 7-0 over their two-game series.
A nagging right hamstring injury kept forward Lionel Messi out of Barcelona's 3-0 loss to Bayern on Wednesday, and he may likely be another game-time decision on Saturday.
While pointing out that Barcelona's accumulation of injuries had hurt their chances against Bayern, Barcelona's players and staff conceded after their second stinging defeat that the newly-crowned German champions had simply outplayed them....
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06:47 PM, May 03, 2013
Madrid: A late goal by Giovani Dos Santos gave Mallorca a 1-0 win over fellow relegation struggler Celta Vigo in the Spanish league on Monday. Dos Santos netted from a rebound in the third minute of injury time after Mallorca midfielder Tomas Pina sent a cross toward the far post and goalkeeper Javier Varas saved a header from striker Tomer Hamed. The win lifts Mallorca above Celta into 19th place...
09:22 AM, Apr 16, 2013
Barcelona: Deportivo La Coruna rolled to a 4-0 victory at Levante to provisionally escape the Spanish league's relegation zone for the first time in 18 weeks after their fourth consecutive win on Saturday. Also, Malaga forward Julio Baptista struck in injury time to grab a 1-0 win over visiting Osasuna four days after the Costa del Sol side was eliminated from the Champions League quarter-finals. Sergio Garcia's last-gasp equalizer secured...
10:25 AM, Apr 14, 2013
Messi extended his league-record scoring run to 15 straight games in a 2-1 win over Sevilla on Saturday. ...
08:41 AM, Feb 24, 2013
Barcelona: Ten-man Atletico Madrid stayed in the chase for the Spanish league lead by beating Granada 1-0 thanks to Arda Turan's second-half goal on Sunday. With Atletico striker Radamel Falcao without a goal for the third straight game, Turan stepped up in the 61st minute to ensure the hard-earned win for Simeone Diego's team that keeps them three points behind pacesetter Barcelona. The Turkey midfielder volleyed in from substitute Jorge...
02:42 AM, Nov 19, 2012
Barcelona: Ten-man Valencia were held to a 1-1 draw at Valladolid on Sunday, as Mauricio Pellegrino's team remained winless in six away games in the Spanish league this season. Valencia defender Ali Cissokho opened the scoring for the visitors in the 15th minute with a header from a corner kick. But after Valladolid's Alberto Bueno hit the post, Valencia were reduced to 10 men in the 64th when Cissokho was...
09:57 PM, Nov 11, 2012
Barcelona: Striker Aritz Aduriz scored twice to give Athletic Bilbao a 2-1 victory at Granada on Sunday, the struggling Basque side's first away win of the Spanish league season. Bilbao finally showed flashes of the attacking verve that led it to the finals of the Europa League and Copa del Rey last season and made it one of the surprises of European football with memorable wins over Manchester United. Aduriz...
08:42 AM, Nov 05, 2012
Madrid: With Lionel Messi as a three-time goal-taker and Cesc Fabregas as a three-time goal-maker, 10-man Barcelona outlasted Deportivo La Coruna in a wild 5-4 shootout in the Spanish league on Saturday. Fabregas set up Jordi Alba's opener before Cristian Tello and Messi both followed suit as Barcelona roared to 3-0 just 18 minutes in at Riazor Stadium. But some dubious officiating saw Javier Mascherano sent off in the 49th,...
11:06 AM, Oct 22, 2012
Barcelona: Radamel Falcao struck a free kick in the 90th minute to give unbeaten Atletico Madrid a 1-0 victory at Real Sociedad on Sunday, extending its winning run to seven games to remain level with Barcelona at the top of the Spanish standings. After being held in check until the very end, Falcao curled a perfect right-footed shot over the defensive wall to take his league scoring tally to nine...
08:52 AM, Oct 22, 2012
Barcelona: With most of its stars sold, Malaga needed a record-setting goal on Saturday from 16-year-old Fabrice Olinga to win 1-0 at promoted Celta Vigo on the opening day of the Spanish league. The Malaga youth player went on as a second-half substitute and moments after hitting the post he knocked in a rebound of a shot by Diego Bounanotte in the 84th minute. The goal made Olinga the youngest...
08:30 AM, Aug 19, 2012
Rio de Janeiro: Barcelona has reportedly won the race to sign Brazilian sensation Neymar by securing a 60 million-euro deal for the striker. The Catalan club is hopeful of bringing Neymar to the Camp Nou after the Olympic Games although it is unlikely he will move before the 2013-14 season, reports Xinhua. The 20-year-old is currently contracted with Brazilian club Santos until the 2014 World Cup. Barcelona is understood to...
02:30 AM, Jul 17, 2012
Manchester: Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero has committed his future to the club, dismissing speculation that he is set to leave this summer after just one season in the Premier League. The 23-year-old enjoyed a successful debut season at City, scoring 23 league goals, including the crucial last-gasp winner against QPR which secured the Premier League title on the final day. The Argentina international has been linked with a move...
03:32 PM, May 29, 2012
London: Chelsea defender Branislav Ivanovic has claimed that he is on Real Madrid's wish-list for the new season. Spanish sources have reported that Ivanovic is high on Jose Mourinho's list of targets as the Portuguese coach looks to fine-tune his squad to give Madrid their 10th Champions League trophy in 2012-13. The 28-year-old defender, who started Serbia's 2-0 defeat against Spain on Saturday, stated that he is aware of Madrid's...
11:57 AM, May 28, 2012
Barcelona: Tito Vilanova's step up from assistant to Barcelona coach for next season is a sign of continuity rather than the end of an era, the outgoing Pep Guardiola said after Friday's 3-0 King's Cup final triumph. Guardiola signed off the same way that he started at Barcelona, with a Cup final win over Athletic Bilbao, securing his 14th trophy from the 19 competitions he has competed in since taking...
04:05 PM, May 27, 2012
Madrid: Jose Mourinho agreed to extend his contract with Real Madrid for two years on Tuesday, tying him to the club until the end of the 2015-16 season. The 49-year-old Portuguese coach led Madrid to their first Spanish league title in four years this season to add to the Copa del Rey trophy he won during his first campaign at the Santiago Bernabeu, after joining from Inter Milan in 2010...
10:00 PM, May 22, 2012
Madrid: Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo has admitted that he is growing weary of the comparisons with Barcelona's Lionel Messi as he feels that they cannot be put side by side because of their differences. The Portugal international believes that both players do the best they can for their respective clubs, which allows them to push each other to new heights. However, when pressed on the matter, the Portuguese attacker...
07:47 PM, May 18, 2012
Barcelona: Barcelona defender Dani Alves will be out of action for up to two months after having surgery on a fractured right collarbone sustained during training on Wednesday. "Dani fell after colliding with another player and fractured his collarbone," Barca doctor Ricard Pruna told a news conference. "The recovery period is six to eight weeks, with four weeks completely immobilised, so he will miss the King's Cup final and the...
04:20 AM, May 17, 2012
Malaga: Ruud van Nistelrooy has announced his decision to hang up his boots this summer after opting not to renew his contract with Malaga. The former Netherlands international had an expiring deal with the Andalusian side, and will not ink a new contract as he feels the time has come to end his active career. "Yesterday I played the last match of my professional career. The time has come to...
05:23 PM, May 14, 2012
As Pep Guardiola prepares for his final two games in charge of Barcelona, irrespective of the result, he can look back in satisfaction at having overseen one of the most successful periods ever in the history of the club. Since taking over as the Barcelona manager in 2008, Guardiola has won 13 trophies in all " three La Liga titles, two Champions League trophies, one Copa del Rey, three Spanish...
10:00 AM, May 11, 2012
Madrid: Kaka has insisted that he is eager to stay at Real Madrid beyond the current season as he wants to respect his contract. The Brazil international is continually being linked with a move away from the Santiago Bernabeu in the summer transfer window after failing to nail down a regular first-team role with Real. However, Kaka is determined to fight for his place at Madrid, and wants to stay...
09:08 AM, May 09, 2012
