Madrid: Real Madrid decided against holding their traditional pre-match news conference on Friday in an apparent attempt to defuse the war of words between coach Jose Mourinho and members of his squad. The nine-times European champions visit Espanyol on Saturday when a failure to win would gift leaders Barcelona their fourth La Liga title in five years.
Even if they do triumph, Barca only need two more points to secure the trophy, which they could achieve at third-placed Atletico Madrid on Sunday. Mourinho's dig at captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas a week ago, followed by defender Pepe's subsequent defence of his team mate last Saturday, has brought divisions within the dressing room to the fore.
Club president Florentino Perez took the rare step of entering the fray on Monday to call for unity for the last three weeks of the season, but Mourinho ignored his request and spoke out against Casillas and Pepe again on Tuesday. The Bernabeu crowd cheered Casillas's name when it was read out among the substitutes before the 6-2 La Liga victory over Malaga on Wednesday, while Mourinho's was met with whistles and jeers from a large section of the stadium.
After the game, Spanish internationals Xabi Alonso and Raul Albiol both appealed for club unity ahead of the King's Cup final against Atletico Madrid on May 17th, which will be the side's last chance for major silverware this season. Mourinho's future in the Spanish capital, despite him having a contract until 2016,
06:19 PM, May 10, 2013
Barcelona: Radamel Falcao scored his 25th goal of the Spanish league season to give Atletico Madrid a hard-fought 1-0 win at Sevilla and keep his team in the hunt for a second-place finish on Sunday. Also, Real Sociedad extended their unbeaten run to 14 straight games by drawing 0-0 at Osasuna, while Espanyol beat nine-man Getafe 2-0 for their third straight away victory. After 76 minutes featuring more hard fouls...
08:57 AM, Apr 22, 2013
Barcelona: Espanyol beat nine-man Getafe 2-0 for their third straight away victory in the Spanish league on Sunday. Joan Verdu finished off a well-orchestrated passing combination by his team culminating in Sergio Garcia's chested assist for the midfielder to volley home in the 37th minute. Getafe was decimated by Borja Fernandez's second yellow card in the 52nd and Federico Fernandez's red card in the 72nd for a low tackle on...
10:48 PM, Apr 21, 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
Malaga slipped to a 2-0 loss to visiting Espanyol on Sunday, wasting a chance to regain fourth place in the Spanish league. ...
09:50 PM, Mar 17, 2013
Radamel Falcao scored his 21st goal in the Spanish league this season to give 10-man Atletico Madrid a 1-0 win over Espanyol. ...
02:12 AM, Feb 25, 2013
Simao Sabrosa scored a free kick to give Espanyol the lead in the 17th minute. ...
10:00 AM, Jan 19, 2013
Barcelona continued their record start with 17 wins and a draw to maintain their 16-point lead over third-place Madrid. ...
02:29 AM, Jan 07, 2013
Also on Thursday, Espanyol beat last-place Deportivo La Coruna 2-0 to escape the relegation zone, while Rayo Vallecano downed visiting Levante 3-0 ...
08:18 AM, Dec 21, 2012
Pellegrini's side will take on Mourinho's misfiring Real Madrid on Saturday. ...
05:55 PM, Dec 19, 2012
Real Madrid's woes in the Spanish league worsened on Sunday when they were held to a 2-2 home draw by Espanyol. ...
02:32 AM, Dec 17, 2012
La Liga title contenders Atletico Madrid will face a tough test when they visit high-flying Barcelona on Sunday. ...
05:12 PM, Dec 14, 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
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: Espanyol beat Rayo Vallecano 3-2 thanks to substitute Christian Stuani's injury-time winner on Sunday, earning the struggling side their first victory through eight rounds of the Spanish league season. Espanyol midfielder Joan Verdu made up for his early error that led to Leonardo Carrilho's 11th-minute opener by scoring from a long pass by Victor Sanchez in the 37th before adding a second goal three minutes after halftime. Carrilho got...
11:51 PM, Oct 21, 2012
Barcelona: Fernando Llorente played for Athletic Bilbao for the first time this season and added a goal to Aritz Aduriz's double to help secure a 3-3 draw at 10-man Espanyol in the Spanish league on Sunday. Llorente had not played through the first three rounds after telling his boyhood club he wouldn't renew his contract beyond next summer, adding to Bilbao's tumultuous offseason that saw them lose midfielder Javi Martinez...
10:00 AM, Sep 17, 2012
Football has been dealt another tragic blow with the young player's death. ...
07:19 PM, Aug 09, 2009
Rafael Benitez's men did not fare well in Spain. ...
02:03 PM, Aug 03, 2009
Los Che's hopes of Champions League qualification suffers a blow. ...
02:52 AM, May 05, 2009
The other quarter-final first legs will be played on Thursday. ...
03:49 PM, Jan 22, 2009
