So we come to it: the biggest LaLiga game between Barcelona and Atletico Madrid for seven years.
Forget the Champions League disappointments, the off-the-field murmurings about money problems and the lingering toxic cloud of the Super League, and get ready for a title showdown.
League leaders Atletico are two points clear of Real Madrid and Barca with four games to go. If the match produces a winner, that team will have the power to decide their own fate. A draw could be enough for Atleti. A defeat for either may prove fatal to their chances.
The last time these two teams met this late in the season with the title still on the line for both was on that famous final day in 2013-14, when Atleti went to Camp Nou knowing they would win the league if they did not l…
Barnsley head coach Neill Collins applauded the resilience of his side as they came from behind twice to earn a 2-2 draw against travelling Fleetwood.
Devante Cole and Corey O’Keefe provided equalisers for the Tykes after a first-half double from Junior Quitirna.
Collins said: “Today I think it was a winning performance, you look across the season it’s one of our most dominant performances.
“We created loads of chances, created lots of opportunities to create more chances but we obviously shot ourselves slightly in the foot by giving away a really cheap goal and then losing a very good goal from their perspective.
“I think what the fans should be happy with is that we came from behind twice. That’s the first equaliser here (at Oakwell) since t…
Great art will typically have its back to the wall, and for an hour on Tuesday it was a great artist who stood with his back to a red wall on a rainy night in Manchester, unhappy with his lot.
A promising exhibition was turning into a soggy mess as Kevin De Bruyne had his visionary brushstrokes stripped of their customary colour, the false nine lacking his usual lustre.
But then the narrative flipped, and a 50th Champions League appearance in City colours for this wonderful Belgian footballer had its masterpiece, a finish any genuine number nine would admire from substitute Phil Foden s delicious pass. One-nil, and that was how it stayed, a fine result from a taxing evening.
City manager Pep Guardiola had joked about the perception that he can overthink in big…
Bruno Fernandes has said that Juventus forward Cristiano Ronaldo asks him about Manchester United.
Fernandes and Ronaldo are teammates for the Portugal national football team.
Ronaldo was on the books of United from 2003 until 2009 when he moved to Spanish and European giants Real Madrid.
The 35-year-old was hugely successful during his time in Spain, and for the past two seasons, he has starred for a Juventus team who have won Serie A titles.
Fernandes joined United from Sporting Lisbon in the January transfer window, and he has said that Ronaldo still talks about the Red Devils.
“Of course, I spoke with Cristiano after and he spoke very well about the club. I spoke with him some days ago, again.
Every time I speak with him, he asks …
Manchester United have secured the arrival of Netherlands striker Wout Weghorst on loan from Burnley until the end of the season.
Weghorst had been playing for Besiktas, but United have taken over that arrangement, with the Turkish club confirming they received €2.8million (£2.48m) for the inconvenience.
Erik ten Hag was in the market for a new striker following the acrimonious split with Cristiano Ronaldo, whose contract was terminated in November after he criticised the manager and club in a controversial interview.
The United boss was open about his desire to bring in attacking reinforcements and seemed to confirm the club s interest in Weghorst when acknowledging Anthony Martial could not handle the physical demands of being their only striker.
Lin…
Celtic were again tormented by Lukas Julis in another 4-1 defeat to Sparta Prague as they crashed out of the Europa League on Thursday.
Neil Lennon s Bhoys had lost by the same scoreline at home to Sparta earlier in the month and Odsonne Edouard s opener in the away fixture provided only a brief moment of respite before the hosts responded.
Dismal defensive lapses allowed David Hancko and Julis the hat-trick hero in Scotland scoring twice this time to prematurely end this year s European adventure.
And Sparta substitute Srdan Plavsic added the final flourish in the closing seconds.
full-time.
— Celtic Football Club (@CelticFC)
The brutal conclusion was at odds with an encouraging Celtic start which saw Edouard lead a brilliant br…
Aston Villa made a statement with their unreal victory over European heavyweights Bayern Munich, according to Emiliano Martinez.
Villa won 1-0 on Wednesday to make it two victories from two games in the Champions League, as they claimed their second triumph over Bayern from as many meetings, with their previous success against them having come by the same scoreline in the 1982 European Cup final.
The German giants dominated possession and accrued 1.42 expected goals (xG) to Villa s 0.4, but the only stat that mattered at Villa Park was the scoreline.
Substitute Jhon Duran was the hero as he scooped a brilliant finish over Manuel Neuer from outside the box in the 79th minute, with Martinez subsequently pulling off a string of fine stops to deny Bayern an equaliser…
There has been plenty of uncertainty around the future of Real Madrid defender Nacho Fernandez, but the 33-year-old has finally come out to confirm he would be staying at the Santiago Bernabeu past this summer, despite receiving offers from elsewhere. His new 12-month contract is expected to be signed in the coming days. Further more, he will reportedly be named as club captain, following the departure of Karim Benzema.
Nacho is yet to put on a shirt of another club. He was a product of the Real Madrid academy, having gone through every level of their youth ranks to earn first-team promotion from the Castilla side in 2012. Since then, he s gone on to make a total of 319 appearances in the famous white shirt, scoring 16 goals.
Though rarely a member of the starting XI wh…
Chelsea goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga has completed a season-long loan move to Real Madrid.
The 28-year-old Spain international, who joined the Blues in a £71.6million switch from Athletic Bilbao in August 2018, is contracted at the Bernabeu until June next year.
Real needed a new keeper after Thibaut Courtois was ruled out for the majority of the season with an ACL injury.
A statement on Real’s official website said: “Real Madrid CF and Chelsea FC have agreed on the loan of the player Kepa Arrizabalaga, who is linked to the club this season, until June 30, 2024.
— Real Madrid C.F. (@realmadriden)
“In his five seasons at Chelsea, he has won one Champions League, one Club World Cup, one European Super Cup and one Europa League.<…
Milan striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic has put his failure to land a Ballon d Or award down to not fitting the Mr Perfect mould of perennial winners Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi.
Despite registering over 500 club goals for the likes of Juventus, Inter, Barcelona, Milan, Paris Saint-Germain and Manchester United, Ibrahimovic has never finished in the top three of the voting for the prestigious individual prize.
The Sweden international s highest finish came in 2013 when claiming fourth place behind Franck Ribery, Messi and Ronaldo, the latter two having taken the award 12 times between them (Messi 7, Ronaldo 5).
Indeed, only Luka Modric in 2018 – after winning the Champions League with Real Madrid and playing a starring role in Croatia s run to the World Cup fin…