Madrid, April 14 (IANS) Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa faces the most important game of his coaching career on Wednesday when his side travels to Bayern Munich for the second leg of its Champions League quarterfinal, needing to overturn a 2-1 deficit from the first leg.Kylian Mbappe’s goal at the Santiago Bernabeu last Tuesday gave Madrid hope after Luis Diaz and Harry Kane had put Bayern 2-0 ahead, but history offers little encouragement. Madrid has lost the first leg of a European knockout t…
Latest La Liga News & Updates
Madrid, April 13 (IANS) Villarreal strengthened its grip on third place in La Liga with a 2-1 away win over Athletic Bilbao, moving four points clear of Atletico Madrid and 15 ahead of fifth-placed Real Betis as it closed in on qualification for next season’s UEFA Champions League.First-half goals from Sergi Cardona and Alfon Gonzalez put Villarreal 2-0 ahead and left Athletic Bilbao struggling.The home side pushed for a route back into the game in the second half, but Villarreal defended in an …
Madrid, April 12 (IANS) FC Barcelona moved nine points clear at the top of La Liga after a 4-1 home win over Espanyol in a Catalan derby and Real Madrid’s 1-1 draw at home to Girona.Ferran Torres scored the opening goal for Barcelona, who looked to recover from its UEFA Champions League defeat to Atletico Madrid, with a header from a corner after just nine minutes to end his scoring drought dating back to January 31. He then doubled the lead after Lamine Yamal delivered an audacious pass with th…
Madrid, April 11 (IANS) Real Madrid all-but said goodbye to this season’s La Liga title on Friday night after being held to a 1-1 draw in the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium by Girona.The draw leaves Real Madrid six points behind FC Barcelona in the standings with seven games left in the season, with Barcelona having the chance to extend the lead to nine points with a win at home to Espanyol on Saturday evening, reported Xinhua.Real Madrid coach Alvaro Arbeloa made seven changes to the team that lost …
Madrid, April 9 (IANS) Real Madrid head coach Alvaro Arbeloa has defended his players and stressed the importance of consistency ahead of their La Liga clash against Girona on Friday. Madrid head into the match after back-to-back 2-1 defeats against Bayern Munich in the Champions League and Mallorca in the league, leaving them seven points behind Barcelona with eight matches remaining.Asked about the impact of another loss on their title chances, Arbeloa said, “The players know that every game…
Madrid, April 8 (IANS) Spanish side Rayo Vallecano has a chance to make European history on Thursday when it hosts AEK Athens in the first leg of the UEFA Conference League quarterfinal. The tie gives Rayo a chance to reach a European semifinal for the first time after playing in the quarterfinals of the UEFA Cup in the 2000-2001 season, when they lost to Deportivo Alaves.The side from the working-class Madrid neighbourhood of Vallecas goes into the game after taking a big step toward La Liga su…
Madrid, April 5 (IANS) FC Barcelona took a massive step towards winning this season’s La Liga title with a 2-1 win away to Atletico Madrid, while Real Madrid lost to Mallorca with the same score.The result gives Barcelona a seven-point lead at the top of La Liga with eight matches left. Robert Lewandowski scored the decisive goal in the 87th minute after a brilliant action from Joao Cancelo, who turned the defense inside out before hitting a shot from close range that Atletico goalkeeper Juan Mu…
Barcelona, April 2 (IANS) Spanish football giant Barcelona’s president, Joan Laporta, has slammed FIFA over what he described as a congested and poorly planned international calendar after the team’s prime player, Raphinha, suffered a hamstring injury while representing Brazil.The injury occurred during an international friendly against France, leaving FC Barcelona without one of their most in-form attackers at a crucial stage of the season.Laporta did not hold back in his criticism of the sched…
Madrid, March 28 (IANS) FC Barcelona’s La Liga and UEFA Champions League title hopes have suffered a big setback after Raphinha suffered a hamstring injury while on international duty for Brazil, playing in a pre-World Cup friendly.The Brazilian Football Confederation confirmed on Friday that Raphinha suffered the injury in his right hamstring during Thursday’s 2-1 defeat to France in a friendly. The forward will leave the Brazilian squad to return to Barcelona for treatment, reports Xinhua.This…
Madrid (Spain), March 23 (IANS) FC Barcelona and Real Madrid both edged to narrow wins before the international break to keep the title race alive in the La Liga 2025-26 season.With the league moving towards a decisive phase at both ends of the points table, Barcelona and Real Madrid are separated by four points, with Barca leading the standings with 73 points while Real Madrid have 69 points after 29 rounds of matches. Barcelona defeated Rayo Vallecano 1-0 while Real Madrid edged archrivals Atl…