Lionel Messi might have powered Barcelona to this season’s Spanish league crown, but it fell to humble crosstown rival Espanyol to finally finish off Real Madrid’s title defense with a 1-1 draw on Saturday.
Cristiano Ronaldo headed in two goals to help Real Madrid beat Valladolid 4-3 in the Spanish league on Saturday, but the entertaining win was overshadowed by growing dissatisfaction with coach Jose Mourinho for criticizing the club.
For once, Barcelona was on the wrong end of the kind of drubbing it so often inflicts on others. And with Bayern Munich in this kind of devastating form, even a fully fit Lionel Messi may not have made much of a difference.
Lionel Messi has never been short on late-game heroics, and not even a sore hamstring stopped him from going on as a substitute to help Barcelona rally for a 1-1 draw with Paris Saint-Germain and a place in the Champions League semifinals on Wednesday.
Real Madrid beat Barcelona for the second time in five days, a 2-1 win on Saturday which will do little to prevent its fierce rival from reclaiming the Spanish league title but should boost Jose Mourinho’s team for its Champions League trip to Manchester United.
Sergio Ramos netted the winner in the 82nd minute when he rose up to head in Luka Modric’s corner to give Madrid its first home league victory over Barcelona since 2008, in a game that grew testy toward the end and saw Barca goalkeeper Victor Valdes sent off for protesting.
Barcelona assistant coach Jordi Roura on Friday sought to ease the pressure on Lionel Messi as the Catalans prepare to face Real Madrid for the second time in five days.
Lionel Messi scored his 300th and 301st career goals for Barcelona and extended his record-scoring run to 14 Spanish league games in a 2-1 comeback win at Granada on Saturday, four days before it visits AC Milan.
Real Madrid’s dismal season went from bad to worse when Cristiano Ronaldo scored an own-goal to hand relegation-threatened Granada a shock 1-0 win on Saturday.
Real coach Jose Mourinho had already given up winning the league before Christmas and this latest blow means that Barcelona can increase their lead over them to 18 points if they win at Valencia on Sunday.
Ten-man Real Madrid slumped to a dire 0-0 draw at Osasuna in the Spanish league as coach Jose Mourinho failed to compensate for the absence of top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo on Saturday.
Lionel Messi polished off his record year with his 91st and final goal of 2012 in Barcelona’s 3-1 win at Valladolid on Saturday, while Jose Mourinho’s decision to bench goalkeeper Iker Casillas backfired as Real Madrid lost 3-2 at Malaga to fall further off the pace.
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho surprisingly benched veteran goalkeeper Iker Casillas for Saturday’s game at Malaga, and the move may cost him more than just three points as little-used Adan Garrido was overwhelmed in a 3-2 loss.
Adrian Lopez scored a late winner to give Atletico Madrid a 1-0 victory over Celta Vigo on Friday, as Diego Simeone’s side stayed in touch with leader Barcelona at the top of Spanish standings.
MADRID — Coach Jose Mourinho says Real Madrid does not plan to sell little-used midfielder Kaka during the winter transfer window. Mourinho said on Friday that “I don’t think Kaka will leave,” adding that keeping the Brazilian would give the team a deeper bench. The 30-year-old Brazil playmaker has only started four matches this season [...]
