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Showing posts with the label La Liga

Spain: Barcelona stun Real Madrid

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Real Madrid 0 - 4 Barcelona Robert Lewandowski netted twice in just three minutes as La Liga leaders Barcelona swept aside Real Madrid in El Clasico, extending their lead over their fierce rivals to six points. Author - Mark Lee Real Madrid had been aiming to equal Barcelona’s league record of 43 consecutive unbeaten games, a milestone set between April 2017 and May 2018. However, those ambitions were shattered by a ruthless second-half performance from the visitors at the Bernabeu. After a goalless first half, Lewandowski broke the deadlock in the 54th minute, coolly slotting home from a precise through ball by Marc Casado. The Polish striker doubled Barcelona’s advantage moments later, heading Alejandro Balde’s pinpoint cross into the right corner. Lewandowski came close to securing a hat-trick, hitting the woodwork on one occasion and firing over from a promising position on another. Spanish teenage sensation Lamine Yamal, at just 17, added Barcelona’s third with a brilliant st

Spain: Barcelona maintain perfect start to the season

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Girona 1 - 4 Barcelona Lamine Yamal netted twice as Barcelona continued their dominant start to the season with a commanding 4-1 victory away at Girona. The 17-year-old Spanish winger opened the scoring in the 30th minute, capitalising on a mistake by David Lopez deep in Girona's half, before expertly lifting the ball over goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga. Yamal added his second just seven minutes later with a composed first-time strike from the edge of the box, following a rebound from Raphinha's free-kick. Click here for more La Liga news and stories Girona, who finished third last season, thought they had been awarded a penalty after Bryan Gil's header struck Inigo Martinez's arm, but the decision was overturned after a VAR review. Dani Olmo became the first player since Cesc Fabregas in 2011 to score in his first three league games for Barcelona, finding the net with a precise finish from a tight angle in the 47th minute to make it 3-0. Seventeen minutes later, midf

Transfer News: Felix and Gallagher swap clubs

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Another day, another Chelsea transfer story Chelsea have secured the signing of Portuguese forward João Félix from Atlético Madrid for an estimated £45 million, with England midfielder Conor Gallagher heading in the opposite direction for around £33 million. Félix, 24, has committed to a seven-year contract, marking his return to Stamford Bridge after a loan spell in 2023 where he netted four goals in 20 appearances for the West London club. Meanwhile, Gallagher has penned a five-year deal with the Spanish top-flight side. The 24-year-old joined Chelsea as a youngster, making 90 appearances for the club, scoring 10 goals. With just one year left on his contract, Chelsea were keen to sell Gallagher this summer rather than risk losing him on a free transfer next year. Gallagher's transfer to Spain was delayed due to the collapse of Chelsea’s negotiations to sign Atlético striker Samu Omorodion. However, Félix’s move has now provided Atlético with the funds needed to finalise the

Spain: Real Madrid held at Mallorca

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Mallorca 1 -  1 Real Madrid Kylian Mbappé made his La Liga debut as reigning champions Real Madrid were held to a draw by Mallorca on the opening day of the season. The French captain had already made a strong start at his new club, scoring in Wednesday's 2-0 UEFA Super Cup victory over Atalanta. However, the summer signing from Paris Saint-Germain was unable to find the net in his first domestic league appearance. Rodrygo put Carlo Ancelotti's side ahead with a superb goal, finishing off a clever backheel from Vinícius Júnior. More news from across Spain Latest stories from Real Madrid But Mallorca responded when Vedat Muriqi headed in Dani Rodríguez's cross to equalise. Madrid's defender, Ferland Mendy, was sent off in the final moments of injury time after a reckless challenge on Muriqi. Mbappé, PSG's all-time top scorer and a six-time Ligue 1 Golden Boot winner , had several opportunities for Madrid. He narrowly missed the target with one effort and forced g

Spain: Barcelona beat Valencia

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Valencia 1 - 2 Barcelona A win over Valencia kicked off Barcelona's La Liga campaign under new manager Hansi Flick. Former Germany boss Flick's team had to come from behind after Hugo Duro scored from a Diego Lopez cross past Marc-Andre ter Stegen. The first half started slowly, but Duro opened the scoring in the 44th minute, sparking the match into life. Duro had a chance cleared off the line, but Robert Lewandowski then equalized from a Lamine Yamal pass. Valencia had a strong first half, but Barcelona showed their superiority in the second half, taking the lead through veteran striker Lewandowski's penalty in the 49th minute after Raphinha was fouled in the box. Yamal was a constant threat with his dribbling on the wings, causing problems for Valencia. Despite Valencia's strong counter-attacks and Barcelona's midfield errors, Flick's team ultimately proved to be of a higher class, managing the game well and neutralizing Valencia's threats to secure a

Barcelona: 23/24 Season Review

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 Let's explore Barcelona's 2023/2024 campaign In addition to La Liga, Barca also took part in the Copa del Rey, Supercopa de España, and UEFA Champions League. Throughout the season, Barcelona played their home matches at the Estadi Olímpic due to the redevelopment of the Nou Camp. This season was notable as the first without captain Sergio Busquets, who departed the club after 18 years (including 15 years in the first team since the 2007–08 season) as a free agent in the summer. It was also the first full season without Gerard Piqué, who retired before the winter World Cup, and the first since 2011–12 without left-back Jordi Alba, who mutually agreed to terminate his contract a year early. Elsewhere, Barcelona finished as runners-up in the Supercopa de España and were knocked out of the Copa del Rey in the quarter-finals by eventual winners Athletic Bilbao, losing in extra time. In the league, they were unable to defend last season's title, ending the season in second

Spain: Real Madrid carry on impressive form

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 Real Madrid 5 - 0 Deportivo Alavés Jude Bellingham scored his 19th La Liga goal as champions Real Madrid thrashed Alaves at the Santiago Bernabeu. You can watch the highlights of the match in the video below. The footage is from the official Real Madrid YouTube account. The England international Bellingham opened the scoring in Madrid's first game since securing the title when he guided Toni Kroos' 10th-minute cross over Jesus Owono. Bellingham's goal left him one goal behind Girona striker Artem Dovbyk in the race for the golden boot with two league matches remaining. Vinicius Jr doubled Real's lead in the 27th minute with a close-range finish after a fine pass from Eduardo Camavinga . Federico Valverde made it 3-0 just before half-time with a beautiful strike into the top corner, while Vinicius scored his second goal with a lovely effort.  Turkish teenager Arda Guler scored the final goal in the 81st minute with a calm finish into the bottom corner. Real Madrid a

Spain: Real Madrid are La Liga champions

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Real Madrid are La Liga champions once again.  They wrapped up the title by defeating Cadiz 3-0 at the Bernabeu before they watched Barcelona lose 4-2 at Girona. Ultimately, this has been an impressively dominant campaign for Carlo Ancelotti's men. They have lost just once all season, at local rivals Atletico Madrid in September, and are also unbeaten in their last 28 league games. Against Cadiz, Brahim Diaz starred for Real Madrid. The former Manchester City winger scored an impressive goal by firing into the top corner from just inside the box in the 51st minute. S few minutes later, Jude Bellingham doubled Real's lead by ghosting into the box and poking home from close range.  Joselu then sealed a comfortable victory in added time with a tap-in. Nacho raced through into the box and squared the ball for his teammate to finish with ease. Another excellent performance. When the match finished, they were only a few hours away from being champions officially. You can watch

Spain: Real Madrid move closer to La Liga title

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Real Sociedad 0 - 1 Real Madrid Arda Guler scored on his first La Liga start, helping Real Madrid move closer to securing the title with a win against Real Sociedad.  An important day for Real Madrid. More reaction coming up on https://t.co/Mu4Cn3wz9B https://t.co/aHAGzCmT3P — European Super Football (@ESFootballNews) April 27, 2024 Real Madrid's 19-year-old Turkish midfielder scored Madrid's first goal in the match, midway through the first half, by turning in a cross. Carlo Ancelotti made several changes after last weekend's victory in El Clasico, giving opportunities to other players. Real Sociedad started strongly but couldn't convert their dominance into goals, as they failed to breach Madrid's defense. Takefusa Kubo's attempt to equalize for Real Sociedad was denied by the offside flag, immediately after Guler's goal. The second half was less eventful, with both teams struggling to create chances. However, Real Madrid did enough to secure a vict

Spain: Real Madrid held by Vallecano

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Rayo Vallecano 1 - 1 Real Madrid Real Madrid dropped points against local rivals Rayo Vallecano to slow down their title push.  The match kicked off with Real Madrid looking sharp, taking an early lead as Joselu expertly converted Fede Valverde's pass. However, Rayo Vallecano clawed their way back into the game, equalising through Raul de Tomas' penalty after VAR spotted Eduardo Camavinga's handball. More Real Madrid news and stories can be found here La Liga news and stories Real struggled to create many opportunities thereafter, ultimately settling for a solitary point. This draw allowed the 35-time La Liga champions to widen their lead over second-placed Girona to six points. Following this result, Athletic Bilbao brought high-flying Girona back down to earth with a 3-2 victory on Monday. This has further boosted Real Madrid's chances.  Real Madrid now sit eight points clear of their long-standing rivals Barcelona, who clinched a late victory against Celta Vigo

Spain: Girona look the real deal

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Barcelona 2-4 Girona Barcelona finished the weekend in fourth place in the La Liga table and are now seven points off the top thanks to a painful 4-2 loss. Throughout this match, Girona dominated and made a statement about their title credentials as they convincingly won this Catalan derby.  Highlights Check out the highlights from the match in the video below.  FC BARCELONA 2 vs 4 GIRONA | LALIGA 2023/24 MD16 (youtube.com) The opening 45 minutes were just as wild and entertaining as any neutral could hope for, with both teams playing really well with the ball and taking big risks in possession that left them extremely vulnerable at the back. The home side started as the better side and could have taken the lead within the first 10 minutes. However, one bad pass in midfield allowed Girona to counter-attack and Viktor Tsigankov gave Artem Dovbyk an easy tap-in to put the visitors in front.  The 2023 La Liga winners answered quickly after a great corner taken by Raphinha found Rober

Latest Transfer News: 14/08/2023

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 Let's explore the latest transfer news from across Europe It has been another busy day. Real Madrid signs Chelsea goalkeeper on season-long loan Real Madrid have announced the signing of goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga from Chelsea on a season-long loan. He will cover for Madrid's regular number one Thibaut Courtois, whose anterior cruciate ligament injury will keep him out of the league for the majority of the season. As a Chelsea goalkeeper, Kepa has made 163 appearances since joining from Athletic Bilbao for £71m in August 2018. Real Madrid started their season with a 2-0 win over Athletic Club. West Ham United sign Southampton midfielder James Ward-Prowse has joined West Ham United from Southampton for a fee thought to be in the region of £30 million. In addition to making 410 senior appearances for the club, the midfielder captained Southampton, who were relegated to the Championship last season.  You can see some of his best moments for the club in the video below. Footag

Icons: Ronaldo

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Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima, commonly known as Ronaldo, is our latest football icon.  He played for some of the world's biggest clubs and was a huge icon during the 1990's and 2000's. A brief introduction to 'The Phenomenon'. Nicknamed The Phenomenon and R9, he is widely regarded as one of the greatest players ever. As a multi-functional striker who brought a new dimension to the position, Ronaldo had a huge impact on a generation of forwards and attacking players that followed him. His individual accolades include being named FIFA World Player of the Year three times and winning the Ballon d'Or twice. <More football icons> The start of his career. He started at Cruzeiro and moved to PSV in 1994. He joined Barcelona in 1996 for a then-world record transfer fee, and at 20 years old, he was named the 1996 FIFA World Player of the Year, making him the youngest recipient of the award. Despite being a fan favourite and developing an affinity with the clu

A history of football video games

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Fifa 23 was the 30th game in the popular video game series.  It was previously revealed that the game will be the last in the franchise, but it most certainly doesn't spell the end of football video games. Let's explore the history and future of football video games. What was the first football video game and what football games did people before that? Despite the sport not being as popular in the United States, the first dedicated interpretation of football in video game form was based on the NASL (North American Soccer League) Soccer.  Before Video Games were around, people recreated their favourite football moments with Subbuteo. This type of game has remained its popularity. Ever since the 1940s, millions of fans have adored it and replicated some of their favourite moments from the real world. The first version of FIFA and the Ultimate Team revolution years later The first version of FIFA was called FIFA International Soccer and was released in 1993. The game only featured

Spain: Scores and news from La Liga

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Let's explore a busy day of Spanish football  Real Madrid 3 - 1 Sevilla Real Madrid showed again why they are the dominant side in La Liga as two late goals ended the resistance of visitors Sevilla.  Madrid were set to drop points for only the second time this season before substitute Lucas Vazquez and Fede Valverde secured victory. Luka Modric tapped in an early opener for the hosts before Sevilla's Erik Lamela slid in a second-half equaliser. Real Madrid's Lucas Vázquez said: "The spirit of wanting to win. After they tied, the team suffered. Knowing how to suffer is important in order to win. The team has done everything to get the victory." 💬 @Lucasvazquez91 : "The spirit of wanting to win. After they tied, the team suffered. Knowing how to suffer is important in order to win. The team has done everything to get the victory." #RealMadridSevillaFC pic.twitter.com/5YB11nX4E4 — Real Madrid C.F. 🇬🇧🇺🇸 (@realmadriden) October 22, 2022 The Madrid bo

La Liga history: Barcelona v Real Madrid

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Barcelona and Real Madrid. Enough said. El Clásico has been around for over a hundred years. It is one of the most exciting and talked about football matches. This not only because of the passion that each games brings, but because of its history as well. Do you remember the first time? The first time the two teams ever met to play each other was in 1902. But the first League El Clásico was in 1929. It was played in Barcelona at their Les Colts stadium, but the Barcelona fans had to endure their first El Clásico loss when Real Madrid beat them 2-1. They got the last word though, winning the reverse fixture 1-0 and thus the first LaLiga title. There have been a combined total of 281 El Clásicos and Barca currently leads in wins There have been 248 competitive matches and 33 exhibition matches between Madrid and Barcelona. Of the 248 competitive matches, Real Madrid has won the most, with 100 wins to Barca’s 96 (and 52 draws). Barcelona has more wins in exhibition matches with 19 to Madr

La Liga: Real Madrid and Antonio Rudiger latest news

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Reports say Real Madrid have agreed deal for Antonio Rudiger  Reports in Spain suggest that Real Madrid have agreed a deal to sign Chelsea's Antonio Rudiger when his contract expires at the end of the season. On Sunday, Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel told the media Rudiger had failed to agree a new deal with the European champions. Rudiger has also spoken to Bayern Munich and he was offered a contract worth more than £200,000 to stay at Chelsea. The 29-year-old is expected to sign a four-year-old deal at the Bernabeu with a medical set to take place in London. European Super Football understands the various fees that had been demanded by Rudiger's camp proved far too steep for Chelsea. The reaction to this transfer have been interesting. One Chelsea fan joked after Real Madrid conceded two early goals against Manchester City: "It’s not to late to change your mind @ToniRuediger #CFC" Antonio Rüdiger has agreed to sign a contract with Real Madrid until 2026, per @

UCL: Atlético knock Red Devils out

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Manchester United 0-1 Atlético (aggregate 1-2) Renan Lodi headed the only goal against Manchester United to edge Atlético into the last eight The first half was high on endeavour but low on chances. It saw Anthony Elanga ]denied by the head of Jan Oblak from a low Bruno Fernandes cross before Rodrigo De Paul's deflected shot was pushed away by David de Gea. João Félix did have the ball in the net for the visitors, but Marcos Llorente had strayed offside before teeing up the Portuguese striker. It proved a short reprieve for United. João Félix's back-heel released Antoine Griezmann, who stood up an inviting cross to the far post for Renan Lodi to head in. The Red Devils increased the pressure after the break, and nearly levelled when Jadon Sancho's ferocious volley fizzed just over. Raphaël Varane thought he had forced extra time with a thumping header from Alex Telles' free-kick, but Oblak continued his stunning resistance as Atlético dug in to see out the remaining t

Spain Real Madrid extend lead at top of La Liga

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Real Madrid 4 - 1 Valencia Real Madrid extended their lead at the top of the La Liga table as they eased to a comfortable win over Valencia. They slowly took control of the game and led through a Karim Benzema penalty after Casemiro was fouled. Valencia were angered by the decision and faded badly in the second half. This ultimately allowed Vinicius Junior to score from two simple second half finishes.  Goncalo Guedes saw a penalty saved but headed in the rebound for Valencia before Benzema struck again. Benzema now has an incredible 301 goals for Real Madrid. He trails only Cristiano Ronaldo, Raul and Alfredo Di Stéfano in the club's all-time list. Not bad company for him to be in. For more Real Madrid news click the link below. European Super Football (eurosuperfootball.blogspot.com) Elsewhere in Spain Granada 1 - 1 Barcelona Barcelona missed the chance to move up to third after being held by Granada. Antonio Puertas found the top corner in the 89th minute to salvage a point

La Liga: Sevilla 1 - 1 Barcelona

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Barcelona failed to find a win that would have taken them up to fourth place in La Liga. Sevilla took the lead after Ivan Rakitic rolled the ball into the area for Alejandro Gomez's first-time finish. Ronald Araujo's header levelled before half-time and despite Jules Kounde being sent off for throwing the ball at Jordi Alba, Barca could not breakthrough. You can watch the highlights in the video below. Xavi's side do move up one spot to seventh in La Liga. Second-placed Sevilla failed to make up ground on league leaders Real Madrid and are now five points adrift of Carlo Ancelotti's men. Already looking ahead to 2022 after a torrid 2021 Everyone associated with Barcelona will be hoping that 2022 brings better fortunes after losing superstar Lionel Messi on a free transfer, sacking manager Ronald Koeman and being knocked out of the Champions League group stage this year. Reports from around Europe seem to suggest that they have agreed a deal to sign Ferran Torres from