You can read about the Sevilla-Atletico Madrid Copa del Rey tie on just about any soccer website in existence, but it is only HERE AT THE18 that you can read a full breakdown on Sergio Escudero's first-minute volley goal vs. Antoine Griezmann's 13th-minute volley goal.
So.
Escudero:
Philippe Coutinho, who became the second most expensive footballer of all-time after joining Barcelona from Liverpool on Jan. 6, looks set for his Barca debut after returning to full first-team training following a spell on the sidelines with a thigh injury.
The writing has been on the wall for Javier Mascherano at Barcelona for some time, and now it's official: Barcelona announced Tuesday that Mascherano would be leaving the club, with a ceremony planned for Wednesday. Mascherano has been at Barcelona for seven and a half seasons and has made more than 300 appearances.
We already know that Lionel Messi's ball control is second to none.
Apparently the folks at Masterclass.com have hired him to teach Real Betis how it's done. During Barcelona's 5-0 thrashing of Betis on Sunday, Messi dribbled at one point past so many Real Betis players that the even the Betis fans started applauding. This must feel really, really good if you're a Betis player. We're just guessing.
Walking off the pitch today, face covered in blood after scoring Real Madrid’s sixth goal of the day, Cristiano Ronaldo borrowed his doctor’s phone to check out the damage.
CD Lugo goalkeeper Juan Carlos Martín Corral scored an amazing bomb from within his own half to put the nail in the coffin in Lugo's 3-1 win over Sporting Gijon on Saturday.
With just 10 minutes left to play, Juan Carlos caught Sporting Gijon keeper Diego Mariño in no man's land and sent an expertly placed long ball into the back of the net. It's not the longest goalkeeper goal we've seen, but pretty spectacular.
The Barcelona Derby doesn’t exactly set pulses racing outside of Catalonia as FC Barcelona’s dominance over RCD Espanyol has been pretty thorough dating back to 1928. In 206 league matches, Barcelona have won 120 and drawn 42, leaving Espanyol with only 44 victories.
But Wednesday’s Barcelona Derby was played in the Copa del Rey — where the magic happens. The first leg of their quarterfinal matchup at RCDE Stadium saw Barca field a strong starting XI, including Lionel Messi (the all-time leading scorer in the Barcelona Derby with 20 goals), Sergio Busquets and Gerard Pique.
Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Miguel Ángel Moyà had himself one helluva first half. The second-choice keeper behind Jan Oblak kept the first half scoreless with an incredible save on Sevilla’s Sergio Escudero during their Copa del Rey quarterfinal first leg. But the Atletico Madrid vs Sevilla match turned when a Moyà howler helped propel the visitors to a 2-1 victory in Spain’s capital city on Wednesday, Atleti’s first loss to a Spanish side at the new Wanda.
When he was in his prime, there were few sights as fun to watch as Ronaldinho with a soccer ball at his feet. He combined dazzling skill with unpredictability and pure joy to form something that was basically the platonic ideal of what a footballer could be. He was flawed, sure, but even his flaws were fun.
Ronaldinho is officially retired now, and to commemorate the occasion La Liga posted a video showing some of Ronaldinho's highlights from his time in Spain. Good God, that man could play soccer.
Aged just 16 years, five months and two days (for comparison’s sake, Lionel Messi was 17 years, three months and 22 days), teenage Catalan phenom Claudia Pina made her league debut for FC Barcelona Femeni Sunday in the club’s 2-0 victory over Zaragoza.
Pina has been a revelation for Barcelona throughout her La Masia rise, and her exploits for Spain at the U-17 level have been remarkable, to say the least.