Spain

A two-goal performance from Cristiano Ronaldo saw Real Madrid defeat Getafe in La Liga play Saturday, and the Portuguese star recorded another remarkable individual achievement with goals number 300 and 301 in Spanish league play, putting him alongside Barcelona star Lionel Messi as the only members of the milestone club.

Real moved four points above Valencia in third place, and manager Zinedine Zidane will be pleased to have had both Ronaldo and Gareth Bale on the scoresheet before Tuesday’s trip to Paris to play a Neymar-less PSG.

The president of a small Spanish airline has intimated that expansion of the Barcelona airport is not possible because planes are not allowed to fly over Lionel Messi's house. Vueling President Javier Sanchez-Prieto said a new terminal could not be built because of restrictions on planes flying near where the Barcelona star lives.

From Marca:

After hitting a Ronaldinho-esque free kick in Barcelona’s 6-1 victory over Girona last Saturday, Lionel Messi scored his fourth direct free kick of the La Liga season to give his side an early 1-0 lead over Las Palmas on Thursday.

Messi’s rocket from 20 yards out — a free kick he earned himself after a spectacular run at the heart of the Las Palmas defense — flew into the top corner, leaving Las Palmas goalkeeper Leandro Chichizola fanning at air.

Google gets it wrong. Wikipedia doesn’t do it right. Sky Sports, BBC, The Guardian, ESPN, Fox Sports and Goal.com all spell it incorrectly. Al Jazeera and BeIN are inconsistent in their usage. Shit, even the nearly infallible staff at The18 used to make the mistake and we’re pretty sure you get it wrong all the time too. Spain’s Primera División is called LaLiga not La Liga. 

Back in 2003, NHL goaltender Jean-Sebastien Giguere was awarded the Conn Smythe Trophy as the MVP of the Stanley Cup playoffs. He was unreal, but the following offseason, with Giguere’s infamously large gear the inspiration, the NHL implemented pad restrictions and a $25K fine for teams found guilty of ignoring the rule. In essence, Giguere could no longer resemble the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man from Ghostbusters. 

Watching David de Gea tend the net is like watching Giguere in the days of yore. He’s obviously cheating.

Barcelona opened a 10-point lead at the top of La Liga with a 2-0 victory over Eibar, although Atletico Madrid can again reduce the gap when they host Athletic Bilbao Sunday. The game-winner was scored by Luis Suarez — his 17th in 21 league matches — in the 16th minute after the Uruguayan striker was played through by an inch-perfect ball from Lionel Messi.

Last season, Toronto FC took their game to another level with the signing of La Masia product Victor Vazquez. The 31-year-old Spanish midfielder was named to the 2017 MLS Best XI while adding a degree of quality and composure rarely seen in MLS.