Barcelona

Barcelona’s LaLiga title defense came to a sputtering end last Thursday following a 2-1 loss to Osasuna, a defeat that Lionel Messi called a microcosm of Barça’s “erratic and weak” 2019-20 team. That inconsistency was again highlighted in Sunday’s final league match of the season as the Blaugrana raced to a 3-0 halftime lead against Alavés en route to a 5-0 win. 

With the team trying to stay sharp ahead of its rescheduled Champions League Round of 16 second leg against Napoli on Aug. 8, Ernesto Valverde named a strong starting XI against 15th-place Alavés. 

BARCELONA — Lionel Messi has rarely been known for speaking out but he could not help himself when analysing what has been a disastrous season finale for Barcelona and did not hold back after Thursday's limp 2-1 LaLiga defeat at home by Osasuna.

Calling his side "weak," "inconsistent" and "very easy to score against," the club captain called for urgent changes after surrendering the league title to Real Madrid, saying it was no good to use their rivals' relentless form as an excuse.

"Messi explodes," ran the cover of newspaper Mundo Deportivo.

Add another one to Real Madrid and Zinedine Zidane’s trophy cabinet — Los Blancos are the champions of Spain.

Karim Benzeman scored twice as Real Madrid defeated Villarreal 3-1 in the club’s penultimate LaLiga match on Thursday at the Alfredo di Stéfano Stadium. The victory meant Barcelona could not catch its archrival regardless of what it accomplished the remainder of the season, awarding Real Madrid its 34th league title. All this despite a maddeningly perfect free kick from Lionel Messi in Barcelona’s shock 2-1 defeat to Osasuna.

With a player as legendary as Lionel Messi, someone who break records seemingly every week, it’s easy to take for granted the history he’s making. But this latest Lionel Messi assist record set on Saturday is just another reminder that we’re watching one of the greatest players of all time, something no one should take for granted.

Bayern Munich will face Barcelona or Napoli in the quarterfinals of the Champions League, if it can defend its three goal lead against Chelsea in its last-16, second-leg game.

The Champions League will resume in August after being halted in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic with a 'Final Eight' tournament being held in Lisbon after the remaining second-leg games from the last 16 ties are decided.

MADRID — Four of Spain's largest construction firms are competing for a contract to upgrade soccer club Barcelona's Camp Nou stadium, having submitted preliminary offers last week, five sources close to the matter said on Wednesday.

Infrastructure heavyweights Ferrovial, Sacyr, FCC and Acciona have each paired up with local companies to bid for the project called "Espai Barça" — or "Barca Space" — the sources said.

One source in the construction sector said the project was worth approximately 300 million euros ($340 million).

After a harrowing week in which his reputation was dragged through the mud, Barcelona coach Quique Setien came out fighting by overseeing a spectacular 4-1 win away to Villarreal which showed the 61-year-old's coaching abilities are still in tact.

The superb display might not be enough to prevent Real Madrid from winning the title as they hold a four-point lead over Barca with four games left, but it was enough to get a vote of confidence from the club's president Josep Maria Bartomeu.