Luis Suarez scored twice and Messi and Paulinho each added a goal as Barcelona overcame a 2-0 deficit to Real Sociedad early Sunday to maintain their unbeaten run in La Liga. On the day when Manchester City saw their quest for invincibility ended by Liverpool, it looked for a bit like Barcelona might follow suit.
Could this be the end of Zinedine Zidane as Real Madrid coach? In just over two years, Zizou has won two Champions Leagues, two Club World Cups, two UEFA Super Cups, one La Liga title and one Spanish Super Cup. But a home defeat to Villarreal on Saturday could spell the end of the end of Zidane’s tenure.
You might’ve forgotten about Ousmane Dembele following his 20-game layoff due to a thigh muscle rupture, and that’s OK. Really, missing that many games accounts for roughly 20 percent of the kid's career so far.
Philippe Coutinho was in the stands, but the only two players Barcelona needed against Celta Vigo Thursday were Lionel Messi and Jordi Alba. Meet me once Barcelona go up 3-0.
Messi’s first of the day: A wicked left-footed volley (via @beINSPORTSUSA) pic.twitter.com/cbzse7Y8bV
According to the latest reports, Chinese Super League side Hebei China Fortune and FC Barcelona have finally agreed to terms on the transfer of 33-year-old Argentinian defender Javier Mascherano, bringing a close to seven-and-a-half illustrious seasons at the Camp Nou.
Algunas veces pienso en Michael Owen. Es una especie de experimento mental sobre la unión de Owen al Manchester United en el 2009 a los 29 años en un contrato de 2 años y jugando muy poco. Mientras que la mayoría esperaba que encontrara un nuevo club en 2011 después de empezar en solo seis partidos de la Liga Premier en dos temporadas, él firmó una extensión de un año y esta fue su explicación:
Valencia eased into the Copa del Rey quarterfinals with a 4-0 victory over Las Palmas at the Mestalla on Tuesday, the Cup match playing out entirely like La Liga’s third-place side going up against the club in 20th. Valencia’s Luciano Vietto, who’s on loan at Los Che from Atletico Madrid, scored an amazing hat-trick of ever-increasing quality to lead the way.
The 24-year-old Argentinian gave Valencia a 1-0 advantage (2-1 on aggregate) in the 30th minute with a side-footed finish on the rebound after Simone Zaza’s header was miraculously saved by Raul Lizoain.
Are Real Madrid in CRISIS? Should they purchase Mohamed Salah, Mauro Icardi and Harry Kane tomorrow, forming the attacking trifecta SIK? In turn, should they offer BBC + Keylor Navas to Manchester United in exchange for David de Gea? After losing three of their opening 17 La Liga matches, these are the questions facing the back-to-back European champions and manager Zinedine Zidane.
Aged 31, Mexico international Andres Guardado recently told FIFA.com that he now prides himself more on bringing “balance to the team” rather than being the “box-to-box player” of old, so the Real Betis midfielder is probably less than pleased with the club’s defensive record this season — they’ve allowed 34 goals in 18 matches, third-worst in La Liga.
Philippe Coutinho is finally a Barcelona player after months of speculation, two dubious injuries during transfer windows and several rejected bids from Barcelona. No secret was made of the Brazilian international's desire to move from Liverpool to Barcelona, but few could have foreseen Coutinho's desire being so desirous that he reportedly paid out of his own pocket to help finance the deal, one of the most lucrative in history.