Spain

Celta Vigo Granted Emergency Transfer For Injured Keeper, Signs Striker Nolito Instead

Celta Vigo’s backup goalkeeper Sergio Alvarez is out for the season with knee ligament damage he suffered in May. Due to Alvarez being out for the season, the Spanish football authorities granted Celta permission to make an emergency signing of another player in LaLiga or a free agent. 

With the No. 2 keeper injured, most people would expect the club to sign a player to take his place. Instead, Celta decided that the only way to avoid relegation — only two points separates the club from the relegation zone — is with the signing of its former striker Nolito from Sevilla.

João Félix Grabs His First Atlético Brace In 5-0 Beatdown Of Osasuna

Atlético Madrid hammered Osasuna 5-0 away from home in LaLiga on Wednesday to secure their biggest win of the season and give a huge boost to their chances of qualifying for the Champions League.

Atleti's record signing João Félix put the visiting side ahead by arriving in the box and drilling the loose ball into the top corner in the 27th minute, scoring again soon after the re-start by nudging home a fine pass from Diego Costa.

João Félix First Goal Vs. Osasuna 

Supporters’ Groups Unite To Tell TV Broadcasters That Fake Crowd Noise Is Garbage

Football supporters groups from around Europe have criticized attempts to liven up matches in empty stadiums by using artificial crowd noise, describing it as a rebuke to match-going fans.

The fans said that the recent return of football following the coronavirus stoppage, with matches behind closed doors, had shown that supporters were "the lifeblood of the game" and their contribution should be recognized by leagues and clubs.

LaLiga Seeking Criminal Action Against Pitch Invader During Barcelona Match Played Behind Closed Doors

MALLORCA — LaLiga's organising body has said it is filing for criminal action against the man who ran on to the pitch during Real Mallorca's behind-closed-doors match against Barcelona on Saturday to try to get a photo with Lionel Messi.

The fan, wearing an Argentina shirt with Messi's name and number 10 on the back, breached strict security measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus by going onto the pitch early in the second half.

Chinese Superstar Wu Lei Fires Relegation-Threatened Espanyol To Massive Win On LaLiga Return

Espanyol defender Bernardo Espinosa and forward Wu Lei scored either side of the break to hand the relegation-threatened side a 2-0 LaLiga home win over Alaves, who had goalkeeper Fernando Pacheco sent off early in Saturday's contest.

Victory in their first match on the league's resumption after the COVID-19 stoppage took basement team Espanyol to 23 points from 28 games, three points off the safety zone.

LaLiga Returns With What We Can Only Hope Is A Weird Homage To Early 2000s Video Games

Remember playing soccer (or any sport) video games in the late 90s and early 2000s? The graphics weren’t all that great, but we loved them anyway. Almost every resource in the game’s software was put toward making the action on the pitch great, so the crowds and stadiums received little, if any, attention.

As LaLiga returned to action on Thursday after nearly three months because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, the broadcast seemed to make a weird homage to those old video games folks like me grew up playing.

6 Phenoms Guaranteed To Get Playing Time During LaLiga's Furious Finish

The LaLiga season resumes on June 11 and then — with 11 match weeks still to be played — goes off on a tear with games every day until July 17. This means that clubs will be playing matches every three to four days until the season’s over, and with players lacking match fitness, squad depth will be tested over the coming weeks with young players given a chance to shine. 

LaLiga Broadcasts To Be ‘Virtualized’ With Audio Provided By FIFA Video Game Makers

LaLiga will use virtual images of stands in television broadcasts with added “fan audio,” produced by the makers of the FIFA video game, when it returns to action on Thursday.

Domestic broadcasters in Spain will offer their viewers the choice of a “natural” broadcast of games played behind closed doors with no fans but the international audience will receive only the enhanced broadcasts with added audio and graphics.

Days Out From LaLiga's Return, Here's What To Watch For

BARCELONA — After an almighty push by all parties concerned, Spain's LaLiga roars back into action next week after a three-month pause due to the COVID-19 pandemic, with matches taking place every day and with everything to play for.

The season resumes on Wednesday in bizarre circumstances with the second half of a Segunda Division match between Rayo Vallecano and Albacete that was abandoned in December due to offensive chanting.

Raúl Tipped To Save Schalke 04 Again, But This Time As Manager

It’s been a tale of two halves for Schalke 04 this season. 

The arrival of Jürgen Klopp protégé David Wagner was hailed as a progressive step forward after a disastrous 2018-19 campaign that saw the club flirt with relegation, and that excitement was thoroughly justified through 18 games as Schalke climbed as high as fifth in the Bundesliga.

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