Luis Suarez and Diego Godin are among the Uruguay soccer players backing calls for the English Football Association to reverse its decision to ban Edinson Cavani for using a Spanish term for Black...
TEL AVIV, Israel (AP) — Soccer superstar Lionel Messi finally arrived in sports-crazed Israel on Sunday, after a Palestinian protest campaign derailed his previous visit and the latest round of...
With Liverpool throwing away a three-goal lead at Anfield and Barcelona trailing at the Nou Camp, two of the favorites for the Champions League title were in a spot of bother in their iconic...
BELO HORIZONTE, Brazil (AP) — Luis Suarez is again racing against time to be fit for a tournament with Uruguay.
Five years ago, it was meniscus surgery to his left knee that jeopardized...
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Luis Suarez has defended himself from criticism for undergoing knee surgery that prevented him from playing for Barcelona in the Copa del Rey final.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Luis Suarez will miss the Copa del Rey final after undergoing knee surgery.
Barcelona says the striker underwent arthroscopic surgery to repair a meniscus injury in...
PARIS (AP) — The next weeks will decide if Kylian Mbappe can usher in a new era in European soccer by knocking Lionel Messi off his perch.
The prolific Paris Saint-Germain striker is locked...
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Luis Suarez has found the net 23 times this season, including goals in his last two Spanish league matches that helped keep Barcelona on track to defending its domestic...
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — With Lionel Messi and most of his regular fellow starters resting up for Manchester United, Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde tried to get a glimpse of the club's...
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde has left forward Lionel Messi off his squad for this weekend's Spanish league match, giving him more rest before the visit of Manchester...
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Lionel Messi first felt the thud of Chris Smalling's shoulder into his back. Then the Manchester United defender's flailing right arm swiped across Messi's face, and...
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — With Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez in unstoppable form, Barcelona didn't need much help to stay on course for another Spanish league title.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona increased its lead of the Spanish league to a commanding 11 points after Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez scored late goals in a 2-0 win over 10-man Atletico Madrid...
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Ernesto Valverde has a message for his players before Barcelona hosts Atletico Madrid on Saturday in a match that will go a long way toward deciding the Spanish league...
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez came to Barcelona's rescue Tuesday, scoring late goals to salvage a 4-4 draw at 10-man Villarreal in a thrilling seesaw match that saw both...
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Just when the Camp Nou crowd was getting nervous, Lionel Messi turned a close game into a complete rout.
Messi scored two goals before setting up two more for...
PARIS (AP) — There really are no excuses left for Paris Saint-Germain.
For the second time in three seasons, the cash-rich French club made the wrong kind of Champions League history in a...
MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos feared the worst after Luis Suarez scored Barcelona's third goal at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium — Panenka-style from the penalty spot — to end his...
MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid couldn't put Barcelona away when it had the chance, and ended up being dealt a hard blow by its biggest rival.
In the first of two consecutive games between the...
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Just when Barcelona was at its worst, Lionel Messi gave one of his best performances of the season.
Messi scored his 50th hat trick for club and country on Saturday...
MADRID (AP) — Suddenly, scoring has become a problem for Barcelona's prolific attack.
And it's happening at a bad time, with the team entering the decisive stretch of the season.
LYON, France (AP) — On a scoreless night in the Champions League, not even Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez could find a way to get a goal.
Barcelona's attacking stars were held in check by Lyon...
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — For Lionel Messi, Barcelona's 6-1 win over Sevilla on Wednesday that put it into the Copa del Rey semifinals means his team will aim for nothing less than another treble of titles.
Barcelona completed the rare sweep of Copa del Rey, Spanish league and Champions League trophies in 2011 and 2015.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — The game that the Spanish league had wanted to play in the United States still featured a traditional attraction of the competition — Lionel Messi scoring a goal.
Messi coolly put the result beyond doubt in a 2-0 victory for Barcelona at 10-man Girona on Sunday, helping the defending champions to keep their five-point league lead with an eighth straight win.
MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid complained about it. Barcelona defended it. Fans are struggling to understand it.
Video review is not escaping controversy in its first season in Spain.
As in other countries, the implementation of VAR hasn't been smooth in the Spanish league, with confusion and criticism coming along with the process.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Lionel Messi had to cut short a rare rest break to help Barcelona beat Leganes 3-1 and protect its five-point lead of the Spanish league on Sunday.
Messi came off the bench at Camp Nou with the score at 1-1 in the second half and set up a goal by Luis Suarez before adding one of his own.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Ousmane Dembele injured his left leg during the second half of Barcelona's 3-1 win over Leganes in the Spanish league on Sunday.
The 21-year-old France forward slipped while trying to dribble past an opponent, causing him to fall back on his own leg.
After being attended to by team doctors he limped off and was substituted.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — That's 400 and counting.
Lionel Messi took his all-time Spanish league scoring record to 400 goals on Sunday after contributing to a 3-0 win over Eibar to keep defending champion Barcelona comfortably at the top.
Messi scored Barcelona's second goal shortly after halftime to reach a milestone in the competition after 435 league matches. Former Real Madrid rival Cristiano Ronaldo is second all-time in La Liga with 311 goals.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Luis Suarez scored two goals and Lionel Messi added another to lead Barcelona to a 3-0 win over Eibar and stay five points ahead of Atletico Madrid as the Spanish league reached its midway point on Sunday.
Messi scored his 400th league goal, and leads the competition this season with 17 through 19 rounds. Suarez is next with 14 goals.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona took another step toward successfully defending its Spanish league title after winning at one of the toughest teams to beat in the competition on Sunday, while its rivals dropped points.
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez scored as Barcelona beat Getafe 2-1. That allowed it to open up a five-point advantage over second-placed Atletico Madrid, which had to fight back for a 1-1 draw at third-placed Sevilla.
MADRID (AP) — Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez scored brilliant goals as Barcelona beat Getafe 2-1 on Sunday to increase its lead in the Spanish league.
Barcelona capitalized on slipups by its rivals earlier in the day to take a five-point lead over second-placed Atletico. Sevilla trails Barcelona by seven points in third place, and fifth-placed Real Madrid is 10 points behind, as the league reaches its midway point next round.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — With a hat trick and two assists, Lionel Messi showed again this weekend why Barcelona is favored by many to successfully defend its Spanish league title.
Sevilla and Atletico Madrid may be only three points behind as the season approaches the midway mark, but neither challenger can count on the unrivaled talent of Messi to single-handedly turn competitive matches into blowouts.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Lionel Messi hit the 50-goal mark for club and country in 2018 after scoring his 43rd career hat trick for Barcelona on Sunday.
Messi's brilliance powered Barcelona to a 5-0 victory at Levante and kept the defending champions three points ahead of Sevilla and Atletico Madrid in the Spanish league.
It also avenged Barcelona's only loss in the league last season when Levante stunned the visitors 5-4 in the penultimate round in a match that Messi missed.
MADRID (AP) — Lionel Messi capped a brilliant performance by following up a superb free-kick goal in the first half with another stunning set-piece goal in the second half.
The perfectly struck free kicks led Barcelona to a 4-0 rout of Espanyol in the Spanish league on Saturday, and allowed Messi to reach yet another career milestone — he had never scored two direct free kicks in a league game before.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona retook the lead of the Spanish league on Sunday after beating Villarreal 2-0 while Sevilla was held to a draw at Alaves.
Barcelona's first win in three rounds left it one point above second-placed Sevilla, which rallied to a 1-1 draw at fourth-placed Alaves.
Injury-depleted Barcelona got goals from Gerard Pique and rarely used reserve player Carles Alena in each half at Camp Nou.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona says Luis Suarez will be sidelined for two weeks because of a right knee injury.
The club said on Monday Suarez will undergo stem cell treatment on the injury.
Reserve goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen and midfielder Arthur also are nursing injuries.
MADRID (AP) — Another late goal for Barcelona, another disappointing draw for Atletico Madrid.
For the second consecutive year, Atletico wasn't able to hold on to its lead against Barcelona at Wanda Metropolitano Stadium, missing another chance to end its winless streak against the Catalan club in the Spanish league.
Ousmane Dembele's 90th-minute goal gave Barcelona a 1-1 draw in Madrid on Saturday, extending its unbeaten run against Atletico to 17 leagues matches.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Luis Suarez is making sure Barcelona keeps on winning without the injured Lionel Messi.
Suarez came to the rescue of Barcelona on Saturday with a two-goal performance that included a 90th-minute winner to cap a 3-2 comeback at Rayo Vallecano.
Suarez's double gives him six goals for Barcelona since Messi went down with a broken right forearm on Oct. 20. He leads the Spanish league with nine goals in 11 rounds.
MADRID (AP) — Luis Suarez netted his second goal of a 3-2 comeback win at Rayo Vallecano in the 90th minute on Saturday, extending his scoring run with Lionel Messi injured.
Rayo was winning the Spanish league match 2-1 until the 87th when substitute Ousmane Dembele drilled in a headed back pass by defender Gerard Pique, who joined the attack.
Suarez then scored his second goal to complete the fightback when he was left unmarked to stab in Sergi Roberto's cross at the far post.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Even though it ended up a blowout, there was a moment in Barcelona's 5-1 win over Real Madrid on Sunday when the result seemed in the balance.
Madrid had just pulled a goal back after overcoming the control Barcelona had imposed to take a 2-0 lead into halftime, and the hosts didn't have Lionel Messi to come to the rescue.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — With Luis Suarez giving a masterful performance in attack, Barcelona didn't need Lionel Messi to deal Real Madrid the kind of defeat that could lead to Julen Lopetegui's departure as Madrid coach.
Suarez scored a hat trick to lead Barcelona to a 5-1 demolition on Sunday. It was a stinging loss for Madrid that will heighten the pressure on the already beleaguered Lopetegui, who is only a few months into his job.
What to watch in the leading soccer leagues in Europe this weekend:
SPAIN
Real Madrid and Barcelona hope the international break will help them turn things around in Spain.
Barcelona hasn't won in four straight league games, while Madrid is winless in four matches in all competitions.
Second-place Barcelona hosts leader Sevilla on Saturday, with Sergi Roberto and Luis Suarez likely to be available after recovering from injuries.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Lionel Messi helped to earn Barcelona a 1-1 draw at Valencia on Sunday, but not even his superb goal could stop the defending champions' winless streak from reaching four games in the Spanish league.
Messi canceled out Ezequiel Garay's opener in the second minute with a goal in the 23rd that he conjured up while appearing hemmed in by two defenders.
LONDON (AP) — Back at the scene of his 2011 Champions League final triumph, Lionel Messi delivered another display of artistry at Wembley Stadium.
Messi's two goals helped Barcelona fight off Tottenham's second-half resurgence and secured a 4-2 win for the visitors on Wednesday.
But the victory — after a three-game winless domestic run — was built on much more than Messi's virtuoso performance.
SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain (AP) — Ousmane Dembele and Luis Suarez scored in the second half to lead Barcelona to a 2-1 comeback win at Real Sociedad in the Spanish league on Saturday.
Suarez equalized for Barcelona in the 63rd minute, when Samuel Umtiti fought for a high ball in the area after a corner kick which finally fell to the striker to tap in.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Newly promoted Huesca enjoyed short-lived celebrations on Sunday after stunning Barcelona with a goal just three minutes into their Spanish league game.
But Lionel Messi provided a harsh reality check with two goals as the defending champions went on to demolish Huesca 8-2 at Camp Nou.
Messi canceled out Juan "Cucho" Hernandez's opener — after a long buildup by Huesca — with an exquisite solo effort.
BERLIN (AP) — Borussia Dortmund is looking for goals, and hoping Paco Alcacer provides them.
Despite an array of attack-minded players, Dortmund has struggled to score since Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang departed last season for Arsenal. The Gabon striker scored 98 goals and set up 25 more in 144 league appearances. Replacement Michy Batshuayi managed seven in 10 games before his loan spell from Chelsea was ended by injury.
MOSCOW (AP) _ The two most recognizable names in global soccer were eliminated from the World Cup on Saturday. But the first day of knockout matches still had plenty of star power.
France's lightning teenager Kylian Mbappe and Uruguay's silky veteran Edinson Cavani each scored two goals as their teams knocked out Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, respectively.