A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Saturday:
ENGLAND
Chelsea and Liverpool find themselves in unusual midtable territory ahead of their Premier League showdown at Anfield. Jurgen Klopp's team has lost back-to-back league games and slipped to ninth place.
MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid got back to winning — and moved closer to Barcelona going into the World Cup break.
Madrid halted its two-match winless streak in the Spanish league by defeating relegation-threatened Cádiz 2-1 on Thursday to cut Barcelona's lead to two points going into the World Cup stoppage.
MADRID (AP) — With an improbable win, Barcelona made sure it will go into the World Cup break at the top of the Spanish league standings.
Robert Lewandowski was shown his first red card in nearly a decade and Gerard Piqué was sent off from the bench in his last career match, but Raphinha scored late as Barcelona rallied to defeat Osasuna 2-1 and secure the Spanish league lead ahead of the World Cup stoppage.
MADRID (AP) — A “bad night” by Real Madrid cost its unbeaten streak, its perfect away record and the Spanish league lead.
Madrid was far from its best in falling at Rayo Vallecano 3-2 on Monday, losing for the first time in the league and seeing its sixth-match winning run on the road come to an end.
A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Monday:
SPAIN
Real Madrid visits Rayo Vallecano needing a win to regain the lead of the Spanish league. Carlo Ancelotti's second-place team sits two points behind rival Barcelona, which beat Almería 2-0 at home on Saturday.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — With the World Cup less than three weeks away, Uruguay midfielder Federico Valverde is blossoming into a potent scoring threat for Spanish leader Real Madrid.
The 24-year-old Valverde has long been valued for his hustle as a box-to-box midfielder who excels in his ability to launch counterattacks with his dribbling speed.
MADRID (AP) — Robert Lewandowski left his mark with a pair of goals on his 34th birthday, and Barcelona saw its high-profile attack finally click in a 4-1 win at Real Sociedad for its first victory of the season on Sunday.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Barcelona mortgaged its financial future to give Xavi Hernández the talent he wanted.
But Rayo Vallecano showed Xavi he still has work to do to forge a winning team after his new-look Barcelona was held to a 0-0 draw on Saturday in their Spanish league opener.
A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Saturday:
ENGLAND
Manchester United visits Brentford after a 2-1 home loss to Brighton in its Premier League season opener last weekend. New manager Erik ten Hag hasn't said if Cristiano Ronaldo will start but the last thing the Dutchman wants is back-to-back losses before Liverpool visits Old Trafford the following week.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Working against the clock, Barcelona sold off even more of its club assets on Friday so it could meet the Spanish league’s financial rules and clear Robert Lewandowski and other summer signings to play in its season opener.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Real Madrid starts the Spanish league season overflowing with confidence that it can retain the domestic title despite Barcelona spending big to add top talent to its team.
Barcelona hosts Rayo Vallecano on Saturday, a day before Madrid visits the newly promoted Almería in the opening round of the league.
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag tried to shield Cristiano Ronaldo from criticism Friday after the forward left a preseason game early, and insisted that the Portugal star remains part of his plans for this season.
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag said it was “unacceptable” for Cristiano Ronaldo and other players to leave Old Trafford before the end of Sunday’s friendly against Rayo Vallecano.
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo was “happy to be back” playing for Manchester United after he appeared for 45 minutes in the 1-1 draw against Spanish team Rayo Vallecano in a friendly match at Old Trafford on Sunday.
MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Cristiano Ronaldo hopes to make his return to playing for Manchester United in the club's exhibition game on Sunday against Rayo Vallecano at Old Trafford after being absent from United’s 21-man squad that flew to Norway on Friday for a friendly match against Atlético Madrid.
MADRID (AP) — With an unprecedented third straight home defeat, Barcelona is unintentionally clearing the way for Real Madrid to clinch the Spanish league title.
Barcelona lost 1-0 to Rayo Vallecano on Sunday, marking the first time it lost three in a row at home in all competitions in the same season, and leaving leader Madrid just a point away from winning its second league title in three seasons.
A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Sunday:
ENGLAND
Liverpool will look to trim the deficit to Premier League leader Manchester City back down to one point by beating Everton in a Merseyside derby between teams at opposite ends of the standings.
MADRID (AP) — Barcelona defeated Real Sociedad 1-0 on Thursday to make sure Real Madrid will have to wait at least another week to celebrate the Spanish league title.
Barcelona's away victory reduced its gap to Madrid to 15 points, and it can further cut it to 12 points on Sunday if it defeats Rayo Vallecano at home in a game it has in hand.
MADRID (AP) — It didn’t take long for Barcelona’s offense to regain its scoring touch.
After being held to a disappointing scoreless draw with Galatasaray in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Europa League, Barcelona scored three goals in less than 30 minutes Sunday en route to a comfortable 4-0 win over Osasuna in the Spanish league.
A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Sunday:
ENGLAND
Manchester City and Manchester United have different ambitions heading into the derby at City's Etihad Stadium. City is seeking to retain its Premier League title and can reclaim its six-point lead over second-placed Liverpool with a win.
MADRID (AP) — Valencia prevented Athletic Bilbao from reaching its third straight Copa del Rey final with a 1-0 win in the second leg of the semifinals on Wednesday.
Gonçalo Guedes scored in the first half as Valencia advanced 2-1 on aggregate to reach its second Copa final in four seasons after winning its eighth title in 2019.
A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Thursday:
ENGLAND
Boreham Wood, a fifth-tier club and comfortably the lowest-ranked team left in the FA Cup, looks to cause a major shock when it visits Everton in the fifth round.
MADRID (AP) — Valencia may get a much-needed boost for its struggling defense with the return of Spain international José Luis Gayà in the Copa del Rey semifinal against Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Like so many times this season, when Karim Benzema and Vinícius Júnior click for Real Madrid, defenses crumble against the leader of the Spanish league.
Benzema scored late from an assist by Vinícius to snatch Madrid a 1-0 win at Rayo Vallecano on Saturday, helping to increase the gap over second-place Sevilla to nine points.
A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Saturday:
ENGLAND
Christian Eriksen is expected to make his Brentford debut eight months after the Denmark international’s cardiac arrest at the European Championship.
MADRID (AP) — Surrounded by defenders inside the area, William Carvalho came up with a solution that would make most top strikers proud.
Without panicking, the Real Betis midfielder pulled off a neat nutmeg to get past the defender standing in front of him, sending the ball in-between his legs before calmly firing a low shot into the back of the net.
MADRID (AP) — Being a fan of Spanish club Real Betis fan wasn’t much fun not long ago.
While city rival Sevilla stayed near the top in the Spanish league and won multiple Europa League titles, Betis struggled just to remain in the first division.
BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Athletic Bilbao is again showing Spain why it claims to be the “king” of the Copa del Rey.
Athletic advanced to the semifinals of the "King's Cup” on Thursday after eliminating Real Madrid 1-0.
MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid will have to wait until the last minute to know if Vinícius Júnior and Karim Benzema will be in condition to play in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals against Athletic Bilbao on Thursday.
A look at what’s happening in European soccer on Wednesday:
SPAIN
Valencia hosts Cádiz in a single-elimination game in the quarterfinals of the Copa del Rey. Valencia is looking to return to the semifinals after a two-year absence.
MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid and host Athletic Bilbao will face each other for the fourth time in two months when they meet in the Copa del Rey quarterfinals.
Also in Friday's draw for the single-game round, Valencia hosts Cádiz, Real Betis plays at Real Sociedad and host Rayo Vallecano is paired with Mallorca.
NAPLES, Italy (AP) — Hugo Maradona, the younger brother of Diego Maradona and a former soccer player, has died. He was 52.
Italian club Ascoli said he died Tuesday at his home in Monte di Procida, near Naples, of cardiac arrest.