Page 2 - La Liga

Barcelona held by winless Granada at Camp Nou in La Liga

Less than a week after a demoralizing loss to Bayern Munich in the Champions League, Barcelona faltered at Camp Nou again, being held by winless Granada 1-1 in the Spanish league.

La Liga: Narrow wins for Real Madrid, Bilbao, Real Sociedad

Dani Carvajal's 61st minute goal gave Real Madrid a narrow 1-0 win on their difficult trip to Betis on Saturday night

Heat is on in every sense of the word as new La Liga season kicks off

Fans will be back in the stands after over a year of empty grounds when the new La Liga season kicks off this weekend in Spain

La Liga without Messi: A look at top contenders for Spanish league title

The Spanish league starts on Friday. Here is a look at the top contenders expected to fight for the title and top positions in the table. ATLTICO MADRID Atltico Madrid defends the title it won last season with the goals of Luis Surez and the tireless preparation of coach Diego Simeone. Its position as champion has been strengthened by the exit of top players from both Barcelona and Real Madrid. Atltico has kept all its talent and added Argentine midfielder Rodrigo de Paul. Simeone, who signed a contract extension in July through 2024, will have Surez back to lead his attack. The Uruguay striker was crucial to Atltico's title march, leading the team with 21 league goals. Can he, though, at the age of 34, maintain the same production? Expectations are big for Joo Flix to become a leader with his playmaking in an otherwise workmanlike squad. But Simeone has shown that with a strong defense anchored by goalkeeper Jan Oblak his side can grind out wins without many frills. REAL MADRID

Messi banner at Camp Nou taken down ahead of impending PSG move

A large banner of Lionel Messi on the side of the Camp Nou was taken down ahead of his impending move to PSG. Messi has reportedly agreed a two-year deal to join the Ligue 1 club and is believed to be flying to Paris later on Tuesday to finalise his agreement and complete a medical. Barcelona announced on Thursday it could not keep its greatest player because it wasn't able to fit a new contract within the Spanish league's financial fair-play regulations. Messi spent nearly two decades with the Catalan club since making his first-team debut as a 17-year-old in 2004. He played 17 seasons winning the Champions League four times, the Spanish league 10 times, the Copa del Rey seven times and the Spanish Super Cup eight times. Messi leaves as Barcelona's all-time leading scorer with 672 goals.

After 17 seasons, post-Lionel Messi era begins in Spanish league

The Spanish league season begins this weekend and it will be unlike any other in the last 17 years. It will be the first without Lionel Messi, its all-time top scorer and one of its greatest players ever. For the first time since 2004, Barcelona will be without Messi because it couldn't sign the Argentina star to a new contract due to its troubled financial situation. The last time the league didn't feature Messi, the likes of Diego Simeone, Zinedine Zidane and Luis Enrique were still playing instead of coaching. Real Madrid forward Vincius Jnior and Atltico Madrid forward Joo Flix were only 4 years old. Former Barcelona player Neymar was entering his teenage years and had just signed his first contract with the youth squad of Brazilian club Santos. Real Madrid target Kylian Mbapp was a 5-year-old whose bright future was as yet unknown. Barcelona won the league only twice in the decade before Messi debuted. In the next 17 seasons, it won it 10 times. He won the league's scoring ti

Spain's La Liga gets $3.2 bn investment from private equity giant CVC

The private equity firm's investment values La Liga at about 24.3 billion euros, according to a statement Wednesday, and comes at a crucial time for the league

Impossible for Barcelona to match previous salary of Messi: La Liga prez

La Liga president Javier Tebas believes it would be impossible for FC Barcelona to match the salary Lionel Messi was on as the Catalan club is currently going through a financial predicament.

Italy to Turkey: Here's the squad of all 24 teams in Euro Cup 2021

Two of the biggest football powerhouses in the world, Germany and Spain, will be aiming to cover some of the lost ground in the last few years

No room for error: Atletico Madrid must beat Eibar to keep lead

On the schedule, a home match against Eibar is easy to overlook. But Atltico Madrid's meeting with the league's worst team has become a must-win match in its flagging title bid. A run of poor results over the past two months has whittled Atltico's once double-digit advantage down to the slimmest of margins. After two straight games without a victory, Real Madrid is now only one point behind and Barcelona is two points behind with eight games left. Atltico's problem is in attack. Last weekend, the team was held to a 1-1 draw at Real Betis in a game it started without both Luis Surez and Marcos Llorente, who were suspended. It also lost playmaker Joo Flix during the match after he hurt his ankle. Yannick Carrasco got Atltico's goal early in the match, but forward ngel Correa failed to convert two opportunities that would have snatched a late winner. Correa will likely lead the attack on Sunday against Eibar with Surez, who was hurt in practice last week, and Flix both ...

La Liga 2020-21: Lionel Messi registers his 650th goal for Barcelona

Argentine striker Lionel Messi registered his 650th goal for Barcelona during the 2-1 win over Athletic Club in La Liga

La Liga: Lionel Messi suspended 2 matches for hitting opponent

The Spanish soccer federation suspended Lionel Messi for two matches on Tuesday after he hit an opponent in an incident away from the ball in the Spanish Super Cup final. The Barcelona forward was facing a suspension of up to 12 matches for swinging his arm at an Athletic Bilbao player at the end of the team's 3-2 loss on Sunday. The federation's competition committee did not deem the incident to be severe and applied a less severe penalty against the player. After passing the ball out to the left flank, Messi swung his right arm at the head of Athletic forward Asier Villalibre as they ran toward the box. Villalibre immediately fell to the ground and after a video review, Messi was given his first red card in 753 appearances for Barcelona. Referee Gil Manzano said in his match report that Messi hit his opponent with excessive force while the ball was not near him. Messi will miss Barcelona's match against third-division club Cornell in the Copa del Rey and against Elche in the Spa

Longer IPL, T20 leagues running concurrently like football: Ex CWI head

While former Cricket West Indies boss Cameron has thrown his hat for next ICC chairman, CWI doesn't support his candidature for the top post in global body

Messi beats Benzema to win record 7th scoring title in Spanish league

Messi ended with 25 goals, four more than Karim Benzema, who did not score in Real Madrid's 2-2 draw at Legans

Covid-19 will unlock new ways for fan engagement: La Liga India head

I think it will be difficult to see big money transfers this year as teams' revenues coming from museums, match days, stadium tours have been affected, says Jose Antonio Cachaza

Antoine Griezmann likely to miss rest of Spanish league with injury

Antoine Griezmann could miss the rest of the Spanish league because of a muscle injury

Real Madrid look very strong, difficult for Barca to win La Liga: Garcia

Former Spain mid-fielder Luis Garcia feels it will be an uphill task for Barcelona to retain the La Liga title as arch-rivals Real Madrid are unlikely to slip up.

Covid-19: 2020-21 season may see fans in stadiums, says La Liga India head

The other advantage for La Liga and Facebook is that no subscription charges have to be paid which gives it an edge over other OTTs

La Liga: Barcelona's Umtiti, Real Sociedad's Januzaj ruled out with injury

Real Sociedad have lost Belgian international Adnan Januzaj for the last five games of the season after the winger was forced out of its 2-1 win at home to Espanyol on Thursday night

La Liga: lvaro Morata double helps Atletico Madrid beat Mallorca 3-0

lvaro Morata scored twice to lead Atltico Madrid to a 3-0 win over Mallorca and extend its strong finish to the Spanish league. Diego Simeone's team has long been out of the title race being disputed by leader Real Madrid and second-placed Barcelona, which they trail by eight points. But Atltico is one of the hottest teams as La Liga ticks down before it shifts focus to the Champions League final eight to be played in Portugal next month. In March when the league was halted, Atltico was struggling to secure a Champions League berth for next season. It is now well on course to finishing third. Atltico has remained undefeated in seven matches since the Spanish league resumed following a three-month stoppage for the COVID-19 pandemic. "We were in a complicated situation before the stoppage, but we have been playing well since we got back to playing and have been playing with a great attitude," Morata said. Simeone's side dominated the relegation-threatened Mallorca from kickoff. Mo