11 h. ago Sevilla’s astonishing defeat of Barcelona ends a decade of wait | Sid Lowe

Sevilla turned back the clock to thrash Barcelona as La Liga’s last two unbeaten records vanished in a single Sunday afternoonMatias Almeyda gathered his players in the shade at the side of the pitch and told them to “liquidate this” so they did. It was 33 degrees out there, they had been playing 33 minutes and they had scored one against Barcelona, which wasn’t enough. The champions were there to be finished, Sevilla’s manager said. He had shown them how, now it was up to them. There was applause, towels taken from shoulders, bottles handed back, and 179 seconds later it was two. It could have been four already; by the time the clock headed beyond a hundred it actually was, the men standing before his bench now swirling their shirts above their heads, eager to be released for one last run, over the turf and towards their teammates.Towards another time too. “They told me it’s been 10 years,” Sevilla’s new striker Alexis Sánchez said. This weekend, the season’s eighth, the most impre...

Politics

17 h. ago Spanish media react after Marcus Rashford and Barcelona are hammered 4

Marcus Rashford's Barcelona suffered their first La Liga defeat of the season on Sunday when they visited Sevilla, and the Spanish press have had their say on the Englishman's performance

Politics

4 d. ago Marcus Rashford branded 'bang average' despite Man United reminder and Barcelona performance

Marcus Rashford provided an assist for Barcelona in their Champions League defeat to Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night, but the Manchester United loanee was still criticised by Tim Sherwood

Politics

4 d. ago Spanish media give true thoughts on Marcus Rashford after Barcelona lose in Champions League

The Spanish media has given its verdict on Manchester United loanee Marcus Rashford's display for Barcelona in the Champions League as his side fell to a 2-1 defeat at home

Sport

7 d. ago Atlético crush Real Madrid to leave Simeone in tears and Alonso hurting | Sid Lowe

Emotions abound at the Metropolitano as Atleti’s five goals left the coach crying on the touchline and his team revitalisedIn the final few minutes before the derby day that was destined to be the best they ever had, Diego Simeone gathered his players and asked if they were OK. The pressure was intense, their need desperate, but of all the things that are truly important in your lives, he wanted to know, is there anything that’s not right? Does anyone have any problems?“All of them said ‘no’,” Atlético Madrid’s manager admitted later, when the Metropolitano had finally fallen silent, the singing drifting in from down Avenida de Luis Aragonés instead. “So I said: ‘then play, have fun. You’re good. Enjoy yourselves. A footballer’s life passes quickly, make the most of it; these games don’t come back.’” Continue reading...

Politics

1 week ago Brand new day for Atlético as Julián Alvarez tees up derby with dramatic rescue | Sid Lowe

Atlético Madrid needed their own superhero in the win over Rayo, but next comes a derby they cannot lose“Football is fantastic,” Diego Simeone said, which he could say by then. All night he had watched Marcos Llorente fly up the wing; for the last half an hour he had watched his son do so too, all clenched jaw and bulging veins, stuck on fast forward, a determination so intense it looked like he might explode. Now it was the Atlético Madrid manager’s turn, who had literally been on his knees for much of the night, sprinting up the touchline in his black suit and shiny shoes, screaming and let loose again. Simeone had been here before, a week earlier, when he had admitted that Atlético’s victory had brought relief not joy. This was even wilder: five goals, four of them belters, and 54,098 people losing their heads.Simeone especially. Six weeks into the season and for the sixth time, Atlético had scored first; for the fifth time, though, they weren’t going to win. Worse, this time the...

Events

2 w. ago ‘A dead team’: Girona staring into the abyss after crushing loss to Levante | Sid Lowe

Míchel’s side were in the Champions League last season but the wheels have come off and they sit bottom of La LigaThey were the football team so good, so much fun, that Luis Enrique declared himself a fan, tuning in to watch them every week. But that was then and this is now, and now even their actual fans aren’t sure they want to watch any more. There were 11,048 people at Montilivi this Saturday, out of the city centre and to the south beyond the Free City of Braavos and Kings Landing. There were at the start anyway; by the time Girona FC, the last and briefest of the great disruptors, conceded the fourth goal of another miserable afternoon most of them had already gone. The few who stayed chanted for the board to resign, just about audible over the catchiest club anthem in La Liga being belted out of huge speakers hung from scaffolding stands.It was the fifth time in a row Girona’s supporters had seen their team lose here going back to May, a summer break, a new start, offering n...

Events

2 w. ago European roundup: Ferran Torres at the double as Barcelona cruise past Getafe

Dani Olmo also on target in 3-0 victory in La LigaInter defeat Sassuolo; Marseille v PSG postponedFerran Torres scored twice as Barcelona cruised to a comfortable 3-0 victory against Getafe on Sunday, with Dani Olmo adding the third goal and an assist in another impressive display by Hansi Flick’s side.The win keeps the unbeaten Catalan side second in La Liga on 13 points, trailing the leaders Real Madrid by two points after Los Blancos maintained their flawless record with five wins from five matches after defeating Espanyol on Saturday. Continue reading...

Politics

2 w. ago Another Bournemouth blank for Eddie Howe as Newcastle are held

This season will once again be a balancing act for Eddie Howe. Newcastle struggled to adapt to the schedule during their first Champions League campaign for two decades in 2023-24 and there is a clear strategy to manage workloads this time around. Three days after defeat by Barcelona at St James’ Park, a goalless draw for Howe here on his return to Bournemouth to face a side in good form will feel like a job well done.Newcastle made six changes to the team that lost in Europe on Thursday, only one of them enforced as Nick Woltemade returned to the lineup with Anthony Gordon serving the last match of his suspension. A back five was deployed and sat stubbornly in their own third to begin with. Continue reading...

Events

3 w. ago Sweet relief for Simeone as Atlético finally win amid doubts about evolution | Sid Lowe

Coach broke with tradition after first league win of season that helped calm talk about ability to take club forwardsHappiness was this once; now there is only relief but it is something. In fact, for a little while on Saturday night, it feels like everything. At the end of each game when the final whistle goes, so does Diego Simeone: sprinting down the tunnel and straight up the stairs, not a word to anyone and not outrun by anyone either, no stopping and no looking back. This time, though, is different. Juan Martínez Munuera brings Atlético Madrid’s 2-0 win over Villarreal to a close a little before 11pm, 63,312 fans erupting; a little after 11pm, at the top of the steps under the stand where the fourth official awaits his colleagues and the visitors trudge past tearing off tape and turning right, there’s still no Simeone.Usually the first through, not even slowing here once he’s safely out of sight of supporters and cameras, a figure in a skinny black suit dashing past a pair of ...

Politics

3 w. ago Alessia Russo double seals victory for rampant Arsenal away to West Ham

Arsenal came from behind for the second time in two games to move top of the Women’s Super League. This time it was an own goal from goalkeeper Daphne van Domselaar that put them in trouble, before strikes by Frida Maanum, Stina Blackstenius, Caitlin Foord and two from Alessia Russo ensured the European champions maintained a 100% start to the season.It is early in the new campaign but in a 12-team league every point matters and for a side desperate to stop Chelsea from winning a seventh consecutive title, dropping points so soon into the campaign would be bruising. This is a new Arsenal though, one fuelled by a fire lit by their phenomenal defeat of Barcelona in the Champions League final in May. They know they can beat the best, now they have to prove they can beat the best, the worst and those in between consistently. Continue reading...

Politics