Barcelona's inconsistency over the season had cost them the La Liga title, coach Luis Enrique has said.

Real Madrid became La Liga champions for the first time since 2012 on Sunday with a 2-0 win at Malaga, denying arch-rivals Barcelona three consecutive league titles.

The centre-back was at the Madrid Open earlier this week, reportedly to discuss a 16-team knockout tournament with ATP Tour chief Chris Kermode. It would potentially replace the former World Team Cup event on the ATP calendar that was played from 1975 to 2012 ahead of Roland Garros.

'I speak with Cristiano all the time and I know him very well. He knows that until now he played 60-70 games a season and the accumulation of all those years meant he needs to rest a little'

Barca must beat Villareal on the weekend if they are to stand a chance of overhauling Real in the run in.

Real Madrid thrashed Deportivo La Coruna 6-2 to stay level with Barcelona at the top of La Liga on Wednesday after the Catalans crushed Osasuna 7-1, condemning the minnows to relegation.

Atletico Madrid suffered a first defeat in 13 games in all competitions as they lost 1-0 at home to Villarreal on Tuesday after a late strike from substitute Roberto Soriano.

Real are unbeaten since February, winning 10 of their last 12 games. In contrast, Barcelona have won just two of their previous five in all competitions and were dumped out of Europe in midweek.

Barcelona's hopes of staging another sensational Champions League comeback fell flat against a hardened Juventus side who held the Catalans to a 0-0 draw at the Nou Camp on Wednesday to reach the semi-finals 3-0 on aggregate.

Barcelona striker Neymar is confident the Catalans can launch another remarkable Champions League comeback as they look to overturn a 3-0 quarter-final deficit against Juventus on Wednesday.

Lionel Messi's double strike helped Barcelona scrape a 3-2 victory over Real Sociedad on Saturday to keep the pressure on La Liga leaders Real Madrid, who needed a brace from Isco to beat Sporting Gijon by the same scoreline.

Barcelona are on the verge of Champions League elimination after being thrashed 3-0 by Juventus in Turin on Tuesday, and few believe lightning can strike twice.

A man of Islamist background has been detained by German investigators probing blasts against a bus carrying players of Borussia Dortmund soccer club, the federal public prosecutor's office said on Wednesday.

Barcelona star Neymar will miss the Clasico after receiving a three-match ban following his red card against Malaga, dealing a big blow to the Catalans who lie three points behind Real Madrid having played a game more than their rivals.

At least one person has been injured by an explosion on the bus taking the Borussia Dortmund soccer team to their UEFA Champions League quarter-final first-leg match against Monaco in Dortmund on Tuesday.

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Lionel Messi scored twice as La Liga champions Barcelona saw off a persistent Valencia side, who had Eliaquim Mangala sent off in the first half, to win 4-2 on Sunday and stay on the heels of leaders Real Madrid.

Unzue is one of the two leading candidates to succeed Luis Enrique, who announced this month he will leave at the end of this season, along with Athletic Bilbao coach Ernesto Valverde.

It was arguably the greatest comeback in Champions League history and one that very few people saw coming, as punters shied away from backing Barcelona to complete an extraordinary comeback against Paris St Germain on Wednesday.

Barcelona completed one of the most extraordinary comebacks in European football history to knock Paris St Germain out of the Champions League on Wednesday with a 6-1 victory that rewrote the record books.

Lionel Messi was in inspired form as champions Barcelona hammered Celta Vigo 5-0 on Saturday, recording a fourth straight league victory which keeps them top of La Liga after Real Madrid had put the pressure on the Catalans with a 4-1 win at Eibar.

'I haven't lost any strength in the last four days and in one sense I feel a little relieved but focused on the objectives we set for ourselves at the start of the season'

Underlying tensions mean Luis Enrique will not be remembered with the same reverence as Pep Guardiola, even though he has delivered a similar trophy haul.

Barcelona thrashed Sporting Gijon 6-1 to go top of La Liga on a dramatic night in Spain on Wednesday as Luis Enrique announced he was stepping down as the Catalan club's coach at the end of the season.

Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets has criticised their tactical and physical frailties after a 4-0 thrashing at Paris St Germain in the last 16 left them on the brink of their earliest Champions League exit in a decade.

Five-times European champions Barca, with their trident of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar subdued, have not exited in the last 16 since going out to Liverpool in the 2006/07 season and the score equalled their worst Champions league loss.

Barcelona provisionally went top of La Liga for the first time since October after Luis Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi scored in a 6-0 thrashing of Alaves on Saturday although the win was overshadowed by a serious injury to Aleix Vidal.

Rediff.com brings a preview of the main matches coming up this weekend in the English Premier League.

The suspension was handed down by the Competition Committee of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) on Thursday and applies to Cup matches only.

Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez were on target as holders Barcelona thrashed Real Sociedad 5-2 to reach the King's Cup semi-finals for the seventh successive year with a 6-2 aggregate victory on Thursday.

The club could also sell other players to in order to create a new contract for Messi, who is the top scorer in La Liga this season with 13 goals.

Barcelona put pressure on La Liga leaders Real Madrid by picking up their first win in four games as two second-half strikes from Lionel Messi and one from Luis Suarez secured a 3-0 win at struggling Osasuna on Saturday.

Cristiano Ronaldo ensured Atletico Madrid fans will have bitter memories of the last local derby at the Vicente Calderon stadium by scoring a hat-trick in a 3-0 win for La Liga leaders Real Madrid on Saturday. Ronaldo's deflected free kick put Real in charge in the 23rd minute in the first meeting of the teams since the Champions League final in May. The prolific Portuguese killed off Atletico's resistance by winning and converting a penalty in the 71st minute and capped a harrowing night for the home side by tapping in the third in the 77th.

Barcelona forward Neymar, his parents and two of the club's executives should stand trial for alleged corruption, Spain's High Court said on Monday as it wrapped up a fraud investigation into the Brazil international's transfer to the Catalan team. The case stems from a complaint by a Brazilian investment group, DIS, which owned part of Neymar's transfer rights and which alleges it received less money than it was entitled to.

Manchester City cannot afford another defeat on Tuesday at home to Barcelona, who thumped them 4-0 two weeks ago, having taken just one point from their last two Champions League Group C matches.

Pep Guardiola's formidable managerial skills will be put to the test again when his stuttering ManchesterCity side visit his former club Barcelona in a top-of-the-bill Champions League clash on Wednesday.

'I'm definitely not going to change, players have to know that when they face me that I have my own way of playing and that is dribbling, scoring goals and helping my team mates'

Influential Spain defender Gerard Pique has said he will retire from international soccer after the 2018 World Cup, because he is "tired" of the criticism levelled at him from supporters. The Barcelona centre-back was the focus of attention in Sunday's World Cup qualifier with Albania after having cut off the sleeves from his shirt which bore Spain's colours of yellow and red. Pique, who has an awkward relationship with Spain fans for his repeated jibes at Real Madrid and his support for a referendum on Catalan independence, was heavily criticised on social media and in the sports press for the act.

Former Arsenal star Alexander Hleb says he made a mistake by leaving the Emirates to join Barcelona in 2008, and expressed regret at turning his back on managerial 'great' Arsene Wenger.