By: Casey Rhine
Ohhhh El Clásico, where to begin. One of soccer's most heated, yet most deeply cherished rivalries.Few of you readers get to experience El Clasico, in Barcelona, while it's happening. This was my mission on December 23rd and should be your mission on May 6th if you are not lucky enough to go to the game in the Camp Nou.
¡Ah! Bendito fin de semana. Hora de ver a la gente que amas, respirar al aire libre, pero también de hundirse en el sofá para ver tus partidos de fútbol favorito.
Sí, sabemos que sería ideal verlos todos, pero es físicamente imposible. Lo bueno es que aquí tenemos la cartelera de la Liga MX y los mexicanos en el extranjeros para que programes tu vida de manera acorde.
Y este fin de semana, además, hay partido del Tri.
Germany's World Cup-winning midfielder Mesut Özil announced his retirement from football at the age of 34 on Wednesday.
The former Real Madrid and Arsenal player was a key member of Germany's World Cup-winning side in Brazil in 2014.
He retired from the squad in 2018 amid a political debate in Germany about an influx of migrants and after backlash over a photograph taken with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, saying he faced "racism and disrespect" over his Turkish ancestry.
The UEFA Women's Champions League resumes Tuesday with the quarterfinal first legs, and don't forget that all the action is available to watch for free through the DAZN UWCL YouTube channel.
Action begins Tuesday with Bayern Munich hosting Arsenal at Allianz Arena (1:45 p.m. ET) and continues at the Stadio Olimpico as Roma takes on Barcelona (4:00 p.m. ET). Wednesday features Lyon vs. Chelsea at Groupama Stadium (1:45 p.m. ET) followed by PSG against Wolfsburg at the Parc des Princes (4:00 p.m. ET).
Talking points from the weekend in European soccer leagues:
BARCELONA TAKE HUGE STEP TOWARDS LALIGA TITLE
Barcelona have tightened their grip at the top of the LaLiga standings after an electric 2-1 comeback win in an El Clásico against bitter rivals Real Madrid on Sunday.
Franck Kessié's stunner in added time gave Barça a well-earned victory that left second-placed Real trailing the leaders by 12 points with only 12 games to be played.
NYON — Holders Real Madrid will play 2021 winners Chelsea in the Champions League quarterfinals while Manchester City's Pep Guardiola will visit his former club Bayern Munich after the teams were drawn together on Friday.
Reigning Serie A champions AC Milan will face this season's runaway leaders Napoli in an all-Italian clash while Inter Milan play Portuguese side Benfica.
The year of Marcus Rashford continued Thursday as the Manchester United forward scored the lone goal against Real Betis at Estadio Benito Villamarín, giving the Red Devils a 5-1 aggregate victory and easy passage to the Europa League quarterfinals.
Before the World Cup, Rashford had a total of eight goals in 19 appearances across all competitions. Since the tournament in Qatar, the 25-year-old has found the back of the net 18 times in 24 games. The total of 26 from 43 is already a career best and the Red Devils are still competing on three fronts.
There are all sorts of stats and accolades that illustrate how talented Gavi is — the Golden Boy award, Spain's youngest goalscorer, the youngest World Cup scorer since Pelé — but he's a phenomenon best experienced live.
The sky might be falling on Barcelona (littered with fake cash featuring the word "MAFIA"), but Gavi's willing to take on that duel. "Lost cause" is not in the 18-year-old's lexicon.
BARCELONA — Spanish prosecutors have filed a complaint against Barcelona and two of the LaLiga club's ex-presidents over alleged payments to a company owned by a senior refereeing official to influence match results, the public prosecutor's office said on Friday.
A judge has yet to decide whether to take up the case.
The club allegedly paid over $7.8 million between 2001 and 2018 to firms owned by Jose Maria Enriquez Negreira, who was vice-president of the refereeing committee of the Spanish football association in 1993-2018.
César Montes está listo para enfrentar uno de los desafíos más duros desde que arribó a LaLiga: Real Madrid.
Espanyol visitará a los merengues este sábado 11 de marzo, tratando de sumar puntos que lo alejen del descenso y extender la racha de tres partidos que lleva la Casa Blanca sin conocer la victoria
Montes liderará la defensa periquita y confía que su equipo algo de daño puede hacerle al Real Madrid.