Football

Atletico Madrid won La Liga and Luis Suarez found vindication, his goal securing the 2-1 victory over Real Valladolid on Saturday that clinched his team another remarkable Spanish title. Suarez began the season crying after being forced out of Barcelona but ended it with his 21st goal of the season earning Atletico a first league triumph since 2014, this one at the expense of Real Madrid. Atletico knew victory would guarantee them the title regardless of what Real Madrid did at home to Villarreal but it was

Barcelona have not begun contract renewal negotiations with Lionel Messi and Paris St-Germain are "looking closely" at the situation, says Spanish football expert Guillem Balague. The Argentine forward, 33, is out of contract this summer and has yet to agree an extension. A number of players could leave the La Liga club in the coming months. "Messi will monitor the next two weeks when big club decisions will be made," Balague said. Messi sent a fax to Barca in August 2020 saying he

Sunday will see supporters given the chance to say their goodbyes to two of the club's best-loved players Leeds United have confirmed that Gaetano Berardi and Pablo Hernandez will leave the club at the end of the current season. The duo are two of the club's most-loved players, both having key roles in helping the Whites win promotion back to the Premier League, and supporters will have the opportunity to bid an emotional farewell to the pair on Sunday when a limited number

Russia will allow foreign ticket holders for Euro 2020 matches in St. Petersburg to enter the country without a visa to attend the tournament, the local organising committee said on Thursday. Russia has limited foreigners' entry into the country because of the COVID-19 pandemic, only allowing citizens of countries with which it has resumed international flights to cross its borders. "In the current difficult conditions, the movement of people has been severely reduced, and we were met with understanding by the federal authorities

BRUSSELS: Club Brugge were crowned Belgian champions for the third time in the last four years after drawing 3-3 away at Anderlecht on Thursday. The point was enough to put Brugge out of the reach of second-placed Racing Genk, who had beaten Antwerp 4-0 earlier in the day. Brugge were 3-1 up with 25 minutes left, after Hans Vanaken had scored twice, but conceded two goals in the closing stages as Anderlecht threatened a win which would have taken the title race to

LONDON: Cristiano Ronaldo leads a formidable front line for defending European champions Portugal as coach Fernando Santos unveiled his Euro 2020 squad on Thursday. Ronaldo, who added the Italian Cup to his collection this week and has scored over 100 goals for Juventus, is joined by Manchester City's Bernardo Silva and Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes. Atletico Madrid's Joao Felix, who can win the Spanish league title this week, and Liverpool striker Diogo Jota complete their frontline for the tournament starting on June 11.

BURNLEY, England: Liverpool moved into the Champions League qualifying spots after a 3-0 win at Burnley on Wednesday took them above Leicester City and into fourth place with one round of Premier League matches remaining. Roberto Firmino struck two minutes before halftime and a Nathaniel Phillips header made it 2-0 in the 52nd minute before a superb late strike from Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain secured a fourth straight win. The victory moves Liverpool onto 66 points, ahead of fifth-placed Leicester on goal difference while Chelsea

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has denied reports he has told his players he is leaving the Spanish giants. Media reports claimed the Frenchman informed his squad a week ago that he would leave at the end of the season. Zidane led Real to a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, to take the La Liga title race to the final day. "How could I tell the players I'm leaving now? We're giving our everything for the title and I just say

Diego Simeone's side now travel to Real Valladolid in their final game knowing that a win will clinch the title. Ante Budimir's header had put Osasuna on course for a shock win and seen Real Madrid briefly top the table. But Renan Lodi levelled before Suarez steered in Yannick Carrasco's cross. Both Atletico goals arrived in the final 10 minutes of a compelling contest - and just as it looked as though they were going to have to surrender top spot to their

Juan Cuadrado scored a double as Juventus kept their Champions League qualification hopes alive with a 3-2 win over Serie A champions Inter Milan on Saturday despite spending most of the second half with 10 men. The result lifted Andrea Pirlo's side into fourth place with one game remaining, although Napoli will knock the Turin club back into fifth if they beat Fiorentina on Sunday. Both sides were awarded first-half penalties in a game dominated by VAR decisions. Cristiano Ronaldo scored on the

LONDON: Spotify CEO and founder Daniel Ek said on Saturday (May 15) an offer to buy Premier League Arsenal had been rejected by owner Stan Kroenke's family. Ek took to Twitter to issue a statement correcting "inaccurate reports" that he had not made a bid. "This week an offer was made to both Josh Kroenke and their bankers that included fan ownership, representation at the board and a golden share for the supporters," the Swede said. "They replied that they don't need the

LONDON: Leicester players Hamza Choudhury and Wesley Fofana showed support for the Palestinians after winning the FA Cup final on Saturday (May 15). English midfielder Choudhury and French defender Fofana were seen holding a Palestinian flag. Choudhury had the flagged draped over his shoulders as he collected his winner's medal after beating Chelsea 1-0. Tens of thousands of protesters marched in support of Palestinians on Saturday in major European cities including London, Berlin, Madrid and Paris, as the worst violence in years raged

Youri Tielemans struck a sensational winner to clinch Leicester City their first FA Cup in a 1-0 victory over Chelsea, in front of 21,000 fans at Wembley - with Ben Chilwell's 89th-minute effort ruled out by VAR for offside. It was the biggest gathering of supporters inside a stadium since the coronavirus pandemic began - and they were treated to incredible drama in the 140th FA Cup final. Leicester fans had the perfect view as Tielemans fired a brilliant shot into the top

Miami: Qatar national football team will take part in the CONCACAF Gold Cup 2021 as a guest participant for being the AFC Asian Cup Champion. The tournament will be played in 11 cities across eight different US metropolitan areas, with the final taking place at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on August 2. Qatar is selected in Group D (based in Houston, Texas, BBVA Stadium), the first match will kick off on July 13 against Panama, before Honduras takes on Grenada. On July

Ferran Torres scored a hat-trick as champions Manchester City beat Newcastle United 4-3 to set a record for consecutive Premier League away wins on Friday (May 14) with their 12th victory on the road. With Pep Guardiola's City having already bagged the title and Newcastle safe, there was nothing riding on the fixture but it served up some rich entertainment with Spaniard Torres especially enjoying himself at St James' Park. City dominated early on but Newcastle took the lead against the run of

LONDON: Thomas Tuchel said he would lead an "angry" Chelsea into Saturday's (May 15) FA Cup final after defeat by Arsenal dented their Premier League top-four hopes. The Blues boss admitted preparations for the match against Leicester at Wembley would be made easier by his team's frustrations following Wednesday's 1-0 defeat. "We all feel that anger on ourselves on the missed opportunity and the performance that night against Arsenal," he said on Friday. "So it's a good thing, in that it's easy to

LONDON: Arsenal's Brazilian defender David Luiz will leave the Premier league club at the end of the season, according to British media reports on Friday. The 34-year-old has been at Arsenal for two seasons after joining from London rivals Chelsea where he won the league title, Champions League and two FA Cups. He also won the FA Cup with Arsenal last season. Sky Sports and the BBC said the decision was made after Luiz, who is sidelined by a hamstring injury and has

There are very few people who can tell Cristiano Ronaldo what to do, but his mum, Dolores Aveiro, insists she will try to convince her son to return to his boyhood club Sporting this summer. While Ronaldo leads the way in the Serie A goalscoring charts this term, scoring his 100th Juventus goal in his side's 3-1 win at Sassuolo on Wednesday, his club have endured a difficult season and could finish outside the top four. In contrast, the club where Ronaldo started

Real Madrid swatted aside Granada 4-1 on Thursday to ensure the La Liga title race will go down to the wire. Despite missing a number of first-team regulars, Real started the stronger and first-half strikes from Luka Modric and Rodrygo put the visitors in control. Such was their dominance that even when Jorge Molina halved the deficit on 71 minutes, tapping in after Thibaut Courtois had kept out Luis Suarez's initial effort, they rarely looked troubled. Substitute Alvaro Odriozola restored Real's two-goal advantage,

MANCHESTER, England: Roberto Firmino scored twice as Liverpool boosted their hopes of a late push into the top four and Champions League football next season with a 4-2 Premier League win at Manchester United on Thursday (May 13). The fixture, re-arranged after fan protests 10 days ago led to the match being postponed, took place after a massive security operation foiled another attempt at disruption from protesters. After spending seven hours inside the ground having arrived early to avoid attempts to block their