La Liga 2017-18 | Discussion Thread

[Muhammad10]

The league begins in a few days.

Some bad news for champions Real Madrid ahead of the start of the season:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Cristiano Ronaldo has been suspended for five games.<br><br>He's got 10 days to appeal.<a href="https://t.co/Sdk5fWi9LU">https://t.co/Sdk5fWi9LU</a> <a href="https://t.co/7XDWCuFTtI">pic.twitter.com/7XDWCuFTtI</a></p>— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) <a href="https://twitter.com/BBCSport/status/897135286362271744">August 14, 2017</a></blockquote>
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[Muhammad10]

Antoine Griezmann red card sparks Atletico Madrid comeback in thrilling draw with Girona in La Liga

Antoine Griezmann saw red for the first time in his career - but his dismissal sparked an unlikely Atletico Madrid comeback at newly-promoted Girona.

Griezmann was dismissed on 67 minutes after two yellow cards in a matter of seconds, with Atleti trailing 2-0.

The Frenchman picked up his first booking for diving before being shown a second for dissent towards the referee.

Diego Simeone's men got off to a nightmare start in the La Liga opener as former Middlesbrough winger Christhian Stuani scored twice before the break.

Stuani rose to head in a cross from Alex Granell before nodding in again just three minutes later.

Atletico's night went from bad to worse as Griezmann saw red, much to the fury of boss Simeone.

But his side managed to get back in it with 12 minutes to go through substitute Angel Correa.

The visitors pushed for a leveller and it came with just five minutes to go through defender Jose Gimenez.

Girnoa goalkeeper Gorka Iraizoz rushed out to claim Koke's free-kick, but Gimenez beat him to the ball and glanced his header in.

The dramatic leveller sparked wild scenes on the Atleti bench as Simeone joined in the celebrations with his players.

Girona nearly nicked it late on but Granell's free-kick flashed wide of the post.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/antoine-griezmann-sent-atletico-madrid-11018652

 

[Muhammad10]

Barcelona defeated Betis 2-0. Deulofeu with an impressive performance.

 

[Muhammad10]

A comfortable 3-0 victory over Deportivo for Zidane's men. Bale finally ended his scoring drought.

 

[Muhammad10]

Two goals for Messi despite missing a penalty in Barcelona's 2-0 victory over Deportivo Alaves.

 

[Muhammad10]

 

[hamzi]

While the transfer of neymar might have left barca a little weaker, it has certainly made messi the center of attention again, 2 goals 1 missed penalty and 4 posts in 2 games shows hes taking things into his own hands!

 

[Muhammad10]

 

[Muhammad10]

Asensio continues to impress. Real Madrid managed to salvage a point in today's game, courtesy of his double.

 

[161]

As a Barca fan I would like to thank Ronaldo and Ramos for the two point cushion

And Asensio ... that boys left foot is only second to Messi.

 

[Muhammad10]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">OFFICIAL: Diego Simeone has signed a new two-year deal at Atletico Madrid, keeping him at the club until June 2020. <a href="https://t.co/SGQy8igpKI">pic.twitter.com/SGQy8igpKI</a></p>— Squawka News (@SquawkaNews) <a href="https://twitter.com/SquawkaNews/status/905001331575939072">September 5, 2017</a></blockquote>
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[Muhammad10]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Paris St-Germain and Manchester City have been accused of 'financial doping' by La Liga president Javier Tebas.<a href="https://t.co/ZxXkcjmYwR">https://t.co/ZxXkcjmYwR</a> <a href="https://t.co/yTwWRJBDri">pic.twitter.com/yTwWRJBDri</a></p>— BBC Sport (@BBCSport) <a href="https://twitter.com/BBCSport/status/905391881776975872">September 6, 2017</a></blockquote>
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[Muhammad10]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">La Liga could go international <a href="https://t.co/7Y1Ugs0y9p">pic.twitter.com/7Y1Ugs0y9p</a></p>— B/R Football (@brfootball) <a href="https://twitter.com/brfootball/status/906145192373309440">September 8, 2017</a></blockquote>
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[Muhammad10]

Another poor result for Real Madrid as they drew 1-1 with Levante.

 

[Muhammad10]

Another poor result for Real Madrid as they drew 1-1 with Levante.

Messi rubbing salt on Real Madrid and Ronaldo's wounds with a hat-trick against Espanyol (including an offside goal).

 

[Muhammad10]

 

[Muhammad10]

 

[161]

Madrid 4 points down already and have a tough match coming up @ Sociedad without Marcelo and CR7.

 

[adil_909]

Madrid may very well lose next week at Sociedad, very tough to beat them at home. And if Barca continues this form, Madrid would find themselves 7 points behind after week 4.

Very proud of the way Barca has responded after that fiasco of a summer. Bartameu needs to leave ASAP. The future of too many important players is in the balance with neither Messi nor Iniesta willing to commit until he quits

 

[kingusama92]

Messi is on a mission.

3 games, 5 goals.

Beast.

They've pushed him into the center and he's playing lights out.

 

[Muhammad10]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Las Palmas secure their first win of the season! &#55357;&#56475; <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/MalagaLasPalmas?src=hash">#MalagaLasPalmas</a> 1-3 <a href="https://t.co/OSWoxh1RRc">https://t.co/OSWoxh1RRc</a> <a href="https://t.co/6v9qSlwr7b">pic.twitter.com/6v9qSlwr7b</a></p>— LaLiga (@LaLigaEN) <a href="https://twitter.com/LaLigaEN/status/907346509389332483">September 11, 2017</a></blockquote>
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[Muhammad10]

Paulinho to the rescue for Barcelona! Important victory, as a draw would have reduced the pressure on the struggling Real Madrid side.

 

[Muhammad10]

 

[Muhammad10]

 

[Muhammad10]

Four goals for Messi in today's 6-1 annihilation of Eibar!

 

[kingusama92]

Messi is on a mission.

3 games, 5 goals.

Beast.

They've pushed him into the center and he's playing lights out.

As I was saying.



Four more goals. He's unstoppable right now.

 

[Asif khan]

Playmaker, dribbler and goalscorer, he's a class apart.

 

[Muhammad10]

 

[Muhammad10]

A last-gasp winner in the 94th minute for Betis against Real!

Barcelona are building a very intimidating points lead over them early in the title race. Great to see.

 

[161]

Real Madrid are in CR7th place, CR7 points behind Barca

Side note: these are exactly the type of matches Real would get a little but of "help" from the officials last year.

Good to see the refs being impartial thus far.

 

[161]

A last-gasp winner in the 94th minute for Betis against Real!

Barcelona are building a very intimidating points lead over them early in the title race. Great to see.

Messi is free of Neymar and playing at his best again. Too many times before he was just trying to set up Neymar who kept fluffing his chances. Now he is back to focusing on his finishing and is better than ever at it.

 

[Muhammad10]

Messi is free of Neymar and playing at his best again. Too many times before he was just trying to set up Neymar who kept fluffing his chances. Now he is back to focusing on his finishing and is better than ever at it.

You may have a point there. I also wonder if they need an upgrade on Suarez. He is 30 years old and may be past his best. With Dembele injured, they are highly dependent on Messi.

 

[Muhammad10]

 

[161]

You may have a point there. I also wonder if they need an upgrade on Suarez. He is 30 years old and may be past his best. With Dembele injured, they are highly dependent on Messi.

Suarez needs to lose weight or he will go the way of Wayne Rooney. He is carrying too much bulk for a 30 year old.

 

[Muhammad10]

 

[Muhammad10]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">FC Barcelona says it will play match against Las Palmas behind closed doors on Sunday amid Catalan vote chaos <a href="https://t.co/caMztMYEYQ">https://t.co/caMztMYEYQ</a> <a href="https://t.co/dy6SF6ejQz">pic.twitter.com/dy6SF6ejQz</a></p>— CNN (@CNN) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNN/status/914496495314964480?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">October 1, 2017</a></blockquote>
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[Muhammad10]

 

[Abdullah719]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The ref didn't think this Messi shot went over the line. &#55357;&#56384; <a href="https://t.co/xX7sk3Xker">pic.twitter.com/xX7sk3Xker</a></p>— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) <a href="https://twitter.com/FOXSports/status/934881369498402816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
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[adil_909]

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">The ref didn't think this Messi shot went over the line. �� <a href="https://t.co/xX7sk3Xker">pic.twitter.com/xX7sk3Xker</a></p>— FOX Sports (@FOXSports) <a href="https://twitter.com/FOXSports/status/934881369498402816?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 26, 2017</a></blockquote>
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La liga is corrupt. Made barca play las palmas behind closed doors. Missed goal vs. betis. Now again today. Refs trying hard to get madrid back into the title picture but it won't work, the team looks united and strong! As long as Messi and Iniesta stay healthy, anything is possible this year!

 

[MenInG]

El Clasico 2018 - News and Match discussion

Madrid - Zinedine Zidane says Barcelona do not deserve a guard of honour before the Clasico on Sunday because they refused to give Real Madrid one for winning the Club World Cup.

Barca host Real as La Liga and Copa del Rey champions but Zidane's side will not perform a 'pasillo', the tradition of players applauding their opponents onto the pitch.

Deportivo La Coruna made the gesture ahead of their game against Barca last weekend while Barca gave Real a guard of honour at the Santiago Bernabeu in 2008, after Los Blancos had already won the league.

But Barcelona bucked the trend when the two teams met in December, opting against honouring Real's success in the Club World Cup as Barca argued they had not taken part in the competition.

"I'm not the one who decides," Zidane said on Saturday. "After the Club World Cup, it wasn't important for them to give us a guard of honour.

"They said they weren't in the competition, but that's a lie, because you get into the Club World Cup through the Champions League.

"They didn't give us one, so what's most important is respecting what they have done. They've won the double and I respect that, and I congratulate them on that.

"But we're not going to do something for them which they didn't do for us."

Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said in December the 'pasillo' had "lost its original essence", adding, "I would not do it and I would not want it to be done to me".

There is a sense in Spain the ceremony has become more about humiliating the defeated team, rather than congratulating the champions.

Real may, however, choose to pay tribute to midfielder Andres Iniesta, who will be playing his last Clasico before he leaves Barcelona at the end of the season.

"He is a player we admire, he's not just any player," Zidane said. "We will wave to him, congratulate him and wish him the best of luck for the future."

This meeting of La Ligas two most glamorous clubs will have minimal effect on the table, given Barca are unassailable and Real, now concentrating on the Champions League final, are safe inside the top four.

But Barca are four games away from finishing their first league season unbeaten while Real may be hoping to maintain momentum ahead of their showpiece clash against Liverpool.

Zidane is still likely to rest Raphael Varane and Isco, who are struggling with calf and shoulder injuries respectively. Dani Carvajal also remains out with a hamstring problem.

"Give up in the league? Under me it will not happen," Zidane said.

"We have to finish as high as possible and what matters most to me is to prepare for the Champions League final and that is done through our intensity in the matches. I'm convinced of that."

https://www.sport24.co.za/Soccer/International/no-guard-of-honour-for-barca-says-real-coach-20180505

 

[PakLFC]

Not much in this match. Barca all well ahead in the league neither are they asking for a guard of honour.

 

[hadi123]

1-1 atm.

 

[Abdullah719]

Finishes 2-2.

Not a great outing for the referee, very inconsistent in his decision-making.