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Things learned at the World Cup - Day 23: Maradona has had better days; Germany youth served; Batros did a decent job

Day 23 of the World Cup saw Europe regain its dominance on top of the soccer world. And all it took was getting rid of dead weights like Italy and England. What went wrong for Argentina? Was the Guatemalan official in the Spain-Paraguay game great or poor or somewhere in between? Here’s what we learned:

1) [...]

Valencia 0-2 Real Madrid: Galacticos draw closer to Barca

Real Madrid pulled within one point of Barcelona Sunday after a 2-0 victory over Valencia at the Santiago Bernabeu. Barcelona now sits on 84 points after a 0-0 draw Saturday with Espanyol. Real Madrid is on 83 points, although Los Galacticos are effectively two points back since Barcelona holds the tiebreaker advantage.

From the [...]

Barcelona-Arsenal: UEFA Champions League Preview

Defending UEFA Champions League title holders FC Barcelona travel to England Wednesday to take on Arsenal FC at the Emirates Stadium in what many view as one of the biggest match-ups of the quarterfinal stage.

Both teams may feel unlucky to be meeting at just the quarterfinal stage as they are both in top form. [...]

Barcelona 3-0 Valencia: Messi Hat Trick Separates Class of La Liga

In what was the most shining example of a tale of two halves, Barcelona jumped on Valencia in the second half at Estadio Camp Nou to grab a 3-0 victory behind a Lionel Messi hat trick. The win temporarily sends Barcelona atop the La Liga table, with Real Madrid playing later Sunday.

Valencia outplayed the [...]

Sporting Gijon 0-0 Athletic Bilbao: Gijon Escapes With a Point

Fernando Llorente lay on the ground with his hands covering his face in the third minute of second half stoppage time after missing a shot from 6-yards out. That just about summed up the evening for Athletic Bilbao.

Along with Gaizka Toquero and Igor Gabilondo, Athletic Bilbao’s other two forwards, Llorente and his teammates missed [...]

Sevilla 1, Osasuna 0: The Diego Capel Show

Diego Capel took advantage of Osasuna's weakened right side and assisted Luis Fabiano to defeat Osasuna

It failed to be the smoothest of affairs, but Sevilla’s speed down the flanks made enough of a difference to overpower an out-of-sorts Osasuna. For Manuel Jimenez the match was, perhaps inadvertently, about the juggling of attacking duos. Starting [...]

Barcelona 2:1 Getafe, Messi and Xavi Worth Price of Admission

Mark it down as another dominant performance from Xavi

There never is a good time to face Barcelona at Camp Nou. Nevertheless, Getafe would be hoping that the less-than-stellar—mildly controversial– performance that Guardiola’s men put in against Sporting Gijón last week would have put a tiny bit of doubt in the champions’ minds. Alas, [...]

Valencia 2-0 Real Valladolid: Los Che’s Attack on Display at the Mestalla

He did not score, but Juan Mata's offensive stamina was on display Saturday

The Estadio de Mastella housed two frustrated squads on Saturday night. Coming into the evening Valencia would look to maintain their control of the third spot in La Liga after their disappointing effort against Sevilla. For their part, Real Valladolid desperately seek [...]

Real Madrid 2-0 Málaga: Late Night with Cristiano Ronaldo

Cristiano continues to display his paradoxical self

This weekend’s final match in La Liga saw Real Madrid return to the Estadio Santiago Bernabéu to take on Málaga. After a disappointing loss to Athletic Bilbao, Los Blancos were expected to take out some pent-up frustration on the Andalusian side. The away club, on the other hand, [...]

Tenerife 0-0 Valencia: Scoreline Belies a Feisty Duel

Nino's strong effort was one of many from the Tenerife squad

With Valencia coming off a thumping of Villarreal and Tenerife managing only one goal thus far in 2010, the odds were surely stacked against the home side Chicharreros. Little did Valencia know they would feel somewhat relieved to escape with a mere point.

Much of [...]