SATURDAYBarcelona 4-0 Granada (Messi 8 14 58, Neymar 83)Giving both Arda Turan and Aleix Vidal their club Liga debuts, Barcelona were two up within 14 minutes on their way to a win that takes them a point ahead at the top, at least until Atlético Madrid visit Celta Vigo tomorrow. Arda set up Messi for the first and the most selected player in the UEFA.com users' Team of the Year 2015 had another soon after following a typical link-up with Neymar and Luis Suárez.Messi had chances for more before half-time, and the hat-trick came when Arda dummied, Neymar hit the post and the Argentina forward pounced on the rebound. Neymar himself had th...
Football Update
Follow Saturday’s league scores on UEFA.com
© 1998-2015 UEFA. All rights reserved.The UEFA word, the UEFA logo and all marks related to UEFA competitions, are protected by trade marks and/or copyright of UEFA. No use for commercial purposes may be made of such trade marks. Use of UEFA.com signifies your agreement to the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy. ...
What went wrong for Lopetegui at Porto?
For only the eighth time in 34 years, Porto have parted company with a coach before the end of the season. To a list comprising Joaquim Jesus 'Quinito', Tomislav Ivić, Octávio Machado, Luigi Delneri, Victor Fernández, Co Adriaanse and Paulo Fonseca, add Julen Lopetegui after the former Spain Under-21 and U19 tactician left the club on Thursday.The 49-year-old Basque had promised to revolutionise the side's style of play but has gone after a year and a half in charge with Porto lying in third place, four points behind Liga leaders Sporting CP, and out of the UEFA Champions League. What were the issues behind his sudden departure?Spanish v Portuguese style
Midtjylland v Manchester United background
FC Midtjylland embark upon the highest-profile fixture in their history hoping to take a second English scalp of the season, with Manchester United FC heading to Denmark for a UEFA Europa League round of 32 tie.Previous meetings• The sides are meeting for the first time in UEFA competition.• Midtjylland's record in four games against English sides is W2 D1 L1 (W1 D0 L1 at home – W1 D1 L0 in England). They have already accounted for one Premier League club this season, eliminating Southampton FC 2-1 on aggregate in the play-offs.• They won their only previous match in Manchester, beating Manchester City FC 1-0 in the first leg of a 2008/09...
Apply for UEFA EURO 2016 tickets while you still can!
Fans hoping to attend UEFA EURO 2016 have just 11 days left to apply before the ticketing portals close at 12.00CET on 18 January.The draw in early December raised excitement levels and was swiftly followed by the current, second phase of ticket sales on EURO2016.com – with 800,000 tickets reserved for supporters of the 24 teams. Since then, fans of more than 170 nationalities have applied for tickets for what promises to be a spectacular tournament in France.Each of the competing teams has a dedicated portal, while a public portal that allows fans to apply for any match in each of the ten host cities can also be accessed by anyone here. Since last week, fans have also be...
Barcelona, Benfica and Juve win, City beaten
Barcelona 4-1 Espanyol (Copa del Rey last 16, first leg)These city rivals may have played out a goalless draw in the league on Saturday but holders Barcelona eased to victory in the first leg of their Copa del Rey last-16 tie. Though Felipe Caicedo gave Espanyol a surprise lead early on, two Lionel Messi goals put the hosts in front at the interval. Gerard Piqué and Neymar – with a splendid volley – both got in on the act after the break, when Espanyol also had two men sent off. The second instalment takes place next Wednesday.Rayo Vallecano 1-1 Atlético Madrid (Copa del Rey last 16, first leg)Liga leaders Atlético Madrid, who ha...
Shakhtar Donetsk v Schalke background
FC Shakhtar Donetsk will hope for a repeat performance after being paired with FC Schalke 04 for a second time in the UEFA Europa League round of 32.Previous meetings• Mircea Lucescu's Shakhtar eliminated a Schalke side coached by Ralf Rangnick in the 2004/05 UEFA Cup round of 32, winning 1-0 in Gelsenkirchen after drawing 1-1 in Donetsk. Those are Schalke's only encounters with Ukrainian opponents.• Shakhtar's 16 games against German teams have ended W5 D5 L6 (W2 D4 L1 at home – W2 D1 L5 in Germany). Most famously, they beat Werder Bremen 2-1 in the final of the 2009 UEFA Cup in Istanbul.• Shakhtar's last four home matches against German...