Barcelona Contrasts in the Best of the Week

August 25, 2015 02:14

1/11 Although Barcelona stole the show with its defeat in the Spanish Super Cup and its triumph in La Liga, Real Madrid was not far behind with the renewal of Ramos and the signing of Kovacic.
2/11 Barcelona 1-1 Athletic Bilbao (1-5): Catalans cannot overturn first leg thrashing in Supercopa: Barcelona failed in their attempts to overturn a four-goal deficit in the Supercopa de Espana against Athletic Bilbao, drawing 1-1 at Camp Nou. Both sides finished with 10 men, with Aritz Aduriz cancelling out Lionel Messi's first-half effort. Gerard Pique was dismissed for lambasting an assistant referee, while Athletic substitute Kike Sola saw red just five minutes after coming off the bench.
3/11 Real Madrid confirm new Sergio Ramos deal: Sergio Ramos has ended speculation over his future by agreeing a new five-year contract with Real Madrid. The Real captain had been linked with a big-money move to Manchester United amid a reported fall-out with club president Florentino Perez, but the Spanish giants revealed on Monday that he will put pen to paper on a fresh deal at the Santiago Bernabeu. Real confirmed on their official Twitter account that he will sign a new contract until 2020.
4/11 Athletic Bilbao 0-1 Barcelona: Luis Suarez seals the points in Liga opener: An exquisite Luis Suarez volley sealed a hard-fought 1-0 win for champions Barcelona at Athletic Bilbao in their Liga opener. Barça took the lead early in the second half through Suarez's venomous strike.
5/11 Sporting Gijon 0-0 Real Madrid: Benitez starts with disappointing draw: Rafael Benitez endured a difficult Real Madrid debut as his new-look side were held 0-0 by La Liga newcomers Sporting Gijon at El Molinon. Cuellar palmed a fierce Ronaldo drive away from danger with seven minutes remaining. A rejected penalty appeal for a coming together involving Ronaldo and Sergio Alvarez added to the visitors' frustrations.
6/11 Juventus 0-1 Udinese: Thereau stuns wasteful champions: Juventus were made to pay for their profligacy in front of goal as Udinese snatched a late strike to seal a 1-0 win in Turin. Thereau ghosted in at the back post with 12 minutes to play to fire Udinese to all three points in Stefano Colantuono's first league game at the helm.
7/11 Pedro joins Chelsea from Barcelona: Chelsea have agreed a deal with Barcelona for winger Pedro, the Spanish club have confirmed, with the Blues set to land the attacker for €30 million.
8/11 Real Madrid complete Mateo Kovacic capture from Inter: Real Madrid have completed the signing of Mateo Kovacic from Inter. The 21-year-old has completed a €35 million move to the Santiago Bernabeu side, signing a six-year contract.
9/11 Bolt bounces back in Beijing: Reigning champion Usain Bolt held on to his world 100m crown with a time of 9.79 seconds beating his big rival, USA's Justin Gatlin, by a hundredth of a second. The bronze medal was shared between Canadian sprinter Andre De Grasse and another American, Trayvon Bromell (9.92).
10/11 Serena Williams won Cincinnati tournament: Serena Williams underlined their status as world number one, beat the Romanian Simona Halep 6-3, 7-6 (3) and defend the crown in Cincinnati tournament, in which made his after one hour and 39 minutes.
11/11 Chaves takes first blood in mountain finish: Finally, Esteban Chaves (Orica) of Colombia is the first official leader of the Vuelta a España having won the 158.7-km second stage, which also saw the favourites tussle for overall positions in the general classification. Chaves beat Dutchman Tom Dumoulin (Giant) and Irish rider Nicolas Roche (Sky) in the final sprint, coming home with a time of 3h.57.26.