MADRID: Villarreal dampened Barcelona’s title celebrations by handing the Catalan club its first defeat of 2025 in the Spanish league on Sunday.
Barcelona, which clinched its 28th league title midweek, presented the trophy to its fans in the team’s final home match of the season at Montjuic stadium. Players were announced one by one after the game, which Villarreal won 3-2, before lifting the trophy.
Barcelona’s Spanish Super Cup and Copa del Rey trophies also were displayed at Montjuic, with players dancing around the silverware during the celebrations.
“We can be proud of this team for winning these titles and for how it did it,” Barcelona goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen said. “We had a great season in all levels.”
Before the match, Villarreal players did a guard of honor for the new league champions, with its players lining up to congratulate Barcelona as the team entered the field.
Real Madrid won 2-0 at nine-man Sevilla, with Kylian Mbappé extending his league-leading tally to 29 goals with one round to go. Jude Bellingham also scored. Madrid reached 81 points, four fewer than Barcelona.
Villarreal’s victory secured its return to the Champions League for the first time since reaching the semifinals in 2022.
It will join Barcelona, Madrid, Atletico Madrid and Athletic Bilbao in Europe’s top club competition next season. Spain will have five clubs in the Champions League next season.
Real Betis clinched one of the Europa League spots. Celta Vigo, Rayo Vallecano and Osasuna will be chasing the final Europa League place and the Conference League spot.
Leganes, owned by former Houston Astros general manager Jeff Luhnow, and Espanyol will try to avoid the last relegation spot in the final round when Leganes is at last-placed Valladolid and Espanyol faces relegated Las Palmas.
Barcelona, Madrid, Atletico and Athletic will play in next year’s lucrative Spanish Super Cup in Saudi Arabia.
All 10 games were played at the same time on Sunday.
Barcelona’s loss
Barcelona hadn’t lost in the league since a 2-1 defeat against Atletico on Dec. 21, with 15 wins and two draws since then. Villarreal’s win was its fifth straight victory in the league.
Ayoze Pérez put the visitors ahead after a breakaway four minutes into the match. The hosts equalized when Lamine Yamal scored with yet another beautiful goal in the teenager’s outstanding season, curling in a left-footed shot from outside the area.
Fermín López put Barcelona ahead in first-half stoppage time, but Santiago Comesaña scored for Villarreal in the 50th and Tajon Buchanan netted the winner in the 80th.
It was likely the last match Barcelona played at Montjuic stadium as the club plans to return to the Camp Nou Stadium next season even though renovation work at the venue is not expected to be fully completed until mid-2026.
Mbappé’s goals
Mbappé strengthened his chances of finishing as the league’s top scorer this season with a goal from a low shot from outside the area in the 75th.
Mbappé now has 29 league goals. Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski (25 goals) is his nearest rival.
Sevilla’s Loic Bade was sent off in the 12th for a foul on Mbappé to stop a breakaway. Then Isaac Romero was shown a red card for a hard foul on Aurélien Tchouaméni.
It was the second-to-last match for Madrid under Carlo Ancelotti before he becomes Brazil coach. Xabi Alonso is widely expected to be Madrid’s next coach.
Sevilla, sitting in 16th place, had only one win in its last 10 games.
Relegation fight
Leganes kept its survival hopes alive by winning 1-0 at Las Palmas with a sixth-minute goal by Dani Raba.
It is two points behind the first team outside the relegation zone, Espanyol, which remained in danger after a 2-0 loss at Osasuna for its fifth straight defeat.
Alaves escaped the drop by winning 1-0 at Valladolid, while Getafe did the same by beating Mallorca 2-1 to end a six-game losing run.
Second-to-last Las Palmas and bottom side Valladolid had already been relegated.
European places
Celta Vigo lost 2-1 at home to Rayo Vallecano but holds the final Europa League spot in seventh place. It is one point ahead of both eighth-placed Rayo — in the Conference League position — and ninth-placed Osasuna.
Rayo will host Mallorca in the final round, while Osasuna visits Alaves and Celta is at Getafe.
Spanish Super Cup
The top two teams in the league and the Copa del Rey finalists are awarded places in the Spanish Super Cup. Since this season’s final was between Barcelona and Madrid, two other spots were made available through the league.
Third-placed Atletico guaranteed its spot with a 4-1 win over Betis with Julián Álvarez scoring twice, including with a superb curling free kick in the first half. Fourth-placed Athletic Bilbao won 1-0 at Valencia with a goal by Álex Berenguer.
Alguacil honored
Real Sociedad honored coach Imanol Alguacil in its final home match, a 3-2 win against Girona.
Alguacil will step down this summer after a mostly successful six-and-a-half-year stint in charge of the Basque Country club.
Villarreal dampens Barcelona’s title celebrations. Mbappé scores again for Madrid
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Villarreal dampens Barcelona’s title celebrations. Mbappé scores again for Madrid
- Villarreal’s victory secured its return to the Champions League for the first time since reaching the semifinals in 2022
Oman hire Carlos Queiroz as coach in push for World Cup qualification
- The veteran Portuguese tactician led Iran into the 2014 and 2018 World Cups
- The 72-year-old Queiroz has also coached Real Madrid, Portugal, Egypt, Colombia and Qatar
MUSCAT: Oman hired Carlos Queiroz as their national-team coach Tuesday ahead of autumn games that will determine if the country advances to the World Cup for the first time.
The veteran Portuguese tactician led Iran into the 2014 and 2018 World Cups and will take over with immediate effect.
Oman and five other countries — Saudi Arabia, Iraq, Indonesia, United Arab Emirates and Qatar — have reached the fourth round of qualifying. From groups of three, the two winners will qualify for the 2026 World Cup next summer in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The fourth-round draw will be on Thursday in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The matches are in October. After those, there’s one additional round — the second-place finishers square off in November for a spot in a playoff tournament.
“This comes as part of efforts to improve the team’s performances for upcoming games,” the Oman Football Association said in a statement.
Queiroz replaces Rashid Jaber, who led Oman to a fourth-place finish in the third round to keep qualification hopes alive.
The 72-year-old Queiroz has also coached Real Madrid, Portugal, Egypt, Colombia and Qatar.
Queiroz was fired as Qatar coach in December 2023 after 11 games in charge.
Barcelona star Yamal faces backlash for reportedly hiring people with dwarfism for birthday party
- Yamal, 18, could face an investigation for reportedly hiring people with dwarfism
- Spain’s Ministry of Social Rights said such hirings ‘take us back to the Middle Ages’
BARCELONA: Barcelona star Lamine Yamal has been criticized and could face an investigation for reportedly hiring people with dwarfism as entertainers during his lavish 18th birthday party this weekend.
Spain’s Ministry of Social Rights has asked prosecutors to open a probe into the hiring and exposition of the entertainers. Ministry director Jesús Martín Blanco told Europa Press that such hirings “take us back to the Middle Ages.”
A local association for people with disabilities had already condemned the alleged hirings, saying it would take action “legally and socially” against those responsible for promoting such actions.
Spanish radio station RAC1 published an interview with one of the entertainers who said he was in the party. The man said they were all treated with respect. He complained about the reaction against Yamal for hiring them.
Yamal celebrated his birthday with a party filled with celebrities. It also included some of his Barcelona teammates.
In May, Yamal signed a contract extension to stay at Barcelona until 2031. He helped the Catalan club clinch a domestic treble — La Liga, the Copa del Rey and the Spanish Super Cup. His big season came after he helped Spain win the European Championship in the summer of 2024.
South African Mokwena to coach Algerian champions Mouloudia
- His move to Algiers follows one season with Moroccan outfit Wydad Casablanca
- Mokwena will come up against two other former South African Premiership coaches in the Algerian championship
JOHANNESBURG: South African Rulani Mokwena was named coach of Algerian champions Mouloudia Alger on Monday, ending weeks of speculation as to where the 38-year-old would work in the 2025/26 season.
His move to Algiers follows one season with Moroccan outfit Wydad Casablanca. He left after finishing third in the national league and failing to qualify for the CAF Champions League.
Here, AFP Sport also reports on a setback for Sudanese giants Al Hilal as they chase a place in the forthcoming Champions League in the latest football news across Africa.
Mokwena will come up against two other former South African Premiership coaches in the Algerian championship.
German Josef Zinnbauer, the former Orlando Pirates tactician, guided JS Kabylie to second place behind Mouloudia last season and qualification for the Champions League.
Another German, Sead Ramovic, led Chabab Belouizdad to third place and entry to the second-tier CAF Confederation Cup. His previous clubs include TS Galaxy in South Africa.
Young Orlando Pirates forward Mohau Nkota is joining Saudi Pro League club Ettifaq, the Soweto club announced.
Last season was his first with the Buccaneers first team and he scored 12 goals in 39 appearances, including three in Champions League victories over Belouizdad and Mouloudia in Algeria.
The 20-year-old will join fellow African Wissam Chaouali, a Tunisian defender, at a club that finished seventh in the Pro League last season, 33 points behind champions Al Ittihad.
Al Hilal, who have featured in every Champions League since 2004, suffered a setback in their bid to qualify for the 2025/26 edition of the premier African club competition.
The Sudan Elite League pacesetters lost 1-0 to Al Amal Atbara in the fourth round of a mini-league and remain top of the table only on goal difference from Al Zamaleh Umm Ruwaba.
Only two points separate seven of the eight contenders and 16 matches have produced just 18 goals as clubs chase top-four finishes and places in the Champions League and Confederation Cup.
Angolan champions Petro Luanda have hired 48-year-old Spanish coach Franc Artiga as they prepare for their Champions League campaign.
Former Angola forward Flavio Amado had been in charge of the record 19-time national champions, but lacks the necessary coaching qualifications for Confederation of African Football competitions.
Petro have twice reached the Champions League semifinals, losing to Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa in 2001 and Wydad Casablanca three years ago.
Namibia, one of many African countries lacking a FIFA-approved stadium, will play their remaining 2026 World Cup home qualifiers against Malawi and Sao Tome e Principe in neighboring Botswana.
The matches in September are earmarked for Francistown, 440 kilometers (274 miles) northeast of the capital Gaborone. They previously hosted qualifiers in Soweto near Johannesburg.
Namibia are unbeaten in Group H after three victories and three draws and lie second, four points behind six-time World Cup qualifiers Tunisia.
Turki Alalshikh announces tickets for blockbuster Canelo vs. Crawford fight
- Riyadh Season event features 2 of boxing’s biggest names of a generation on Sept. 13
- Tickets go on sale July 18, with the bouts set to stream on Netflix
LAS VEGAS: Two of boxing’s most dominant forces, undisputed super middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (63-2-2, 39 KOs) and undefeated four-division superstar Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) are set to face off in a Riyadh Season fight for the unified super middleweight championship at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada, on Sept. 13, with tickets to go on sale later this week.
Start of ticket sales were announced Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority and president of the Saudi Boxing Federation, who is collaborating with UFC President and CEO Dana White and Sela to promote the highly anticipated showdown.
Canelo is looking to add Crawford to his legendary resume. Capturing a multitude of titles across multiple weight divisions, and defeating the likes of Shane Mosley, Gennady Golovkin and Miguel Cotto, Alvarez has done more than enough to solidify himself as one of the best to ever do it. The proud native of Guadalajara, Mexico, now turns his attention to the undefeated challenger, Terence Crawford, to cement his legacy even further.
Omaha, Nebraska’s Crawford, meanwhile, is setting out to show why he believes he’s the No.1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world with a defining win against Alvarez. The current WBA and interim WBO middleweight champion, Crawford has become a household name by defeating Ricky Burns, Jose Benavidez Jr., Amir Khan, Shawn Porter and Errol Spence Jr. After moving up in weight to 154 pounds against Israil Madrimov, Crawford now sets his sights on Canelo to secure the biggest win of his career.
Canelo vs. Crawford tickets will go on sale July 18 and are available for purchase at Ticketmaster.com. Ticket sales are limited to eight per person. Presales will begin July 17.
Man City sign kit deal worth reported £1 billion
- City’s extension of their contract with Puma ranks as the largest kit manufacturing partnership
- “We joined forces with Puma with the ambition to challenge ourselves and go beyond the expectations,” City Football Group chief executive Ferran Soriano said
LONDON: Manchester City have signed a blockbuster new kit deal with Puma worth a reported £1 billion ($1.34 billion) over the next 10 years.
City’s extension of their contract with Puma ranks as the largest kit manufacturing partnership in Premier League history.
Having agreed a £65 million per year deal with the German company in 2019, City’s new arrangement is believed to be worth a £100 million per year until 2035, according to British media reports.
That figure shatters the £90 million per year deal signed by Manchester United with Adidas in 2023.
Spanish giants Real Madrid and Barcelona are both reported to have kit deals worth in excess of £100 million per year.
“We joined forces with Puma with the ambition to challenge ourselves and go beyond the expectations. We have achieved this and more over the last six seasons,” City Football Group chief executive Ferran Soriano said.
“Puma have seamlessly integrated into our organization, and we have enjoyed many historic moments together, engaging fans globally.”
Puma chief executive Arthur Hoeld added: “Puma’s partnership with Manchester City has been a great success both on and off the pitch.
“Trophies, a perfect stage for our performance products and commercial success were exceptional.”
City’s massive deal comes after the club’s first season without major silverware since 2016-17.
Pep Guardiola’s men finished third in the Premier League after winning the title for the previous four seasons.
They also suffered a shock FA Cup final defeat against Crystal Palace and crashed out of the recent Club World Cup in the last 16 against Saudi Pro League side Al-Hilal.
