La Liga

From fancy flops to El Clasico competitors - how Jose Mourinho's Real Madrid are closing the gap on Barcelona following the failures of the Galactico era Ahead of Saturday's El Clasico, the latest exclusive extract from Graham Hunter's new book on Barcelona looks at how Real Madrid are gaining ground following a period of Catalan dominance However irksome it has been for Real Madrid to stand with their nose to the windowpane of the world’s recent love-in with FC Barcelona under Pep Guardiola, it’s a million times more galling for Madridistas who bought into a strategy that was originally called ‘Zidanes and Pavones’. In part due to the failure of this policy, this era in Madrid's history would become known as that of 'Los Galacticos'. BARCA: THE MAKING OF THE GREATEST TEAM IN THE WORLD EBOOK...

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UEFA Champions League

Manchester City bow out despite Bayern win Manchester City FC 2-0 FC Bayern München David Silva and Yaya Touré ensured Roberto Mancini's side fulfilled their side of the bargain but SSC Napoli's victory meant it was in vain. Manchester City FC got the win they had to deliver but it was not enough to save their inaugural UEFA Champions League campaign. Although David Silva and Yaya Touré scored to earn the Premier League leaders a 2-0 success against Group A winners FC Bayern München, the celebratory mood turned flat when news filtered through in the second half that SSC Napoli, who started the night a point above City, had the goal they needed at Villarreal CF, which soon became two. So The Citizen were forced to settle for a place in the UEFA Europa League last 32 on a night when the UEFA...

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UEFA Champions League

Amazing Basel hit heights to knock out United FC Basel 1893 2-1 Manchester United FC A goal in each half from Marco Streller and Alexander Frei secured a famous home victory and second place in Group C at their opponents' expense. FC Basel 1893 reached the UEFA Champions League last 16 for only the second time as Marco Streller and Alexander Frei scored in each half to secure a famous victory over Manchester United FC to end last season's finalists' interest in the competition. With SL Benfica already assured of progress, Basel and United met with Group C's second qualifying berth at stake. United needed only a point but Xherdan Shaqiri proved a thorn in their side; his cross led to Streller's thumping ninth-opener finish and, as the visitors pressed for an equaliser, the 20-year-old set...

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