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Barcelona eked out a 1-0 win after an own goal from relegation-threatened Leganes on Saturday to protect its lead in the Spanish league. Raphinha, Barcelona’s breakout player of the season and the Champions League’s leading scorer, came through again for Hasni Flick's team in attack – and defence, AP reports. Raphina's dangerous cross was turned into the net by Leganes defender Jorge Sáenz for the game's only goal in the 48th minute. The Brazil forward then showed hustle when he disrupted a promising pass for Leganes’ top scorer, Daniel Rabaseda, late in the first half. The hard-earned win extended Barcelona's lead to seven points over Real Madrid before the titleholders visit Alaves on Sunday. After this weekend there are seven rounds left, including a “clasico” next month. “These games are where leagues are won,” Barcelona’s Éric García said. “It was a night to put the pressure (on Madrid).” FIFA chief hails expanded tournaments in AFC speech Leganes shocked Barcelona 1-0 in December, during a dip in form by the Catalan club. But since the start of 2025, Barcelona has now gone 24 games without a loss and is in the running for a treble of titles including the Copa del Rey, where it has set up a final against Madrid. “To win this match was very important,” Flick said. “I am really proud about my team. What they are doing the last weeks and months is incredible.” Barcelona kept up is momentum before it visits Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday aiming to make good on its 4-0 first-leg win in their Champions League quarterfinal. Sáenz’s error spoiled an otherwise strong performance from the southern Madrid side, which generated more scoring chances than the front-runners.

Commuters in central Barcelona have had the opportunity to ride a bus free of charge this week—but with one notable difference: there’s no driver behind the wheel. The autonomous mini-bus starts and stops on its own, braking when changing lanes and smoothly cruising down one of the city’s most popular boulevards. Renault is conducting tests of its new driverless mini-bus in Barcelona, operating it on a 2.2-km (1.3-mile) circular route with four stops in the city center. Adventurous passengers can ride the bus for free during the trial. The French automaker has partnered with WeRide, an autonomous vehicle company, to develop the prototype. After unveiling it at the French Open last year, Renault is now testing the vehicle on public roads in Barcelona. Additional tests are taking place in Valence, France, and at Zurich airport. Pau Cugat, a curious 18-year-old student, took a short ride along Passeig de Gracia and compared the futuristic bus to a traditional city bus. “We just passed by a regular combustion-engine bus, and I thought, ‘Look, there is a bus of the past, and right behind it you have the bus of the future,’” he said. Driverless vehicles, including taxis and buses, are being tested in cities like San Francisco and Tokyo, but Europe has generally lagged behind the U.S. and China in autonomous vehicle development, where companies are aggressively competing. “The US and China are doing a lot of experimentation with autonomous vehicles,” said Patrick Vergelas, head of Renault’s autonomous mobility projects. “Until now, Europe hasn’t seen much of this, and that’s why we want to demonstrate that this technology works and prepare Europe for this type of public transportation.” The electric bus can travel up to 120 kilometers on a single charge and reach speeds of 40 km/h (25 mph). It’s equipped with 10 cameras and eight lidar sensors to navigate through the busy streets of Barcelona, filled with cars, motorcycles, and pedestrians. According to Renault, the bus can operate safely in such a high-traffic environment. Carlos Santos from Renault’s autonomous driving team noted the range of reactions from passengers. “We’ve seen people smiling, others taking photos, and some even trying to open the doors,” he said. Despite the mixed reactions, he assured that the ride was safe. City officials in Barcelona reported no accidents involving the experimental bus.  

On Sunday (March 02, 2025), Barcelona secured a commanding 4-0 victory over Real Sociedad at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.  Real Betis, Athletic Bilbao, and Real Sociedad—three of La Liga’s strongest teams—faced Real Madrid, Atlético Madrid, and Barcelona in the same week. After Real Madrid failed to overcome the challenge, Atlético Madrid took full advantage. Barcelona easily secured their win as Real Sociedad were reduced to 10 men. A Dominant Display at the Olympic Stadium The match turned heavily in Barcelona’s favour just 15 minutes in when Sociedad captain Aritz Elustondo received a straight red card, leaving his team with 10 players. Taking advantage, Barcelona quickly gained control, with fullback Gerard Martin and midfielder Marc Casado scoring in the 25th and 29th minutes, respectively. In the second half, Ronald Araújo and Robert Lewandowski added two more goals in the 56th and 60th minutes. Read more: San Diego FC makes its home debut before a sellout crowd in a city hungry for top-level soccer With this victory, Barcelona reclaimed the top spot in the league with 57 points from 26 matches (18 wins, 3 draws). Atlético Madrid dropped to second with 56 points, while Real Madrid slipped to third with 54.

Barcelona’s attacking prowess under coach Hansi Flick is reaching new heights, keeping the team competitive on all fronts. After scoring five against Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup, five more against Benfica in the Champions League, and a stunning seven-goal display against Valencia in La Liga, the Catalan giants are proving unstoppable. Even during the era of Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, and Neymar, Barcelona never recorded such dominant numbers. The current attacking trio of Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, and Lamine Yamal has been instrumental in this resurgence. Flick achieved a milestone in Sunday’s 7-1 thrashing of Valencia, becoming the second-fastest Barcelona coach to reach 100 goals, accomplishing the feat in 32 games. Only Helenio Herrera did it quicker, in 31 matches in the 1950s. Flick surpassed Luis Enrique and Tito Vilanova, who needed 34 games, and Pep Guardiola, who reached the mark in 37. Postecoglou uncertain about Tottenham future after another alarming loss “I admire my team’s hunger,” Flick said. “They don’t stop at 2-0 or 3-0; they fight until the final whistle. That’s the mindset we need to win trophies.” Barcelona has scored at least five goals in four of its last five matches, including a 5-4 comeback win over Benfica and decisive victories over Real Betis and Real Madrid. Lewandowski leads the top scorers in Europe’s top five leagues with 29 goals, ahead of Manchester City’s Erling Haaland and teammate Raphinha. In La Liga, Barcelona has netted 59 goals in 21 games, nine more than second-placed Madrid. They also lead in Champions League scoring with 26 goals in seven matches. Barcelona is in the Champions League last 16, the Copa del Rey quarterfinals, and sits third in La Liga, seven points behind Madrid.

Barcelona followed up its rout of Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final with a comfortable 5-1 victory over Real Betis in the round of 16 of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday. Gavi and Jules Koundé scored a goal each in the first half-hour and Raphinha, Ferran Torres and Lamine Yamal added to the lead in the second half to give the Catalan club the win and a spot in the quarterfinals. It was the fourth straight victory in 2025 for Barcelona, which on Sunday defeated Madrid 5-2 in Saudi Arabia to win the Spanish Super Cup. “We wanted to keep the momentum from the Super Cup here at home in front of our fans,” Barcelona defender Pau Cubarsí said. “We continue like this and keep the foot on the throttle. The (Christmas) break did well for us, we were able to refresh.” Barcelona had lost its last two games in 2024 before going on a winning streak against Barbastro in the Copa del Rey and Athletic Bilbao and Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup. Playmaker Dani Olmo, registered in the last minute after a long battle between Barcelona, the Spanish league and Spain's federation because of a missed deadline by the club, helped set up Gavi's opening goal in the third minute at Montjuic stadium. Yamal gave the pass for Koundé's goal in the 27th. Koundé thought he had added to the lead in first-half stoppage time but his effort was disallowed by video review because he was offside. Yamal also had one called back by the VAR because of offside early in the second half. Barcelona's third goal finally counted when Raphinha found the net in a breakaway in the 58th. Torres scored the fourth from inside the area in the 67th, a few minutes after coming off the bench, and Yamal sealed it after a nice run in the 75th. Read: Bayern Munich wants to retain forward Mathys Tel amid Chelsea links. Vitor Roque scored Betis' lone goal by converting an 84th-minute penalty kick. Atletico keeps winning Atletico Madrid, playing without many regular starters, routed second-division club Elche 4-0 to extend its record winning streak to 15 matches. The club had never won more than 13 games in a row across all competitions before. Alexander Sorloth scored from close range in the eighth and converted a 29th-minute penalty kick. Rodrigo Riquelme scored the third from long range in the 61st, and Julián Álvarez closed the scoring in the 75th. Elche played a man down from the 50th after Nicolás Fernández was sent off with a second yellow card. Other results Álvaro Rodríguez scored two minutes into the match as Getafe won 1-0 at fourth-division club Pontevedra. Read more: Real Madrid begins 3-game home stretch after Barcelona loss The visitors played a man down from the 41st after a straight red card was shown to Rodríguez. An 86th-minute goal by Diego García gave Leganes a 3-2 win at second-division club Almeria. In other round-of-16 matches on Thursday, defending champion Athletic Bilbao hosts Osasuna and Real Madrid welcomes Celta Vigo.

Real Madrid aims to bounce back from their recent 5-2 loss to Barcelona in the Spanish Super Cup final with the help of a three-game home streak, reports AP. The sequence of matches begins on Thursday with a Copa del Rey last-16 clash against Celta Vigo, followed by a La Liga fixture against Las Palmas on Sunday and a Champions League encounter with Salzburg on 22 January. Real Madrid's Vinicius Junior banned for two matches after red card Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti expressed disappointment over the loss but emphasised the importance of looking ahead. “We are sad and disappointed,” Ancelotti said. “We must focus on regaining the momentum we had before this match against Barcelona.” Before the defeat, Madrid had won five consecutive matches across all competitions. However, Barcelona has consistently been a challenging opponent, also defeating Madrid 4-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu in October during La Liga. Midfielder Luka Modrić urged the team to rally together and respond positively. “We need to stick together and react as we did after losing to them in La Liga,” Modrić said. “It’s tough to see your biggest rival score nine goals across two matches, but I’m confident we’ll recover. There’s still a long season ahead, and we’ll give our fans plenty to celebrate.” Currently, Madrid sits second in La Liga, one point behind Atlético Madrid and five points ahead of third-placed Barcelona at the halfway mark of the season. In the Champions League, they rank 20th in the 36-team league phase. Ancelotti will face additional challenges, including the absence of Vinícius Júnior for the Las Palmas game due to a red-card suspension, which the club failed to overturn on appeal. Defensive issues also persist, with injuries to players like Éder Militão and Dani Carvajal forcing makeshift solutions, particularly at right back. Ancelotti hinted at potential signings during the transfer window to address these vulnerabilities. Injured Mbappé to travel with Real Madrid to Qatar with hopes of playing Intercontinental Cup final Reflecting on the Super Cup loss, Ancelotti acknowledged defensive lapses. “We didn’t defend well, and it cost us. They scored too easily,” he said. Meanwhile, Copa del Rey matches are in full swing. Barcelona hosts Real Betis on Wednesday, aiming to build on their three-match winning streak this year under Hansi Flick. On the same day, Atlético Madrid, currently on a club-record 14-game winning streak, visits second-division Elche. Defending champions Athletic Bilbao will play Osasuna on Thursday, while Real Sociedad hosts Rayo Vallecano.

Barcelona was defeated 2-1 at home by Las Palmas on Saturday, marking its first home loss of the season. Sandro Ramirez and Fábio Silva scored for Las Palmas, while Raphinha netted an equalizer for Barcelona, but it wasn't enough to prevent the surprise defeat. Las Palmas claimed its first victory at Barcelona in over 50 years, with their last win at Camp Nou dating back to the 1971-72 season. Barcelona had been in excellent form under new coach Hansi Flick, with victories over Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, and had won all eight of its home games. However, their recent form has dipped, as they have gone without a win in the last three rounds of La Liga, following losses to Real Sociedad and a draw with Celta Vigo. Raphinha, who scored Barcelona's only goal, expressed frustration after the match. “I don’t care about scoring, I care about winning,” he said. “We have to take a hard look at what we are doing wrong. We have slipped in our form and are letting games slip away from us. We need to turn this around to win the league.” Read: Lamine Yamal set to make his return for Barcelona following ankle injury The defeat allowed Atletico Madrid, which crushed Valladolid 5-0, to close the gap to just two points behind Barcelona, with the same number of games played. Antoine Griezmann's brilliant goal in the win further underlined Atletico's strong position. Las Palmas' historic win was built on solid teamwork, as they outplayed Barcelona's high-pressure tactics. After Raphinha hit the crossbar in the first half, he equalized with a fine strike in the 61st minute. However, Las Palmas capitalized on Barcelona's push for a second goal, with Silva scoring the decisive goal in the 67th minute. Barcelona's anniversary celebrations were overshadowed by the loss, which also saw left-back Alejandro Balde injured early in the game and replaced by Gerard Martín. Atletico Madrid's Griezmann was hailed for his stunning performance in a 5-0 victory over Valladolid, where he scored one of the season’s best goals. Meanwhile, Espanyol ended its four-game losing streak with a 3-1 win over Celta, and Alaves drew 1-1 with Leganes. Source: With inputs from agencies  

When Joan Monfort took photos of Lionel Messi with a baby for a charity calendar almost 17 years ago, he knew the long-haired young man would make it big in soccer. He could not have imagined the little boy would as well. The baby in the photos — which have gone viral — was none other than Lamine Yamal, the Spanish wunderkind, who at 16 is showing such promise that he’s already being compared to the greats. The youngest to have played for Spain, he became the youngest player ever in the ongoing European Championship in Germany. Messi’s 109th goal leads defending champion Argentina over Canada 2-0 and into Copa America final One of the long-forgotten photos from 2007 resurfaced after Yamal’s father posted it on Instagram last week with the text “the beginning of two legends.” Monfort, 56, who works as a freelance photographer for The Associated Press and others, said the photo shoot took place in the visitors’ locker room at Barcelona’s Camp Nou in the autumn of 2007, when Yamal was just a few months old. Barcelona players posed with children and their families for a calendar as part of an annual charity drive by local newspaper Diario Sport and UNICEF. Monfort was in charge of the photo shoots — and it just so happened that Messi was paired with Yamal’s family. His mother, who is from Equatorial Guinea, is next to Messi and the baby in one of the photos. “We made the calendar with the help of UNICEF. So UNICEF did a raffle in the neighborhood of Roca Fonda in Mataró where Lamine’s family lived. They signed up for the raffle to have their picture taken at the Camp Nou with a Barca player. And they won the raffle,” Monfort said. It wasn’t an easy assignment, he recalled, mainly because Messi wasn’t sure how to interact with baby Lamine, who was in a plastic tub for the shoot. “Messi is a pretty introverted guy, he’s shy,” Monfort said. “He was coming out of the locker room and suddenly he finds himself in another locker room with a plastic tub full of water and a baby in it. It was complicated. He didn’t even know how to hold him at first.” Messi was 20 at the time and already considered a big talent, but it would take a couple of years before he made his mark as the most outstanding player of his generation for Barcelona and Argentina. Sr. Division Football : Mohakhali Ekadosh beat Bangladesh Boys by 1-0 goal Like Messi, Yamal has gone through Barcelona’s renowned La Masia youth academy. Despite his age, he’s been one of Spain’s best players at Euro 2024, where his team will play France in the semifinals on Tuesday. Yamal will turn 17 on Saturday, the day before the final in Berlin. Monfort, 56, had no idea it was Yamal in those photos from 2007 until a friend messaged him as they started trending online. He’s had a long career as a sports photographer since 1991, following Barcelona around the world, but said he’s never experienced this level of excitement around any of his photos. “It’s very exciting to be associated with something that has caused such a sensation,” he said. “To tell you the truth it’s a very nice feeling.”

Lenovo is one of the most well-known brands when it comes to design and innovation. It’s the same company that brought the world’s first foldable laptop with the ThinkPad X1 Fold. This year, Lenovo took things a step further by unveiling the world’s first transparent laptop at the MWC (Mobile World Congress) 2024. Here’s what we know so far.  The Story So Far  This year, the trend seems to be transparent. Earlier, at the CES 2024, both Samsung and LG showcased transparent televisions as the future of in-house entertainment systems. LG went a notch up with a retractable black screen for a more ‘normalized’ viewing experience.  Keeping up with that, Lenovo brought a proof-of-concept product Project Crystal in the CES 2024. It was a Concept Laptop with a transparent display.  Read more: Samsung Galaxy Ring: Specs, Features, and Probable Release Date The completely transparent laptop, called ThinkBook, was finally displayed by Lenovo at the MWS2024 event in Barcelona.   Making Transparent Laptop a Reality Tom Butler, the executive director of Lenovo’s Worldwide Product Management division talked in detail about the new transparent laptop. The 17.3-inch laptop uses micro-LED technology to achieve the transparent look of the ThinkBook. Lenovo incorporated a 55% transparency on the display to make it optimally visible for both indoor and outdoor use. The display can churn out up to 1000 nits with the screen resolution standing at 720P.  Lenovo talked about the limitations of OLED and why they had to opt for a micro-LED solution. With the currently available tech, the R&D team couldn't push beyond 480P with an OLED panel. There’s also the limitation of transparency as the laptop cannot incorporate a black screen for absolute contrast.  Read more: OPPO Air Glass 3: What's Special About It A Paradigm Shift For the Future  With its current set of limitations, it is clear that Lenovo isn’t planning to release the ThinkBook as a mainstream laptop. Instead, the proof-of-concept product would see its feature trickle down to the mainstream product lineup over the next 5 years. 

Xavi Hernández won't continue as Barcelona's coach after this season, saying he can't get the team out of a slump. Xavi announced his decision on Saturday, minutes after Barcelona lost to Villarreal 5-3 in the Spanish league, leaving it 10 points adrift of leader Real Madrid. "I would like to announce that on June 30 I will cease being the coach of Barça," Xavi said. "As a Barcelona fan, I can't allow this situation to continue, we need a change of course and of dynamics." BPL Football: Both fixtures end goalless on Saturday Xavi said he made the decision "several days ago," and although the hard defeat to Villarreal set the scene for him to announce the decision, he "would have made" it soon enough. He said he hoped this decision will decrease the stress and tension his team is enduring. "The feeling of being the coach of Barcelona is cruel, it is unpleasant, you feel like you don't get the respect you deserve," Xavi said. "It wears you down, affects your mental health, your emotions, up to the point that you say you can't go on. My loved ones know that." Xavi returned to Barcelona as the coach in November 2021 with his only experience a stint in Qatar. He has a contract through the end of next season. The 44-year-old Xavi led Barcelona to the Spanish Super Cup title and the Spanish league title last season, the club's first trophies since the exit of Lionel Messi. The club mortgaged its future to help him do that by signing players like Robert Lewandowski. BPL Football: Holders Bashundhara Kings to play Dhaka Abahani Ltd in a titan battle on Friday But Barcelona has struggled this season and has shown severe signs of suffering a collapse this month. Barcelona saw its best two chances of getting a title in this campaign evaporate recently. Xavi's side exited the Copa del Rey quarterfinals after losing in extra time at Athletic Bilbao 4-2 on Wednesday, a loss that came two weeks after Barcelona was dismantled by Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup. After the Villarreal debacle Xavi said his players' lacked the "maturity" to know how to hold onto leads, and after the Bilbao loss he also underscored that he was playing with several young players. But that seemed at odds with the fact that his starting side was led with veterans like Lewandowski, Ilkay Gundogan and players in their prime like Pedri González and Frenkie de Jong. Federation Cup Football: Sheikh Jamal DC assure knock out stage outplaying Rahmatganj MFS 4-1 Barcelona is set to play Napoli in the Champions League round of 16 next month. Xavi said he was still motivated to lead the team at what is no doubt a long-shot bid at ending his stint with a European Cup.