Attack is the best form of defence Barcelona skipper Carlos Puyol got momentarily confused during last night's match against Valencia and thought he was his FIFA 12 alter ego being controlled by a fearless seven-year-old. The veteran stormed out of defence and threw two outrageous roulettes to beat two defenders!

La Liga
Barcelona 1:2 Real Madrid
Real Madrid took a decisive lead in the Spanish title race this evening and silenced the 99,000 of the Camp Nou with a 2-1 victory over Barcelona.
Cristiano Ronaldo eclipsed Lionel Messi by scoring the winner in the 72nd minute, which leaves Barça seven points adrift with only four matches to play.

Impossible? I think not.

Prepare for glory.

Team sheets
FC Barcelona
Valdés, Piqué, Mascherano, Puyol, Busi, Xavi, Cesc, Cuenca, Messi, Iniesta, Alexis. Bench: Pinto Alves Thiago Keita Adriano Tello Pedro.

Chelsea
Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Cole, Mikel, Lampard, Mata, Meireles, Ramires, Drogba.

It is normally England that are desperately hoping one of their star players are fit for a major tournament. Whether it be David Beckham, Michael Owen or Wayne Rooney, there has always been something to worry about.

This year though, those over at http://euro2012onlinebetting.com/spain note how it is reining European Champions Spain that are sweating on the fitness of their star striker David Villa.

Fans of football hardmen and stationery alike, you're going to love this video. Barcelona skipper Carlos Puyol was ordered off the pitch with blood coming from a gash on his head during his side's win over Real Zaragoza. He was not going to be kept out of action for too long though. Puyol took a [...

Revenge is at hand.

Team sheets
Chelsea
Cech, Ivanovic, Cahill, Terry, Cole, Lampard, Mikel, Meireles, Ramires, Mata, Drogba. Bench: Turnbull, Essien, Malouda, Bosingwa, Torres, Kalou, Sturridge.

Barcelona
Valdés, Alves, Puyol, Mascherano, Adriano, Busquets, Xavi, Iniesta, Cesc, Messi, Sanchez.

By Alan Duffy

Has John Terry had his beloved captain's armband tattooed onto his body?

Roberto Di Matteo's plan to keep Lionel Messi subdued at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday night came up trumps, with both Barcelona and the Argentine imp failing to get on the scoresheet.

Kids in Spanish schools get taught that England grinds to a halt every mid-afternoon while we all tuck into some cucumber sandwiches. Carlos Puyol found out in the hardest way that the image of the stereotypical English gentlemen isn't all it's cracked up to be: he came face-to-face with John Terry. Noting that Puyol was [.

1. It's not very often that you can celebrate a first-leg win, but you can forgive Chelsea for enjoying this one. 2. Didier Drogba is back to his best... and worst. The goal-scoring hero seems to believe his recent good form has earnt him the right to spend prolonged periods in a horizontal position once [.

Dealing with suspected fractures Step 1: Recognition and treatment Look for swelling. If you spot any, try prodding the victim or squeezing the swollen area. Listen for a grating noise. If this turns out to be Ashley Cole thinking aloud about opening contract negotiations, please ignore. Be aware of shock.

Didier Drogba's various ailments held up play for 6mins 30secs during Chelsea's Champions League semi-final first-leg against Barcelona. The great stat has been dug up by the Daily Mail. They have clocked all the time the Ivorian spent rolling around the ground. And it turns out that it was a very effective way of running [.

By Chris Wright

The Daily Mail have busied themselves by totting up the total amount of time Didier Drogba spent screaming in anguish with his face mashed into the spittle-infused turf at Stamford Bridge against Barcelona on Tuesday evening.

Here's the scores on the doors.

A second half Cristiano Ronaldo goal was the difference as Real Madrid defeated Barcelona in another edition of the El Clasico.

The match started out with Real Madrid getting the better chances and able to take an early lead. The goal was scored by Sami Khedira in the 17th minute as he pounced on a rebound in front of goal before Carlos Puyol could clear it.

Mighty big match in Spain tomorrow. Just thought you should know.

The CO hasn't been one for polls recently. As you've probably noticed, we did away with our match of the day polling, which at one point was a mainstay. It had run its course, I think, though we're always up to bringing it back if there's demand.

Spanish newspaper Sport have been forced to change their front page splash after using a photo that appeared to show Barcelona skipper Carlos Puyol in a very compromising position with midfield star Xavi. A slight change of photo and suddenly the cover isn't anywhere near as controversial! Via 101GG

After Dani Alves and Thiago Alcantara combined to help Barcelona thump Rayo Vallecano they were feeling rather pleased with themselves. So pleased, in fact, that they couldn't contain the samba rhythm within them. But their impromptu dance class was brought to a premature end when His Curly Highness Carlos Puyol decreed that this was not [.

A big blow for Spain heading into this summer's European Championship as Barcelona announced today that Carlos Puyol has a knee injury that requires arthroscopic surgery.

"After tests were conducted it was decided the player would have arthroscopic surgery next Saturday, May 12," Barcelona said in a statement on their website.

Spain cruised to a comfortable win over Serbia in a friendly on Saturday, May 26, 2012.

With the Copa del Rey final on Friday, Spain were without any players from Athletic Bilbao and Barcelona. Despite not being at full strength, Barcelona would get second half goals from Adrian (64th minute) and Santi Cazorla (75th minute) to win the match.

A total of 19 of the 23 players announced for the Spanish squad for the forthcoming Euro 2012 Championship were involved in the 2010 World Cup winning squad and 12 of them, part of the 2008 European Championship winning squad. Add to that, 11 of the 23 play for either Barcelona or Real Madrid and it difficult to argue that this is anything other than a team of winners and it is difficult to see Vicente del Bosque's losing that winning habit in Poland and the Ukraine.

A total of 19 of the 23 players announced for the Spanish squad for the forthcoming Euro 2012 Championship were involved in the 2010 World Cup winning squad and 12 of them, part of the 2008 European Championship winning squad. Add to that, 11 of the 23 play for either Barcelona or Real Madrid and it difficult to argue that this is anything other than a team of winners and it is difficult to see Vicente del Bosque's losing that winning habit in Poland and the Ukraine.