The Week that was (in Football (Soccer)): Review of the top Leagues in Europe-part 21 (Week of August 28-September 3, 2018)-part 1

Note:

The purpose of this section is to summarize the week in question, it is not meant to give a full statistical analysis of the matches.

We live in a viral age and all that information can be accessed.

I welcome all contributions from anyone, even for the Leagues that I did not cover.

I.  England

Diary:

Tuesday, August 28, 2018:

-Leicester and England International Jamie Vardy has announced his International retirement. (Source Sky Sports Online)

Wednesday, August 29, 2018:

-Chelsea and England International Gary Cahill has announced his International retirement.  (Source BBC Football online)

-The agent of Yaya Toure stated that his client had passed a medical in London but did not specify for which club.  (Source Calciomercato online)

-Cardiff’s Nathaniel Mendez-Laing has suffered a knee injury and will be out for months. (Source Reuters UK Online)

-French defender Kurt Zouma (currently on loan at Everton) expressed his desire to return to parent club Chelse and prove himself. (Source The Guardian Online)

Thursday, August 30, 2018:

-The Welsh Association has held talks for a potential joint Home Nations bid for the 2030 World Cup.  (Source BBC Football online)

-England Manager Gareth Southagte has named his squad for the upcoming Matches against Spain and Switzerland. (Source BBC Football online)

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Jack Butland (Stoke), Jordan Pickford (Everton), Alex McCarthy (Southampton)

Defenders: Trent Alexander-Arnold (Liverpool), Fabian Delph (Manchester City), Joe Gomez (Liverpool), Harry Maguire (Leicester City) Danny Rose (Tottenham Hotspur), Luke Shaw (Manchester United), John Stones (Manchester City), James Tarkowski (Burnley), Kieran Trippier (Tottenham Hotspur), Kyle Walker (Manchester City)

Midfielders: Dele Alli (Tottenham Hotspur), Eric Dier (Tottenham Hotspur), Jordan Henderson (Liverpool), Adam Lallana (Liverpool), Jesse Lingard (Manchester United), Ruben Loftus-Cheek (Chelsea)

Forwards: Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur), Marcus Rashford (Manchester United), Raheem Sterling (Manchester City), Danny Welbeck (Arsenal)

-Sam Allardyce has attacked the English FA after an investigation on Daily Telegraph’s allegations that led his dismissal as England Manager fiund inaccuracies.  (Source Reuters UK online)

-Despite Jose Mourinho’s misgivings, Manchester United are set to offer a new contract to striker Anthony Martial. (Source Daily Telegraph online)

-Former Australian star Harry Kewell has been appointed as the new Manager of Notts County. (Source L’Equipe online)

Friday, August 31, 2018:

-England U-21 Manager Aidy Boothroyd has named his squad for the upcoming Matches against Holland and Latvia. (Source Sky Sports online)

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Angus Gunn (Southampton), Dean Henderson (Sheffield United, on loan from Manchester United), Freddie Woodman (Newcastle United)

Defenders: Ben Chilwell (Leicester City), Jake Clarke-Salter (Vitesse Arnhem, on loan from Chelsea), Dael Fry (Middlesbrough), Jonjoe Kenny (Everton), Ezri Konsa (Brentford), Fikayo Tomori (Derby County, on loan from Chelsea), Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Crystal Palace), Kyle Walker-Peters (Tottenham Hotspur)

Midfielders: Lewis Cook (Bournemouth), Tom Davies (Everton), Kieran Dowell (Everton), Mason Mount (Derby County, on loan from Chelsea), Josh Onomah (Tottenham Hotspur), Ryan Sessegnon (Fulham)

Forwards: Tammy Abraham (Chelsea), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton), Demarai Gray (Leicester City), Ademola Lookman (Everton), James Maddison (Leicester City), Dominic Solanke (Liverpool)

- Liverpool Manager Jurgen Klopp criticized back-up goalkeeper Simon Mignolet’s recent outburst about his situation. He said ‘there are worst things in life than being number 2 at Liverpool’. (Source Footnews.be Online)

-Manchester United Manager Jose Mourinho stated that he remains as “one of the greatest managers in the World.” He also reminded that he has won eight titles and the only Manager to win titles in Italy, Spain and England. (Source Reuters UK online)

Saturday, September 1, 2018:

-Tottenham’s South Korean forward Son Heung-min received Military Service exemption following South Korea’s victory on the Finals of the Asian Games (2-1 win over Japan). (Source Reuters UK online)

-The proposed transfer of Liverpool’s Lazar Markovic to Anderlecht fell through due to wage demands. (Source Transfer Market Web Online)

Sunday, September 2, 2018:

-There are reports that Paul Pogba has informed Manchester United that he would like to transfer to Juventus in Jnauary. (Source Football Italia online)

-There are reports that Manchester United were willing to sign Cristiano Ronaldo but Joe Mourinho was opposed to the deal and wanted the money spent on defenders. (Source Daily Mail online)

Monday, September 3, 2018:

-Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah, Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric have been shortlisted as FIFA’s player of the year award. (Source Sky Sports online)

-Jose Mourinho has denied that Cristiano Ronalod had been offered to Manchester United as mentioned in some reports. (Source Football Italia online)

-Dimitar Berbatov has revealed that in 2008, Manchester City had tried to sign him, but he told his agent “F$%& Off, we’re going to Manchester United.”. (Source Daily Mail online)

-Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford has apologized to the fans for his sending off yeaterday in the match against Burnely after a headbutt incident. (Source Vivao News online)

-Raheem Sterling has withdrawn from the England squad due to a back problem. No replacement will be called up. (Source BBC Football online)

Photo From: L’Equipe, August 27, 2018

(Jose Mourinho)

Transfers
Date	Player	Position	From	To	Type	Online Source
August 28, 2018	Jordan Graham	Winger	Wolverhampton Wanderers	Ipswich	Loan	The Guardian
August 30, 2018	Sam McQueen	Midfielder	Southampton	Middlesbrough	Loan	The Guardian
August 30, 2018	Mark Walters	Striker	Burnley	Ipswich	Purchase	The 42.ie
August 30, 2018	Izzy Brown	Midfielder	Chelsea	Leeds	Loan	Sky Sports
August 30, 2018	Jake Flannigan	Midfielder	Southampton	Burton Albion	Loan until January 2, 2019	Sky Sports
August 30, 2018	Jake Flannigan	Midfielder	Southampton	Burton Albion	Loan until January 2, 2019	Sky Sports
August 30, 2018	Josh Cullen	Midfielder	West Ham	Charlton	Loan	Sky Sports
August 30, 2018	Ike Ugbo	Striker	Chelsea	Scunthorpe	Loan	The Guardian
August 31, 2018	Bradley Collins	Goalkeeper	Chelsea	Burton Albion	Loan	Maisfutebol
August 31, 2018	Tammy Abraham	Striker	Chelsea	Aston Villa	Loan	vi.nl
August 31, 2018	Josh Onomah	Midfielder	Tottenham	Sheffield Wednesday	Loan	vi.nl
August 31, 2018	Jayden Braaf (15-year-old)	-	PSV Eindhoven	Manchester City	Purchase	vi.nl
August 31, 2018	Corey Whelan (Republic of Ireland)	Defender	Liverpool	Crewe Alexandria	Loan	The42.ie
August 31, 2018	Matt Worthington	Midfielder	Bournemouth	Forest Green	Loan	The Guardian
August 31, 2018	Mike-Steven Bahre	Midfielder	Hannover	Barnsley	Loan	The Guardian
August 31, 2018	Joe Mason	Striker	Wolves	Portsmouth	Loan	The Guardian
August 31, 2018	Danny Bath	Defender	Wolves	Middlesbrough	Loan	The Guardian
August 31, 2018	Matthew Penington	Defender	Everton	Ipswich	Loan	The Guardian
August 31, 2018	Michael Hector	Defender	Chelsea	Sheffield Wednesday	Loan	The Guardian
August 31, 2018	Luke Charman	Striker	Newcastle	Accrington	Loan	The Guardian
August 31, 2018	Dan Barlaser	Midfielder	Newcastle	Accrington	Loan	The Guardian
August 31, 2018	Connor Ogilvie	Defender	Tottenham	Gillingham	Loan	The Guardian
August 31, 2018	Ritchie Towell	Midfielder	Brighton	Rotherham	Loan	The Guardian
August 31, 2018	Saidy Janko (Switzerland)	Defender	Porto	Nottingham Forest	Loan	A Bola

Contract Extensions
Date	Player	Position	Club	Expiration Year	Online Source
August 30, 2018	Sheyi Ojo	Winger	Liverpool	?	Sky Sports
August 30, 2018	Caoimhim Kelleher	Goalkeeper	Liverpool	?	Sky Sports
August 31, 2018	John Ruddy	Goalkeeper	Wolves	2020	Maisfutebol
August 31, 2018	Kasper Schmeichel	Goalkeeper	Leicester	2023	Sky Sports
September 3, 2018	Jordan Henderson	Midfielder	Liverpool	2023	ITV Sport

English EFL Cup (August 28-August 29, 2018):

Tuesday, August 28, 2018:

Swansea 0-Crystal Palace 1 (Alexander Soerloth 70)

Bournemouth 3-MK Dons 0 (Lys Mousset 15, Ryan Fraser 37, Jordon Ibe 90)

Wimbledon 1-West Ham 3 (Joe Pigott 2 / Issa Diop 63, 83, Javier Hernandez 90)

Blackburn 4-Lincoln 1 (Josep Nuttall 5, Daniel Graham 50, Paul Downing 61, Kasey palmer 77 / Joan Luque 28)

Brentford 1-Cheltenham 0 (Julian jeanvier 40)

Brighton 0-Southampton 1 (Charlie Austin 88)

Burton 1-Aston Villa 0 (Liam Boyce 52)

Cardiff 1-Norwich 3 (Bruno Ecuele Manga 77 / Dennis Srbeny 25, 64, M. James Aarons 69)

Doncaster 1-Blackpool 2 (Alfie May 23 / Miachael Nottingham 38, Harry Pritchard 60)

Fulham 2-Exeter 0 (Aboubakar Kamra 4, 48)

Hull 0-Derby 4 (Martyn Waghorn 25, Florian Jozefsoon 39, Brandon Fleming (own goal) 73, Mason Mount 89)

Leeds 0-Preston NE 2 (Daniel Johnson 2 pen, Brandon Barker 45)

Leicester 4-Fleetwood 0 (Christian Fuchs 8, Vicnete Iborra 39, Kelechi Iheanacho 46, Rachid Ghezzal 71)

Middlesbrough 2-Rochdale 1 (Marvin Johnson 37, Jordan Hugill 54 / Ryan Delaney 83)

Newport 0-Oxford 3 (Mickey Demetriou (own goal) 2, Shandon Baptiste 4, Gavin Whyte 90)

QPR 3-Bristol Rovers 1 (Bright Osayi-Samuel 4, Pawel Wszolek 18, Matt Smith 64 / Osman Kakay (own goal) 88)

Sheffield Wednesday 0-Wolverhampton 2 (Leo Bonatini 53, Helder Costa 85 pen)

Walsall 3-Macclesfield 3 (Kieron Morris 33, Andy Cook 63, Josh Gordon 64 / Jamie Grimes 10, Harry Smith 25, Tyrone Marsh 90)

Wycombe 3-Forest Green Rovers 2 (Scott Kshket 5, Anthony Stewart 74 / Dayle Grubb 57, Carl Winchester 86)

Stoke 2-Huddersfield 0 (Saido Berahino 53, Juninhi Bacuna (own goal) 90)

WBA 2-Mansfield 1 (Jonathan Leko 26, Kyle Edwards 75 / Neil Bishop 69)

Wednesday, August 29, 2018:

Everton 3-Rotherham 1 (Gylfi Sigurdsson 28, D. Calvert-Lewin 61, 87 / Will Vaulks 86)

Milwall 2-Plymouth Argyle 2 (Shaun Williams 64 pen, Lee Gregory 83, Aiden O’Brien 89 / Jamie Nes 41, Freddie Ladapo 67)

Notingham Forest 3-Newcastle 1 (Daryl Murphy 2, matty Cash 90, Gil Dias 90 / J. Salomon Rondon 90)

Reading 0-Watford 2 (Isaac Success 36, Quina 62)

English teams in Europa League Play-offs, First Leg (August 30, 2018):

Thursday, August 30, 2018:

 Burnley 1- Olympiakos 1 (Matej Vydra 86 / Daniel Podence 83)

English Premier League Matchday (September 1-September 2, 2018):

Saturday, September 1, 2018:

Leicester 1-Liverpool 2 (Rachid Ghezzal 63 / Sadio Mane 10, Roberto Firmino 45)

Brighton 2-Fulham 2 (Glenn Murray 67, 84 pen / Andre Schurrle 43, Aleksadar Mitrovic 62)

Chelsea 2-Bournemouth 0 (Pedro 72, Eden Hazard 85)

Crysta Palace 0-Southampton 2 (Danny Ings 47, Pierre Hojbjerb 90)

Everton 1-Huddersfield 1 (D.Calvert-Lewin 36 / Philip Billing 34)

West Ham 0-Wolves 1 (Adama Traore 90)

Manchester City 2-Newcastle 1 (Raheem Sterling 8, Kyle Walker 52 / DeAndre Yedlin 30)

Sunday, September 2, 2018:

Cardiff 2-Arsenal 3 (Victor Camarasa 45, Danny Ward 70 / Shkodran Mustafi 11, Pierre-Erick Aubameyang 62, Alexandre Lacazette 81)

Burnley 0-Manchester United 2 (Romelu Lukaku 27, 44)

Watford 2-Tottenham 1 (Troy Deeney 69, Craig Cathcart 76 / Abdoulaye Doucoure (own goal) 53)

Top Goalscorer:

Sadio Mane (Liverpool) 4 goals

Aleksandar Mitrovic (Fulham) 4 goals

Table	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Liverpool	4	4	0	0	9	1	8	12
2	Chelsea	4	4	0	0	10	3	7	12
3	Watford	4	4	0	0	9	3	6	12
4	Manchester City	4	3	1	0	11	3	8	10
5	Tottenham	4	3	0	1	9	4	5	9
6	Bournemouth	4	2	1	1	6	5	1	7

P-Played, W-Win, D-Draw, L-Loss, GF-Goals For, GA-Goals Against, GD-Goal Difference, Pts-Point

II.  Italy

Diary:

Tuesday, August 28, 2018:

-Cristiano Ronaldo’s bicycle kick goal vs. Juventus in last season’s CL has been voted as UEFA’s goal of the year. (Source L’Equipe online)

-Roma Sports Director Monchi has denied Kevin Strootman’s claim that he was sold to OM by the club. Monchi said the decision was made together an dno one ‘held a gun to his head’. (Source Football Italia online)

- Rimini have become the first ever team to be acquired by Bitcoin . (Source Football Italia online)

Wednesday, August 29, 2018:

-Napoli have turned down an offer from galatasaray for Romanian defender Vlad Chiriches. (Source Transfer Market Web online)

-Udinese’s Rolando Mandragora has been given a one-match following television evidence of blasphemy in their match vs. Sampdoria. (Source Goal.com online)

Thursday, August 30, 2018:

-Christian Vieri has attacked former Inter President Massimo Moratti, sayihg he is “worth nothing”. (Source Calciomercato online)

-Roma Manager Eusebio Di Francesco stated that Kevin Strootman wanted to leave Roma. (Source Football Italia online)

-Former Inter and Brazil star Adriano has revealed that during his time at Inter he was ‘always drunk’ in the morning training sessions. He explained the death of his father had affected him that he fell into alcoholism. (Source Football Italia online)

-Cristiano Ronaldo was voted as the striker of the year by UEFA. (Source RTBF.be online)

-Jorge Mendes, Criatiano Ronaldo’s agent, called the decision to award the UEFA player to the year to Modric instead of Ronaldo was ‘ridiculous’ (Source Calciomercato online)

Friday, August 31, 2018:

-Paolo Maldini stated that UEFA ‘needs’ Milan and that it is ‘absurd’ for the club to prioritize one competition over another. (Source Football Italia online)

-Italy U-21 Manager Luig Di Biagio has named his squad for the upcoming Matches against Slovakia and Albania. (Source Footabll Italia online)

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Emil Audero (Sampdoria), Lorenzo Montipò (Benevento), Simone Scuffet (Udinese)

Defenders: Claud Adjapong (Sassuolo), Alessandro Bastoni (Parma), Davide Calabria (Milan), Fabio Depaoli (Chievo Verona), Federico Dimarco (Parma), Sebastiano Luperto (Napoli), Gianluca Mancini (Atalanta), Riccardo Marchizza (Crotone), Giuseppe Pezzella (Udinese), Filippo Romagna (Cagliari)

Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Cagliari), Francesco Cassata (Frosinone), Manuel Locatelli (Sassuolo), Rolando Mandragora (Udinese), Alessandro Murgia (Lazio), Matteo Pessina (Atalanta), Sandro Tonali (Brescia), Luca Valzania (Atalanta)

Forwards: Federico Bonazzoli (Padova), Alberto Cerri (Cagliari), Patrick Cutrone (Milan), Andrea Favilli (Genoa), Riccardo Orsolini (Bologna), Vittorio Parigini (Torino), Luca Vido (Perugia).

Saturday, September 1, 2018:

-Italy Manager Roberto Mancini has named his squad for the upcoming Matches against Poland and Portugal. (Source Troppo Azzuro online)

Squad:

Goalkeepers: Alessio Cragno (Cagliari), Gianluigi Donnarumma (Milan), Mattia Perin (Juventus), Salvatore Sirigu (Torino);

Defenders: Cristiano Biraghi (Fiorentina), Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus), Mattia Caldara (Milan), Giorgio Chiellini (Juventus), Domenico Criscito (Genoa), Emerson Palmieri Dos Santos (Chelsea), Manuel Lazzari (Spal), Alessio Romagnoli (Milan), Daniele Rugani (Juventus), Davide Zappacosta (Chelsea);

Midfielders: Nicolò Barella (Cagliari), Marco Benassi (Fiorentina), Bryan Cristante (Roma), Roberto Gagliardini (Inter), Jorginho (Chelsea), Lorenzo Pellegrini (Roma), Nicolo' Zaniolo (Roma);

Strikers: Mario Balotelli (Nizza), Andrea Belotti (Torino), Domenico Berardi (Sassuolo), Federico Bernardeschi (Juventus), Giacomo Bonaventura (Milan), Federico Chiesa (Fiorentina), Ciro Immobile (Lazio), Lorenzo Insigne (Napoli), Pietro Pellegri (Monaco), Simone Zaza (Torino);

-Nicolo Zaniolo became thenfourth player in the history of the Italian national team to get a call-up before making his Serie A debut. (the others: Raffaele Costantino (1929), Massimo Maccarone (2002) and Marco Verratti (2012)). (Source Football Italia online)

Sunday, September 2, 2018:

-

Monday, September 3, 2018:

-Alessandro Del Piero stated that Luka Modric deserved his UEFA player of the year award. He stated that he would also be angry in Cristiano Ronaldo’s place but not going to the gala ‘is something else’”. (Source Sportscity.us online)

-Former Italy Manager Giampiero Ventura stated that he stopped goig to IKEA after Italy’s elimination for the World Cup vs. Sweden. (Source Football Italia online)

-Italy Manager Roberto Mancini expressed concern over the lack of opportunities of Italian players in the Serie A. He said “we can’t take them all from the Under-21s”. (Source Football Italia online)

-Roma’s Aleksandar Loarov criticized Lazio’s Adam marusic for opting to represent Montenegro than Serbia even though he was born in Belgrade. (Source Calciomercato online)

-Pietro Pellegri (Monaco) has withdrawn from Italy squad due to an injury. (Source L’Equipe online)

Transfers
Date	Player	Position	From	To	Type	Online Source
August 30, 2018	Federico Marchesi	Winger	Lazio	Piacenza	Loan	The Guardian

Contract Extensions
Date	Player	Position	Club	Expiration Year	Online Source
August 31, 2018	Gian Piero Gasperini	Manager	Atalanta	2022	Football Italia
September 1, 2018	Klaidou Koulibaly (Senegal)	Defender	Napoli	2023	L’Equipe

Italian teams in Europa League Play-offs, First Leg (August 30, 2018):

Thursday, August 30, 2018:

 FC Copenhagen 0- Atalanta 0 (-) (penalty kick shoot-out 4-3)

Italian Serie A Matchday (September 1-September 2, 2018):

Friday, Augst 31, 2018:

AC Milan 2-Roma 1 (Franck Kesie 40, Patrick Cutrone 90 / Federico Fazio 59)

Saturday, September 1, 2018:

Bologna 0-Inter 3 (Radja Ninggolan 66, Antonio Candreva 82, Ivan Perisic 85)

Parma 1-Juventus 2 (Gervinho 33 / Mario Mandzukic 2, Blaise Matuidi 58)

Sunday, September 2, 2018:

Fiorentina 1-Udinese 0 (Marco Benassi 72)

Chievo 0-Empoli 0 (-)

Atalanta 0-Cagliari 1 (Nicolo Barella 45)

Torino 1-SPAL 0 (Nicolas N’Koulou 52)

Lazio 1-Frosinone 0 (Luis Alberto 49)

Sampdoria 3-Napoli 0 (Gregoire Defrel 11, 32, Fabio Quagliarella 75)

Sassuolo 5-Genoa 3 (Kevin prince Boateng 34, Pol Lirola 38, Khouma Babacar 41, Nicolas Spoli (own goal) 45, Gian Marco Ferrari 62 / Krzysztof Piatek 27, 83, Goran Pandev 70)

Top Goalscorer:

Marco Benassi (Fiorentina) 3 goals

Krzysztof Piatek (Genoa) 3 goals

Table	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Juventus	3	3	0	0	7	3	4	9
2	Sassuolo	3	2	1	0	8	5	3	7
3	Fiorentina	2	2	0	0	7	1	6	6
4	SPAL	3	2	0	1	2	1	1	6
5	Napoli	3	2	0	1	5	6	-1	6
6	Atalanta	3	1	1	1	7	4	3	4

P-Played, W-Win, D-Draw, L-Loss, GF-Goals For, GA-Goals Against, GD-Goal Difference, Pts-Point

III.  Spain

Diary:

Tuesday, August 28, 2018:

-Real Madrid have used their buy back option to re-sign Mariano Diaz from Lyon, after the player had apparently agreed to join Sevilla. (Source L’Equipe online)

-Former Brazil star Ronaldo is set to become owner of Real Valladolid. (Source L’Equipe online)

-Xabi Alonso has been appointed as Real Madrid’s Under-14 Manager. (Source AS.com online)

Wednesday, August 29, 2018:

-Real Sociedad’s Imanol Agirretxe has announced his retirement at the age of 31 due to continous injuries. (Source Maisfutebol online)

Thursday, August 30, 2018:

-Real Madrid’s Luka Modric has been voted as UEFA’s player of the year (as well as best Midfielder of the year).  (Source L’Equipe online)

- Real Madrid’s Keylor Navas and Sergio Ramos were voted as the goalkeeper and defender of the year by UEFA. (Source RTBF.be online)

Friday, August 31, 2018:

-Atletico Madrid’s Antoine Griezmann has been voted as Europa League’s player of the year. (Source L’Equipe online)

-The new Real Madrid signing Mariano has inherited Cristiano Ronaldo’s number 7 jersey. (Source AS.com online)

-Spain Manager Luis Enrique has named his squad for the upcoming Matches against England and Croatia. (Source Corriere dello Sport online)

Squad:

Goalkeepers (3): David de Gea (Manchester United/ENG), Kepa Arrizabalaga (Chelsea/ENG), Pau Lopez (Betis Séville)

Defenders (9): Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid), César Azpilicueta (Chelsea/ENG), Raul Albiol (Naples/ITA), Diego Llorente (Real Sociedad), Nacho (Real Madrid), Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid), Inigo Martinez (Athletic Bilbao), Marcos Alonso (Chelsea/ENG), José Luis Gaya (Valence)

Midfielders (6): Sergio Busquets (FC Barcelone), Sergi Roberto (FC Barcelone), Rodri (Atlético Madrid), Saul (Atlético Madrid), Thiago Alcantara (Bayern Munich/GER), Dani Ceballos (Real Madrid).

Strikers (6): Isco (Real Madrid), Marco Asensio (Real Madrid), Alvaro Morata (Chelsea/ENG), Diego Costa (Atlético Madrid), Suso (AC Milan/ITA), Rodrigo (Valence).

-Gerard Pique was arrested by the police for driving without a valid license.  (Source Marca.com online)

 Saturday, September 1, 2018:

-Croatia Manager Zlatko Dalic has called Cristiano Ronaldo an egoist following the outburst of CR7’s agent following Luka Modric’s win as UEFA player of the year.  (Source AS.com online)

Sunday, September 2, 2018:

-The Rayo Vallecano-Bilbao match was cancelled due to safety concerns at the stadium. The Rayo Vallecano fans took the opportunity to protest to call for the resignation of Club President Raul Martin Presa. (Source AS.com online)

Monday, September 3, 2018:

-Former Brazil star Ronaldo is the majority shareholder (515) at Real Valladolid. (Source BBC Football online)

-Diego Costa has withdrawn from Spain squad as his partner is due to give birth. He is replaced by Iago Aspas (Celta) in the squad. (Source Sky Sports online)

Transfers
Date	Player	Position	From	To	Type	Online Source
August 28, 2018	Goncalo Guedes (Portugal)	Striker	PSG	Valencia	Permanent basis	Sky Sports
August 28, 2018	Mariano Diaz	Striker	Lyon	Real Madrid	Buy Back option	L’Equipe
August 28, 2018	Seydou Doumbia	Striker	Sporting CP	Girona	Purchase	L’Equipe
August 28, 2018	Danny Blum	Midfielder	Eintracht Frankfurt	Las Palmas	Purchase	L’Equipe
August 28, 2018	Marco Boriello (Italy)	Striker	SPAL	Ibiza	Purchase	Walfoot.be
August 28, 2019	Ivan Lopez	Defender	Levante	Gimnastic	Loan	The Guardian
August 29, 2018	Aleksandar Jovanovic (Serbia)	Goalkeeper	Aarhus	Huesca	Purchase	Marca.com
August 30, 2018	Giannelli Imbula	Midfielder	Stoke	Rayo Vallecano	Loan	Sky Sports
August 30, 2018	Marco Borriello (Italy)	Striker	SPAL	Ibiza	Purchase	L’Equipe
August 30, 2018	Pablo De Blasis (Argentina)	Midfielder	Mainz	Eibar	Purchase	Sport Bild
August 30, 2018	Yoel Rodriguez	Goalkeeper	Eibar	Real Sociedad	Loan	L’Equipe
August 30, 2018	Roberto Rosales (Venezuela)	Defender	Malaga	Espanyol	Loan	L’Equipe
August 30, 2018	Sandro Ramirez (Spain)	Striker	Everton	Real Sociedad	Loan	BBC Football
August 30, 2018	Quincy Promes (Holland)	Winger	Spartak Moscow	Sevilla	Purchase	L’Equipe
August 31, 2018	Jose Luis Rodriguez (Panama)	Midfielder	Gent	Alaves	Purchase	Walfoot.be
August 31, 2018	Marc Cucurella	-	Barcelona	Eibar	Loan	Marca.com
August 31, 2018	Giovani Lo Celso (Argentina)	Midfielder	PSG	Betis	Loan	Sport Bild
August 31, 2018	Douglas Luiz (Brazil)	Midfielder	Manchester City	Girona	Loan	Maisfutebol
August 31, 2018	Bebe (Portugal)	Winger	Eibar	Rayo Vallecano	Purchase	L’Equipe
August 31, 2018	Joaquin Fernandez	Defender	Almeria	Valladolid	Purchase	L’Equipe
August 31, 2018	Borja Mayoral	Striker	Real Madrid	Levante	Loan	L’Equipe
August 31, 2018	Borja Mayoral	Striker	Real Madrid	Levante	Loan	L’Equipe
August 31, 2018	Sebastian Cristoforo (Uruguay)	Midfielder	Fiorentina	Getafe	Loan	L’Equipe
August 31, 2018	Stole Dimitrievski	Goalkeeper	Gimnastic	Rayo Vallecano	Loan	The Guardian
August 31, 2018	Sabin Merino	Winger	Bilbao	Leganes	Loan	The Guardian
August 31, 2018	Recio	Midfielder	Malga	Leganes	Purchase	The Guardian
August 31, 2018	Esteban Saveljich	Defender	Levante	Almeria	Loan	The Guardian
August 31, 2018	David Timor	-	Girona	Las Palmas	Purchase	The Guardian
August 31, 2018	Baby	-	Eibar	Rayo Vallecano	Permanent basis	A Bola

Spanish teams in Europa League Play-offs, First Leg (August 30, 2018):

Thursday, August 30, 2018:

 Sevilla 3- Sigma Olomouc 0 (Maxime Gonalons 21, Martin Nespor (own goal) 26, Wissam Ben Yedder 75)

Spanish La Liga Matchday (August 31-September 2, 2018):

Friday, August 31, 2018:

Getafe 0-Valladolid 0 (-)

Eibar 2–Real Sociedad 1 (Marc Cardona 26, Charles 90 / William Jose 15 pen)

Villareal 0-Girona 1 (Cristhian Stuani 54)

Saturday, September 1, 2018:

Celta 2-Atletico Madrid 0 (Maxi Gomez 46, Iago Aspas 52)

Rayo Vallecano -Bilbao (Postponed)

Real Madrid 4-Leganes 1 (Gareth Bale 17, Karim Benzema 48, 61, Sergio Ramos 66 pen / Guido Carrillo 24 pen)

Sunday, September 2, 2018:

Levante 2-Valencia 2 (Roger Marti 13,33 / Denis Cheryshev 16, Dani Parejo 52 pen)

Alaves 2-Espanyol 1 (Borja Baston 57, Ruben Sobrino 59 / Leo Baptistao 42 pen)

Barcelona 8-Huesca 2 (Lionel Messi 16, 61, Jorge Pulido (own goal) 24, Luis Suarez 39, 90 pen, Ousmane Dembele 48, Ivan Rakitic 52, Jordi Alba 81 / J. Camilo Hernandez 3, Alex Gallar 42)

Betis 1-Sevilla 0 (Joaquin 80)

Top Goalscorer:

Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) 4 goals

Lionel Messi (Barcelona) 4 goals

Table	Team	P	W	D	L	GF	GA	GD	Pts
1	Barcelona	3	3	0	0	12	2	10	9
2	Real Madrid	3	3	0	0	10	2	8	9
3	Celta	3	2	1	0	5	2	3	7
4	Levante	3	1	1	1	6	4	2	4
5	Sevilla	3	1	1	1	4	2	2	4
6	Bilbao	2	1	1	0	4	3	1	4

P-Played, W-Win, D-Draw, L-Loss, GF-Goals For, GA-Goals Against, GD-Goal Difference, Pts-Point