Spain

Atlético Madrid striker Luis Suárez has talked up his side's LaLiga title chances ahead of next week's showdown against former club Barcelona, saying his side's strong start to the campaign could give them an edge.

Atlético have won five of their first seven games and are the only unbeaten side in the top flight, while champions Real Madrid and Barça have already lost two games each. Real Sociedad are top of the standings with 20 points while Atlético are third on 17 but have two games in hand. Real Madrid are fourth, while Barça are eighth.

BASEL, Switzerland — Spain forward Gerard Moreno came off the bench to snatch a 1-1 draw away to Switzerland in the Nations League on Saturday after Sergio Ramos had missed two penalties.

Ramos, who also became the most capped European player of all time, had scored all of his previous 25 penalties but was thwarted when Yann Sommer guessed the right way and repelled his spot kick in the 58th minute to preserve his side's lead.

Arsenal captain Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has defended his goal celebrations that involve him wearing the masks of different superheroes after being criticised by Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos.

Speaking on his Einfach mal Luppen podcast, Germany international Kroos said this week that he was not a fan of the former Borussia Dortmund striker's celebrations and did not believe it was the behaviour of a good role model.

MADRID — Sergio Ramos is set to become the most capped European footballer of all time when Spain visit Switzerland in the Nations League on Saturday.

The Spain captain, who last year became his country's all-time appearance maker, is in line for a 177th match which will take him ahead of former Italy goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon as the continent's most capped player.

After a fire sale of players over the summer that was fiercely criticized by supporters and club greats, Valencia are braced for yet more departures, according to a report published by the LaLiga club with their accounts on Thursday.

This is not a kind goal from Valencia’s Flor Bonsegundo. 

As a 27-year-old Argentine, the obvious inclination is to say this is Lionel Messi-esque. But truthfully this is maybe more Ronaldo Luís Nazário de Lima, except Ronaldo always used his remarkable pace to round the keeper — he rarely finished with a delicate chip like this.

So really all you can say is this is a Flor Bonsegundo goal. 

We’ve never seen a player dice someone to the floor, play a pass to themselves through two defenders and then finish in this manner. QUÉ HACE. 

The rise of Sergiño Dest has been meteoric. After all, it’s only been 459 days since he made his league debut with Ajax and 380 since he committed his international future to the USMNT. 

But this is a 20-year-old who forced his way into the starting 11 of a title-winning Ajax side before convincing Barcelona to part with $25 million. And early returns in Catalonia have been good — Dest was arguably Barça’s best player in El Clásico. 

MADRID — Real Madrid and Germany player Toni Kroos has taken a swipe at FIFA and UEFA, claiming the world and European organising bodies are treating players like "puppets" by expanding tournaments and creating new competitions.

Kroos criticised the creation of the UEFA Nations League in 2018, which he competes in with Germany, as well as FIFA's expanded Club World Cup, which was set to take place in 2021 before being postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

MADRID — Real Madrid and Serbia forward Luka Jovic has agreed to pay a fine in exchange for a six-month jail sentence after flouting Serbian's COVID-19 restrictions, according to a court statement.

The court said the striker, 22, has been ordered to pay a fine of 3.5 million Serbian dinar, equivalent to around 30,000 euros or $35,000 USD, within a month in order to avoid prison.