Real Madrid

Real Madrid defender Dani Carvajal thought he was being clever. In the waning moments of a 6-0 victory over APOEL on Nov. 21, Carvajal decided to hold the ball instead of throwing it back into play. The referee didn’t like this time wasting and showed him a yellow card. It was Carvajal’s fifth yellow of the Champions League campaign, meaning he would be suspended for the Borussia Dortmund match, but he would be available for the knockout rounds, for which Real Madrid had already qualified. 

Cristiano Ronaldo has won the 2017 Ballon d'Or from France Football. It is his fifth such award. Ronaldo and Messi are now the only players with five Ballon d'Ors.

Ronaldo's exploits in 2017 include winning the Champions League and La Liga, as well as continuing to be the highest-scoring Champions League player of all time.

I don't think I can say anything about Christian Pulisic that hasn't already been said. The kid is good. Just ask Real Madrid.

Ronaldo will just keep scoring. This goal makes Ronaldo the only player in Champions League history to score during every group stage match. 

Ronaldo is the 1st player to score in all 6 #UCL group stage games.

And he did it in style. https://t.co/ZQ6Baf8Rop

“For f**k’s sake. Have you got nothing else to talk about?” was Neymar’s recent response when asked about wild speculation linking him with a transfer to Real Madrid. No, is now the Spanish media’s resounding answer.

Gareth Bale made his return from another injury layoff with an exquisite assist for Real Madrid, but goalkeeper Keylor Navas’ ricocheted blunder may have overshadowed Bale’s attempted heroics. Real Madrid drew 2-2 against Fuenlabrada in the second leg of their Copa del Rey Round of 32 match on Tuesday, advancing 4-2 on aggregate as the club’s (relative) struggles continued this season.

Lionel Messi and company look to be running away with La Liga. Heading into the Barcelona vs Valencia match on Sunday at the Mestalla, the Catalan club is unbeaten with 11 wins and one draw. Barcelona is sitting on 34 points, 10 ahead of both Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, the only other two clubs to have won La Liga in the past dozen years.