Barcelona suffered a potentially costly slip-up ahead of Wednesday s Clasico as they were held to a 2-2 draw at Real Sociedad.

Luis Suarez scored one goal and made another as Ernesto Valverde s men, who had won their previous six games in all competitions, came from behind to lead at Anoeta.

However, Alexander Isak s 62nd-minute strike earned fourth-placed Sociedad a deserved share of the spoils, meaning Real Madrid now have the chance to move two points clear at the top of LaLiga with victory at Valencia on Sunday.

Barca could have few complaints about their failure to win, having been outplayed for large parts of an entertaining contest, and the champions will know they must deliver an improved display against Madrid in their next match.

FULL-TIME

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Manchester City have joined the race to sign former Chelsea striker Didier Drogba, .

The Ivory Coast international, who is currently without a club, has been strongly linked with a return to Stamford Bridge though his former employees are now set to face competition from the Premier League champions.

City manager Manuel Pellegrini is keen on bringing in a new striker having learnt that he will be without Alvaro Negredo for four months after the Spain international picked up a metatarsal injury.

Drogba hit a hundred Premier League goals during an eight year spell with Chelsea, with another fifty-seven coming in other competitions.

He won ten major honours with the London club, including three Premier League titles, four FA Cups and the Champions Lea…

Roberto Martinez has told Thomas Tuchel that Anthony Barry will remain part of Portugal s coaching staff even if he swaps Chelsea for Bayern Munich.

Tuchel revealed at Saturday s unveiling as Bayern s new head coach that he is hoping to add Barry, who he worked with at Chelsea, as one of his assistants.

Highly regarded Barry has also spent the past year working alongside Martinez at international level, first with the Belgium national side and now Portugal.

And regardless of whether the 36-year-old stays at Stamford Bridge or joins Tuchel in Germany, Martinez expects him to remain as part of his own coaching set-up.

I ve been with Anthony for many years. What happens in international football has nothing to do with club football, Martinez said. If there…

The Confederation of Africa Football (CAF) has named Togo international Emmanuel Adebayor and Michael Essien of Ghana in a final short list for the 2008 CAF African Player of the Year Award.

Egypt s Mohamed Aboutrika, who won the Africa Cup of Nations and the CAF Champions League last year, is the other nominee.

The awards ceremony will take place in Lagos on February 10.

In other categories Egypt, Cameroon and Nigeria are in the running for the National Team Award while Al Ahly of Egypt will jostle for the Club of the Year along with Tunisia s Club Sportive Sfaxien and Cotonsport of Cameroon.

Chelsea s Ivorian striker Salomon Kalou, Cameroon s Stephane Mbia of Rennes and Nigeria s Victor Nsofor, who plays for Inter Milan, will contest for the Young Play…

Jurgen Klopp is winning over Dietmar Hamann but the former Liverpool midfielder still thinks his fellow German cannot be considered a success at Anfield until he wins a trophy.

Hamann questioned the tactical nous of Klopp s Liverpool after the 2016-17 season, when they edged Arsenal to the final Champions League qualification spot after losing in the EFL Cup semi-finals against Southampton.

The Reds look nailed on to finish in the top four this season, with the chance of taking second still a possibility, and head into Tuesday s Champions League quarter-final second leg against Manchester City with a 3-0 advantage.

Liverpool s consistency has impressed Hamann, who, speaking at an event organised by One Family and the Ian Rush Foundation, offered a more positive r…

Arturo Vidal felt Alexis Sanchez needed his goal for Chile against Japan after a difficult season with Manchester United.

Sanchez scored his first goal since January as the two-time defending Copa America champions beat Japan 4-0 in Sao Paulo on Monday.

The Manchester United attacker headed in a cross from Charles Aranguiz in the 82nd minute before setting up Eduardo Vargas a minute later.

Vidal said the goal was just what Sanchez, who netted twice in 27 games for United in 2018-19, needed.

Alexis needed the goal. He had a difficult year and this gives him confidence, the midfielder said.

 EN VIVO

 ¡FINAAAAAAAAL EN MORUMBI!

Nuestros bicampeones demostraron todo el talento y se llevaron los primeros tres puntos en la

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Chelsea were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw by Schalke at Stamford Bridge in their opening game of this season s UEFA Champions League.

Jose Mourinho s side prevailed 3-0 against the same opponents both at home and away in the 2013-14 competition and went into Wednesday s Group G clash in great heart after four straight Premier League wins.

In contrast, Schalke had made their worst start to a Bundesliga campaign for 46 years, picking up just one point from their first three fixtures.

There seemed little chance of the formbook being turned upside down when Cesc Fabregas struck early on following good work from the ever-lively Eden Hazard.

However, with Diego Costa, scorer of seven of their 15 domestic goals so far this term, warming the bench, Chelsea fail…

Outgoing Newcastle United player Jonas Gutierrez slammed club owner Mike Ashley on Friday after being released by the Premier League outfit.

Gutierrez, who successfully returned to the pitch in March having undergone treatment for cancer for the majority of the season, implied Ashley had abandoned him since he had surgery for testicular cancer in October 2013.

Newcastle ended a seven-year association with Gutierrez on Friday, releasing the 31-year-old versatile defender and midfielder after 187 league matches for the club.

Two things I learn from my illness, Gutierrez wrote on Twitter.

How you can support a player (Newcastle fans) and how you leave a player alone (Newcastle owner).

The former Argentina international came off the bench against M…

Pulisic has become one of the most desired prospects in Europe / Image via back-post.com

Of course he is. Now let me dwell on it.

Europe has gone crazy over the American boy who is making headlines with his sizzling performances for Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga, and the UEFA Champions League as well. The 18-year-old midfielder keeps turning heads with his incredible emergence as Europe’s biggest club rally around looking for a chance to snatch this shining jewel.

There is not a single football fan on the planet who hasn’t heard of this young star by now, but let’s take an aim at who this Christian Pulisic really is and if he is really worth all the hype surrounding him.

Path to Prominence

United States of America have a bright football futu…

Milan midfielder Michael Essien has tipped Chelsea to be a force in European football for the next decade.

The Ghanaian played at Stamford Bridge from 2005 to 2014 before making a permanent switch to Milan, having spent the 2012-13 season on loan at Real Madrid.

And, after working with coach Jose Mourinho at both Chelsea and Real, Essien is confident his former club now have all the ingredients to build on a promising start to the season.

I think they ll do well as always, he told FIFA.com. Jose has rebuilt the team in his own image now and they ll fight for everything this season.

They have the ability to win things and that’s what they ll be doing. Chelsea have become a football force in Europe in the last 10 years and I can see that carrying on for…