La Liga
‘I’LL DO THE FIGHTING, LUIS SUAREZ DOES THE BITING’ – DIEGO COSTA THRILLED WITH NEW ATLETICO MADRID STRIKE PARTNER
Atletico Madrid striker Diego Costa looked forward to a fruitful partnership with new team mate, Luis Suarez after his side thrashed Granada 6-1 on Sunday (Sept 27), making a cheeky reference to the Uruguayan’s disciplinary problems over the years.
Costa opened the scoring with a headed goal and then came off the pitch in the second half to make way for Suarez, who quickly made his mark following his switch from Barcelona by scoring twice and providing an assist in the final 20 minutes.
“He is very good, one of us can do the fighting and the other can do the biting,” Costa said, recalling Suarez’s infamous bite on Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini in the 2014 World Cup.
The Uruguay striker also committed similar offences for Liverpool and Ajax Amsterdam, but has long been considered one of football’s best finishers.
Costa said he could barely believe his side’s luck in landing Suarez, who scored 198 goals in six seasons with Barca but was deemed surplus to requirements by new coach Ronald Koeman.
“We are very lucky to have Luis, I don’t understand how Barca could have let him leave,” Costa said.
“He’s going to help us with lots of goals as well as his warrior spirit and his hunger to win trophies. I hope he can help us win another trophy for our fans, but we need to take each game as it comes.”
Costa, who fired Atletico to the La Liga title in 2014 but has struggled since returning from Chelsea in 2018, has been linked with a move away from the club but vowed to fight for his place, while declaring he will leave if necessary.
“I don’t want to fight with them and become a drain on the club, I’ve spoken to the club and the coach, and told them I’m ready to leave if they think I should go,” he said.
“But if I stay, I’m going to fight to play and I hope I don’t get injured so I can get a good run of games. I have to make the most of my opportunities. Anything can happen this season, the important thing is to be ready and score goals.”
Suarez is also relishing his new challenge at Atletico and feels that switching clubs could be just what he needed.
“Barca reached a point where they decided they needed a change and some fresh air, so it was important to accept that and change club,” the 33-year-old told Spanish network Movistar.
“For a player, sometimes, it’s important to make a change and I’ve come to club who have given me a spectacular welcome. You can sense that there is a very good atmosphere around the club and today, we saw it on the pitch.
“The team were in a good place when I came on and I just wanted to kill the game off. I’m very happy with my debut and for the three points. When you make your debut and help the team with goals, you’re always going to be happy.”
Atletico coach Diego Simeone highlighted Suarez’s work off the ball as well as his goals.
“I’m not just pleased with his two goals but also his assist, his movement and his runs,” said the Argentinian.
“His arrival will generate a lot of internal competition and if all 23 players in the squad accept the minutes they are given, then I’m sure we’ll compete well.
“The arrival of an important player like Suarez will always improve the team but we were already working very well.”
-Reuters
Barcelona said their request for a permit to return to the Camp Nou for Sunday’s LaLiga match against Real Sociedad has been denied, with the city council highlighting safety and security issues with the revamped venue.
Barca had been hoping to return to a reduced-capacity Camp Nou with 27,000 spectators but have failed to obtain the necessary permits from Barcelona City Council.
Barca will instead host the match at the Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium in Montjuic, where they played during the 2023-24 and 2024-25 seasons with renovations at Camp Nou now nine months behind schedule.
“We have spotted different elements that need to be fixed and have an impact in the safety and security of the stadium,” chief of civil protection Sebastia Massague said at a city council meeting.
Barca had to begin their LaLiga home campaign at the Estadi Johan Cruyff in their own training complex, where only 6,000 fans attended their match against Valencia on September 14, after a Post Malone concert left the Lluis Companys pitch in poor condition.
“The club is currently working on the new amendments that the council has shared today,” Barca said in a statement.
On Friday, the Catalan club also announced that their Champions League group stage match against Paris St Germain on October 1 would also take place at the Lluis Companys.
Barca are second in LaLiga, trailing leaders Real Madrid by five points but having played a game fewer.
-Reuters
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Villarreal midfielder Thomas Partey on Wednesday appeared in a London court and pleaded not guilty to charges of rape and sexual assault involving three women.
Partey, a Ghana international, is accused of five counts of rape relating to two women, plus a charge of sexual assault against a third woman, between April 2021 and June 2022.
The alleged offences took place when Partey played for Premier League soccer club Arsenal. He left the club this summer and signed for Spain’s Villarreal.
The 32-year-old appeared in the dock at Southwark Crown Court and spoke only to confirm his name and date of birth and enter his not guilty pleas.
Partey was released on bail ahead of his trial, which was listed for Nov. 2, 2026 and is due to take between six and eight weeks.
He was signed by Arsenal from Atletico Madrid for 50 million euros ($59.2 million) in 2020 and became a key member of the English side’s first team, before his contract expired at the end of June.
Partey played for Villarreal in their Champions League game against Arsenal’s bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur on Tuesday night.
He came on as a second-half substitute and was booed loudly by the Spurs fans every time he touched the ball.
-Reuters
Villarreal and Ghana midfielder Thomas Partey, who has been charged with five counts of rape and one count of sexual assault, walks outside Southwark Crown Court, in London, Britain, September 17, 2025. REUTERS/Maja Smiejkowska
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Real Madrid on Tuesday denounced plans to stage a LaLiga match between Barcelona and Villarreal in Miami, warning the proposal could undermine football’s competitive balance and vowing to petition global governing bodies to block the move.
The Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) on Monday approved the December 20 fixture at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, which could become the first LaLiga match held abroad and the first European league fixture staged in the United States.
“Real Madrid wish to express to its members, supporters and football fans in general its firm rejection of the proposal,” the club said in a statement, revealing they have already urged FIFA, UEFA and Spain’s Higher Sports Council (CSD) to intervene.
The club accused the RFEF of making its decision “without informing or consulting the clubs participating in the competition” and argued that staging the match in Miami “violates the essential principle of territorial reciprocity” in home-and-away league formats.
Real further stated that the move would “alter the competitive balance” and grant “an unfair sporting advantage” to the clubs involved.
The club also warned that approving the proposal could compromise sporting integrity and “set an unacceptable precedent,” insisting any change of this nature should require “the express and unanimous agreement of all the clubs participating in the competition”.
The plan still requires approval from UEFA, US Soccer, CONCACAF and ultimately FIFA before LaLiga President Javier Tebas can realise his long-held ambition of taking Spanish football to the U.S.
-Reuters
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