Real Madrid ended their long wait for an El Clasico victory with a 2-0 win against Barcelona to move above their fierce rivals and back to the top of LaLiga.

Real Madrid’s clash with Manchester City was always going to be the Champions League tie of the round, but events since the draw have turned this week into a moment of truth for both clubs.

Even though Pep has reiterated his commitment to a club to which he is contracted until the summer of 2021, his body language this season says differently, writes Liam Brady.

City have fallen foul of Uefa’s curiously subjective FFP structures and now the roof is falling in, writes Simon Curtis.

Last week, the GAA reported on the organisation’s activities for 2019. The GAA’s financial review for the year showed that it is in robust health, recycling an environmentally-friendly 84% of its €73.9m in revenue back into GAA units, writes Jack Anderson.

REALITY is very quickly catching up with Quique Setien, whose first month in his dream job as Barcelona coach has not gone as he would have hoped.

Manchester City have been banned from UEFA club competitions for the next two seasons and fined €30m after being found to have “committed serious breaches of the UEFA Club Licensing and Financial Fair Play Regulations.”

If Catholics visit Lourdes and Muslims make pilgrimage to Mecca, then football fans must go see Messi, writes Tommy Martin.

Guardiola says it won't be the end of the world if he fails to win Champions League at Manchester City.

Ian Flanagan sees enormous potential for Munster in places rugby has not yet reached, thanks to a successful first World Cup on Asian soil this season in Japan.

Manager Ernesto Valverde has left Barcelona, the club have announced.

Down with the bunting, box up the tinsel. The league is over and we can all relax in the afterglow of our trophy gluttony. No late-campaign jitters, sleepless nights worrying about goal difference and whether our little star will shine brightest. It’s over and everyone knows it is.

It's been a decade of thrilling drama, fantastic games, and great players but who makes our our team of the last 10 years? This lot would take some beating

These are the standout quotes from the world of punditry in 2019...

Separated by a few feet in the Goodison Park directors’ box, and several decades of experience on their managerial CVs, Carlo Ancelotti and Mikel Arteta viewed a drab and dour stalemate which offered little insight into which appointment will ultimately prove the right approach from these two slumping giants of the English game.

FIFA President Gianni Infantino is assessing nine offers from companies seeking to buy the commercial and broadcasting rights for a new club competition he hopes will become the most lucrative in world football, usurping Europe’s Champions League.

There were no goals and surprisingly little quality in tonight’s La Liga Clasico at the Camp Nou, with the game showing just how far both Barcelona and Real Madrid currently are from their peaks over the last decade.

The clash between Real Madrid’s new midfield hope, and Barcelona’s returning central figure, could go a long way to deciding tonight’s La Liga Clasico.

Liverpool, Tottenham, and Manchester City will fancy their chances of making the Champions League last eight but Bayern Munich can end Lampard’s dream

The Champions League round of 16 draw will see holders Liverpool take on Atletico.

It was bad enough for Eoin Hand to observe his former employer deep in trouble last week but to see his former club sink beyond rescue this week was especially heartbreaking.

An 83-year history of League of Ireland football in Limerick is set to end after court protection for Limerick FC was withdrawn.

With the Chrismas clasico just a few weeks away, Barcelona and Real Madrid put on impressive weekend displays at the top of La Liga.

The mood is not positive around the Camp Nou ahead of tonight’s vital Champions League Group F game against Borussia Dortmund.

Real Madrid’s past, present, and future could all come together in tonight’s Champions League Group A game against Paris Saint Germain at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu.

Respect. It is not just an Otis Redding song, or Aretha Franklin’s cover version.

Jose Mourinho has been appointed as Tottenham’s new manager following the sacking of Mauricio Pochettino.

Mauricio Pochettino has left Tottenham Hotspur.

Germany and Holland secured their places at Euro 2020 from qualifying Group C as Northern Ireland were left to try their luck in the play-offs.

Dundalk head coach Vinny Perth believes only a small number of the club's fans were involved in sectarian chants picked up by television microphones during Monday night's Unite the Union Champions Cup tie against Linfield at Oriel Park.

Lampard’s Chelsea face Ajax at Stamford Bridge tonight, knowing a repeat of their victory in Amsterdam two weeks ago should put them within touching distance of the Champions League knockout stages.

Daniel Storey looks at what we learned in the Premier League this weekend.

Not mixing sport and politics is difficult at the best of times, and impossible when it comes to La Liga’s Clasico, probably the most politicised game in world of football.

It may be time for some heresy. This column feels Kavanagh got it wrong.

Real Sociedad returned to winning ways to climb back into the top four in LaLiga.

The Spanish top flight want the 'El Clasico' match switched to Madrid, with Barcelona then playing at home in March next year.

Is it a poisoned chalice or an opportunity of a lifetime?

Last night Dave Mahedy closed his office door for the final time at the University of Limerick. As Director of Sport and Recreation, Mahedy has been the driving force behind the growth — and importance — of sport at all levels in UL for almost 30 years.

Plenty of goals!