El Clasico: Real Madrid v Barcelona

Barcelona's unbeaten run of 13 matches came to an end as Real Madrid won the El Clasico match by 3 goals to 1.

Barcelona were 4 points ahead of Madrid before the match. A victory against Madrid would've given Barcelona a 7 point lead at the top of the table. Instead, the 3-1 victory for Madrid decreased the gap to 1 point.

Barcelona's Xavi Hernandez made his 41st El Clasico appearance, 1 less than Madrid's Francisco Gento Clasico's with 42 appearances.

After Neymar's 4th minute opening goal, meant Casillas hasn't had a clean sheet in 12 El Clasico's.

Toni Kroos & James Rodriguez were on El Clasico debut for Madrid and Luis Suárez was on debut for Barcelona.

The clash began with Barcelona scoring a goal in the first 4 minutes in 4 consecutive El Clasico's. Benzema was close to equalising but the keeper pushed it across the face of goal.

Although leading 1-0, Messi became the first player to be booked in the after the referee had let him off the hook after one tackle, the second he punished. Neymar was also booked after he challenged Carvajal with a high elbow.

All of Benzema's efforts came close to ending up at the back of the net. At one stage he hit the post post and crossbar as he searched for an equaliser.

Eventually, Cristiano Ronaldo slotted in a penalty 10 minutes before halftime after Piqué was booked for handling the ball in the penalty area. The goal was the first conceeded by Barcelona this season. However, it was bound to come along against Madrid.

The start of the second half was fast paced. Barcelona were looking to lead again while Madrid were looking to lead for the first time in the match. In this case, the latter applied. Pepe gave Madrid the lead from a corner as Barcelona left him unmarked inside the box.

More good fortune for Madrid when Isco was on the counter-attack. He fed the ball to Cristiano who sent it to James and gave the assistance as Benzema's first half attempts finally paid off. The Frenchman gave Madrid a two goal cushion as they led Barcelona 3-1. That wasn't the end of Benzema since he kept testing the Barcelona defence until he was substituted.

Suárez was expected to make his debut in the El Clasico, which he did. He didn't make as much an impact as he hoped and was substituted for Pedro. Iniesta signalled to the bench to be substituted after what appeared to be a calf muscle strain.

Real Madrid's 3-1 victory was sealed with a Cristiano Ronaldo yellow card.

After that goal by Neymar, if you knew that Real Madrid would win the El Clasico encounter, you are lying!

What to expect in the UEFA Champions League this season

1. Manchester United will miss out on Champions League football for the first time since 1995 and have also missed out on European competition altogether for the first time since 1990.

2. After 5 years, Liverpool return to the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night, for the first time since exiting in the group stages with a 2-1 defeat at home to Fiorentina in December 2009.

3. Cristiano Ronaldo's record-breaking 17-goal tally in last season’s Champions League might not be repeated this season. In fact, his tally might not even reach 10 goals since Angel di María is now at Old Trafford.

4. Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will be chasing Raul's Champions League record of 71 goals. Messi has 67 Champions League goals, 4 shy of 71 while Cristiano has 68 Champions League goals, 3 shy of 71.

5. Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo, Diego Costa and Zlatan Ibrahimovic could be the leading goal scorer by the end of the season.

6. NK Maribor are back in the group stage for the first time in 15 years and will make their second appearance in the Champions League in Group G where they will face clubs like Chelsea, Sporting Lisbon and Schalke.

7. Borussia Dortmund and Arsenal will meet for the third time in four seasons, with Dortmund hoping to reverse the home defeat they suffered to Arsenal last season.

8. Real Madrid began the La Liga season on a bad note and head to the Champions League in tatters. Without the likes of di María and Xabi Alonso how will Madrid retain their title, if it's even possible?

9. The Champions League is a completely different ball game. Which club will maintain a good league record as well as a good Champions League record. Some clubs excel in both while others, one suffers. It might have been one match, but Liverpool were obviously feeling the pressures of the Champions League when they lost to Aston Villa over the weekend.

10. Bayern Munich will be stacked with German World Cup winners.

11. Players to watch this season - Paul Pogba, Raheem Sterling, Cristiano Ronaldo, Stefan Kiessling, Enzo Perez, Aaron Ramsey, Marco Reus, Fernando Muslera, Daniele De Rossi, Arjen Robben, Fernando, Lionel Messi, Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Cesc Fabregas, Benedikt Howedes and many others. Some will spark long after the season has begun.

Main Thing: Who will win the UEFA Champions League this season?

FIFA Rankings Post World Cup

These are the rankings of the 32 teams that featured in the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

1. Germany (+1)

2. Argentina (+3)

3. Netherlands (+12)

4. Colombia (+4)

5. Belgium (+6)

6. Uruguay (+1)

7. Brazil (-4)

8. Spain (-7)

9. Switzerland (-3)

10. France (+7)

11. Portugal (-7)

12. Chile (+2)

13. Greece (-1)

14. Italy (-5)

15. USA (-2)

16. Costa Rica (+12)

17. Croatia (+1)

18. Mexico (+2)

19. Bosnia and Herzegovina (+2)

20. England (-10)

21. Ecuador (+5)

23. Russia (-4)

24. Algeria (-2)

25. Cote d'Ivoire (-2)

34. Nigeria (+10)

38. Ghana (-1)

40. Honduras (-7)

45. Japan (+1)

49. Iran (-6)

53. Cameroon (+3)

56. Korea Republic (+1)

76. Australia (-14)

The new FIFA world rankings have been announced and they are a bit of a shocker for certain countries. They bring joy to some and despair to others.

Germany, Argentina, Netherlands, Colombia, Belgium, Uruguay, France, Chile, Costa Rica, Croatia, Mexico, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Ecuador, Nigeria, Japan, Cameroon and Korea Republic all moved up the rankings, even if it was a one place move.

Unfortunately, teams like Brazil, Spain, Switzerland, Portugal, Greece, Italy, USA, England, Russia, Algeria, Côte d'Ivoire, Ghana, Honduras, Iran and Australia moved down the rankings.

Germany lead the rankings for the first time in two decades, while the previous winners Spain, dropped to 8th.

The Netherlands (3) who won 3rd place and Costa Rica (16) who made it to the quarter-finals were the biggest rises, by 12 positions.

The biggest losers was Australia (76), who dropped 14 places.

England (20) and Nigeria (34) dropped 10 places each. This is England's lowest position since February 1996, when they were 27th. Maybe a managerial sacking is in order. England also find themselves below Bosnia-Herzegovina, Costa Rica and the USA.

Belgium and France benefited from reaching the World Cup quarter-finals, climbing to 5th and 10th respectively.