Friendly Fixtures

Although clubs have a busy calendar once the league and other competitions commence, there will be several friendly matches whenever time allows. We set out below details of those games which have come to our attention. Please bear in mind that all dates are provisional and are subject to change at short notice. Matches already played in red, games pending in blue, changes since our last update in bold. For last summer's pre-season games see separate section. (31.12.16)

Aug / Sep Sundry matches
Several friendly matches were played during and around the international break:
31/08: Osasuna 1 - Numancia 0 (Rivière);
31/08: Alcorcón 0 - Rayo Vallecano 1 (Embarba);
01/09: Eibar 1 - Sporting Gijón 1 (Adrián / Viguera);
01/09: Orotava 0 - Las Palmas 5 (Lemos, Montoro, Mateo García 2, Momo);
02/09: Sporting Braga 1 - Deportivo 0 (P. Santos);
03/09: Alavés 1 - Real Sociedad 0 (Raúl García).
6 Oct More sundry matches
Several clubs arranged friendly games during the second international break:
06/10 (Sestao centenary): Sestao River 0 - Athletic Bilbao 4 (Elustondo, Sabin, Eraso 2);
06/10 (in Lerma): Leganés 0 - Eibar 1 (Inui);
06/10 (in Malecón): Real Sociedad 1 - Sporting Gijón 2 (Willian José / Moi Gómez, Viguera).
25 Oct Catalan Super Cup
Barcelona & Espanyol disputed the second ever Catalan Super Cup, pitching together the region's two first division sides. This year the match took place in Nàstic's Nou Estadi in Tarragona, with both coaches putting out depleted line-ups. Espanyol won 0-1 thanks to an early goal from Caicedo.
9-10 Nov ...and even more sundry matches
Several clubs arranged friendly games during the second international break:
09/11 (Quinocho Memorial): Celta 2 - Sporting Braga 1 (Naranjo, Rossi / Goiano);
09/11: Sporting Gijón 0 - Alavés 2 (Deyverson, Espinoza);
10/11: Osasuna 4 - Eibar 0 (De las Cuevas, Rivière, Tano, Álamo).
11/11 (Antonio Puerta Trophy): Sevilla 3 - Boca Juniors 4 (N'Zonzi, Kolo, Vietto / Benedetto, Pavón, Tevez 2).
13 Dec Barcelona in Qatar
Barcelona played Al-Ahli in Doha on 13th December as part of their sponsorship deal with Qatar Airways.
Al-Ahli 3 - Barcelona 5. (Abdulhraman pen, Asiri 2 / L. Suárez, Messi, Neymar, Alcácer, Rafinha).
8-18 Dec Club World Cup
As reigning European champions, Real Madrid took part in the next edition of the Club World Cup. Madrid beat Kashima Antlers in the final to take the trophy for the second time. See separate section for details.
28-30 Dec Regional matches
Regional matches normally take place during the festive break, with teams from the autonomous regions playing international fixtures. Recently Euskadi and Catalonia were the only ones to organize games, although Galicia did play one match last season for the first time in many years.

Catalonia and Euskadi both confirmed friendly games against Tunisia as follows:

28/12 Catalonia v Tunisia in Montilivi stadium, Girona;
Catalonia 3 - Tunisia 3 (Gerard Moreno, Sergio García, Verdú / Msakni 3), 2-4 pso.
Catalonia: Masip; Pol Lirola, Sergi Gómez, Fontàs, Aaron Martín, Xavi, Marc Roca; Sergi Roberto, Sergio García, Víctor Rodríguez; Gerard Moreno. Also played: Edgar Badia, Gerard Valentín, De la Bella, Verdú, Samper, Pere Pons, Víctor Álvarez, Álvaro Vázquez, Marc Crosas, Oriol Riera.

30/12: Euskadi v Tunisia in San Mamés stadium, Bilbao;
Euskadi 3 - Tunisia 1 (Illarramendi, Aduríz, Oyarzabal / Sassi).
Euskadi: Iraizoz; Capa, Mikel González, Íñigo Martínez, Balenziaga; Illarramendi, San José; Xabi Prieto, Muniain, Oyarzabal; Aduriz. Also played: Oier Olazabal, Zaldua, Bóveda, Etxeita, Yuri, Markel Susaeta, Iturraspe, Dani García, Manu García, Sabin Merino, Toquero.

¡Official Catalonia and Euskadi shirts available from our shop!
29 Dec Champions for Life
Repeat of the charity match organized by the LFP and UNICEF which this year was played in Betis's Benito Villamarín stadium in Sevilla, with the presence of many top names from La Liga. Two teams took part, an Andalusian regional side and a selection of players from the Spanish 1st & 2nd divisions.
Andalusia 3 - Liga side 1 (Marchena, Sergio León 2 / Burgui).
30 Dec Atlético Madrid in Saudi Arabia
Atlético played Al-Ittihad in Jeddah on 30th December during the short winter break.
Al-Ittihad 2 - Atlético 3 (Kahraba, Akaichi / Juanfran, F. Torres (pen), Giménez).