Del Bosque Leaves Out Costa and Mata

Diego Costa and Juan Mata have both been left out of Spain’s provisional squad for their Euro 2016 campaign by Vicente del Bosque while there is also no place in the two-times defending champions’ squad for Fernando Torres.

Costa has endured a below-par season with Chelsea despite finding the net 16 times and after suffering a hamstring injury in Chelsea’s 1-1 draw with Liverpool earlier this month, Guus Hiddink admitted he was unsure if the Brazil-born forward would recover in time for next month’s tournament in France.

He was also left out of the Spain squad in March for friendlies with Italy and Romania and Del Bosque, speaking at the announcement of his squad, confirmed he was not prepared to risk Costa, who scored just one goal in qualifying, or Arsenal’s Santi Cazorla, who made his return from a long-term knee injury for Arsenal on Sunday.

“We have weighed everything up,” Del Bosque was quoted as saying by ESPN. “We do not want to call up too many people with doubts over their fitness. The Cazorla situation is very like Diego’s – he has been out five months, made a great effort to be ready, but we can’t have many doubts.”

Mata meanwhile has paid the price for a recent dip in form for Manchester United, who have effectively missed out on a place in the top four, while Del Bosque’s decision to omit Torres, whose form has improved in Atlético Madrid’s run to the Champions League final, leaves Spain looking light in attack.

Paco Alcácer, Spain’s highest scorer in qualifying with five goals, also misses out in favour of Atlético’s uncapped forward Saúl Ñíguez, the 35-year-old Aritz Aduriz, Nolito, Juventus’ Álvaro Morata and Real Madrid’s Lucas Vázquez, who is also yet to make an appearance for the national side.

While Costa has been omitted, his Chelsea team-mates César Azpilicueta, Pedro and Cesc Fàbregas have been included along with the Manchester City playmaker David Silva and Manchester United’s goalkeeper David de Gea.

Spain’s 25-man provisional squad for Euro 2016

Iker Casillas, David de Gea, Sergio Rico, Sergio Ramos, Gerard Piqué, Dani Carvajal, Jordi Alba, Marc Bartra, César Azpilicueta, Mikel San José, Juanfran, Bruno, Sergio Busquets, Koke, Thiago, Andrés Iniesta, Isco, David Silva, Pedro, Cesc Fàbregas, Saúl Ñíguez, Aritz Aduriz, Nolito, Álvaro Morata, Lucas Vázquez.

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Neville and Valencia Win Again

Valencia secured their third successive win in a week under Gary Neville with a 2-1 victory at Granada.

Daniel Parejo gave Valencia the lead in the 55th minute and the substitute Santi Mina doubled it in the last minute before Edgar Méndez pulled a goal back for Granada in stoppage time.

Valencia’s victory followed their first league win under Neville at the 10th attempt last weekend they beat Espanyol 2-1 home and the 6-0 thrashing of Rapid Vienna in the Europa League on Thursday.

Granada were first to threaten in this game when the midfielder Fran Rico sent a shot just wide, while Valencia’s first attempt on goal came in the 19th minute although Paco Alcacer’s shot was blocked.

Adalberto Peñaranda fired wide for Granada in the 28th minute before Alcacer forced the vising goalkeeper Andrés into a fine save with a low shot towards the corner.

André Gomes was twice denied by Andrés either side of the Granada defender Ricardo Costa’s header at the other end, which was turned away by Valencia goalkeeper Diego Alves.

Alves kept out the Granada striker Rubén Rochina’s low shot five minutes into the second half before Valencia went ahead when Parejo drilled the ball into the bottom corner following Alcacer’s assist.

Valencia made sure of the points in the 90th minute through Mina’s neat low finish but were given a late scare three minutes later when Granada substitute Méndez headed in Rochina’s cross.

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Bilbao Beat Barca in Camp Nou

Athletic Bilbao won a first trophy in 31 years as a 1-1 draw with Barcelona at the Nou Camp secured the Spanish Super Cup with a 5-1 aggregate victory.

Bilbao won the first leg 4-0 but Barcelona threatened a comeback with Lionel Messi's close-range finish.

Barca defender Gerard Pique was sent-off after the break and Aritz Aduriz struck late on to seal it for Bilbao.

The visitors had Kike Sola sent-off late on, but the celebrations for Bilbao had already begun.

It was ultimately a disappointing display for Barcelona who, despite plenty of possession, failed to threaten often enough.

After Barcelona's humiliating defeat in the first leg, Athletic Bilbao knew Luis Enrique's side would be determined to make amends.

The reigning European champions lined up with Messi, Luis Suarez and Pedro in attack but the visitors had done their homework and the trio were well marshalled throughout.

Whenever Messi had the ball, at least two players crowded round the Argentina international and his inability to get into the game left Suarez isolated.

Pedro's swan song?

Pedro, a reported target for Manchester United, had Barcelona's better opportunities in the opening stages but was unable to make them count.

The forward was full of running but his finishing let him down when it mattered, most notably when he missed the ball completely when a corner routine was worked to him on the edge of the area in the first half.

Pedro failed to find the target with another chance after the break and was eventually replaced in the 68th minute.

Enrique heads into the new season with some concerns at the back. Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen was named on the bench after conceding eight goals in his last two games, with Chile international Claudio Bravo starting in his place.

Barcelona's attacking intent often left them exposed at the back, and any hopes of getting the goals they needed ended when Pique was needlessly sent-off midway through the second half. The defender angrily remonstrated with the linesman and the referee produced a straight red.

After a brief spell of Barca dominance, Jeremy Mathieu gifted possession to Aduriz, leaving the forward one-on-one with Bravo and, after his initial effort was saved, Aduriz side-footed home the rebound to put the game beyond Barcelona.

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