BARCELONA, Spain (AP) — Atletico Madrid revamped its already deep squad this summer with its hopes set on mounting a title challenge in La Liga.
But it is already trailing Barcelona and Real Madrid after losing its season-opener for the first time since Diego Simeone took over as coach more than a decade ago. It will try to forget that 2-1 loss at Espanyol when it hosts promoted Elche on Saturday.
Barcelona and Madrid also have games against newly-promoted sides in Round Two.
— Atletico knows its margin for error is always incredibly slim if it hopes to finish atop the table. So, Simeone will need to quickly get several new players – including Álex Baena, Thiago Almada and Johnny Cardoso – into the groove after his team squandered a one-goal lead at Espanyol. It hosts an Elche side whose goal is simply not going straight back down to the second division. The minnow fought back for a 1-1 draw at home with Real Betis in its opener.
__ Defending champion Barcelona visits promoted Levante on Saturday. Hansi Flick’s team got goals from Lamine Yamal, Raphinha and Ferran Torres in a 3-0 win at Mallorca last weekend.
__ Madrid aims to build on a 1-0 victory over Osasuna that gave coach Xabi Alonso a winning start to the league. Madrid, which finished runner-up last season, travels north to Oviedo on Sunday in what should be a lopsided affair.
Robert Lewandowski missed Barcelona’s trip to Mallorca due to muscle pain in his left thigh. He returned to training on Thursday, two days ahead of the Levante match. The Poland striker scored a team-high 42 goals across all competitions last season, his fourth since leaving Bayern Munich for Spain. At age 37, he promises to remain an elite scoring threat.
Baena, Atletico’s new playmaker, is doubtful after he was substituted in the Espanyol game due to a muscle issue. Madrid will still be missing Jude Bellingham, who is expected to be out for a few more weeks after having surgery on his left shoulder in July.
Will Rodrygo get some playing time? Madrid fans will be watching to see if Alonso plays the Brazil forward after he never left the bench against Osasuna. The 24-year-old is the subject of transfer rumors to the Premier League, with the summer transfer window open until the end of the month.
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Real Madrid's Kylian Mbappe celebrates after scoring from a penalty kick during the La Liga soccer match between Real Madrid and Osasuna in Madrid, Spain, Tuesday, Aug. 19, 2025. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)
Barcelona's head coach Hansi Flick talks to Lamine Yamal during the La Liga soccer match between Mallorca and Barcelona in Mallorca, Spain, Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Joan Mateu Parra)
Iran's top judge hinted at fast trials and executions for those who were detained in nationwide protests against the country's theocracy, even as activists said Wednesday that the death toll rose to levels unseen in decades with at least 2,572 people killed so far.
Iran’s judiciary chief Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei made the comments about trials and executions in a video Tuesday, despite a warning from U.S. President Donald Trump that he would “take very strong action” if executions take place.
The U.S.-based Human Rights Activists News Agency said the number of dead climbed to at least 2,571 early Wednesday. The figure dwarfs the death toll from any other round of protest or unrest in Iran in decades and recalls the chaos surrounding the country’s 1979 Islamic Revolution.
After Trump was informed on the number of deaths, he warned Iran's leaders that he was terminating any negotiations and would “act accordingly.”
Details of the crackdown began emerging Tuesday as Iranians made phone calls abroad for the first time in days after authorities severed communications countrywide when the protests broke out.
Here is the latest:
Iranian state television said Wednesday’s mass funeral in Tehran would include 300 bodies of security force members and civilians. The funeral is expected to take place at Tehran University under heavy security.
The Human Rights Activists News Agency, which is tracking the death toll, said more than 2,550 people have been killed, 2,403 protesters and 147 government-affiliated.
Twelve children were killed, along with nine civilians it said were not taking part in protests. More than 18,100 people have been detained, the group said.
Gauging the demonstrations and the death toll from abroad has grown more difficult and The Associated Press has been unable to independently assess the toll given the communications being disrupted in the country.
Melanie Lidman contributed from Jerusalem.
Trump’s decision to impose a 25% tariff on countries that trade with Iran could impact India, an expert said, as New Delhi already faces existing 50% U.S. trade levies due its purchases of Russian oil.
Abhijit Mukhopadhyay, a senior economist at the Chintan Research Foundation in New Delhi, said the bigger risk is not India-Iran trade, but India’s access to the U.S. market as its exports to Iran are modest.
India mainly exports rice, tea, sugar, pharmaceuticals and electrical machinery to Iran, while importing dry fruits and chemical products. Textiles and garments, gems and jewelry and engineering goods are likely to be the most vulnerable sectors, he said.
Trump’s latest move also could affect India’s investments in Iran including the strategically important Chabahar port, which gives India a trade route to Afghanistan, Central Asia and Europe while bypassing Pakistan, Mukhopadhyay said.
Iran’s judiciary chief signals fast trials and executions for those detained in nationwide protests.
Gholamhossein Mohseni-Ejei made the comment in a video shared by Iranian state television on Wednesday.
He emphasized the need for swift action, saying delays would lessen the impact.
His remarks challenge Trump, who warned Iran about executions in an interview aired Tuesday.
Trump stated the U.S. would take strong action if Iran proceeded with executions. The situation highlights escalating tensions between the two countries over the handling of the protests.
Dozens of Pakistani students studying in Iran have returned home through a remote southwestern border crossing, a Pakistani immigration official said Wednesday.
Federal Investigation Agency spokesperson in Quetta city, Samina Raisani, said about 60 students crossed into Pakistan on Tuesday through Gabd border in Balochistan province with valid travel documents.
More students were expected to return through the same crossing later Wednesday, she said.
Mudassir Tipu, Pakistan’s ambassador to Iran, said Tuesday that Iranian universities had rescheduled exams and permitted international students to leave the country.
The satellite internet provider Starlink now offers free service in to people Iran who have access to the company's receivers, activists said Wednesday.
Mehdi Yahyanejad, a Los Angeles-based activist who helped get the units into Iran, told The Associated Press that the free service had started. Other activists also confirmed in messages online that the service was free.
Starlink has been the only way for Iranians to communicate with the outside world since authorities shut down the internet Thursday night as nationwide protests swelled and they began a bloody crackdown against demonstrators.
Starlink did not immediately acknowledge the decision.
This frame grab from videos taken between Jan. 9 and Jan. 11, 2026, and circulating on social media purportedly shows images from a morgue with dozens of bodies and mourners after crackdown on the outskirts of Iran's capital, in Kahrizak, Tehran Province. (UGC via AP)
