Juventus progressed to the Champions League last 16 after a Cristiano Ronaldo goal and a late header from substitute Alvaro Morata gave them a comeback 2-1 home win over Hungarians Ferencvaros on Tuesday.
Real Madrid stretched their lead at the top to four points after beating Racing Santander 3-1 at home while arch-rivals Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw at Espanyol in the Catalan derby. Real skipper Raul steered his side to their seventh win in seven games at the Bernabeu when he took his tally for the season to eight goals with a classy double.
'I'm definitely not going to change, players have to know that when they face me that I have my own way of playing and that is dribbling, scoring goals and helping my team mates'
The Catalans made a lethargic start and fell behind in the 16th minute when striker Joseba Llorente bundled the ball into the net but they salvaged a point when Ronaldinho equalised with a neat finish just before halftime.
Barcelona rode their luck to come from behind and win 2-1 at Real Sociedad on Saturday, continuing to banish their awful record in San Sebastian and maintaining their perfect start to the La Liga season.
The two forwards have hit their strides ahead of Saturday's Clasico showdown between the two heavyweight clubs.
Barcelona provisionally went top of La Liga for the first time since October after Luis Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi scored in a 6-0 thrashing of Alaves on Saturday although the win was overshadowed by a serious injury to Aleix Vidal.
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FC Barcelona's Asia Pacific director general Jordi Camps believes it is a matter of time before an Indian plays in Spanish top-flight.
Revolution is in the air at Real Madrid after their Champions League empire was razed to the ground with an astounding 4-1 loss at home to Ajax Amsterdam, with a huge clear out of players expected as well as a change of manager.
The Spanish champions have decided to stick with tradition and not have a sponsors logo on their team shirts.
Real Madrid rested Cristiano Ronaldo and suffered a fifth Liga defeat of the season as Espanyol's Gerard Moreno struck late for a 1-0 win over the Spanish and European champions.
Ronaldinho said on Friday he was determined to avoid the mistakes of last season and make this one his best at Barcelona.
Real Madrid defender Alvaro Arbeloa reignited his long-running war of words with Barcelona's Gerard Pique by suggesting that the Spanish League leaders manage to win only if opposing teams have had players sent off. La Liga leaders Barca surprisingly succumbed 1-0 to mid-table Real Sociedad on Saturday, a result that not only condemned the Catalans to their second successive league defeat but also blew the title race wide open. They now lead second-placed Atletico Madrid by three points and third-placed Real by four. "Look how difficult it is to win against 11 men," Arbeloa mocked on Twitter, referring to the fact that Barcelona have often benefited from opposing players being sent off. Barca were trailing 1-0 in last Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg with Atletico Madrid but secured a 2-1 win after Atletico goal scorer Fernando Torres was dismissed in the 35th minute.
Atletico Madrid will have centre backs Diego Godin and Stefan Savic available again for Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg at Barcelona.
Real Madrid beat Leganes 2-1 in La Liga on Saturday after coach Zinedine Zidane heavily rotated his side in preparation for Tuesday's Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich, including leaving out top-scorer Cristiano Ronaldo.
Real Madrid's Gareth Bale came off the bench and coolly converted a controversial penalty to secure a 2-1 win at Levante in La Liga on Sunday as the European champions rode their luck to stay within nine points of leaders Barcelona.
Griezmann goal earns Atletico first win of season
Viswanathan Anand played out an easy draw against Ruslan Ponomariov of Ukraine in the first round of the Corus Chess tournament.
IMAGES from the Champions League 2nd semi-final first leg match between Barcelona and Liverpool at Nou Camp on Wednesday
He claimed his fourth race victory of the season in a thrilling Catalan MotoGP on Sunday.
Holders Barcelona will face fellow Spaniards Atletico Madrid, runners-up two seasons ago, in the Champions League quarter-finals following the draw in Nyon on Friday.
Zinedine Zidane cast doubt on his long-term future at Real Madrid by saying he is unsure if he will be in charge of the club next season. The former midfielder was named as Rafael Benitez's successor in January when he signed a contract until June 2018. But when asked what role he would have in the Liga club's transfer dealings for next season, Zidane said he did not know if he would still be at the Bernabeu. "I can't know what role I'm going to have if I don't know if I'm going to be here. We'll see what happens at the end of the season," Zidane was quoted as saying by Spanish newspaper Marca. The 43-year-old was also asked if Madrid would make another attempt to sign David de Gea after their move for the Manchester United and Spain goalkeeper fell through on the last day of the transfer window last August.
'I speak with Cristiano all the time and I know him very well. He knows that until now he played 60-70 games a season and the accumulation of all those years meant he needs to rest a little'
The defending champions knocked out Osasuna while Espanyol triumphed over Werder Bremen.
The Argentine is reportedly unhappy with coach Enrique's way of running the dressing room at Barcelona.
With seven games left to play in the Primera Liga, Barcelona are one point ahead of Sevilla and two clear of arch-rivals Real.
The to were shortlisted for FIFA's World Player of the Year award, which will be announced on December 19.
Barcelona's appeal against a FIFA sanction for an alleged breach of rules on the transfer of foreign Under-18 players has been rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), the Spanish club said on Tuesday.
Barca have now won just one of their last nine away matches and although they remain top of the table on 56 points, they are only two clear of Sevilla and five ahead of arch-rivals Real Madrid who both have a game in hand.
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Five-time World champion Viswanathan Anand played out an easy draw with black against local star Anish Giri but slipped to joint second spot after the sixth round of Tata Steel Chess tournament, in Wijk Aan Zee, on Saturday.
A controversial Gerard Deulofeu strike sent Barcelona on their way to a comfortable 2-0 victory over Malaga on Saturday as they stretched their lead at the top of La Liga.
Five-time world champion Viswanathan Anand inched closer to clinching the Candidates Chess tournament title after settling for an easy draw as black against Vladimir Kramnik of Russia in the 11th round in Khanty Mansiysk.
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Barcelona closed in on the La Liga title after beating 10-man Atletico Madrid 2-0 in Saturday's top-of-the-table showdown at the Nou Camp as late strikes by Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi gave the Catalans an 11-point lead at the top of the table.
Champions Barcelona produced another sparkling display to crush Racing Santander 4-1 and reclaim top spot in the Primera Liga.
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