Atletico Madrid knocked Barcelona off the top of La Liga, for a day at least, as a second-half strike by Koke earned a 1-0 victory over a stubborn Malaga side on Saturday.
No Dutch top-flight league soccer title will be awarded this season after the COVID-19 pandemic brought the campaign to a premature close, the Dutch FA (KNVB) said after a meeting with clubs and unions representing coaches and players on Friday. Ajax were top of the Eredivisie table with 56 points from 25 games, only ahead of AZ on goal difference, and both teams will now fill the Netherlands' qualifying places in UEFA's 2020-21 Champions League, Europe's elite club competition.
La Liga leaders Barcelona moved 10 points clear with a 4-1 win at Real Betis on Sunday after second place Atletico Madrid slipped up at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday in a 2-0 defeat.
Real Madrid lifted the FIFA Club World Cup for a record fourth time on Saturday after thrashing local side Al Ain 4-1 in the final in Abu Dhabi with the help of impressive distance strikes in either half from midfielders Luka Modric and Marcos Llorente.
Midfielder Dani Ceballos added: "It looks like us changing our coach worked. We have recovered some sensations we had lost and we have got the three points. Now our objective is to win all the games left and finish the season as well as possible."
Atletico Madrid will face holders Real Madrid in the last 16 of the King's Cup after a double from Mario Mandzukic sealed a 5-2 aggregate victory over lower league Hospitalet on Thursday.
Barcelona have been haunted by their recent failures in the Champions League and there are concerning signs for the Catalans as they prepare for Tuesday's last-16 first leg away to Olympique Lyonnais.
Atletico Madrid took a giant step towards the La Liga title
Images from matches played across top football leagues in Europe.
Here are five talking points from the weekend in La Liga.
La Liga leaders Barcelona drew 0-0 at Huesca on Saturday and are nine points clear of second-placed Atletico Madrid, who cut the gap by beating Celta Vigo 2-0.
AC midfielder Franck Kessie scored from a penalty to give AC Milan a 2-2 draw away to Napoli in Serie A on Sunday, sparing the blushes of his goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma whose mistakes provided the hosts with both their goals. Sevilla closed in on Champions League qualification by beating struggling Real Mallorca 2-0 at home to open up a nine-point gap in the race for fourth spot in La Liga.
Carlos Vela helped Real Sociedad overcome a European hangover when he grabbed a second-half equaliser to earn a 1-1 draw at promoted Elche in La Liga on Saturday.
Lionel Messi created a goal and scored another as Barcelona came from behind to beat struggling Rayo Vallecano 3-1 at home on Saturday and stay seven points clear at the top of La Liga.
Paris Saint Germain's Neymar, Laywin Kurzawa and Leandro Paredes as well as Marseille's duo of Dario Benedetto and Jordan Amavi were given their marching orders after rival players threw punches and kicks at each other.
The draw means second-placed Atletico Madrid could close the 12-point gap with Barcelona, who are on 74 points, if they beat Celta Vigo later on Saturday.
The Bavarians have now won the German league title a record 29 times.
IMAGES from football matches played in the Spain, Germany and Portugal on Wednesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The FIFA 2022 World Cup will kick-off in Qatar on Sunday, November 20. Here is a list of the 26-man squads playing in the quadrennial global football extravaganza.
It was Messi's 56th converted penalty in La Liga and saw him draw level with Hugo Sanchez as the league's second-top penalty taker, behind record holder Cristiano Ronaldo on 61.
Real Madrid dropped points for the third time in seven games since Zinedine Zidane's return as they were held to a 0-0 draw away to Getafe in La Liga on Thursday, which harmed their neighbours' hopes of a top-four finish.
Villarreal missed their chance to stay in touch with Real Madrid at the top of the Primera Liga when they went down 2-0 at Valladolid on Sunday. The defeat kept Manuel Pellegrini's side level with Barcelona on 28 points in third spot in the table and four adrift of leaders Real, who won 3-1 at home to Racing Santander on Saturday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Atletico Madrid's Brazil-born forward Diego Costa has signed a formal letter stating his wish to play for adopted country Spain, ending a tug-of-war between the two powerhouses over the in-form 25-year-old.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Images from the football matches played across Europe on Sunday.
Here are five talking points from the weekend's action:
Two late goals by Everton substitutes brought the Merseysiders a third successive win when they beat Crystal Palace 2-0 at Goodison Park in Sunday's only Premier League game.
European football is incomplete without African flavours and players like Chelsea's Senegalese striker Demba Ba and Juventus's Ghanaian Asamoah Kwadwo lifted the game with their superb skill in their respective football matches over the weekend. Rediff.com presents a round-up of the interesting matches and the footballers of the weekend.
Second-placed Barcelona failed to keep the pressure on leaders Real Madrid after scrambling a 1-1 draw at Sevilla in the Primera Liga.
Napoli brush aside lowly Crotone to go third in Serie A.
Samuel Eto'o helped Barcelona stay top of the Primera Liga by scoring four first-half goals as the leaders crushed Valladolid 6-0 at the Nou Camp. The striker took his league tally for the season to 13 and matched Gonzalo Higuain's earlier heroics for Real Madrid when the Argentine striker scored all four goals as they came back with 10 men to beat promoted Malaga 4-3 at the Bernabeu.
Santiago Solari got off to the perfect start as Real Madrid's interim coach when his side thrashed Melilla 4-0 in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday.
A summary of Saturday's action in La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga.
Real coach Julen Lopetegui has come in for fierce criticism this season, having presided over a run of five games without a win -- the team going eight hours and one minute without scoring -- before Tuesday's unconvincing 2-1 triumph over Viktoria Plzen that saw the team whistled off the pitch by their own fans.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
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