Sevilla became surprise Liga leaders on Sunday after beating visiting Celta Viga 2-1 while champions Barcelona drew 1-1 at Valencia thanks to another Lionel Messi strike but are still without a victory in their last four league games.
Champions Barcelona moved five points clear at the top of La Liga with a 2-1 win at Getafe, while Real Madrid fell to a 2-0 defeat by Real Sociedad.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup winner took to Twitter to express that he wants to win the Emperor's Cup with the Japanese side.
La Liga leaders Real Madrid returned to winning ways after two defeats, making light of playing most of the second half with 10 men to triumph 3-0 at home to mid-table Espanyol on Saturday.
The United States survived a late onslaught to beat Ecuador 2-1 and advance to the semi-finals of the Copa America for the first time since 1995 after a pulsating and sometime fractious match in Seattle on Thursday.
Barcelona came through a testing local derby at Espanyol, winning 3-0 to cling to their slender lead at the top of La Liga after rivals Real Madrid had set the challenge by beating Valencia 2-1 in the earlier kick-off.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The Portuguese can expect a hostile reception in Valencia, who had to suffer 15 of his goals for Real Madrid and are returning to the Champions League for the first time in three years.
Raheem Sterling struck twice as the Premier League champions Manchester City beat Crystal Palace 3-1 at Selhurst Park on Sunday to stay within two points of leaders Liverpool.
MotoGP championship leader Valentino Rossi will start the season finale in Valencia from the back of the grid after the Italian was penalised for clashing with Marc Marquez at the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar were being touted as the best strike force in soccer history a month ago as they spearheaded Barcelona's record unbeaten run but the tiring trio are now taking the blame as the club's season unravels.
Spain and Portugal played out an entertaining 0-0 draw on Friday as both sides prepared for this month's European Championship.
Here are five talking points from the weekend's La Liga action:
The virtual sound has been developed with video game company EA SPORTS FIFA, in a project called Sounds of the Stands.
Thousands of revelers hurled tomatoes at each other, cavorting in the red pulp beneath their feet in the Spanish town of Bunol. Organisers of the annual Tomatina festival tossed 145 tonnes of over-ripe tomatoes into the crowd from six large trucks, quickly converting the town into a sea of pink and red.
UEFA had banned City from European competition for two years after ruling they had breached Financial Fair Play (FFP) regulations but City won an appeal last month to have that verdict and sanction overturned.
The Spain international believes Tottenham Hotspur deserve to be in the Champions League and has set his top most target to lead the club to a top four finish next season with a bagful of goals.
Real Madrid's unbeaten start to the La Liga season came to an abrupt and surprising end as Real Mallorca claimed a stunning 1-0 victory at a rocking Son Moix on Saturday to climb out of the relegation zone.
"The only truth is that I made the decision that Paul will not be a second (vice) captain anymore but no fallout, no problems at all," Mourinho said after his team were knocked out of the League Cup on penalties by second-tier Derby County.
Reigning world champion Marc Marquez won a season record-equalling 12th MotoGP race with victory at the Malaysian Grand Prix on Sunday.
Images and a round-up of all the World Cup qualifiers played across continents on Tuesday.
'So, the Champions League final will be played between two teams who just don't know when they are beaten,' says Suhit K Sen.
The much-travelled Ranieri won the Premier League title with unfancied Leicester City in 2016 and most recently coached French side Nantes.
Malaga's outspoken Qatari owner Abdullah Al Thani hit out at the La Liga club's players on Sunday after their hopes of qualifying for the Champions League were dealt a blow in Saturday's 5-1 defeat at Valencia.
Liverpool received a relatively kind draw for the group stage of this year's Champions League
Dr Yale Chen (@yaletung) tweets lung ultrasounds and accounts of his symptoms each day to raise awareness.
Images from the Champions League matches played across Europe on Tuesday
The Bavarians have now won the German league title a record 29 times.
La Liga leaders Barcelona beat Real Madrid 1-0 to all but knock their rivals out of the title race on Saturday, while second-placed Atletico Madrid stayed seven points behind the Catalans with a 2-0 win at Real Sociedad on Sunday.
Barcelona are in the middle of an injury crisis as they head to Valencia for Saturday's La Liga game looking to keep up with pacemaking pair Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid. Without injured goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen and right back Sergi Roberto for the last two games, Barca will also be missing defenders Jordi Alba and Gerard Pique after both were hurt in Wednesday's 4-0 win over Manchester City in the Champions League. Pique sprained his right ankle while Alba injured his left hamstring and both are out until November.
A summary of the results of the major European football league matches on the weekend.
World number two Rafael Nadal has been named in Spain's squad for their Davis Cup World Group quarter-final against Germany in Valencia next month.
Real Madrid brushed off the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale to beat Espanyol 2-0 away and maintain their 100 per cent start to the league season while matching the La Liga record of 16 consecutive victories.
With no fans allowed into venues and Real playing their home games at the 6,000-capacity Alfredo Di Stefano stadium while the Santiago Bernabeu is being refurbished, it will be a title race unlike any other.
Madrid went into halftime with a three-goal lead after Marco Asensio scored twice in three minutes and debutant Javi Sanchez also got on the scoresheet late in the half.
Paco Alcacer enjoyed a rare outing for Barcelona by scoring twice in the club's 2-1 La Liga win over Sevilla at the Nou Camp on Saturday.
Paris St Germain squeezed past Valencia and Juventus saw off Celtic to reach the Champions League quarter-finals after long absences on Wednesday, joining Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund in the last eight.
Images from soccer matches played across different leagues in Europe on Sunday
Paris St Germain will be without the talismanic Zlatan Ibrahimovic for the return match but are still favourites to progress after beating Valencia 2-1 in their Champions League last-16 first leg on Tuesday.
Champions Barcelona lost 2-0 at Celta Vigo while Getafe earned an important 2-0 win over Girona in their bid to secure Champions League qualification.
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