News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Barcelona have emerged as favourites to be crowned champions after one defeat in their last 22 Liga games.
Real Madrid defender Nacho was the unlikely hero as they snatched a 1-0 win at Real Valladolid on Sunday to capitalise on Barcelona's defeat at Valencia this weekend and move three points clear of their rivals at the top of La Liga. Serie A leaders Juventus suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at Napoli on Sunday, with coach Maurizio Sarri returning to his former club for the first time, though Cristiano Ronaldo still managed to score for an eighth league game in a row for the visitors.
Barcelona's 100 per cent start to the season was ended by Catalonian neighbours Girona, who picked up a draw at the Nou Camp, allowing Real Madrid to take advantage with a victory over Espanyol.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Barcelona left it late to snatch a 1-0 win at Valencia on Sunday after Atletico Madrid's 2-0 victory at home to Deportivo La Coruna was overshadowed by the death of a visiting fan hours before kickoff.
Valencia midfielder Pablo Aimar was discharged from hospital on Sunday after spending the night under observation after a blow to the head.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick as Barcelona clinched a 25th La Liga title on Sunday after winning 4-2 at Deportivo La Coruna despite throwing away a two-goal lead in a thrilling game which also confirmed Depor's relegation.
Real Madrid rekindled their hopes of challenging for the Primera Liga title with a 3-2 defeat of Santander on Saturday.
A superb strike from Jose Luis Morales condemned Real Madrid to a 1-0 defeat away to Levante on Saturday which saw them unseated at the top of the La Liga standings by Barcelona. Real's problems deepened with a suspected ankle injury to Eden Hazard, who limped off the pitch four days before their Champions League showdown with Manchester City and a week before their showdown with Barca in the 'Clasico'. Real's problems deepened with a suspected ankle injury to Eden Hazard, who limped off the pitch four days before their Champions League showdown with Manchester City and a week before their showdown with Barca in the 'Clasico'.
Valencia striker David Villa has torn a thigh muscle and will be out of action for around three weeks, the La Liga club said on Monday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The old format was skewed in favour of the bigger clubs, who could rest players for a first leg and swallow defeat before calling on their stars to turn the tie around in the return game.
Samuel Eto'o did the star turn as Real Mallorca beat Real Madrid 3-2 in the Primera Liga.
Spanish rivals Villarreal and Valencia had to settle for a goalless draw in the first leg of their UEFA Cup semi-final.
IMAGES from the Europa League matches played on Thursday
Six-time champion Mary Kom defeated Colombia's Valencia Victoria in her quarter-final bout to secure her maiden World medal in the 51kg category, in which she won an Olympic medal back in 2012.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Valencia striker David Villa has no intention of moving to a club outside Spain, his agent was quoted as saying on Friday. The Times newspaper quoted Valencia vice president Fernando Gomez on Thursday as saying that the Primera Liga club had discussed the sale of the Spanish international to Manchester City.
There were mixed fortunes for league leaders around Europe over the weekend with Barcelona, Inter Milan and Liverpool winning but Olympique Lyon and Hoffenheim going down to defeats.
Valencia tore Real Madrid apart 3-0 on Saturday to give Barcelona the chance to wrap up the Primera Liga title as early as Sunday's game against Villarreal.
Antoine Griezmann and Yannick Carrasco each conjured moments of magic as Atletico Madrid recaptured top spot in La Liga from Barcelona with a hard-fought 2-0 victory at Celta Vigo on Sunday.
Thierry Henry came off the bench to rescue a point for Barcelona as the leaders came back to draw 2-2 at Valencia in the Primera Liga on Saturday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
'I have a long contract still to go, I am enjoying myself and we are winning trophies. I want to continue doing this at Real Madrid'
An early goal from Gonzalo Higuain earned Juande Ramos his first Spanish Primera Liga win as Real Madrid coach when the champions beat Valencia 1-0 on Saturday. Ramos, who replaced Bernd Schuster last week, watched Argentine striker Higuain score after only three minutes and Dutch winger Arjen Robben run riot but it needed several saves from Iker Casillas to make sure of victory for the home team.
Hamburg led a trio of former European champions into the UEFA Cup knockout phase on Thursday and previous winners Valencia also secured a last 32 place. Aston Villa and Ajax Amsterdam progressed from Group F along with Hamburg, whose 2-0 victory at Slavia Prague meant Villa qualified despite a 2-1 home defeat by Slovakia's Zilina.
Barcelona and Sevilla claimed the final two places in the King's Cup semi-finals on Thursday, Barca knocking out city rivals Espanyol 3-2 and Sevilla coming through on away goals against holders Valencia. Sevilla, the 2007 winners, will play Athletic Bilbao for a place in May's final in Valencia, while Barca take on Real Mallorca.
Summary of sports events and persons who made news on Saturday
Rediff.com brings these and other big news from the sporting world, encapsulated in this photo feature...
Ten-man Arsenal suffered a 3-0 Premier League defeat at Leicester City on Sunday in another blow to their hopes of finishing in the top four and qualifying for the Champions League.
Sergio Ramos made amends for his untimely own goal last week at Sevilla by scoring twice as Real Madrid bounced back from two successive defeats by beating Malaga 2-1 on Saturday to go four points clear at the top of La Liga.
They joined Valencia and Stuttgart on top of their respective divisions after weekend action in Europe's main leagues.
Real Madrid's hopes of overhauling La Liga leaders Barcelona suffered a stinging blow when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Valencia.
Several players from United's first-choice starting line-up, including Paul Pogba, Romelu Lukaku and Jesse Lingard, are resting after the World Cup and could miss the opening league fixture against Leicester City in less than two weeks' time.
Since losing two of their opening three Premier League fixtures, United have rediscovered their form to put away Burnley, Watford and Young Boys -- the last a 3-0 victory on Wednesday to begin their Champions League campaign.
Inter Milan have signed Argentina midfielder Ever Banega on a three-year contract, the Serie A club said on Wednesday. The 28-year-old, who helped Sevilla lift their third straight Europa League title last season, scored five league goals in 25 appearances as they finished seventh in La Liga.
