A round-up of Saturday's action in La Liga, Ligue 1 and Serie A.
Barcelona have secured the services of Pep Guardiola for one more season after their spectacularly successful coach agreed to extend his contract with the La Liga champions to the end of June 2012.
Atletico Madrid squandered a chance to cut the gap to stuttering La Liga leaders Barcelona to nine points when they were held to a 0-0 draw at fourth-placed Malaga on Sunday.
Real Madrid inflicted a second painful defeat on stuttering Barcelona in five days when Sergio Ramos nodded a late winner in a 2-1 success in La Liga on Saturday.
Primera Liga top scorer Samuel Eto'o netted twice as Barcelona beat Sporting Gijon 3-1 at the Nou Camp on Sunday to restore their 12-point advantage at the top of the table.
Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos scored in the 90th minute to hold FC Barcelona to a 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou on Saturday.
Ronaldinho, Deco and Samuel Eto'o do not feature in Pep Guardiola's plans at Barcelona.
Barcelona missed a chance to virtually wrap up a third straight La Liga title when they surrendered the lead and lost 2-1 at Real Sociedad Saturday.
A Cristiano Ronaldo header set Real Madrid on their way to a 4-0 win at home to 10-man Racing Santander on Saturday that stretched their advantage over second-placed Barcelona at the top of La Liga to 13 points.
Barcelona shook off the disappointment of their Champions League defeat by Chelsea to extend their lead in the Primera Liga to 11 points with a 2-0 defeat of Athletic Bilbao.
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.
Bayern Munich will not only have to overturn a 3-0 Champions League semi-final first leg deficit against Barcelona on Tuesday but they will have to do it against a superb defence and in the midst of their biggest slump in years.
Unbeaten leaders Barcelona pulled six points clear of chasing Atletico Madrid and set a record for the best start to a La Liga season when Lionel Messi scored twice in a 5-1 drubbing of Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
The Spanish government's top sports official has sent out a message of calm and said there is no reason for Saturday's La Liga 'El Clasico' between Real Madrid and Barcelona to be postponed following Friday's attacks in Paris.
A superb late strike from Xavi allowed the Primera Liga leaders to snatch a 2-1 win away to a determined Albacete.
'It's evident that we are in a hole, we aren't at our best at the moment nor our most effective.'
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The rest of Barcelona's squad will have to do "a little bit more" to make up for the absence of five-times World Player of the Year Lionel Messi for the next three weeks, according to captain Andres Iniesta.
Barcelona want Spain midfielder Andres Iniesta to end his career at the Catalan club, coach Gerardo Martino said on the eve of Saturday's La Liga game at Almeria.
Round-up of football matches played around Europe on Saturday.
La Liga leaders Real Madrid dropped points at home for only the second time this season.
Real Madrid and Atletico each slipped 10 points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona after an intense Madrid derby finished goalless and the Catalans picked up an 11th victory in 12 games by winning 3-0 at Leganes.
Stopping prolific Barcelona forwards Lionel Messi, Neymar and Luis Suarez in the Champions League final will be a formidable task, Juventus coach Massimiliano Allegri said after his side clinched their place in next month's showpiece in Berlin.
'Messi is a player that makes a difference in all games and in Clasicos he has always made a big impact but we will have to see if he is ready' 'You never know what can happen in these types of games and when you start as favourite it can often go wrong'
Former Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova has died following a battle with cancer that forced him to stand down at the end of last season, the club announced on Friday.
Real are unbeaten since February, winning 10 of their last 12 games. In contrast, Barcelona have won just two of their previous five in all competitions and were dumped out of Europe in midweek.
Karim Benzema's seven-minute hattrick saw Real Madrid thrash Real Valladolid 6-0 in their La Liga encounter
Barcelona opened up a four-point gap at the top of La Liga, maintaining their 100 percent start as they cruised to a 3-0 victory at Catalan rivals Girona on Saturday.
Pep Guardiola's formidable managerial skills will be put to the test again when his stuttering ManchesterCity side visit his former club Barcelona in a top-of-the-bill Champions League clash on Wednesday.
Luis Suarez scored a hat-trick and Lionel Messi bagged a brace as Barcelona thrashed bottom side Cordoba 8-0 on Saturday to move a step closer to their fifth La Liga title in seven years.
Panathinaikos could be on the receiving end of a Champions League backlash from a wounded Barcelona on Tuesday after the La Liga giants were stunned 2-0 at fortress Nou Camp by unfancied Hercules at the weekend.
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.
Real Madrid and Barcelona were made to work hard before grinding out wins in La Liga at the weekend while Inter Milan scored a surprise derby victory over AC Milan in Serie A.
Leaders Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw away to promoted Real Murcia in the Primera Liga on Saturday, allowing arch-rivals Barcelona to close to within two points in the standings.
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.
The league said last week that the deal, called 'Boost La Liga', would strengthen its clubs and give them funds to spend on new infrastructure and modernisation projects as well as increasing how much they could spend on players' salaries.
Araujo to miss Uruguay friendlies due to thigh injury
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.
Real Madrid have one hand on a first La Liga trophy in four years after Cristiano Ronaldo scored a brilliant winner in a 2-1 victory at Barcelona on Saturday that stretched their lead over their bitter rivals to seven points with four games left.
Luis Enrique is set to leave a mixed legacy when he departs Barcelona but the coach can go out on a high by lifting a third consecutive King's Cup when his side meet Alaves in Saturday's final in Madrid.
