In his absence, the league champions have made a lacklustre start to the season, losing their opening game to Athletic Bilbao before taking just four points from fixtures against Real Betis and Osasuna.
Lionel Messi scored a 50th freekick goal for Barcelona as he led his side to a quick-fire comeback to win 3-2 at Valencia on Sunday and keep the pressure on La Liga title rivals Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid.
Liverpool received a relatively kind draw for the group stage of this year's Champions League
Barcelona's star striker Lionel Messi has backed Atletico Madrid to seal this year's Champions League title, saying his team don't want to see Real Madrid claim the trophy.
Lionel Messi was lauded by opposition supporters on Sunday after he scored an outstanding hat-trick in Barcelona's 4-1 win at Real Betis, which put the Catalans 10 points clear at the top of La Liga with 10 games remaining.
Real Betis right-back Emerson Aparecido's first year in La Liga went superbly well, but there is plenty to come from one of the league's most talented and determined rising stars.
Atletico de Kolkata were guilty of missing too many chances and were held to a goalless draw against FC Pune City in their concluding group encounter of Hero Indian Super League at Rabindra Sarobar Stadium, Kolkata, on Friday.
Karim Benzema scored his sixth goal in four games as Real Madrid beat Alaves 3-0 on Sunday for a fourth successive La Liga victory which took the European champions to within eight points of leaders Barcelona.
Ferran Torres scored a brace and Ousmane Dembele made two assists as a red-hot Barcelona rolled over Osasuna 4-0 on Sunday to earn their fourth consecutive LaLiga win.
Teenager Curtis Jones grabbed a 58th-minute winner as an injury-hit Liverpool qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League with a 1-0 win over Ajax Amsterdam at Anfield on Tuesday.
Real Madrid saw off a stirring Chelsea fightback to book their place in the Champions League semi-finals following a 3-2 defeat after extra time in a scintillating second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu on Tuesday to go through 5-4 on aggregate.
Barcelona's eight-game winning run was halted following a 2-2 draw with Valencia, Atletico Madrid lost 1-0 at Real Betis and a resurgent Real Madrid secured their fourth win in a row by beating Alaves 3-0.
Bayern travel to Arminia Bielefeld in the Bundesliga on Saturday and host Atletico Madrid on Wednesday in the first group match of their Champions League defence.
Guardiola is on track to lead Bayern to a third consecutive Bundesliga title but his three-year spell there will ultimately be judged on whether he can win Europe's elite club competition with them.
Manchester United manager Ole Gunnar Solskjaer is eager to build his team around midfielder Paul Pogba despite media speculation linking the French World Cup winner with a move away from Old Trafford.
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.
Having won eight of the past 12 league titles coming into this campaign, where has it gone so wrong for Barcelona?
The toughness and guile that made Diego Simeone a great player has been there for all to see in his time as manager of Atletico Madrid, and the Argentinian marks his 300th game at the club with a major challenge on Sunday against Barcelona.
Griezmann special earns Atletico 1-1 draw at Sevilla
Bayern edge closer to Bundesliga title after win at Arminia
There was no dream ending for Olimpic de Xativa after an efficient performance from a second-string Real Madrid secured a 2-0 win at the Bernabeu which sent them through to the King's Cup last 16 on Wednesday.
Second half of abandoned Rayo-Albacete will kick-off proceedings on return.
Marseille cement second place with Montpellier win
Barcelona forward Ansu Fati will be sidelined for four months after undergoing knee surgery, the La Liga club said on Monday.
Atletico Madrid demonstrated their remarkable team spirit to come roaring back from two goals and a man down to draw 2-2 at Liga debutants Girona on Saturday, after Antoine Griezmann had been sent off for the first time in his career.
Karim Benzema's hat-trick earned Real Madrid a 3-1 win at reigning European champions Chelsea in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday. In another quarter-final match, Villarreal stunned six times European Cup winners Bayern Munich 1-0.
Images from La Liga and German Cup matches played on the weekend.
The 55-year-old Ernesto Valverde, who led Barcelona to successive La Liga titles in 2018 and 2019, came under fire this season for the team's dip in performance levels even though they top the league standings at the halfway point of the campaign.
Gareth Bale marked his return to action after a long injury layoff by sealing a 2-0 victory for Real Madrid over Espanyol on Saturday to provisionally stretch Zinedine Zidane's side's lead at the top of La Liga to three points.
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.
Real Madrid talisman Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona striker Luis Suarez took centre stage on Saturday in bailing their teams out with late strikes to silence their critics following slow starts to the season.
Romelu Lukaku scored for Chelsea in a 5-1 FA Cup third-round victory
The league, which was announced on Sunday with 12 founding members, has been championed by Real Madrid president Florentino Perez, the new competition's chairman. It is now left with three Italian clubs -- AC Milan, Juventus and Inter Milan -- plus Perez's Real Madrid along with Barcelona and Atletico Madrid from Spain.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A round-up of Sunday's matches in La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga.
Pepe opened the scoring for Real with a looping header that flew past Jan Oblak in the 52nd minute and it looked like the hosts would earn three points to move five clear of Barcelona at the top of 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.
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.
Juventus moved top with 19 points to Inter's 18 and it was a deserved victory in an absorbing contest.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored his first three goals for Barcelona in a 4-1 win at Valencia, but Inter Milan suffered a shock 2-0 home defeat by Sassuolo. Images from the football matches played on Sunday.
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