Real Madrid romped to a 4-1 win at tiny Eibar on Saturday, provisionally returning to the top of La Liga, despite the absence of Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo for Zinedine Zidane's side.
La Liga champions Barcelona stayed on the heels of leaders Real Madrid by coasting to a 3-0 home win over Athletic Bilbao on Saturday as Lionel Messi became the club's top scorer from free kicks.
Barcelona's bid for a fifth La Liga title in six years suffered a surprise setback when the champions crashed to a 1-0 defeat at lowly Real Valladolid on Saturday.
Ten-man Premier League leaders Leicester City lost at title-chasing Arsenal, while La Liga pacesetters Barcelona crushed Celta Vigo and Juventus took over from Napoli at the top of Serie A by edging their rivals.
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.
Barcelona followed up Saturday's win over Real Madrid with another victory when Alexis Sanchez set the champions on their way to a 3-0 success at Celta Vigo on Tuesday that put them four points clear at the top of La Liga.
Following public comments from La Liga chief Javier Tebas, who said it was "not ideal" for the second El Clasico meeting between Real and Barca last season to be played with the latter having already won the league title, the two sides will face off earlier this campaign.
Champions Real Madrid earned a 2-0 win in a feisty LaLiga encounter at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday to ensure they stayed in the hunt for the LaLiga title with leaders Barcelona.
Leaders Real Madrid pulled three points clear of second-placed Celta Vigo when they held off the valiant 10-man Galicians to secure a nervy 3-1 victory in Saturday's top-of-the-table clash in La Liga.
'It wasn't easy, but I called him last night (Sunday) and we had a difficult and tough conversation. I feel bad as he's a player who has always been at the top level and has a future with the national team.'
The win took Barca to the top of the standings on 68 points although Real Madrid, on 65, will reclaim their lead due to their superior head-to-head record if they beat Real Mallorca at home on Wednesday.
Real Madrid did not specify if he would be out of action for any length of time
Here are five talking points from the weekend's action:
La Liga leaders Barcelona hit two goals in the final three minutes to earn a 3-2 win at Rayo Vallecano
La Liga leaders Barcelona were held to a 2-2 home draw by Celta Vigo on Saturday as their former assistant coach Juan Carlos Unzue dented the title hopes of the Catalans, who dropped points for the second game in a row for the first time this campaign.
Barcelona drew 1-1 at Valencia after Real Madrid lost 1-0 away to Alaves, allowing Sevilla to go top of La Liga with a 2-1 home win over Celta Vigo on Sunday. Here are five talking points from the weekend's La Liga action.
Manchester United should be "embarrassed" at trailing Premier League leaders Chelsea by 19 points and Jose Mourinho's first year in charge will not be considered a success even if they win the Europa League, former skipper Roy Keane said.
Lionel Messi netted his first hat-trick in 10 months as Barcelona swept aside struggling Granada 4-0 to climb above Atletico Madrid to the top of La Liga on Saturday.
IMAGES from the soccer matches played across European leagues over the weekend.
Barcelona travel to newly-promoted Osasuna without their first choice front line.
Holders Barcelona produced a second-half blitz to come from behind and beat Athletic Bilbao 3-1 to book a place in the King's Cup semi-finals after Atletico Madrid crashed out in a shock 3-2 defeat by Celta Vigo.
Jaume Costa atoned for giving away a first-half penalty when his strike five minutes from time rescued Villarreal a 1-1 draw against Eibar that put them fourth in La Liga on Sunday.
Real Madrid have exonerated Argentina winger Angel Di Maria over an incident in Monday's La Liga game at home to Celta Vigo when he was caught on camera grabbing his crotch while being substituted.
Barcelona beat third-placed Getafe 2-1 at home on Saturday to stay on the heels of La Liga title rivals Real Madrid but the champions were made to sweat for all three points by the impressive visitors. Antoine Griezmann sent the Catalans ahead in the 34th minute with a cool finish with the outside of his left foot after being played in by an outstanding pass from Lionel Messi, while Sergi Roberto doubled Barca's lead five minutes later.
Lionel Messi scored yet another hat-trick and surpassed 400club goals as Barcelona came from behind to win the Catalan derby 5-1 against Espanyol.
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated his recent Ballon d'Or award by scoring twice for the first time in a La Liga game this season as champions Real Madrid swept to a stunning 5-0 win over Sevilla on Saturday to go five points behind leaders Barcelona.
Premier League-based trio Diego Costa, Juan Mata and Santi Cazorla were among a high-profile list of absentees when Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque named his provisional 25-man squad for Euro 2016 on Tuesday. Costa injured his hamstring against Liverpool in Chelsea's penultimate game of the season. Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres was also absent from the squad despite his improved form towards the end of the season, as were Arsenal midfielder Cazorla and Valencia forward Paco Alcacer, Spain's top scorer in their qualifying campaign.
Portugal international Goncalo Guedes fired Valencia into the lead in the 35th minute with a thumping shot from inside the area which was too powerful for Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas.
Villarreal went top with a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid on Saturday after a toothless Real Madrid were held 0-0 at home to 10-man Malaga and Lionel Messi suffered a serious injury as Barcelona beat Las Palmas 2-1.
Real Madrid's Karim Benzema produced an audacious back-heeled assist for Casemiro to score as they beat Espanyol 1-0 away on Sunday to capitalise on Barcelona's slip-up a day earlier and move two points clear at the top of La Liga. Brazilian midfielder Casemiro slid to the ground to guide the ball home on the stroke of halftime after being played in by a stroke of genius from Benzema, who dragged the ball through the legs of his marker Bernardo Espinosa to find his team mate.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Arsenal right back Hector Bellerin will be in Spain's Euro 2016 squad, the country's football federation said on Tuesday. The 21-year-old Bellerin and the other 18 players named to face South Korea in a friendly in Wals-Siezenheim, Austria on Wednesday, have been guaranteed spots in the European Championship squad. Bellerin was included after Real Madrid right back Dani Carvajal sustained a leg muscle injury in Saturday's Champions League final victory over Atletico Madrid. The Real Madrid and Atletico players in the squad will be named later on Tuesday when Spain coach Vicente del Bosque announces his final list.
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.
Valencia climbed above Atletico Madrid and Sevilla into third in La Liga when Alvaro Negredo came off the bench to score a late winner in a 3-2 home victory over his former club Almeria on Saturday.
Jose Mourinho admitted that Sunday's 2-0 defeat to Arsenal means it will now be "impossible" for Manchester United to finish in the top four.
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.
Atletico Madrid fell to their heaviest league defeat of the season
Cristiano Ronaldo netted a first-half penalty as injury-depleted Real Madrid recovered from their derby defeat by Atletico Madrid at the weekend with a 3-1 win at Levante on Wednesday.
"According to the report issued from the city hall in Vigo, they consider that the Balaidos stadium is not safe for spectators or for players to attend the game on Sunday," said a statement from La Liga.
