Images from Saturday's La Liga action.
James Rodriguez will return to Real Madrid's starting lineup for Sunday's La Liga game at home to Granada after being out for two months with a broken bone in his foot, coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Saturday.
'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
Pedro hit a first-half hat-trick as Barcelona cruised into the last 16 of the King's Cup with a 8-1 second leg demolition of lower league Huesca at the Camp Nou on Tuesday.
European heavyweights Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Paris St Germain all maintained their leads and Benfica toppled Sporting Lisbon.
'Barca are the best team around and when we play as we know how we are unstoppable'
Cristiano Ronaldo's new five-year contract with Real Madrid which ties him to the Spanish club until the age of 36 will not be his last, he said on Monday. The 31-year-old forward joined Real in 2009 and is the European champions' all-time leading scorer with 371 goals in 360 games. "The numbers are impressive. I certainly never expected to make history at the best club in the world," the Portugal captain told a news conference. "This new contract is a dream come true. But this is my penultimate contract.
Real Madrid opened a three-point lead over Barcelona at the top of La Liga when Cristiano Ronaldo scored his eighth goal of the campaign in a 3-1 victory at home to promoted Las Palmas on Saturday.
Images from La Liga matches played on Monday.
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane is confident the team's results will not suffer from a one-year transfer ban imposed by FIFA for breaking rules regarding the signing of under-age foreign players.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
IMAGES from soccer matches played in the EPL, La Liga and Serie A on Tuesday.
Manchester United's hopes of a top four finish suffered a blow on Sunday as relegation-threatened Swansea City came back for a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Real Madrid tightened their grip on top spot by beating Alaves 3-0 at home in La Liga on Sunday to provisionally move five points ahead of nearest challengers Barcelona despite coach Zinedine Zidane making a string of changes in defence.
Real fought back after a calamitous own goal from keeper Keylor Navas gave Betis the lead in the 25th minute, just after the Costa Rican escaped a possible red card. Cristiano Ronaldo pulled the hosts level in the 41st with a diving header.
'I haven't lost any strength in the last four days and in one sense I feel a little relieved but focused on the objectives we set for ourselves at the start of the season'
Barcelona have been frighteningly good at home this season, scoring 15 goals in three games at the Nou Camp.
King's Cup holders Barcelona beat Real Sociedad 1-0 in their quarter-final first leg to end a nine-and-a-half year barren spell at home of the Basque side while Atletico Madrid crushed Eibar on Thursday.
Athletic Bilbao checked promoted Villarreal's impressive early-season run when they beat the team with the distinctive canary-yellow strip 2-0 at their new San Mames stadium in La Liga on Monday.
Real Madrid are on the verge of reaching the King's Cup quarter-finals after winning 3-0 at Numancia on Thursday while holders Barcelona still have work to do after being held to a 1-1 draw at Celta Vigo.
Barca finished the season second in the standings on 82 points, four behind champions Real Madrid who visit Leganes later on Sunday. Alaves are 16th on 39.
Real Madrid's stuttering run continued as they were held 1-1 at home by La Liga minnows Eibar on Sunday, drawing a fourth consecutive game in all competitions for the first time in more than a decade.
David Moyes's bid to resurrect his career in La Liga ended in failure when Real Sociedad sacked him following a defeat at Las Palmas which left them hovering just above the relegation places.
Barcelona needed Luis Suarez to be at his clinical best with a hat-trick in a 3-1 comeback win at home to modest Eibar on Sunday which put the champions level on 21 points with arch-rivals Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.
Arsenal scored twice in three minutes through a deflected Granit Xhaka strike and Danny Welbeck's header to claim a deserved 2-0 win over Manchester United on Sunday and inflict a first Premier League defeat on the visitors in 26 games.
Here are five talking points from the weekend in La Liga:
Zidane plays down Ronaldo injury; Liverpool's Gomez sidelined after surgey
Real Madrid beat Leganes 2-1 in La Liga on Saturday after coach Zinedine Zidane heavily rotated his side in preparation for Tuesday's Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich, including leaving out top-scorer Cristiano Ronaldo.
Barcelona beat Girona 2-0 in a Catalan derby on Sunday to maintain their five-point lead at the top of La Liga, while Real Madrid thrashed Espanyol 4-2.
Atletico Madrid's troubles away from home continued when they were held to a goalless draw at Alaves on Saturday, dropping points on the road for a second consecutive week and losing Uruguay international Jose Maria Gimenez to injury.
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez were on target as holders Barcelona thrashed Real Sociedad 5-2 to reach the King's Cup semi-finals for the seventh successive year with a 6-2 aggregate victory on Thursday.
Real Madrid lost 2-1 at home to Celta Vigo in their Spanish King's Cup quarter-final first leg on Wednesday to slump to their second defeat in a row following a record winning streak.
Real Madrid have defied injuries to keep the pressure on leaders Barcelona and notched up over 100 La Liga goals but they now face arguably the toughest test of their title charge in an away match to Sevilla on Saturday.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti's decision to deploy defender Sergio Ramos in central midfield was the key to Wednesday's 1-0 Champions League victory over Atletico Madrid, according to captain Iker Casillas.
A Lionel Messi-inspired Barcelona tightened their grip on the La Liga title race with a comprehensive 4-0 win at Eibar on Sunday to open up an 11-point lead at the top. Munir El Haddadi tapped home the opener from Luis Suarez's cross before Messi doubled Barca's advantage with a brilliant individual effort just before half-time. Messi doubled his tally from the penalty spot before Suarez lashed home the fourth six minutes from time. Barca's 11th consecutive league win also stretches their record unbeaten run to 36 games. Atletico Madrid can close the gap at the top to eight points when they visit Gary Neville's Valencia later on Sunday. Real Madrid remain 12 points adrift of Barca in third despite Cristiano Ronaldo's four-goal show in a 7-1 demolition of Celta Vigo on Saturday.
Atletico Madrid knocked Barcelona off the top of La Liga, for a day at least, as a second-half strike by Koke earned a 1-0 victory over a stubborn Malaga side on Saturday.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 4-2 in a thrilling match at the Bernabeu to move within a point of leaders Barcelona in La Liga on Saturday.
Cameroonian teenager Wilfrid Kaptoum scored a late equaliser to give Barcelona a 1-1 draw at Valencia that wrapped up an 8-1 aggregate success in their King's Cup semi-final on Wednesday.
