Neymar took time to settle but is finally shining in Barcelona's devastating attacking trident with Villarreal the next La Liga opponents in their sights on Sunday as the Catalans continue their pursuit of Real Madrid.
An insatiable Lionel Messi hit a hat-trick as Barcelona hammered Espanyol 5-0 in a local derby on Saturday to make it three wins from three and take full advantage after Liga champions Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Levante.
Following a bright start to the season it was another disappointing display by Villarreal, who have one win from seven games in La Liga, before the return at El Madrigal in two weeks.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Real Madrid kept alive their hopes of overhauling La Liga leaders Barcelona when a James Rodriguez stunner set them on their way to a serene 3-0 home victory over struggling Almeria on Wednesday.
Lionel Messi produced a vintage second-half performance to help Barcelona to a 4-1 win over local rivals Espanyol on Sunday which saw the champions cut the gap on La Liga leaders Real Madrid to three points.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 400th goal for Real Madrid as Zinedine Zidane's side closed in on a first La Liga title since 2012, easing to a 4-1 win over Sevilla on Sunday while Neymar hit a hat-trick for Barcelona, who thrashed Las Palmas 4-1.
Juventus clinched a place in the Champions League knockout stages when a brilliant Cristiano Ronaldo assist set up Mario Mandzukic to give them a 1-0 win over Valencia on Tuesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo hit a late double as La Liga leaders Real Madrid thumped Almeria 4-1 to extend their Spanish record for consecutive victories in all competitions to 20.
Real Madrid ended their long wait for a La Liga victory by beating Real Valladolid 2-0 on Saturday with two late goals in interim coach Santiago Solari's first home game in charge of the struggling European champions.
Cristiano Ronaldo, fired up by rival Lionel Messi's midweek hat-trick for Barcelona, struck four goals in 26 second-half minutes as Real Madrid crushed Celta Vigo 7-1 at the Bernabeu on Saturday.
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.
A late goal by Toni Kroos sealed victory as Real Madrid defeated an impressive Celta Vigo side 2-1 to win their first home La Liga game of the campaign on Saturday.
Photographic summary of the football matches played across Spain, Italy and France
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.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Champions Barcelona suffered their second defeat in three matches in La Liga on Saturday, with Michael Krohn-Dehli scoring and setting up another goal in a 2-1 victory for Sevilla.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Bastia game abandoned after fans attack Lyon players
Barcelona's lead at the top of La Liga was cut after a second consecutive defeat and LeicesterCity's improbable march towards the Premier League title showed no sign of slowing as they won a fifth straight match. Juventus stayed six points clear of Napoli after Italy's top two both won and Bayern Munich extended their Bundesliga lead to seven points. Here is a summary of results from football matches played across Europe over the weekend.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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.
A red hot Luis Suarez scored four goals and contributed three assists as Barcelona's stuttering La Liga title charge sparked back to life with a spectacular 8-0 thrashing of Deportivo La Coruna on Wednesday.
Real Madrid secured a club record 16th straight victory when Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale struck in a laboured 2-1 win at Malaga on Saturday that put them five points clear of second-placed Barcelona in La Liga.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday.
Hegerberg hat-trick fires Lyon to fourth straight Champions League
Lionel Messi will have another chance to match or surpass Telmo Zarra's six-decade-old La Liga scoring record of 251 goals when Barcelona host promoted Eibar on Saturday.
Photos from the La Liga matches played on Sunday
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Manchester United humbled Manchester City 4-2 in the continent's big derby of the weekend.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday
Manchester United took over at the top of the Premier League while Barcelona's Argentine forward Lionel Messi could be out for up to two months with a knee injury and rampant Bayern Munich extended their perfect start to seven league wins.
Manchester City made it five wins out of five in the Premier League and Cristiano Ronaldo scored five goals for Real Madrid but Chelsea and Juventus continued to struggle at the weekend as the Champions League looms.
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.
Luis Suarez is likely to play his first competitive game for Barcelona in La Liga's "Clasico" against Real Madrid later this month and he says it is no coincidence his four-month biting ban expires the day before one of biggest fixtures in world soccer.
Atletico Madrid secured a berth in the Champions League group stage for next season and Deportivo La Coruna narrowly escaped relegation when they came from two goals down to draw 2-2 at champions Barcelona on the final day in La Liga on Saturday.
European heavyweights Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Paris St Germain all maintained their leads and Benfica toppled Sporting Lisbon.
Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale answered his critics in emphatic style.
The Champions League Group F match between Barcelona and Ajax was a cracker of a contest.
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