'They probably need to refresh the team a bit more, to be very honest. They have kept the majority of the same team for the last couple of years'
Barcelona's 100 per cent start to the season was ended by Catalonian neighbours Girona, who picked up a draw at the Nou Camp, allowing Real Madrid to take advantage with a victory over Espanyol.
Barcelona forwards Ousmane Dembele and Lionel Messi fired the Catalans to a confidence-boosting 2-0 win at in-form Sevilla on Saturday to keep the pressure on La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid.
IMAGES from Champions League matches played on Wednesday.
Barcelona's last Champions League triumph came in 2015, and since then they have failed to get beyond the quarter-finals while Real Madrid have monopolised the trophy.
Luis Enrique's new task is to rebuild a Spain team that ruled international football between 2008 and 2012 by winning successive European Championships and the 2010 World Cup but have been deeply disappointing at their last three international tournaments.
"C'est fini". With those few words in French a tearful Iker Casillas brought to an end his farewell statement on Sunday to the Real Madrid fans he has served as first-team goalkeeper and captain for 16 seasons.
If there is one lesson Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti has learned during his two seasons in Spain it is that resting on your laurels is not an option at the world's richest club by income.
Benfica won the Portuguese league for the second year running on Sunday.
Bayern Munich may be missing some of their biggest names when they travel to Porto for the first leg of their Champions League last eight on Wednesday but the Germans are confident they have enough firepower to defend their favourites tag.
Philippe Coutinho scored his first league goal since returning to Barcelona to help his side draw 1-1 at home to an excellent Sevilla side in La Liga on Sunday.
FIFA World Cup set pulses racing and ended with a young, exciting France team clinching the title.
Defiant 10-man Porto upset Juventus to reach the Champions League quarter-finals on away goals after a 4-4 aggregate draw despite losing 3-2 to the Italians following extra time in a thrilling clash that went to the wire on Tuesday.
Revolution is in the air at Real Madrid after their Champions League empire was razed to the ground with an astounding 4-1 loss at home to Ajax Amsterdam, with a huge clear out of players expected as well as a change of manager.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
'We were not lying yesterday when we said in the press conference Iran is a tough team'
Champions Barcelona moved five points clear at the top of La Liga with a 2-1 win at Getafe, while Real Madrid fell to a 2-0 defeat by Real Sociedad.
Spain goalkeeper David de Gea made a rare error which led to his side drawing 1-1 at home to Switzerland in a World Cup warm-up friendly on Sunday which the hosts dominated but failed to make their superior possession count.
Here are five talking points from the weekend's action:
Chelsea's Marcos Alonso and Real Madrid's Nacho were notable absentees in defence, along with Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke.
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.
Holders Real Madrid survived a huge scare when they lost 4-3 to Schalke 04 in the Champions League on Tuesday but squeezed into the quarter-finals 5-4 on aggregate thanks to record European marksman Cristiano Ronaldo.
Atletico Madrid crashed out of the Copa del Rey to Girona on Wednesday following a highly entertaining 3-3 draw at home to the Catalan side, who sneaked through to the quarter-finals on away goals after the tie finished 4-4 on aggregate.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Chelsea have signed Spanish goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga for a world record 80 million-euro ($92.8 million) fee from Athletic Bilbao, the Premier League club said on Wednesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Karim Benzema scored twice after the interval with a penalty and a header from a corner to give Santiago Solari's side a 3-1 lead, after Raphael Varane struck in the 34th minute to cancel out Anuar Tuhami's goal for Valladolid five minutes earlier.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa asked his players to allow the visitors to score unchallenged when the game was restarted.
Midfielder Dani Ceballos added: "It looks like us changing our coach worked. We have recovered some sensations we had lost and we have got the three points. Now our objective is to win all the games left and finish the season as well as possible."
Real Madrid got their Champions League title defence off to a strong start on Wednesday by convincingly beating AS Roma 3-0 at home with goals from Isco, Gareth Bale and a stoppage-time strike from returning striker Mariano Diaz.
Karim Benzema netted a second-half hat-trick as Real Madrid got back to winning ways with a 3-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao in La Liga on Sunday.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday night.
Former Real Madrid striker Predrag Mijatovic criticised Gareth Bale for lacking leadership qualities
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.
Gareth Bale scored his 25th goal for Wales but Georgia fought back strongly to earn a deserved 1-1 draw in a World Cup Group D qualifier in Cardiff on Sunday. It left Wales, surprise semi-finalists at Euro 2016, with five points from three games and at risk of losing the group leadership after the day's later matches. Georgia took their first point, following narrow defeats by Austria and Ireland.
Silva struck twice in the second half to further stretch the 2010 World Cup winners' lead after Barcelona's Jordi Alba had fired them into the lead in the sixth minute and Alvaro Morata had doubled their advantage midway through the first half.
Barcelona have joined captain Andres Iniesta in calling for dialogue between the Spanish government and leaders in Catalonia to resolve the crisis between the central government and its richest region following Sunday's disputed referendum.
Defending champion Germany suffered a shocking defeat, while Brazil, Spain and Argentina -- the other pre-tournament favourites -- managed just draws in their opening round matches.
Griezmann special earns Atletico 1-1 draw at Sevilla
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