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.
A delightful flick and volley from Neymar allowed him to complete a double as Barcelona beat Villarreal 3-0 to go three points clear at the top of La Liga ahead of Real Madrid's clash with Sevilla later on Sunday.
Leaders Barcelona suffered their first defeat in La Liga this season when Real Sociedad stormed back from two-goals down and made the most of a red card for Gerard Pique to record a 3-2 home win on Saturday.
Lionel Messi scored twice and Luis Suarez struck his first La Liga goal as Barcelona crushed struggling Cordoba 5-0 on Saturday.
Joao Miranda and new signing Mario Mandzukic led Atletico Madrid to a 2-1 home win in La Liga on Saturday as visitors Eibar were unable to cope with the aerial threat of the champions.
Barcelona have sacked manager Xavi Hernandez, the La Liga club said on Friday, four weeks after confirming he would honour the last year of his contract and lead them through next season.
Barcelona kept up the pressure on La Liga title rivals Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid when Lionel Messi struck from the penalty spot in a 1-0 win at Espanyol in Saturday's Catalan derby.
Cristiano Ronaldo netted his 27th career hat-trick and Gareth Bale struck twice as Real Madrid bounced back in style from consecutive defeats with a thumping 8-2 La Liga win at Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday.
Real Madrid made sure Barcelona will have to wait at least until Sunday to wrap up a 22nd La Liga title when Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 200th goal for the club in a 6-2 win at home to nine-man Malaga on Wednesday.
Jose Mourinho believes winning La Liga was the toughest of the seven league titles he has sealed in coaching stints in his native Portugal, England, Italy and Spain, the Real Madrid manager said on Wednesday.
The three-horse race for the La Liga title tightened on Sunday when leaders Real Madrid drew 2-2 at city rivals Atletico and Barcelona won 4-1 at home to Almeria.
Barcelona won the La Liga title with a comfortable 3-0 victory at Granada thanks to a Luis Suarez hat-trick in the season finale on Saturday.
La Liga leaders Barcelona beat Real Madrid 1-0 to all but knock their rivals out of the title race on Saturday, while second-placed Atletico Madrid stayed seven points behind the Catalans with a 2-0 win at Real Sociedad on Sunday.
Gareth Bale said Real Madrid are determined to wrest back the Spanish league title from Barcelona this season after going four years without tasting La Liga success. Bale has won the Champions League twice and the King's Cup since joining the Bernabeu club in 2013, but the league title has proved elusive. Real missed out on the league to Barcelona on the final day of last season by a point and have not won the title since 2012, when they collected a record 100 points under Jose Mourinho.
Sevilla goalkeeper Sergio Rico blundered and then made two brilliant late stops as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Alaves on Monday that dented their La Liga title bid.
Leverkusen's Schick scores hat-trick in comeback win over Heidenheim.
Levante continued to defy their humble status as Valencia's second club when they beat Real Betis 3-1 to reclaim fourth place in La Liga on Monday.
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.
He made it 3-0 with a superb first-time finish into the bottom corner in the 20th minute, scoring his first ever treble in a competitive game, more than 19 years after making his professional debut.
A quickfire Arda Turan double, including an acrobatic bicycle kick, fired Atletico Madrid to a 3-1 home win over Espanyol in La Liga on Sunday and lifted the Europa League semi-finalists up to seventh.
A Neymar double, a spectacular volley from Luis Suarez and a goal for Lionel Messi saw top of the table Barcelona's unstoppable strike force sweep aside Real Sociedad 4-0 in La Liga on Saturday.
Barcelona still have very little chance of catching leaders Real Madrid and securing a fourth successive La Liga title despite closing the gap to eight points, coach Pep Guardiola said on Monday.
Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich powered past third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt 4-0 with an impressive display of high-pressing football on Sunday.
Lionel Messi became the first player to win 10 La Liga crowns with Barcelona and only the third player from any club to do so.
Valencia turned up the heat on Atletico Madrid in the fight for third place in La Liga when a 3-0 derby victory at home to Levante on Monday lifted the Singapore-owned club to within a point of the champions with seven games left.
A round-up of Friday's action in La Liga, and Bundesliga.
Gareth Bale struck his first Real Madrid hat-trick and set up another goal in a thumping 4-0 La Liga victory over Real Valladolid on Saturday.
Barcelona closed to within a point of La Liga leaders Real Madrid when Lionel Messi scored one goal, created two and conceded a penalty in a 3-1 win at home to champions Atletico Madrid on Sunday that eased pressure on under-fire coach Luis Enrique.
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.
Barcelona twice came from behind to rescue a point in a 2-2 draw at Valencia while Real Madrid dropped points again in a goalless affair at Racing Santander in La Liga on Wednesday.
Reaching the King's Cup final is of even greater importance than usual for Real Madrid following a demoralising setback in La Liga.
The Spanish government's top sports official has sent out a message of calm and said there is no reason for Saturday's La Liga 'El Clasico' between Real Madrid and Barcelona to be postponed following Friday's attacks in Paris.
With the distraction of two individual scoring records safely out of the way, Barcelona forward Lionel Messi can turn his full focus on helping the club win the major silverware that eluded them last season.
Atletico Madrid stayed firmly on course for a surprise La Liga title triumph when Raul Garcia's header secured a 1-0 win for the leaders at home to seventh-placed Villarreal on Saturday.
Barcelona restored their lead at the top of La Liga standings to nine points after Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez each scored in a routine if underwhelming 3-0 win at home to struggling Levante on Sunday, with Paulinho increasing their lead in added time.
Substitute Sergio Araujo struck a late equaliser as Las Palmas held Real Madrid to a 2-2 draw and left them with a one-point lead over Barcelona at the top of La Liga on Saturday.
La Liga is set for one of its most thrilling finishes when Barcelona host leaders Atletico Madrid in a winner-takes-all showdown at the Nou Camp on the final day of the campaign on Saturday.
Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo aggravated a leg muscle injury in Saturday's 2-1 win over city rivals Atletico, the La Liga club said.
Barcelona forward Luis Suarez was included in the starting lineup for Saturday's La Liga 'Clasico' against Real Madrid, a day after his four-month ban for biting an opponent expired.
Valencia recaptured fourth place in La Liga from Sevilla when Sofiane Feghouli scored the pick of the goals in a 4-0 stroll at home to second-from-bottom Granada on Monday.
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