Barcelona followed up last weekend's 3-1 defeat at Real Madrid with another reverse on Saturday, squandering a host of chances to lose 1-0 at home to Celta Vigo and handing the lead in La Liga to their arch rivals.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique played down talk of a rift with his squad after their surprise home defeat by Alaves and is hoping to put things right in their Champions League opener against Celtic on Tuesday.
Ousmane Dembele's late strike rescued a 1-1 draw for champions Barcelona at Atletico Madrid but Sevilla moved top with a 1-0 win over Real Valladolid. European champions Real Madrid were humiliated in a 3-0 defeat at Eibar.
Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid resume a nail-biting La Liga title race on Saturday after all notched up victories on Wednesday. Leaders Barcelona, who ended a four-game winless streak by hammering Deportivo La Coruna 8-0 away from home, host struggling Sporting Gijon on Saturday. Atletico battled to a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao to stay level on 79 points with Barcelona, who top the table with a superior head-to-head record and host Malaga. Real stayed one point behind their title rivals after beating Villarreal 3-0 and are expected to be without top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo for their visit to struggling neighbours Rayo Vallecano. The Portuguese forward was unable to finish the game against Villarreal after suffering cramp in stoppage time but eased concerns he had suffered a serious injury.
Real Madrid and city rivals Atletico have dismissed reports in Spanish media of a possible FIFA ban from the next two transfer windows over breaches of rules on the signing of foreign Under-18 players.
Real Madrid moved to within a point of La Liga leaders Barcelona after Karim Benzema, Isco, Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez and Cristiano Ronaldo all scored in a 5-1 thrashing at struggling Getafe on Saturday.
Goals from Adam Lallana and Roberto Firmino put the home side ahead by halftime and they romped to victory with a Giannelli Imbula own goal and Daniel Sturridge strike after Stoke threatened an upset with a Jonathan Walters header.
A round-up of Saturday's Euro 2020 qualification matches.
A summary of Saturday's football action across the world.
Cristiano Ronaldo gave Zinedine Zidane a ringing endorsement as Real Madrid coach after their 1-0 defeat by Atletico Madrid in the city derby at the Bernabeu on Saturday.
Atletico Madrid's French forwards Antoine Griezmann and Kevin Gameiro fired them to a first win in three league outings as they beat Valencia 3-0 on Sunday to maintain their hold on Spain's fourth Champions League qualifying place.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said he was shocked by the wild knee-high challenge on world player of the year Lionel Messi that triggered a straight red card for Atletico Madrid's Brazilian defender Filipe Luis on Saturday. The coach, whose side won 2-1 at home to go three points clear in La Liga, protested angrily on the touchline after the left back's studs-up tackle against the Argentine forward shortly before half time. "Did you see my reaction? Then you can imagine what I was thinking. It shocked me but I am not going to go into details about it," he told a news conference at the Nou Camp.
Parma, joint bottom of Serie A alongside Cesena, have signed Uruguay midfielder Cristian Rodriguez and Portugal forward Silvestre Varela, both on loan, the club said on Tuesday.
Barcelona will be missing the lethal touch of Neymar in attack for the UEFA Super Cup against Sevilla.
Spain are among the favourites to win the European Championship this summer but the team's 1-0 home defeat to Georgia on Tuesday has set alarm bells ringing. In their last warm-up game before the tournament and nearly two years on from their first-round exit at the World Cup in Brazil, Spain lost to a team ranked number 137 by FIFA. "Gatillazo" (Damp squib) was the headline in Wednesday's AS newspaper after the team's loss in Getafe.
Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi scored stunning goals to edge Barcelona towards a fourth consecutive King's Cup final with a 2-1 win at Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, although the holders were lucky to survive a late onslaught from the hosts.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Thursday.
Spain goalkeeper Iker Casillas left Real Madrid on Saturday after 16 seasons as an iconic figure at the Bernabeu.
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.
Real Madrid are hoping the fit-again Cristiano Ronaldo can lead them into the Champions League final although strike partner Karim Benzema remains a doubt for Wednesday's return match with Manchester City.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Guardiola is on track to lead Bayern to a third consecutive Bundesliga title but his three-year spell there will ultimately be judged on whether he can win Europe's elite club competition with them.
From Cristiano Ronaldo picking up the third Golden Boot award of his career to Phoenix Suns cheerleaders, Rediff.com has it all snapped right here...
Toni Kroos netted his first for Real Madrid and was hailed as the best player on the pitch by his coach as the hosts tore apart Rayo Vallecano 5-1 in La Liga on Saturday to extend their winning streak to 13 games.
The 25-year-old Mata struggled for game time this season under Jose Mourinho, with Chelsea's manager preferring an attacking midfield trio comprising Brazilian internationals Oscar and Willian and Belgium winger Eden Hazard.
'He said sorry, he's not happy with the red card, but it's over now. These things happen and we can't chance it, but with 10 men we still managed to equalise'
Costa turned Juanfran's low cross into the net in the 69th minute for Atletico's third goal in the first leg of the last 16 tie against third division Lleida but immediately limped to the sidelines. He did return to the pitch, however, and completed the game despite bleeding from his knee.
Manchester United's deadline day signing Anthony Martial has played down comparisons with Arsenal's record goalscorer Thierry Henry, saying he still has everything to prove.
Barca, with Lionel Messi absent through injury, hit the woodwork on four occasions but luck was not on their side as they lost their second consecutive away game following their 4-1 defeat by Celta Vigo.
This and more from the happenings in the world of football
Rediff.com takes you in flashback as we rewind the best from the sporting world in the week gone by.
Barcelona head into Saturday's 'Clasico' against Real Madrid with a whopping 11-point gap over their bitter rivals in the Liga title race -- and they also have the advantage in financial terms, albeit by smaller margins.
United manager Louis van Gaal, who had come under scrutiny for sanctioning the deadline-day deal this month and had even been accused of 'panic-buying', was suitably impressed if typically understated.
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.
Images from the Champions League round of 16 second leg matches played on Tuesday
Barcelona leapfrogged Atletico Madrid to go top of La Liga after Lionel Messi's acrobatic volley secured a hard-fought 2-1 victory against tenacious Malaga on Saturday.
IMAGES from the La Liga matches played on Tuesday
Antoine Griezmann scored twice off the bench as Atletico Madrid sealed a place in the King's Cup quarter-finals with a 3-0 win at home to Rayo Vallecano on Thursday while Valencia also advanced with victory by the same scoreline at Granada.
Jordon Ibe came off the bench to drive home the winner as Liverpool took a big step towards reaching the League Cup final with a 1-0 victory at Stoke City in the first leg of their last-four tie on Tuesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed a hat-trick and Gareth Bale became the fifth British player to score for Real Madrid at the Bernabeu in La Liga when he struck twice in an action-packed 7-3 win over Sevilla on Wednesday.
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