Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, find themselves in the bizarre situation of having made poor starts to the campaign
New Atletico striker Diego Costa, whose transfer from Chelsea was agreed this week, watched on from the stands as both sides hit the woodwork in the opening 20 minutes of an even first period.
Bayern Munich's outgoing coach Pep Guardiola has failed to make an impact at the club despite keeping the Bavarian giants as the dominant force in Germany, the club's former forward Ivica Olic said on Thursday.
Barcelona gave up more ground to Real Madrid in La Liga's title race on Tuesday after being held to a 2-2 draw at home to third-placed Atletico Madrid as a late penalty from Saul Niguez cancelled out Lionel Messi's 700th career goal. The draw meant the Catalans stayed second in the standings on 70 points and leaders Real Madrid, who have 71, will go four points clear at the top with five games left if they beat Getafe at home on Thursday.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday.
Chelsea manager Jose Mourinho returned to Spain with an ultra-cautious approach as his team earned a 0-0 draw with surprise Champions League semi-finalists Atletico Madrid in a first leg lacking in excitement on Tuesday.
Barcelona have emerged as favourites to be crowned champions after one defeat in their last 22 Liga games.
A first half Tiago header set up Atletico Madrid's 2-0 victory over Espanyol as they seek to get back on track following a stuttering start to the La Liga season.
Atletico Madrid have little time to celebrate their stunning La Liga triumph and must immediately turn their focus on Saturday's Champions League final against city rivals Real Madrid.
Barcelona have been 'harmed' by this week's La Liga fixture schedule, coach Ernesto Valverde said on Wednesday.
Atletico Madrid's problems deepened as they were held to a 0-0 draw at Villarreal in La Liga on Friday, stretching their winless run to four games in all competitions.
Sevilla became surprise Liga leaders on Sunday after beating visiting Celta Viga 2-1 while champions Barcelona drew 1-1 at Valencia thanks to another Lionel Messi strike but are still without a victory in their last four league games.
Barcelona twice threw away the lead to draw 3-3 at Levante on Tuesday in a potentially fatal blow to their chances of winning the La Liga title.
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.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Atletico Madrid hope to have talismanic striker Diego Costa back fit against Barcelona on Wednesday when the La Liga leaders bid to pull off another Spanish surprise by reaching the Champions League semi-finals.
Striker Mariano's header was glanced onto the crossbar by Sociedad's Andoni Gorosabel while the loose ball fell to Marco Asensio, whose shot was deflected wide for a corner from which Raphael Varane header hit the top of the bar.
Having absorbed the body blow of losing striker Radamel Falcao in the close season, Atletico Madrid have emerged as genuine contenders to break the title stranglehold of Real Madrid and Barcelona.
A round-up of Sunday's matches in La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga.
Images from matches played across top football leagues in Europe.
Karim Benzema struck twice as Real Madrid went to the top of La Liga with a 4-2 win over Villarreal on Saturday while midfielder Verza's double gave Almeria a shock 2-0 victory over Atletico Madrid.
IMAGES from football matches played in the Spain, Germany and Portugal on Wednesday.
Argentina's two iconic players may be contrasting characters but they shared many traits
Teenager Curtis Jones grabbed a 58th-minute winner as an injury-hit Liverpool qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League with a 1-0 win over Ajax Amsterdam at Anfield on Tuesday.
IMAGES from the UEFA Champions League quarter-final played between Atletico Madrid and Leipzig on Thursday.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Wednesday night.
These images prove we live in a wonderfully weird world.
After falling 2-0 down on the night, substitute Marcos Llorente struck twice in extra-time and Alvaro Morata added a late third to ensure a famous victory for Diego Simeone's side against a Liverpool team unbeaten in their last 25 home games in European competition.
Napoli suffered their first defeat of the season on Sunday when they lost 1-0 at lowly Atalanta while Serie A leaders Juventus surged on with a 3-0 win at Empoli, helped by a Gonzalo Higuain brace.
Saul Niguez announced himself as one of Europe's most promising midfielders by scoring a stunning individual goal to edge Atletico Madrid a step closer to their second Champions League final in three years.
Champions Barcelona reclaimed top spot in La Liga on Sunday by overcoming a dogged Villarreal side to win 2-0 at home with goals from stalwart defender Gerard Pique and youngster Carles Alena taking them above Sevilla.
Paris St Germain extended their Ligue 1 lead to 13 points with a 4-3 home victory against Girondins de Bordeaux on Sunday but the French champions were again exposed at the back and had Neymar sent off. A Marquinhos double, Edinson Cavani's 200th PSG goal and a goal by Kylian Mbappe put the capital side on 65 points from 26 games but they lost captain Thiago Silva to a muscle injury and Neymar picked up a straight red card for a late challenge in stoppage time.
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.
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.
Barca looked set for a third consecutive league draw as they created scant opportunities but they were presented with the advantage of an extra man when Villarreal midfielder Daniel Raba was given a straight red card for a wild, studs-up challenge on Sergio Busquets on the hour mark.
Atletico Madrid stayed hot on the heels of second-placed city neighbours Real Madrid when Radamel Falcao netted his 25th goal of the La Liga campaign in a scrappy 1-0 win at mid-table Sevilla on Sunday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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.
Radamel Falcao's penalty ensured 10-man Atletico Madrid preserved their 100 percent home record in La Liga with a 1-0 victory over resurgent Espanyol on Sunday.
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