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Barcelona's attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar were all on target as the champions roared back into life in La Liga with a dominant 5-1 victory at promoted Leganes on Saturday. Messi sidefooted in a simple cross from Suarez to strike the opening goal after 15 minutes and returned the favour for the Uruguayan to nudge in the second in the 31st.
The Argentine then lifted his shirt to reveal a red and black replica kit of his hometown club Newell's Old Boys bearing the number 10 which Maradona wore during his brief spell at the Rosario side in 1993.
Atletico Madrid maintained a two-point lead in La Liga with a 3-0 victory at Las Palmas and Barcelona and Real Madrid stayed hard on their heels with thumping wins over Athletic Bilbao and Sporting Gijon on Sunday.
A round-up of Sunday's action in the South American World Cup qualifiers.
The win took Barca to the top of the standings on 68 points although Real Madrid, on 65, will reclaim their lead due to their superior head-to-head record if they beat Real Mallorca at home on Wednesday.
Lionel Messi scored one penalty and missed another as Barcelona beat Real Valladolid 1-0 on Saturday to open up a seven-point lead at the top of La Liga.
Lionel Messi scored and grabbed two assists as La Liga leaders Barcelona eased to a 4-0 win away to struggling Real Mallorca on Saturday, making the perfect return to action after Spanish football's three-month hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The win takes Barca on to 61 points after 28 games, five clear of nearest challengers Real Madrid, who host Eibar on Sunday in their first game back.
Ajax Amsterdam striker Mounir El Hamdaoui struck twice to set up a 3-0 home win over Roda JC Kerkrade that put them top of the Dutch league on Saturday.
Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers says his side must tighten up defensively after a 5-3 victory over Stoke City on Sunday in which Daniel Sturridge resumed his lethal strike partnership with Luis Suarez.
Barcelona's Neymar struck twice to put the Spanish side in the Champions League final despite a 3-2 loss at Bayern Munich on Tuesday as they progressed 5-3 on aggregate and will face Real Madrid or Juventus next month.
Under the terms of the contract which expires in 2021, the only way Messi can leave without the club's consent is if a rival side pays his release clause of 700 million euros (629.7 million pounds).
You would have been hard pressed at the start of the season to find anyone to bet on Liverpool's Brendan Rodgers becoming the first Premier League manager to get the sack, but he is now the bookies' joint favourite.
Premier League leaders Manchester United sealed a needlessly nervy 2-1 home win over Liverpool on Sunday after Robin van Persie and Patrice Evra put rival Luis Suarez in the shade.
A late header from Edinson Cavani gave Uruguay a 1-0 win over Copa America holders Chile which saw them snatch top spot in Group C at their opponents' expense and set up a quarter-final meeting with Peru.
Images from Day 3 of the French Open matches played at Roland Garros on Tuesday
Lionel Messi broke a Spanish hat-trick record and Luis Suarez struck twice as a rampant Barcelona took over top spot in La Liga with a 6-1 hammering of Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi was at the heart of another devastating attacking show.
A blond-haired Lionel Messi failed to get on the scoresheet but it hardly mattered as under-strength Barcelona taught Celtic a footballing lesson in a Dublin friendly.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Azeem Rafiq claimed 'institutional racism' at the club, which has not offered a response so far.
The plane carrying Chapecoense to the Copa Sudamericana final, first leg against Atletico Nacional crashed into mountains outside Medellin, Colombia on November 28 after running out of fuel, killing 71 of the 77 people on board
Liverpool's hopes of qualifying for the Champions League all but ended.
Images from football matches played across Europe.
With no fans allowed into venues and Real playing their home games at the 6,000-capacity Alfredo Di Stefano stadium while the Santiago Bernabeu is being refurbished, it will be a title race unlike any other.
Quaison fires Sweden to extra-time World Cup playoff win over Czechs
Cristiano Ronaldo shrugged off the boos of his own supporters to fire Real Madrid to a 3-0 win over Real Sociedad on Sunday.
Barcelona take a 32-match unbeaten run to Arsenal for the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie on Tuesday as the Catalans continue their bid to become the first team to retain the trophy in 26 years.
Barcelona closed in on the La Liga title by thrashing local rivals Espanyol 5-0 on Sunday as Atletico Madrid dropped out of the race after losing 2-1 at Levante and Real Madrid beat Valencia 3-2.
After the celebrity pair's first-round Wimbledon win over Andreas Mies and Alexa Guarachi last week, Murray tweeted: "Well that was fun... #SerAndy"
Barcelona defender Gerard Pique blamed the club's pre-season trips to the United States and Japan for their shaky start to the season.
Continental champion Shiva Thapa (56kg) was barely tested as he advanced to the quarter-finals but it was curtains for comeback-man Akhil Kumar (60kg) after he lost an edge-of-the-seat last-16 bout on a bitter-sweet day for Indian boxing in the 17th Asian Games.
Images and a round-up of all the World Cup qualifiers played across continents on Tuesday.
Images from the UEFA Champions League quarter-final first leg matches played on Wednesday
Barcelona have asked Spain's Court for Sport (TAD) to open disciplinary proceedings against La Liga chief Javier Tebas after he criticised the team's reaction to an empty bottle being thrown in from the stands during a goal celebration.
Liverpool will play Manchester United and Queens Park Rangers face a potential tie against Chelsea, in what would be a re-run of two matches at the heart of recent racism rows in English soccer, after Sunday's FA Cup fourth round draw.
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.
Lionel Messi scored a record eighth Champions League hat-trick as Barcelona kick-started their campaign with a 4-0 home win over PSV Eindhoven, although they had defender Samuel Umtiti sent off late in the second half on Tuesday.
Wayne Rooney fired Manchester United to the top of the Premier League on Saturday after they beat Liverpool 2-1 in a match preceded by Luis Suarez's refusal to shake Patrice Evra's hand before the kickoff.
Barcelona beat Juventus 3-1 to claim the Champions League title on Saturday thanks to goals from Ivan Rakitic, Luis Suarez and Neymar in an entertaining final at the Olympic Stadium.
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