News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League
LaLiga leaders Barcelona's pursuit of a 27th Spanish title gained momentum after a 2-1 comeback win over Real Madrid.
Barcelona's Luis Suarez netted twice for a 2-1 win over 10-man Atletico Madrid in their Champions League quarter-final, first leg on Tuesday after the visitors' Fernando Torres opened the scoring and was later sent off.
Champions Real Madrid earned a 2-0 win in a feisty LaLiga encounter at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday to ensure they stayed in the hunt for the LaLiga title with leaders Barcelona.
The Catalans will not just be looking to extend their domestic hegemony, though, as they have spent a combined 250 million euros ($280 million) on a renewed bid to win the Champions League.
Barcelona's hopes of staging another sensational Champions League comeback fell flat against a hardened Juventus side who held the Catalans to a 0-0 draw at the Nou Camp on Wednesday to reach the semi-finals 3-0 on aggregate.
Real Madrid showed their character by beating Barcelona 2-0 in Sunday's top-of-the-table 'Clasico', leapfrogging their rivals at the La Liga summit after a week in which their pride had taken a beating at home and in Europe. Brazilian teenager Vinicius Jr scored the opener in the 71st minute with a strike that deflected off Gerard Pique, flummoxing goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen who had made some jaw-dropping saves, and substitute Mariano added the second in added time.
'A ridiculous goal conceded from a corner will be the epitaph of this team, which repeated the mistakes of Rome'
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.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi scored twice in a 3-0 win over Las Palmas in a match played without fans following clashes between police and voters in Catalonia over a disputed independence referendum.
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.
Lionel Messi was back in scoring business for Barcelona on Sunday, leading them to a resounding 4-0 win at home against Villarreal in a near-perfect La Liga opener for the Catalans under new coach Ronald Koeman.
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.
IMAGES from the soccer matches played across European leagues over the weekend.
Real Madrid and Bayern Munich have one foot in the Champions League last four as they go into this week's quarter-final second legs while Barcelona face a harder fight for their berth with doubts over the availability of injured Lionel Messi.
Images from the weekend action in the Spanish League.
Lionel Messi scored twice as Barcelona crushed Getafe 5-2 on Thursday to stay in the hunt for the La Liga title.
Lionel Messi's fifth-place finish in this year's Ballon d'Or vote was absurd, Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde said of the Spanish champions' Argentina forward on Tuesday.
Barcelona extended their LaLiga lead to eight points thanks to second-half goals by Jordi Alba, Gavi and Raphinha that gave them a 3-0 home win against Sevilla
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored his first three goals for Barcelona in a 4-1 win at Valencia, but Inter Milan suffered a shock 2-0 home defeat by Sassuolo. Images from the football matches played on Sunday.
"It's better for Messi to play as he is the best in the world and he gives you a boost but we should be very proud as a team, as we showed that we are a great team without Messi and we have a great coach (Ernesto Valverde)," Suarez said.
Lionel Messi scored twice to earn Barcelona a 2-0 derby win over Espanyol and send them 13 points clear at the top of La Liga on Saturday.
Lionel Messi's sublime double gave Barcelona a 2-0 win over Real Madrid in a tempestuous Champions League semi-final first leg which saw Real finish the game with 10 men and with coach Jose Mourinho in the stands.
Barcelona trimmed the gap to leaders Real Madrid to three points when Lionel Messi struck twice in a 4-1 comeback win at relegation-threatened 10-man Real Zaragoza in La Liga on Saturday.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a sensational goal and was then sent off for a combination of his provocative celebration and for diving as Real Madrid beat Barcelona 3-1 in an explosive Spanish Super Cup first leg on Sunday.
Barcelona eased into the Champions League quarter-finals with a 4-1 aggregate victory over Manchester City on Wednesday and Paris St Germain joined them after overwhelming Bayer Leverkusen 6-1 over the two legs of their last-16 tie.
Atletico Madrid took full advantage of Barcelona's defeat at Real Sociedad and closed to within eight points of the La Liga leaders when Adrian and Koke struck in a 2-0 win at home to Levante on Sunday.
A round-up of Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
'We want not only to defend it but also show that we are superior and we need to have a good game'
Santiago Solari got off to the perfect start as Real Madrid's interim coach when his side thrashed Melilla 4-0 in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday.
Barcelona took another step towards retaining their La Liga title when goals from Bojan Krkic, Pedro and Yaya Toure fired them to a 3-0 home win over Deportivo Coruna on Wednesday.
Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane made up for the absence of Sergio Ramos by scoring one goal and making another to help his side to a hard-fought 3-0 win at Getafe. La Liga leaders Barcelona were held to a 2-2 draw at struggling Espanyol on Saturday as China striker Wu Lei came off the bench to grab a late equaliser in a pulsating city derby.
Lionel Messi notched a 20th assist of the season to help a lacklustre Barcelona secure a 1-0 win away to Real Valladolid on Saturday, maintaining the pressure on La Liga leaders Real Madrid. Cristiano Ronaldo converted two penalties, both awarded for handballs and the second in the last minute, as Serie A leader Juventus twice hit back to draw 2-2 with Atalanta to move closer to a ninth successive Serie A title on Saturday.
Lionel Messi dragged a nervous Barcelona to a 1-0 win at home to Levante in La Liga, while Cristiano Ronaldo converted two late penalties on his 100th appearance for Juventus in all competitions as the Serie A titleholders ground out a 3-1 win away to a dogged Genoa side.
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.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Levante claim that Barcelona's teenage defender Chumi Brandariz, who played in the first leg, was ineligible to take part in the match because he was suspended.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez were on target as holders Barcelona thrashed Real Sociedad 5-2 to reach the King's Cup semi-finals for the seventh successive year with a 6-2 aggregate victory on Thursday.
