'I think I am now as quick as I ever was,' he said after scoring a hat-trick on Saturday.
Barcelona named former Athletic Bilbao coach Ernesto Valverde on Monday as the successor to Luis Enrique and he will take charge of the La Liga runners-up on a two-year contract.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
La Liga champions Barcelona slumped to a shock 2-1 defeat at struggling Leganes and Real Madrid were resoundingly beaten 3-0 by Sevilla on Wednesday as Spain's two biggest clubs lost on the same day for the first time since January, 2015.
Manchester City's quadruple bid remained intact as Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin de Bruyne secured a 2-0 win at Everton in their FA Cup quarter-final clash
La Liga leaders Barcelona earned a narrow 1-0 win over Real Valladolid to move seven points clear at the top, while Real Madrid lost 2-1 at home against Girona to fall to third behind Atletico Madrid.
Marco Asensio's strike earned Real Madrid a 1-0 win over Espanyol to send them top of La Liga and Thomas Lemar scored his first goal for Atletico Madrid in a 2-0 victory at Getafe on Saturday.
Real Madrid's reliance on their talisman Cristiano Ronaldo was more evident than ever on Tuesday as the Spanish and European champions meekly lost 1-0 at Espanyol in La Liga.
Here are five talking points from the weekend's action in La Liga.
Barca's second-half stamina key to their massive lead in the standings this season
Atletico Madrid's faint hopes of chasing down runaway Liga leaders Barcelona suffered a fresh blow on Saturday as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Girona, meaning they could fall 11 points behind the Catalans by the end of the weekend.
Manchester City swept aside second-tier Cardiff City 2-0 with first-half goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling on Sunday to reach the FA Cup fifth round in their quest to win an unprecedented four trophies this season.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Luis Suarez said he had missed linking up with his insatiable strike partners Neymar and Lionel Messi after Barcelona's 'MSN' attack scored six goals in their 7-0 record rout of Celtic on Tuesday. Messi scored a record sixth European Cup hat-trick while Neymar became the first player in Champions League history to provide four assists and score in a game, curling in the third from a free-kick.
While the whole world grapples to contain the spread of the coronavirus outbreak, the sporting world has been brought to a complete standstill. A lot of top sportsperson around the world have also tested positive for COVID-19 as major events like Tokyo Olympics, Formula One, Indian Premier League and the top football leagues in Europe all face long-term suspension.
Real Madrid beat Leganes 2-1 in La Liga on Saturday after coach Zinedine Zidane heavily rotated his side in preparation for Tuesday's Champions League semi-final second leg against Bayern Munich, including leaving out top-scorer Cristiano Ronaldo.
Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, find themselves in the bizarre situation of having made poor starts to the campaign
Barca must beat Villareal on the weekend if they are to stand a chance of overhauling Real in the run in.
'Barca are the best team around and when we play as we know how we are unstoppable'
France international Dembele scored 10 goals and provided 20 assists in all competitions to help Dortmund finish third in the Bundesliga last season. The team also won the German Cup.
Barcelona rarely looked capable of repeating their heroic comeback in the last 16 against Paris St Germain.
Barcelona teenager Ansu Fati scored twice to lead his side to a 2-1 win at home to Levante on Sunday, finding the net in a league game for the first time in more than four months and becoming the youngest player to net a La Liga double. Romelu Lukaku scored a quickfire second-half double to give Inter Milan a 2-0 win at Udinese on Sunday, ending their run of three successive 1-1 league draws.
Barca are now second on 66 points, two behind Real who have a game in hand as they chase a first title triumph since 2012.
Marcelino dismissed but Valencia keep pressure on Barcelona
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane is under pressure to break up his misfiring attacking trio of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale when he takes the La Liga leaders to Alaves on Saturday.
FC Barcelona's Asia Pacific director general Jordi Camps believes it is a matter of time before an Indian plays in Spanish top-flight.
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has reaffirmed his commitment to the club by saying he wants to lead them into their new stadium in 2017. Simeone is under contract with Atletico until 2020 but he cast doubt on his future in May, immediately after the team's defeat to Real Madrid on penalties in the Champions League final. The Argentine coach has since stated he made those comments in the heat of the moment, although talk of his future has resurfaced following the team's disappointing start to the season.
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.
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde will be banking on new signing Ousmane Dembele to fill the gap left by Neymar's departure as he looks to overcome off-pitch difficulties when the Catalans take on Espanyol on Saturday.
IMAGES from football matches played in the Spain, Germany and Portugal on Wednesday.
Champions Barcelona moved five points clear at the top of La Liga with a 2-1 win at Getafe, while Real Madrid fell to a 2-0 defeat by Real Sociedad.
Lionel Messi scored a penalty for the third Champions League game in a row with the Spaniards maintaining their winning start to the group stage.
In other European football action Real Madrid were left frustrated after a goalless draw against Athletic Bilbao in their La Liga match on Sunday.
Barcelona will travel to Borussia Moenchengladbach for their Champions League match on Wednesday without Lionel Messi but the Spaniards have enough options and firepower to plug the gap left by the Argentine, coach Luis Enrique said.
Real Madrid put their title defence back on track with a comfortable 3-1 win over Real Sociedad at Anoeta on Sunday, despite missing several key players. Sociedad defender Kevin Rodrigues scored at both ends and Borja Mayoral and Gareth Bale netted Madrid's other goals to help them equal the consecutive scoring record of 73 games set by Pele's Santos between 1961 and 1963.
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.
Real Madrid lost 2-1 at home to Celta Vigo in their Spanish King's Cup quarter-final first leg on Wednesday to slump to their second defeat in a row following a record winning streak.
Here are five talking points from the weekend's action:
La Liga leaders Barcelona hit two goals in the final three minutes to earn a 3-2 win at Rayo Vallecano
