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.
Real Madrid swatted aside Granada 4-1 on Thursday to ensure the La Liga title race will go down to the wire.
Atletico Madrid defender Lucas Hernandez was arrested in the early hours of Friday on suspicion of having assaulted his girlfriend, Spanish police said.
Ernesto Valverde's Bilbao team punished the visitors with clinical counter-attacks, playing with the advantage of having won the first leg 1-0 in Madrid.
Cristiano Ronaldo was singled out by Atletico Madrid fans on Wednesday as Juventus lost 2-0 in the Champions League last 16 but the former Real Madrid forward was quick to point out his stellar record in the competition.
Real Madrid failed in their attempt to sign France striker Kylian Mbappe from Paris Saint Germain on the final day of the transfer window as Cristiano Ronaldo completed his move from Juventus to Manchester United.
'We were happy with the win because we played a great game until the 88th minute, when two lapses in concentration led to two goals and we had to suffer a bit more than we should have.'
AC Milan will have to be perfect defensively when they host Premier League side Liverpool in their Champions League opener at San Siro, manager Paulo Fonseca said on Monday.
Atletico Madrid have temporarily cut players' and coaches' wages by 70% in order to cope with the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic, but guaranteed a full salary for their other employees, the Spanish club said
Their limp performance does not inspire confidence ahead of the visit of the all-powerful Serie A leaders and familiar foe Cristiano Ronaldo.
Spain is one of the worst affected countries in Europe by the coronavirus, with over 27,000 deaths, including 8,000 in Madrid.
Second-half strikes by Federico Valverde, Brahim Diaz and Endrick gave feeble Real Madrid an unconvincing 3-0 win over lowly Real Valladolid.
The 28-year-old did not reveal where he would be playing next but widespread reports in the Spanish media said he would be joining Barcelona.
Atletico Madrid have built a reputation for gargantuan achievements under coach Diego Simeone and have not given up hope of a remarkable turnaround against Real Madrid in Wednesday's Champions League semi-final second leg.
Liverpool's Luis Diaz scored a hat-trick as they maintained their perfect Champions League campaign with a barnstorming second-half display in a 4-0 victory over Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen at Anfield on Tuesday.
At the moment I don't see me having an expiry date, I'd love to stay here for many years to come, says Real Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti, who'll be completing a landmark on Tuesday.
Before Leicester enchanted the sporting world last year with their miraculous Premier League title win, Atletico had worked similar wonders in 2014 by breaking the strangehold of Real Madrid and Barcelona in La Liga.
Barcelona announced the signing of Griezmann this month for 120 million euros
Diego Costa scored four goals as Real Madrid were embarrassed 7-3 by rivals Atletico Madrid in the final match of their United States tour, in New Jersey, on Friday
Bayern Munich will be without winger Serge Gnabry for their Champions League group game against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday after he tested positive for COVID-19, the German champions said on Tuesday.
Barcelona trounced visitors Atletico Madrid 6-1 at the Nou Camp on Saturday to move into second place behind Villarreal in the Primera Liga. Villarreal have 16 points from six games after coming from behind to beat Real Betis 2-1 while Barca are on 13 after a scoring spree led by a double from Samuel Eto'o.
A round of Saturday's matches in Series A, La Liga and Bundesliga.
Despite striking a brace to help Atletico win Europa League title against Marseille, the French player has been heavily linked with a switch to Barcelona.
Images from La Liga matches played on Saturday.
Barcelona suffered a shock 1-0 LaLiga defeat at Real Sociedad on Sunday that ended their seven-match winning streak in all competitions.
Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak was the hero as the Spanish side reached the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals for the fourth year in a row after drawing 0-0 with Bayer Leverkusen in an open last-16 second leg.
For months, the 2024 Ballon d'Or seemed to have a clear front-runner, with everyone anticipating the coronation of Vinícius Júnior as the new king of football.
Atletico aim for Champions League revenge against Real at fourth attempt.
Griezmann, third in the 2016 Ballon d'Or behind Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi, had been heavily linked to Europa League winners Manchester United in recent weeks.
A round-up of Friday's action in La Liga, and Bundesliga.
Atletico Super Cup win vindicates decision to stay, says Griezmann
The 21-year-old is the latest youngster to join Atletico who have also brought in Argentine forward Luciano Vietto from Villarreal since the end of last season.
Former Argentina international Carlos Tevez has been hospitalised due to chest pain, Club Atletico Independiente, the Argentine club he now coaches, said on Tuesday.
Atletico Madrid got in the mood for Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final with Barcelona by thrashing Real Betis 5-1 on Saturday, their biggest win of the season. A classy finish from Fernando Torres and a fortuitous strike from Atletico's top scorer Antoine Griezmann gave the home side a 2-0 lead at halftime. Substitute Angel Correa then made a big impression in the second period, laying on the third goal for Juanfran and the fourth by Griezmann before Thomas Partey rounded off the scoring for the home team. Ruben Castro netted for Betis in the 79th minute when he pounced on a rare error from Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
Girona thrash Osasuna for first win of the season
'This crisis is going to be much bigger than anything we've experienced and anything we do will not be enough but my aim is to help, it might not be enough in some cases but I have to try'
Atletico Madrid have reached an agreement with Benfica to sign their Argentina midfielder Nicolas Gaitan for 25 million euros ($28.06 million), the La Liga club said on Thursday. The 28-year-old Gaitan, who is under contract at Benfica until June 2019, is currently with the Argentina squad competing at the Copa America. The deal is subject to a medical.
IMAGES from an exciting Europa League semi-final first leg match played at Emirates Stadium on Thursday
When Griezmann fired Atletico to victory over Olympique de Marseille in the Europa League final in May it was widely viewed as his last stand for Diego Simeone's side before a move to Barca but they successfully convinced the Frenchman to stay.
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