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.
Real Madrid and Atletico each slipped 10 points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona after an intense Madrid derby finished goalless and the Catalans picked up an 11th victory in 12 games by winning 3-0 at Leganes.
Arsenal are not only hoping to win a first European trophy since 1994, but know their hopes of qualifying for next year's Champions League depend on winning the Europa League in the French city of Lyon next month.
Holders Barcelona crashed out of the Champions League after being stifled by a brilliantly well-organised Atletico Madrid.
Atletico Madrid celebrated like they had won the trophy after reaching the Champions League quarter-finals by edging past PSV Eindhoven 8-7 on penalties on Tuesday following 210 goalless minutes in their last-16 tie.
Ten-man Manchester City staged a dramatic comeback with late goals from Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling securing them a 3-2 win at Schalke 04 in their Champions League Round of 16 first leg.
Real's victory at the Santiago Bernabeu means they are poised to knock Atletico out of the competition for the fourth successive year.
Villarreal have agreed to sell Argentine forward Luciano Vietto to Atletico Madrid, president Fernando Roig has said.
Barcelona closed in on the La Liga title after beating 10-man Atletico Madrid 2-0 in Saturday's top-of-the-table showdown at the Nou Camp as late strikes by Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi gave the Catalans an 11-point lead at the top of the table.
The members of the victorious inaugural Indian Super League Football Championship Atletico de Kolkata (ATK) were felicitated by West Bengal government.
Atletico Madrid were again put firmly in their place by Real Madrid in the city derby last weekend but they have not lost their sense of humour as the fallout from the game continues to make headlines in Spain.
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone rates Antoine Griezmann as one of the top three players in the world and says the forward owes it to his ability to work hard and the willingness to listen.
Defender Filipe Luis has rejoined Atletico Madrid from Chelsea in a reported 16 million euro ($17.66 million) deal, the Spanish club said.
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.
Adrian came off the bench to fire second-placed Atletico Madrid to a 1-0 La Liga home win over Celta Vigo on Friday and secure a ninth victory in nine matches this season at their Calderon stadium.
IMAGES from the soccer matches played in Spain and Italy on Saturday
Real Madrid have avoided defeat in their last 41 LaLiga games, the second best streak by a team in the competition's history.
Atletico Madrid suffered a first defeat in 13 games in all competitions as they lost 1-0 at home to Villarreal on Tuesday after a late strike from substitute Roberto Soriano.
A round-up of Saturday's football action in La Liga, Bundesliga and Ligue 1.
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.
Villarreal and Atletico Madrid continued to struggle in La Liga after both slumped to unexpected defeats on Sunday.
Chelsea have the upper hand ahead of next week's Champions League semi-final, second leg after holding Atletico Madrid to a frustrating 0-0 draw in Tuesday's first leg.
Taking a cue from their Spanish co-owners and UEFA Champions League finalists Atletico de Madrid, the Kolkata franchise for the much-anticipated Indian Super League was named Atletico de Kolkata on Wednesday.
Holders Real Madrid will need to maintain their intensity for the whole of next week's return leg if they are to get past Atletico Madrid into the Champions League semi-finals, coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Tuesday.
Atletico Madrid reached the Champions League final on away goals on Tuesday after a 2-1 defeat at Bayern Munich, in which both sides missed a penalty, with the exhilarating tie finishing 2-2 on aggregate.
Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann struck twice as the Spanish side outclassed hapless Olympique de Marseille 3-0 on Wednesday to win the Europa League for the third time.
Atletico Madrid are unaware of a possible transfer embargo after Spanish media reported FIFA were set to bar the club and city rivals Real Madrid from the next two windows.
Real Madrid and city rivals Atletico have dismissed reports in Spanish media of a possible FIFA ban from the next two transfer windows over breaches of rules on the signing of foreign Under-18 players.
Cristiano Ronaldo ensured Atletico Madrid fans will have bitter memories of the last local derby at the Vicente Calderon stadium by scoring a hat-trick in a 3-0 win for La Liga leaders Real Madrid on Saturday. Ronaldo's deflected free kick put Real in charge in the 23rd minute in the first meeting of the teams since the Champions League final in May. The prolific Portuguese killed off Atletico's resistance by winning and converting a penalty in the 71st minute and capped a harrowing night for the home side by tapping in the third in the 77th.
Winning trophies with his boyhood club and rediscovering his scoring touch is what Fernando Torres really craves after returning home to Atletico Madrid.
Real Madrid crashed out of the King's Cup quarter-finals 4-3 on aggregate after being held to a 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo on Wednesday in another major setback for the stuttering European champions.
Croatian forward Ante Budimir scored twice to help Osasuna earn a shock 4-2 home win over leaders Barcelona.
The following is the draw for the Champions League last 16 which was held in Nyon on Monday:
Atletico Madrid striker Alvaro Morata scored a goal and then missed a penalty as his side began their La Liga campaign with an eventful and nervy 1-0 win at home to Getafe on Sunday which saw both teams reduced to 10 men.
The result also means second-placed Real Sociedad can reclaim top spot if they beat Eibar on Sunday.
Images from the football matches played across Europe on Sunday.
Bikash Mohapatra salutes Radamel Falcao and Diego Simeone, the men who fashioned Atletico Madrid's Europa Cup triumph.
Former Uruguayan forward Diego Forlan's is widely speculated to become the marquee player of Atletico de Kolkata for the third season of ISL but the team owners remained tight-lipped on the subject. "We have not yet decided on our marquee player. We will announce the name before the (August 28) deadline and he will be befitting," co-owner Sanjiv Goenka told reporters on Friday.
Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Jan Oblak produced a heroic performance to repel holders Real Madrid and help secure a 0-0 draw in their Champions League quarter-final, first leg at the Calderon on Tuesday.
