Atletico Madrid surrendered top spot in La Liga to Barcelona when they were held to a 0-0 draw at home to 10-man Sevilla in a fiercely contested La Liga clash on Sunday.
Three consecutive defeats by direct rivals in the Primera Liga has left Atletico Madrid coach Javier Aguirre under pressure to get a good result against Liverpool at home in the Champions League.
Luka Modric pulled one back for Zinedine Zidane's shellshocked side with a brilliant strike from distance early in the second half before substitute Vinicius Jr reduced the deficit to one goal.
Inter Milan escaped Etihad Stadium with a surprise 0-0 draw against Manchester City in the Champions League on Wednesday.
A repeat of the 2014 Champions League final between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid is still possible after Friday's semi-final draw.
Real Madrid's stuttering run continued as they were held 1-1 at home by La Liga minnows Eibar on Sunday, drawing a fourth consecutive game in all competitions for the first time in more than a decade.
Atletico Madrid right back Juanfran has thanked fans for the support he received following his penalty shootout miss in Saturday's Champions League final defeat by Real Madrid. The defender's effort rebounded off the post before Cristiano Ronaldo scored the winning spot kick to hand Real their 11th European Cup in Milan. Spain international Juanfran was in tears and did not speak to the media after the match but on Monday he wrote a letter on the club's official website. "I will never forget your displays of affection when I came to ask for your forgiveness," he said. "Seeing my tears reflected in the faces of the thousands of Atleticos that packed that end of the stadium helped me cope with the tremendous sadness I felt in those hard times."
Real Madrid's early-season woes deepened when they lost 2-1 at home to La Liga champions Atletico Madrid, while substitute Neymar struck twice in Barcelona's 2-0 win against visiting Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
Atletico Madrid will face holders Real Madrid in the last 16 of the King's Cup after a double from Mario Mandzukic sealed a 5-2 aggregate victory over lower league Hospitalet on Thursday.
The Catalan side was routed by Atletico Madrid 3-0 in the Spanish first division league.
Barcelona had to come from a goal down to rescue a 1-1 draw at mid-table Levante on Sunday, leaving Atletico Madrid with a chance to go top of La Liga.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Atletico Madrid set up a King's Cup final with city rivals Real after Diego Costa and Radamel Falcao scored in a 2-2 second leg draw at Sevilla on Wednesday, to progress 4-3 on aggregate.
Barca looked set for a third consecutive league draw as they created scant opportunities but they were presented with the advantage of an extra man when Villarreal midfielder Daniel Raba was given a straight red card for a wild, studs-up challenge on Sergio Busquets on the hour mark.
Lionel Messi scored in his 12th consecutive La Liga game to help leaders Barcelona earn a 1-1 draw at Valencia, allowing second-placed Atletico Madrid to close to within nine points after a 1-0 win over Real Betis on Sunday.
Liverpool's Slot not nervous ahead of Anfield debut
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.
Atletico Madrid have little time to celebrate their stunning La Liga triumph and must immediately turn their focus on Saturday's Champions League final against city rivals Real Madrid.
Ahn, who famously scored the golden goal that knocked Italy out of the World Cup, was to join English premier league club Blackburn Rovers last August until the deal broke down due to visa problems.\n\n
Unbeaten leaders Barcelona pulled six points clear of chasing Atletico Madrid and set a record for the best start to a La Liga season when Lionel Messi scored twice in a 5-1 drubbing of Athletic Bilbao on Saturday.
A late header by Imanol Agirretxe gave Real Sociedad, who are without a coach, a 2-1 victory over 10-man Atletico Madrid in La Liga on Sunday.
Midfielder Koke issued a rallying cry to his Atletico Madrid teammates on Saturday ahead of next week's Champions League final against Real Madrid.
There was one Chelsea player smiling after the club were knocked out of the Champions League by Atletico Madrid on Wednesday - goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois who is on loan at the Spanish side.
A subdued Fernando Torres helped Atletico Madrid to a 2-0 win over local rivals Real in the first leg of their King's Cup last-16 tie on Wednesday in his first start since his return to his boyhood club.
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Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid made it four away wins from the opening four Champions League last-16 first leg matches when they triumphed at Arsenal and AC Milan respectively on Wednesday.
A Marco Asensio-inspired Real Madrid crushed Eibar 3-0 to close the gap on La Liga leaders Barcelona to five points on Sunday, with Karim Benzema starting on the bench.
The Indian Super League trophy will go to the traditional home of Indian football as Atletico de Kolkata edged past Kerala Blasters 1-0 in the final.
Real Madrid fought back from two goals down as Vinicius Jr grabbed a hat-trick in a thrilling 5-2 win over visitors Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.
Barcelona got their bid for a third consecutive La Liga title back on course when Lionel Messi and Gerard Pique struck to lift the champions to a 2-1 win at Atletico Madrid on Sunday.
Atletico should have plenty of money available after talismanic striker Antoine Griezmann said last month he is to leave the club.
Atletico Madrid set up a King's Cup final against Sevilla when they went through 6-3 on aggregate despite conceding two late goals to lose 3-2 at Racing Santander in their semi-final second leg on Thursday.
Fernando Llorente netted a dramatic late winner for Athletic Bilbao to eliminate Sporting and Atletico Madrid comfortably held on to a first-leg lead to oust La Liga rivals Valencia on Thursday and set up an all-Spanish Europa League final.
Ajax Amsterdam's Netherlands defender John Heitinga has agreed to sign a five-year deal with Atletico Madrid, he told Tuesday's De Telegraaf newspaper.
The Brazilian scored twice in a 3-0 victory over Atletico Madrid that sent Real Madrid to the top of the Primera Liga.
IMAGES from the Europa League matches played on Thursday
Germany expects 2.7 million people to attend matches in stadiums across the country and some 12 million in its fan zones for outdoor viewing, including on a long stretch of turf laid out in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Antoine Griezmann and Yannick Carrasco each conjured moments of magic as Atletico Madrid recaptured top spot in La Liga from Barcelona with a hard-fought 2-0 victory at Celta Vigo on Sunday.
Atletico Madrid ended a run of 23 league derbies without a win when Diego Costa struck early to clinch a 1-0 victory over city rivals Real Madrid at the Bernabeu on Saturday.
