The veteran admits Barca have defence problems, slams Dembele
Real Madrid notched their first victory of the La Liga campaign at the third attempt when Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice in a 3-0 win for the champions at home to 10-man Granada on Sunday.
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Barcelona's preparations for next season were thrown off course on Friday when the Spanish champions unexpectedly announced coach Tito Vilanova was stepping down due to ill health.
'We have to improve and become stronger in defence, which is the most important thing.'
Barcelona drew 1-1 at Valencia after Real Madrid lost 1-0 away to Alaves, allowing Sevilla to go top of La Liga with a 2-1 home win over Celta Vigo on Sunday. Here are five talking points from the weekend's La Liga action.
Barcelona were held to a 1-1 draw at home by Racing Santander in the Primera Liga on Saturday, leaving new coach Pep Guardiola still seeking his first league win at the helm. Lionel Messi came off the bench in the second half to inspire a toothless Barca, who lost 1-0 at Numancia in their season opener, and scored a 71st minute penalty.
Cristiano Ronaldo netted his 18th and 19th La Liga goals of the season as Real Madrid survived some late pressure to win 3-2 at city rivals Getafe on Monday and trim the gap to leaders Barcelona back to two points.
Now, Real Madrid have never won the Spanish treble and are fighting tooth and nail in La Liga to prevent arch-rivals Barcelona scooping Champions League and domestic league and Cup titles for a second time.
Diego Costa scored twice as Atletico Madrid beat Valencia 3-0 to maintain their winning home run this season and keep pace with Barcelona at the top of the La Liga table.
Barcelona suffered their first league defeat of the season when they went down 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao while Arsenal stayed clear at the head of the Premier League.
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez scored twice each as La Liga champions Barcelona turned on the style to hammer Huesca 8-2 on Sunday and join Real Madrid as the only teams in the league to win their opening three games.
Barca overcome solid Bilbao challenge to scrape through 1-0.
European champions Barcelona may be without striker Thierry Henry when they host Dynamo Kiev on Tuesday looking for their first Champions League win of the season.
Striker Samuel Eto'o scored a sparkling double as Barcelona rallied from a goal down to beat Getafe in the Primera Liga.
Angry Barcelona coach Luis Enrique blamed stupid mistakes after the La Liga pacesetters threw away a two goal lead to draw 2-2 at home to Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday. Barca have drawn their last two games in La Liga and could see Atletico Madrid draw level with them if they beat Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, ahead of their trip to the Club World Cup in Japan next week.
Barcelona midfielder Xavi will announce on Thursday he is leaving the club he joined as an 11-year-old to sign a lucrative three-year deal with Qatari side Al Sadd, his agent told Reuters on Wednesday.
Barcelona should seek to refine their current playing style and forget about adopting a Plan B for situations such as those they faced against Celtic in the Champions League, defender Dani Alves said on Friday.
'I want the market to damn well close so that I know who I can count on'
Lionel Messi overhauled Real Madrid great Alfredo Di Stefano's La Liga goals tally as Barcelona and Atletico Madrid each won on Saturday to pull three points clear of Real at the top.
Real Madrid moved to within a point of La Liga leaders Barcelona after Karim Benzema, Isco, Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez and Cristiano Ronaldo all scored in a 5-1 thrashing at struggling Getafe on Saturday.
It is a scenario few could have foreseen after Real won a Liga and Champions League double last term and began this season so convincingly.
Real Madrid opened a 10-point lead over Barcelona at the top of La Liga after Cristiano Ronaldo's sixth hat-trick of the season clinched a 4-2 comeback win at home to 10-man Levante on Sunday.
Real Madrid opened a three-point lead over Barcelona at the top of La Liga when Cristiano Ronaldo scored his eighth goal of the campaign in a 3-1 victory at home to promoted Las Palmas on Saturday.
Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele scored twice and produced a mesmerising display to fire his side to a 5-1 win over Villarreal on Wednesday which stretched the champions' unbeaten run this season to 36 games with two remaining.
Real Madrid's faltering title defence continued as they were held to a thrilling 2-2 draw at Celta Vigo on Sunday which saw them fall 16 points behind runaway leaders Barcelona, who beat Levante 3-0 to stay nine points clear at the top of La Liga.
A Xavi free kick and an exquisite lob from Lionel Messi fired Barcelona to a 2-0 win at Sevilla that cut Real Madrid's lead at the top of La Liga back to seven points on Saturday.
Xavi celebrated setting a club record for La Liga appearances when he netted a superb free kick to give an otherwise listless Barcelona a 1-0 win at Granada on Tuesday in a scrappy game in which the home side finished with nine men.
David Zurutuza struck twice to help Real Sociedad seal a remarkable comeback and beat Real Madrid 4-2 in La Liga.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick to lead Real Madrid to a 4-0 home win over Getafe on Tuesday, denying leaders Barcelona the chance to win the La Liga title without kicking a ball.
Barcelona's Brazil right back Dani Alves has decided to leave the Nou Camp after eight years with the Spanish champions, the club said on Thursday.
Barca had been trying to sign the 21-year-old right back for $6.5 million in a deal
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Barcelona have reached the semis only once since winning the Champions League in 2014-15.
Lionel Messi helped Barcelona shake off the hangover from their midweek defeat by AC Milan as the leaders rallied to a 2-1 win at home to fellow King's Cup semi-finalists Sevilla in La Liga on Saturday.
Barcelona have been boosted by the successful return from injury of talismanic playmaker Andres Iniesta as they prepare to host city rivals Espanyol in La Liga on Sunday.
Barcelona rode their luck to come from behind and win 2-1 at Real Sociedad on Saturday, continuing to banish their awful record in San Sebastian and maintaining their perfect start to the La Liga season.
Real Madrid extended their unbeaten run to 25 matches and rejoined Barcelona and Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga when Jese, Karim Benzema and Luka Modric scored in a 3-0 win at Getafe on Sunday.
Barcelona midfielder and captain Xavi confirmed on Thursday he will leave his boyhood club at the end of the season and has agreed to join Qatari side Al Sadd after a glittering career stretching over 17 seasons.
Barcelona's advantage over Real Madrid at the top of La Liga was cut to five points when they surrendered the lead and were held to a 1-1 draw in a thrilling clash at battling Sevilla on Sunday.
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