European and La Liga champions Barcelona held arch-rivals Real Madrid to a 2-2 draw at the Bernabeu in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup on Sunday.
Athletic Bilbao checked promoted Villarreal's impressive early-season run when they beat the team with the distinctive canary-yellow strip 2-0 at their new San Mames stadium in La Liga on Monday.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
A summary of Saturday's action in La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga.
Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman has defended centre-back Gerard Pique's right to make comments about referees favouring Real Madrid.
Cristiano Ronaldo, fired up by rival Lionel Messi's midweek hat-trick for Barcelona, struck four goals in 26 second-half minutes as Real Madrid crushed Celta Vigo 7-1 at the Bernabeu on Saturday.
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.
Leaders Real Madrid edged closer to the Primera Liga title beating Deportivo Coruna 3-1 in the Bernabeu on Saturday.
Finances aside, though, there is an even bigger question mark hanging over Lionel Messi. Is he a fading force?
Real Madrid maintained their pursuit for the title by defeating Malaga 3-1 late on Saturday.
Barca must beat Villareal on the weekend if they are to stand a chance of overhauling Real in the run in.
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.
Jose Mourinho wants to prove there has been a shift in the balance of power towards his Real Madrid side when the La Liga leaders host bitter rivals Barcelona in the opening 'Clasico' of the campaign on Saturday.
Leaders Barcelona played out a second straight 0-0 draw in LaLiga after mid-table Getafe battled for a home point in a hard-fought game on Sunday.
Holders Barcelona cruised into the King's Cup quarter-finals when a side missing several regulars beat city rivals Espanyol 2-0, with Munir El Haddadi netting both goals in a thumping 6-1 aggregate success on Wednesday.
Barcelona were held to a frustrating 0-0 draw at Olympique Lyonnais in their Champions League last-16 first leg on Tuesday as both sides remained unbeaten in this season's competition.
Barcelona said on Saturday they had named former midfielder and captain Xavi Hernandez as head coach on a contract until 2024, following the sacking of Ronald Koeman.
Barcelona are still trying to lure Paris St Germain centre back Thiago Silva to the Nou Camp but will look elsewhere if they fail to snare the Brazil international, coach Tito Vilanova said on Tuesday.
English Premier League leaders Manchester City and Chelsea slugged out a magnificent 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge.
After setting a Spanish record 35 matches unbeaten in all competitions, Barcelona coach Luis Enrique is relishing the run-in to the end of the season with his side on course for a second successive La Liga, King's Cup and Champions League treble.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
Having won eight of the past 12 league titles coming into this campaign, where has it gone so wrong for Barcelona?
Real Madrid closed to within two points of La Liga leaders Barcelona after demolishing nine-man Rayo Vallecano 10-2 while Atletico Madrid missed a chance to seize top spot outright by losing 1-0 at Malaga.
Barcelona's Champions League last-16 second leg match with Napoli scheduled for March 18 will take place without spectators due to fears over the spread of the coronavirus, a club spokesman said on Tuesday. The match will take place at Camp Nou after a 1-1 draw in Napoli, but no supporters will be allowed to enter the stadium.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice as Real Madrid beat Athletic Bilbao 4-2 in a thrilling match at the Bernabeu to move within a point of leaders Barcelona in La Liga on Saturday.
Karim Benzema scored twice in the final few minutes to give Real Madrid a 3-1 win at Espanyol, while Barcelona breezed past Real Valladolid with a comfortable 4-0 LaLiga victory.
Valencia coach Gary Neville described his team's 7-0 drubbing by Barcelona in the Spanish King's Cup semi-final first leg on Wednesday as one of his worst experiences in football.
Atletico Madrid have been unable to repeat the magnificent achievements of last season in this campaign but can congratulate themselves on a job well done if they secure a lucrative Champions League berth on Saturday.
Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid resume a nail-biting La Liga title race on Saturday after all notched up victories on Wednesday. Leaders Barcelona, who ended a four-game winless streak by hammering Deportivo La Coruna 8-0 away from home, host struggling Sporting Gijon on Saturday. Atletico battled to a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao to stay level on 79 points with Barcelona, who top the table with a superior head-to-head record and host Malaga. Real stayed one point behind their title rivals after beating Villarreal 3-0 and are expected to be without top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo for their visit to struggling neighbours Rayo Vallecano. The Portuguese forward was unable to finish the game against Villarreal after suffering cramp in stoppage time but eased concerns he had suffered a serious injury.
Barcelona's stumbling form continued as they were held to a disappointing 0-0 La Liga draw at Cadiz on Thursday and ended the game with 10 men after Frenkie de Jong was sent off.
Lionel Messi may lack a World Cup for Argentina but his 10 years with Barcelona have seen him rewrite the history books and become symbolic with the club's golden era.
'We want to clarify that our desire has always been to apply a drop in salary because we fully understand that this is an exceptional situation and we are the first ones who have ALWAYS helped the club when asked'
Barcelona president Sandro Rosell resigned on Thursday in the aftermath of a Spanish court's decision to investigate last year's signing of Brazil forward Neymar.
Barcelona captain Lionel Messi sat out Friday's training session as he has a small thigh strain, the Spanish champions said. Barca returned to full training on Monday for the first time in three months ahead of the Spanish season re-starting on June 11 after being halted since March due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Images from the football matches played on Tuesday.
La Liga leaders Barcelona handed Real Madrid more hope in the title race as they drew 0-0 at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, only avoiding defeat thanks to some outstanding saves by Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Hazard extra-time goal sends 10-man Real Madrid through to Copa del Rey final.
Bayer Leverkusen beat Freiburg 3-2 to edge closer to a first ever Bundesliga title.
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