Venus Williams has pulled out of the upcoming Brisbane International after suffering a 'setback' in training
Real Madrid's star striker Cristiano Ronaldo made up for his otherwise quiet night by scoring the winner to beat Barcelona 2-1 win at the CampNou in Barcelona on Saturday.
Lionel Messi broke a Spanish hat-trick record and Luis Suarez struck twice as a rampant Barcelona took over top spot in La Liga with a 6-1 hammering of Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique defended his team's integrity on Friday after a week in which his players were criticised by the highest powers in Spanish soccer following last week's dramatic 3-2 win at Valencia.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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.
Spain's talisman Rafael Nadal sealed a sixth Davis Cup title for his country on Sunday when they beat Canada 2-0 in the final of the revamped event.
Images from Day one of the 2019 Davis Cup at La Caja Magica in Madrid on Monday
Barcelona dropped points for the third time in four league games as they were held 0-0 by local rivals Espanyol in a heated Catalan derby. Atletico Madrid moved two points clear of Barca at the top of the table, having played a game more, thanks to substitute Thomas Partey's late winner to edge past Levante 1-0. Real Madrid now trail Atletico by five points ahead of their trip to Valencia on Sunday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Alexander-Arnold, seeing the Spanish club's defenders still getting organised, feigned to walk away from the corner before racing back to whip the ball to the unmarked Divock Origi, who clipped it past Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Real play Athletic Bilbao while Barcelona visit Real Sociedad in fixtures that have often proved to be among their hardest away trips over the last decade.
Here are five talking points from the weekend's action:
IMAGES from the Champions League matches played on Tuesday.
Five-times winners Liverpool were knocked out of the Champions League in the group stages despite a 1-0 win at Debrecen on Tuesday while Fiorentina and Arsenal qualified for the last 16.
Argentine striker Gonzalo Higuain scored twice for 10-man Real Madrid in a 2-0 home win over Getafe on Saturday that eased the pressure on coach Manuel Pellegrini. Real have 22 points from nine games and are one point behind La Liga leaders Barcelona after the champions were held to a 1-1 draw at Osasuna, Gerard Pique scoring in his own net in the last minute.
Barcelona's stuttering title bid suffered another setback when they lost 2-1 at home to Valencia on Sunday, while Atletico Madrid moved level on points with the La Liga leaders after a comfortable win over Granda.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said he believes Lionel Messi will sign a new contract with the Spanish champions despite reports the five times World Player of the Year is stalling over a new deal.
Atletico Madrid will have centre backs Diego Godin and Stefan Savic available again for Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg at Barcelona.
Barcelona's 16-year-old forward Ansu Fati continued his explosive start to life in the first team by scoring and providing an assist as the La Liga champions thrashed Valencia 5-2 on Saturday.
The World Cup has seen the most talented footballers on the planet. The tournament is also home to the glamorous wives and girlfriends (WAGs) of these players.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday night.
AS Roma pulled off one of the great Champions League comebacks by knocking Barcelona out with a remarkable 3-0 win in their quarter-final second leg on Tuesday, overcoming a 4-1 deficit from the first game to reach the last four on away goals.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique led tributes to the late Johan Cruyff in a memorial organised by the club on Tuesday and vowed to "continue copying and improving his style of attacking football".
Barcelona and Bayern fought hard but failed to break the shackles until the 77th minute in the match when Messi struck the first and three minutes later struck his 77th Champions League goal to double Barca's advantage.
Barca's Suarez in firing line after European away goals drought
Both sides had shots cleared off the line but Real were left feeling more disappointed after winning the tactical battle but failing to take their chances.
Madrid's trip to San Sebastian was full of intrigue after Barca failed to beat Sevilla and the Catalan side's defender Gerard Pique said the title was now Madrid's for the taking.
The new-look Davis Cup, masterminded by Barcelona footballer Gerard Pique, has the potential to rival golf's Ryder Cup as a sporting spectacle, the tennis competition's organisers say.
'I want the market to damn well close so that I know who I can count on'
Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann appear among the 55 nominees for the FIFPro 2016 World 11 released on Friday but England forward Wayne Rooney failed to make the shortlist for the first time. Portugal captain Ronaldo, led his country to victory at Euro 2016, while France forward Griezmann was the top player at the tournament. It is the first time that 25-year-old Griezmann has made the cut, but England captain Rooney is absent for the first time in the competition's 12-year history, after England crashed out of Euro 2016 to lowly Iceland.
Coach Zinedine Zidane learned the lessons of predecessor Rafael Benitez's disastrous tactics in the last encounter and employed defensive midfielder Casemiro in favour of more attack-minded players, opting instead to sit and wait for Barcelona.
La Liga champions Barcelona fell to their first opening day defeat of the season in 11 years when they were beaten 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao thanks to a sensational late overhead kick from veteran striker Aritz Aduriz.
Cameroonian teenager Wilfrid Kaptoum scored a late equaliser to give Barcelona a 1-1 draw at Valencia that wrapped up an 8-1 aggregate success in their King's Cup semi-final on Wednesday.
Italian Bracciali banned for life, Starace for 10 years
Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola had predicted there was nothing he could do to contain the sublime talent of Lionel Messi during their Champions League semi-final against Barcelona on Wednesday -- and he was proved right.
If bookmakers introduced a bet on who would be named official man-of-the-match at tournaments, Andres Iniesta would be a short-priced favourite in every Spain match at Euro 2016.
Real Madrid on top because of performances, not referees, says coach Zidane.
Barcelona coach Ronald Koeman has joined other managers in lashing out at the packed European football calendar after deciding to rest Lionel Messi for Tuesday's Champions League trip to Dynamo Kyiv.
Atletico Madrid won the La Liga title for the first time since 2014
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