Lionel Messi's double strike helped Barcelona scrape a 3-2 victory over Real Sociedad on Saturday to keep the pressure on La Liga leaders Real Madrid, who needed a brace from Isco to beat Sporting Gijon by the same scoreline.
Barcelona needed Luis Suarez to be at his clinical best with a hat-trick in a 3-1 comeback win at home to modest Eibar on Sunday which put the champions level on 21 points with arch-rivals Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.
Morata, who had scored his first goal for the club in last week's 2-0 win over Villarreal, rose to head home from close range on the half-hour mark following a corner which had been flicked on by Atleti captain Diego Godin.
While it is unfair to blame the Wales winger for all of Real's recent woes, it cannot be denied that he appears to be struggling for form and confidence.
Luis Suarez struggled to get into his stride with new club Barcelona after his ban for biting an opponent expired in October and the Uruguay striker is determined to avoid the same fate when the new season starts next month.
The Portuguese forward then fired in the penalty in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
Sevilla drew level on points with Barcelona at the top of La Liga when they snatched a 2-1 comeback victory at home to Villarreal, while champions Atletico Madrid won 1-0 in a bad-tempered clash at Getafe on Sunday.
Barcelona's poor run away to Real Sociedad continued when the champions were held to a 1-1 draw at Anoeta on Sunday and slipped six points behind La Liga leaders Real Madrid before next week's 'Clasico' against their arch rivals.
Real Madrid have defied injuries to keep the pressure on leaders Barcelona and notched up over 100 La Liga goals but they now face arguably the toughest test of their title charge in an away match to Sevilla on Saturday.
Barcelona's outlay of 20 million euros ($22 million) on Jeremy Mathieu last July prompted plenty of criticism but the France centre back has been worth his weight in gold in the La Liga leaders' last two outings.
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's transpired on and off the football field
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Images from the football matches played across Europe on Sunday
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will go head-to-head once again for the title of world's best footballer after being short-listed along with Neymar on Monday for the 2015 FIFA Ballon d'Or.
Athletic Bilbao missed a chance to tighten their grip on Spain's fourth Champions League qualification place when they had to come from behind to rescue a 1-1 draw at 10-man Villarreal in La Liga on Monday.
Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale has a buttock muscle strain and is doubtful for their Champions League Group B match against Liverpool at Anfield on Wednesday, the club said.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Luis Suarez is starting to "feel like a footballer" once again after being allowed to train with new club Barcelona following his appeal against a FIFA ban for biting an opponent at the World Cup.
Treble-chasing Barcelona are exactly where they want to be as they prepare for two matches this week that could make or break coach Luis Enrique's first season in charge.
A stoppage-time goal from Miranda gave Brazil a 1-0 win over South American rivals Argentina in a foul-strewn friendly, while Netherlands secured a 1-1 draw at neighbours Belgium.
Athletic Bilbao ended Getafe's run of four straight wins and climbed above them into fifth place in La Liga when Aymeric Laporte's early bullet header secured a 1-0 win at the Coliseum in Madrid on Monday.
Whatever Karim Benzema does in a Real Madrid shirt his achievements are generally overshadowed by the exploits of Cristiano Ronaldo yet the France forward has a splendid Champions League record of his own.
Not many people talk badly of Pep Guardiola, a sainted figure in football, but Manchester City's manager will find two of his most vocal critics facing him down at Old Trafford on Saturday.
Real Madrid included Denis Cheryshev in their starting lineup for their first match of the 2015-16 competition even though he should have been serving a one-match suspension and the Russia forward opened the scoring in a 3-1 victory.
Real Madrid's 5-0 thrashing of Granada on Saturday equalled a Spanish record of 39 games unbeaten in all competitions. Reuters Sport takes a look at the factors behind their run.
Cristiano Ronaldo struck the quickest hat-trick of his career on his way to netting five goals in Real Madrid's 9-1 drubbing of second-from-bottom Granada on Sunday which took Real to within a point of La Liga leaders Barcelona.
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 snapped a four-match winless run in La Liga with a 4-2 home victory over title rivals Sevilla on Saturday to reclaim top spot but the triumph was marred by talisman Lionel Messi fracturing his arm and being ruled out for three weeks.
Pep Guardiola will take charge of Premier League Manchester City from July on a three-year contract. Keep reading to know more about Guardiola...
Barcelona extended their near-perfect start to the season when Alexis Sanchez tapped in at the far post from Neymar's clever assist to secure a 1-0 win at home to city rivals Espanyol in La Liga on Friday.
Barcelona followed up Saturday's win over Real Madrid with another victory when Alexis Sanchez set the champions on their way to a 3-0 success at Celta Vigo on Tuesday that put them four points clear at the top of La Liga.
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard has criticised what he called FIFA's political decision not to include former team mate Luis Suarez on their shortlist for this year's Ballon d'Or award as the world's best footballer.
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.
Lionel Messi will have another chance to match or surpass Telmo Zarra's six-decade-old La Liga scoring record of 251 goals when Barcelona host promoted Eibar on Saturday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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Real Madrid took full advantage of Barcelona's shock defeat at Real Valladolid with a 3-0 home win over 10-man Levante on Sunday that put Carlo Ancelotti's in-form side three points clear at the top of La Liga.
A round-up of all football-related news...
Real Madrid closed to within three points of La Liga leaders Barcelona and Atletico Madrid at the halfway stage of the season when a Pepe header secured a laboured 1-0 win at mid-table Espanyol on Sunday.
Real Madrid keeper Iker Casillas believes the European champions have a side with the potential to be one of the all-time greats and it will be with likely trepidation that an off-colour Liverpool visit the Bernabeu on Tuesday.
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