Barcelona were hailed as La Liga champions-elect in the Catalan media after their 1-0 win at Real Madrid on Saturday, while the capital's press called for sweeping changes at Real after another domestic failure.
IMAGES from football matches played across Europe on Wednesday.
Having won eight of the past 12 league titles coming into this campaign, where has it gone so wrong for Barcelona?
Real Madrid great Gento dies aged 88
'But I think it is time. I'm not driven by financial matters, but by my heart. I think it's the best thing for the club. I don't want to be a problem for the club in my heart.'
'Cristiano scored 50 goals and you can't find someone today who scores that many. Some of us have to take a step forward and, while not scoring 50, what we need is two or three players who score 15, 20, or 10 goals and we don't have that.'
Real Madrid's interim coach Santiago Solari says the squad are hurting but determined to turn around their dismal start to the season.
West Ham's Zouma given 180 hours of community service for kicking his cat
Round-up of football matches played around Europe on Saturday.
Real Madrid's stuttering season continued as they were reduced to 10 men and then slumped to an 11th La Liga defeat of the campaign by going down 3-1 at Real Sociedad.
Neymar's acrimonious split from Barcelona escalated on Thursday as the Paris St Germain forward announced plans to sue the La Liga club, two days after Barca revealed they were suing the Brazilian over breach of contract.
Images from Sunday's action in La Liga and Ligue 1.
The win took Barca to the top of the standings on 68 points although Real Madrid, on 65, will reclaim their lead due to their superior head-to-head record if they beat Real Mallorca at home on Wednesday.
Barcelona have been haunted by their recent failures in the Champions League and there are concerning signs for the Catalans as they prepare for Tuesday's last-16 first leg away to Olympique Lyonnais.
The Modric family took refuge in a hotel near Zadar in 1991 when the war that followed the breakup of former Yugoslavia started and after Luka's grandfather was killed by Serb militia.
Despite Barcelona's exit from the Champions League at the quarter-final stage, coach Luis Enrique said their victory over Sevilla in the King's Cup on Sunday had capped a "fantastic" season.
The 55-year-old Ernesto Valverde, who led Barcelona to successive La Liga titles in 2018 and 2019, came under fire this season for the team's dip in performance levels even though they top the league standings at the halfway point of the campaign.
With a comfortable first-leg advantage, Zinedine Zidane rested much of his first team, making 10 changes from the line-up that struggled to a disappointing draw at Celta Vigo on Sunday to fall 16 points behind league leaders Barcelona.
Twenty-three-times Cup winners Athletic Bilbao were dumped out in sensational circumstances by tiny island side SD Formentera, who sneaked a 1-0 win at San Mames with a header by Alvaro Muniz deep in stoppage-time to reach the last 16 for the first time with a 2-1 aggregate victory.
Spanish media has reported that Solari, 42, is to be relieved of his duties
Barca feel familiar February blues as tiredness sets in
Real Madrid's resurgent La Liga run skidded to a halt as they fell to a shock 2-1 defeat at home by struggling Girona on Sunday in which captain Sergio Ramos was sent off in added time, leaving them nine points adrift of leaders Barcelona.
A summary of Saturday's football action across the world.
Santiago Solari got off to the perfect start as Real Madrid's interim coach when his side thrashed Melilla 4-0 in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday.
Real Madrid were dumped out of the Copa del Rey at the quarter-final stage on Thursday after losing 4-3 at home to Real Sociedad, while record 30-times winners Barcelona were sent crashing out of the Copa del Rey in a 1-0 defeat at Athletic Bilbao.
Barcelona's five-time soccer World Player of the Year Lionel Messi went on trial on Tuesday along with his father on accusations of defrauding the Spanish state of millions of euros (dollars).
The 28-year-old Argentine has scored seven goals from direct free-kicks in this year's La Liga, the latest in Sunday's 5-0 triumph over Espanyol.
Piotr Zielinski converted two penalties for Inter Milan as they played out a thrilling 4-4 draw with Juventus.
Coach Ernesto Valverde and midfielder Sergio Busquets were due to give a news conference before the training session but spoke to the media after training due to their late arrival.
'Real Madrid did not know about it as we were not told by the player, Villarreal or the federation'
Zinedine Zidane has stepped down as Real Madrid coach with immediate effect five days after his team were pipped to the La Liga title by city rivals Atletico Madrid, the Spanish club said on Thursday.
According to widespread Spanish media reports, Netherlands coach and former Barca defender Ronald Koeman is set to be named as Setien's successor.
Barcelona's Ferran Torres scored twice to help secure a late 4-2 comeback win at Atletico Madrid in a pulsating LaLiga clash on Sunday.
Luis Aragones, the coach of Spain's 2008 European Championship-winning side, has died at the age of 75, the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) announced on Saturday.
'We have to do a lot of self criticism because this is the second time that the same thing has happened to us. We cannot commit the same mistake two years in a row, there are many things we need to consider and think about'
Former Barcelona defender Alba to sign for Inter Miami
All the action from football matches played in Europe on Wednesday
Luis Suarez scored four goals and Lionel Messi grabbed a hat-trick as Barcelona all but wrapped up their King's Cup semi-final by crushing Valencia 7-0 in the first leg at the Nou Camp on Wednesday.
On a seismic day in the history of Chelsea, Romelu Lukaku scored the winning goal in a 3-2 FA Cup fifth-round victory
'I always said I wanted to play abroad but the only thing that would stop me was if I was winning and successful on home shores. I was lucky I found a great club at Manchester United it would've been almost impossible for me to leave'
