Cristiano Ronaldo took his tally for the La Liga season to a phenomenal 13 goals in six appearances with his third treble of the campaign as Real Madrid romped to a 5-0 win at home to Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.
Luis Suarez had the Barcelona fans chanting his name after he set up Lionel Messi to score the opening goal in their King's Cup semis.
Barcelona must appreciate matching the club's record of nine wins and a draw in their first 10 games of a Liga campaign, especially after Real Madrid's defeat at Girona, coach Ernesto Valverde told a news conference on Monday.
Barcelona closed in on the La Liga title after beating 10-man Atletico Madrid 2-0 in Saturday's top-of-the-table showdown at the Nou Camp as late strikes by Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi gave the Catalans an 11-point lead at the top of the table.
Euro 2016's round of 16 gets under way on Saturday after the completion of the group stages. With shocks aplenty, we saw some major upsets and heartbreaks in the preliminary round. Aruneel Sadadekar/Rediff.com takes a look at the top five disappointments of Euro 2016 so far...
Barcelona have joined captain Andres Iniesta in calling for dialogue between the Spanish government and leaders in Catalonia to resolve the crisis between the central government and its richest region following Sunday's disputed referendum.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A summary of Tuesday's Group stage matches in the UEFA Champions League.
Aseem Chhabra salutes the late Italian Master and his cinema.
The plucky underdogs were brought down to earth as Manchester City, Everton and Stoke City reached the League Cup semi-finals on Tuesday, ending the hopes of second-tier sides who felled fancied opponents in the last round.
Barcelona snatched a late 2-1 win at Getafe with Paulinho's strike sending them seven points clear of arch-rivals Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.
Lewis Hamilton celebrated his 50th Formula One victory on Sunday with a pole-to-flag U.S. Grand Prix drive that kept his title hopes alive and trimmed Mercedes team mate Nico Rosberg's lead to 26 points with three races remaining. Rosberg, who had been chasing his 10th triumph of the season, finished second on a sunny Texan afternoon with a big crowd but little drama -- even if Hamilton spent much of it worrying about reliability. The straightforward victory was Hamilton's fourth in Texas in five seasons and ended a barren stretch for the triple world champion dating back to his last win in Germany in July.
French soccer clubs will stage a strike at the end of next month in protest at a controversial super tax on player salaries in an escalation of a row over president Francois Hollande's tax policy.
Liverpool had to be satisfied with a 1-1 Premier League draw at Arsenal on Saturday as their usually prolific attacking trio were well shackled by their improving hosts.
This time we're ready for Barca, says Man City's Nasri.
A red hot Luis Suarez scored four goals and contributed three assists as Barcelona's stuttering La Liga title charge sparked back to life with a spectacular 8-0 thrashing of Deportivo La Coruna on Wednesday.
Sean Dyche's Burnley side looked to have secured a crucial point in their fight to move clear of the bottom three but Eriksen broke their hearts with a clinical finish for third-placed Spurs in the 91st minute.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
Images from the EPL matches played on Saturday
Spain struck twice in the second half to overcome a typically spirited Ireland 2-0 in their friendly international at Yankee Stadium on Tuesday.
Barcelona's 2-1 loss at Ajax Amsterdam in the Champions League last week was down to a lack of intensity while Sunday's 1-0 reverse at Athletic Bilbao in La Liga exposed their relative physical frailty.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic is racing to be fit for Sweden's Euro 2016 qualifiers against Russia and Liechtenstein in Stockholm, but won't risk playing with pain-killing injections.
As Barca prepare for a trip to Madrid to play Rayo Vallecano on Saturday, they are still reeling from Tuesday's 3-2 Champions League reverse at Paris St Germain, when their defence was badly exposed by the Ligue 1 title holders.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Saturday
Gareth Bale scored his 25th goal for Wales but Georgia fought back strongly to earn a deserved 1-1 draw in a World Cup Group D qualifier in Cardiff on Sunday. It left Wales, surprise semi-finalists at Euro 2016, with five points from three games and at risk of losing the group leadership after the day's later matches. Georgia took their first point, following narrow defeats by Austria and Ireland.
Bigger than ever, the European Championship kicks off in Paris next month with a four-week feast of football that promises to elevate the game above the corruption scandals and security fears that have overshadowed its build-up.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Lopetegui blends youth and experience in Spain World Cup squad
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.
A lethal finish from Luis Suarez gave Barcelona a 2-1 victory over Real Madrid in a typically frantic 'Clasico' on Sunday as they stretched their lead over their rivals at the top of La Liga to four points.
Five-times European champions Barca, with their trident of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar subdued, have not exited in the last 16 since going out to Liverpool in the 2006/07 season and the score equalled their worst Champions league loss.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Bigger than ever, the European Championship kicks off in Paris on Friday with a four-week feast of football that promises to elevate the game above the corruption scandals and security fears that have overshadowed its build-up. All eyes will be on hosts France when they get the ball rolling against Romania in the Stade de France -- 210 days after suicide bombers at the same venue triggered a night of horror across the capital which killed 130 people.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The 2007 champion, who is out of contract at the end of the year and has been linked to other top teams, indicated at Spa that his salary had not been fully paid and Lotus knew what had to be resolved before any talks could begin.
Critically injured French Formula One driver Jules Bianchi will not give up his fight for life but the situation remains desperate, his father Philippe said on Tuesday.
La Liga leaders Real Madrid dropped points at home for only the second time this season.
Barcelona battled back from a goal down and scored twice in the second half to overcome hosts Borussia Moenchengladbach 2-1 in their Champions League Group C match on Wednesday despite the absence of the injured Lionel Messi.
An insatiable Lionel Messi scored for the eighth game in a row in all competitions as La Liga champions Barcelona saw off a gutsy Girona side 2-0 to go five points clear at the top of the standings.
