It compounded a woeful few months for the club as coach Julen Lopetegui came and went before former player Santiago Solari replaced him in November. They sat sixth in La Liga and appeared a team in decline, sorely missing forward Cristiano Ronaldo, who left for Juventus last summer.
Barcelona beat Girona 2-0 in a Catalan derby on Sunday to maintain their five-point lead at the top of La Liga, while Real Madrid thrashed Espanyol 4-2.
Late Griezmann strike ends Atletico's away day hoodoo
'They probably need to refresh the team a bit more, to be very honest. They have kept the majority of the same team for the last couple of years'
Barcelona's last Champions League triumph came in 2015, and since then they have failed to get beyond the quarter-finals while Real Madrid have monopolised the trophy.
New Everton boss Sean Dyche's reign began with a shock 1-0 victory over English Premier League leaders Arsenal.
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
FIFA World Cup set pulses racing and ended with a young, exciting France team clinching the title.
Sevilla clinched a sixth Europa League title with a roller-coaster 3-2 win over Inter Milan after an overhead kick by defender Diego Carlos deflected by the Italian side's top scorer Romelu Lukaku settled a thrilling contest on Friday.
IMAGES from Champions League matches played on Wednesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
'We were not lying yesterday when we said in the press conference Iran is a tough team'
IMAGES from soccer matches played in the English Premier League and the La Liga on Monday.
Silva struck twice in the second half to further stretch the 2010 World Cup winners' lead after Barcelona's Jordi Alba had fired them into the lead in the sixth minute and Alvaro Morata had doubled their advantage midway through the first half.
Revolution is in the air at Real Madrid after their Champions League empire was razed to the ground with an astounding 4-1 loss at home to Ajax Amsterdam, with a huge clear out of players expected as well as a change of manager.
Champions Barcelona moved five points clear at the top of La Liga with a 2-1 win at Getafe, while Real Madrid fell to a 2-0 defeat by Real Sociedad.
Here are five talking points from the weekend's action:
Chelsea's Marcos Alonso and Real Madrid's Nacho were notable absentees in defence, along with Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke.
Barcelona drew 1-1 at Valencia after Real Madrid lost 1-0 away to Alaves, allowing Sevilla to go top of La Liga with a 2-1 home win over Celta Vigo on Sunday. Here are five talking points from the weekend's La Liga action.
Barcelona have emerged as favourites to be crowned champions after one defeat in their last 22 Liga games.
Atletico Madrid crashed out of the Copa del Rey to Girona on Wednesday following a highly entertaining 3-3 draw at home to the Catalan side, who sneaked through to the quarter-finals on away goals after the tie finished 4-4 on aggregate.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Friday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Chelsea have signed Spanish goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga for a world record 80 million-euro ($92.8 million) fee from Athletic Bilbao, the Premier League club said on Wednesday.
Philippe Coutinho scored his first league goal since returning to Barcelona to help his side draw 1-1 at home to an excellent Sevilla side in La Liga on Sunday.
Barcelona forwards Ousmane Dembele and Lionel Messi fired the Catalans to a confidence-boosting 2-0 win at in-form Sevilla on Saturday to keep the pressure on La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Images from the English Premier League matches on Saturday.
Defending champion Germany suffered a shocking defeat, while Brazil, Spain and Argentina -- the other pre-tournament favourites -- managed just draws in their opening round matches.
A round-up of Saturday's action in the Premier League.
IMAGES from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Karim Benzema scored twice after the interval with a penalty and a header from a corner to give Santiago Solari's side a 3-1 lead, after Raphael Varane struck in the 34th minute to cancel out Anuar Tuhami's goal for Valladolid five minutes earlier.
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.
Defiant 10-man Porto upset Juventus to reach the Champions League quarter-finals on away goals after a 4-4 aggregate draw despite losing 3-2 to the Italians following extra time in a thrilling clash that went to the wire on Tuesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Two brilliant strikes from Isco and a late goal from Alvaro Morata gave Spain a spectacular 3-0 win over Italy, their nearest challengers in Group G, to move into the driving seat for automatic qualification to the 2018 World Cup.
Real Madrid got their Champions League title defence off to a strong start on Wednesday by convincingly beating AS Roma 3-0 at home with goals from Isco, Gareth Bale and a stoppage-time strike from returning striker Mariano Diaz.
Lopetegui blends youth and experience in Spain World Cup squad
Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa asked his players to allow the visitors to score unchallenged when the game was restarted.
