Barcelona were in danger of being toppled from the top of La Liga standings on Sunday after they suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at Deportivo La Coruna.
La Liga leaders Barcelona hit two goals in the final three minutes to earn a 3-2 win at Rayo Vallecano
Here are five talking points from the weekend's action in Spain.
La Liga leaders Barcelona earned a narrow 1-0 win over Real Valladolid to move seven points clear at the top, while Real Madrid lost 2-1 at home against Girona to fall to third behind Atletico Madrid.
Marcelino dismissed but Valencia keep pressure on Barcelona
Real and Barca have won the title in 15 of the last 16 seasons, with Atletico breaking the duopoly in 2014.
Here are five talking points from the weekend's action in La Liga.
Barcelona, reduced to 10-man in the last half-an-hour, clinched a narrow win over Valencia in their La Liga match on Sunday.
Barcelona beat local rivals Espanyol 2-0 in the Catalan derby on Saturday to maintain their 10 point lead at the top of La Liga, while Real Madrid scraped a 3-2 win against bottom side Huesca on Sunday.
Lionel Messi was lauded by opposition supporters on Sunday after he scored an outstanding hat-trick in Barcelona's 4-1 win at Real Betis, which put the Catalans 10 points clear at the top of La Liga with 10 games remaining.
Prolific Cristiano Ronaldo hit a 35th hat-trick for Real Madrid who swept aside Espanyol 6-0 in a ruthless attacking display in La Liga on Sunday.
Real Madrid's Rodrygo struck twice and Jude Bellingham was also on target as the visitors enjoyed a 3-0 win at lowly Cadiz.
Griezmann special earns Atletico 1-1 draw at Sevilla
The All India Football Federation on Wednesday hailed Bangalore lad Ishan Pandita's signing a contract with Spanish La Liga side Club Deportivo Leganes to play in the youth team, describing it a landmark achievement.
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.
Athletic Bilbao beat Barcelona 4-2 at home to knock them out of the Copa del Rey
Real Madrid returned to the top of La Liga after winning a testing game at Osasuna 3-1 on Saturday.
Images from soccer matches held across Europe on Saturday, March 16.
Cristiano Ronaldo missed a penalty as Real Madrid and neighbours Atletico were held to draws leaving Barcelona with an eight-point lead at the top of La Liga and 13 matches left.
La Liga leaders Real Madrid were held to a frustrating 1-1 draw at lowly city rivals Rayo Vallecano on Sunday as Joselu's early strike was cancelled out by Raul de Tomas' penalty, a result that could spice up the title race with surprise package Girona.
Following public comments from La Liga chief Javier Tebas, who said it was "not ideal" for the second El Clasico meeting between Real and Barca last season to be played with the latter having already won the league title, the two sides will face off earlier this campaign.
Images from the Champions League Round of 16 matches.
Hazard joined Chelsea from Lille in 2012 and won the Europa League in 2013 and 2019 with the London club. He also won the Premier League title in 2015 and in 2017 as well as the League Cup and the FA Cup.
Real Madrid superstar Cristiano Ronaldo has played down an injury suffered during his side's 3-0 win over Villarreal in their La Liga match on Wednesday, saying that he is in a good condition.
Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, find themselves in the bizarre situation of having made poor starts to the campaign
Barcelona travel to newly-promoted Osasuna without their first choice front line.
Ronaldo admitted that both of them changed the history of football and urged his fans to not hate on Messi.
In his absence, the league champions have made a lacklustre start to the season, losing their opening game to Athletic Bilbao before taking just four points from fixtures against Real Betis and Osasuna.
Paris St Germain closed out the year on a high as they maintained their five-point advantage at the top of the table.
A round-up of Friday's action in La Liga, and Bundesliga.
Vinicius Jr scored a hat-trick in the first half as Real Madrid were crowned Spanish Super Cup champions
He made it 3-0 with a superb first-time finish into the bottom corner in the 20th minute, scoring his first ever treble in a competitive game, more than 19 years after making his professional debut.
Alvaro Morata scored a brace to help Atletico Madrid deliver a statement performance as they outclassed city rivals Real Madrid.
Griezmann goal earns Atletico first win of season
New Valencia coach Gary Neville remains without a La Liga win after his side twice recovered from a goal down to rescue a fortunate 2-2 draw at home to Getafe on Saturday.
First meets second as Barcelona host Atletico Madrid on Saturday looking to tighten their grip on the La Liga title race. The sides are level on 48 points at the top of the table, but Barca have a game in hand on Atletico and can take a huge step towards a fifth title in seven years with an eighth consecutive win in all competitions. Indeed, Luis Enrique's men remain on course for a repeat of the treble of La Liga, Champions League and Copa del Rey they won last season after progressing to the semi-finals of the Cup with a come from behind 3-1 win over Athletic Bilbao in midweek. Yet, the European champions have been far from their best in the past week as they were outplayed by Malaga and Bilbao in the first-half before being salvaged by individual moments of magic after the break. "We are aware of the errors we need to correct," said Luis Suarez after taking his tally for the season already to 30 with the equalizer against Bilbao.
IMAGES from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Wednesday
Barcelona restored their lead at the top of La Liga standings to nine points after Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez each scored in a routine if underwhelming 3-0 win at home to struggling Levante on Sunday, with Paulinho increasing their lead in added time.
Real Madrid will be targeting a sixth consecutive victory since the COVID-19 hiatus when they host Getafe, looking to capitalise on Barca's 2-2 draw with Atletico Madrid on Tuesday
Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric came off the bench to net a stunning strike from the edge of the box late in the second half to secure a 1-0 home win over Sevilla on Sunday and stretch their lead at the top of La Liga to eight points.
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