Real Madrid went five points clear at the top of La Liga after coming through a testing game at Athletic Bilbao to win 2-1 thanks to Brazilian midfield lynchpin Casemiro's strike on Saturday.
zidane Image: Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane. Photograph: Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images. An elated but pragmatic Zinedine Zidane has quickly turned his mind from the Champions League victory against AS Roma to Real Madrid's seemingly impossible task to catch Barcelona in La Liga. Real are getting better under Zidane, unbeaten in seven matches in all competitions after Wednesday's 2-0 win in the first leg of their last-16 tie in Rome, thanks to a brilliant Cristiano Ronaldo. But only a couple of hours earlier, Barcelona had left Real and Atletico Madrid with a tough task to overhaul them in the league race when they secured a six-point cushion with a 3-1 win at Sporting Gijon. With 14 matches to go for all the teams in La Liga, Barcelona have 60 points to Atletico's 54 and Real's 53 and are favourites to win a sixth title in eight seasons. "We are seven points behind and it will be difficult, but we are giving it everything and we are all happy," Zidane was quoted as saying on the Real website (www.realmadrid.com).
Karim Benzema gave the European champions the lead in the 20th minute with an irresistible piece of control and finish after a pinpoint pass from Luka Modric.
Real, who have not won the title since 2017, lead the table on 74 points, four ahead of Barca with five games left and have a superior head-to-head record over the Catalans which would give them the trophy if both teams finished the season level on points.
Roundup of the matches being held across major football leagues in Europe
Real Madrid ended their five-year wait for the La Liga title on Sunday as Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema scored in a 2-0 win at Malaga, clinching a 33rd league triumph.
Struggling Rayo win at Valladolid after late penalty save
Real Sociedad are fourth in the table on 28 points, three points behind third-placed Sevilla.
Sevilla scrambled to the top of La Liga with a scrappy 1-0 win at home to Real Valladolid, on Sunday, moving one point clear of champions Barcelona at the summit.
Lionel Messi celebrated his sixth Ballon D'Or award with a brilliant hat-trick as Barcelona moved back top of La Liga with an emphatic 5-2 victory over Real Mallorca.
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.
Italian PM Conte confirmed that football clubs would return to training on Monday along with other sports teams but could not give any details about when Serie A would resume.
IMAGES from the La Liga matches played on Sunday
Piotr Zielinski converted two penalties for Inter Milan as they played out a thrilling 4-4 draw with Juventus.
Lionel Messi scored one penalty and missed another as Barcelona beat Real Valladolid 1-0 on Saturday to open up a seven-point lead at the top of La Liga.
Marcelino dismissed but Valencia keep pressure on Barcelona
A stoppage time header by fullback Lucas Vazquez earned 10-man Real Madrid a 1-0 victory at lowly Alaves.
Metz draw at Marseille to end losing streak
Late Griezmann strike ends Atletico's away day hoodoo
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.
La Liga leaders Barcelona hit two goals in the final three minutes to earn a 3-2 win at Rayo Vallecano
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.
Barcelona have appointed former German national team and Bayern Munich manager Hansi Flick as head coach on a two-year contract, the LaLiga club said on Wednesday.
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.
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.
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.
Barcelona striker Robert Lewandowski scored twice to set his side on course for a 5-0 Champions League thrashing of Swiss side Young Boys on Tuesday as the Catalan giants bounced back from a 2-1 loss at AS Monaco in their opener.
Atletico Madrid secured a hard-fought 2-1 home victory over Real Betis in La Liga on Sunday thanks to an own-goal by Rui Silva and a header by Alvaro Morata as Diego Simeone's side ended a three-game winless run in all competitions.
Here are five talking points from the weekend's action in La Liga.
Real Madrid returned to the top of La Liga after winning a testing game at Osasuna 3-1 on Saturday.
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.
IMAGES from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Wednesday
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.
Four men were arrested in Madrid, police said, three of whom were members of "a radical group of fans of a Madrid club", who were previously flagged during matches as "high risk" to help curb violence during games.
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.
Griezmann special earns Atletico 1-1 draw at Sevilla
IMAGES from the soccer matches played across leagues on Friday
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.
