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
Late Griezmann strike ends Atletico's away day hoodoo
IMAGES from the soccer matches played across leagues on Friday
La Liga leaders Barcelona hit two goals in the final three minutes to earn a 3-2 win at Rayo Vallecano
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.
Croatian forward Ante Budimir scored twice to help Osasuna earn a shock 4-2 home win over leaders Barcelona.
Spain manager Luis de la Fuente left Barcelona's 17-year-old defender Pau Cubarsi and midfielders Marcos Llorente and Aleix Garcia out of his 26-man squad
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.
Here are five talking points from the weekend's action in Spain.
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.
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.
Ukraine will face Belgium, Romania and Slovakia in Group E. Although the Belgians are the group favourites, Ukraine are well-equipped to reach the knockout stage by finishing second.
France captain Kylian Mbappe will join La Liga giants Real Madrid when his contract with Paris St Germain finishes at the end of the season, Le Parisien and ESPN reported on Saturday.
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.
His contract was due to expire in 2024, and this extension ends speculation that Ancelotti would take over as manager of Brazil.
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.
Here are five talking points from the weekend's action in La Liga.
Inter Milan captain Lautaro Martinez struck a last-gasp goal to snatch a dramatic 1-0 win over 10-man Napoli as they claimed their third successive Italian Super Cup title on Monday.
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.
Substitute Roman Yaremchuk kept Ukraine in Euro 2024 contention with a goal 10 minutes from time to beat a shell-shocked Slovakia 2-1 on Friday
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.
Erling Haaland had the same points as Lionel Messi but lost out by having fewer first-place votes from national team captains.
Griezmann special earns Atletico 1-1 draw at Sevilla
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.
Several players across the continent are poised to make a name for themselves on the international stage.
Liverpool's Slot not nervous ahead of Anfield debut
Colombian super-sub Jhon Duran scored two late goals as Aston Villa salvaged a 3-3 home draw with Liverpool.
France captain Kylian Mbappe has agreed to join Real Madrid on a five-year deal.
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.
Real Madrid fought back from two goals down as Vinicius Jr grabbed a hat-trick in a thrilling 5-2 win over visitors Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.
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.
Zinedine Zidane's side joined Atletico Madrid on 66 points and moved top of the table
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.
Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, find themselves in the bizarre situation of having made poor starts to the campaign
Atletico Madrid failed to build on Wednesday's notable Champions League success against Juventus when they were beaten 3-1 at a resurgent Valencia in La Liga on Saturday.
On Thursday, Vinicius called on UEFA, Europe's soccer governing body, to punish Atletico for alleged racist chanting ahead of their team's Champions League match against Inter Milan 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.
Griezmann goal earns Atletico first win of season
