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.
Griezmann goal earns Atletico first win of season
A round-up of Friday's action in La Liga, and Bundesliga.
The Copa del Rey semi-final draw will be made on Friday.
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.
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.
The 64-year-old has been at Real Madrid since 2021, having previously managed the club from 2013 to 2015.
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.
Photos from soccer matches played across top European Leagues on Saturday.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice but had to leave the pitch with his face covered in blood as Real Madrid eased their domestic crisis by hammering Liga strugglers Deportivo La Coruna 7-1 at home on Sunday to reclaim fourth place in the standing
Iker Muniain gave Athletic a deserved lead in the 32nd minute by bundling the ball home after Real failed to get back in time to defend a counterattack.
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.
The Portuguese superstar now has scored the most first-division goals in football history, he has 527 career league goals with 61 goals alone in 2023.
Gareth Bale ended a three-month goal drought in La Liga to give Real Madrid a nervy 1-0 win away to basement club Huesca on Sunday, taking his side back into the top four at the expense of Alaves.
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
The Liverpool striker said that Spain's La Liga was stronger than the EPL despite the presence of three English teams in the Champions League semi-finals.
Lionel Messi had two free-kick attempts while ex-Sevilla midfielder Ivan Rakitic narrowly missed the target from inside the area.
Eibar coach Jose Luis Mendilibar was also dismissed later for angry protests against referee Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez.
Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick as Barcelona clinched a 25th La Liga title on Sunday after winning 4-2 at Deportivo La Coruna despite throwing away a two-goal lead in a thrilling game which also confirmed Depor's relegation.
Barcelona, reduced to 10-man in the last half-an-hour, clinched a narrow win over Valencia in their La Liga match on Sunday.
A mesmeric Lionel Messi helped Barcelona to come from behind and beat Sevilla 2-1 in a thrilling encounter on Sunday as the champions kept the pressure on La Liga leaders Real Madrid, who saw off Leganes 3-0 thanks to a double from Gareth Bale.
Real Madrid star forward Cristiano Ronaldo has beaten Barcelona's Lionel Messi for the first time to clinch La Liga's best player award among a hat-trick of awards he won at the Spanish top flight's annual gala.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored on his return from injury as Real Madrid thrashed Osasuna 5-2 at the Santiago Bernabeu on Saturday to equal the club's 1960-61 record of 15 successive La Liga wins.
Marco Ruben's header put Villarreal up to third in La Liga with a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday, after Valencia fell to a solitary Ivan Rakitic strike in a pulsating encounter with Sevilla.
Lionel Messi became the first player to win 10 La Liga crowns with Barcelona and only the third player from any club to do so.
Barcelona squandered the chance to go 11 points clear in La Liga on Sunday after blowing a two-goal lead in the space of six minutes in a 2-2 draw at Villarreal overshadowed by a controversial penalty.
Barca lead the standings on 39 points from 18 games, three clear of second-placed Real Madrid who host Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.
Spanish soccer clubs have no option but to face up to reducing players' salaries next season due to the financial impact of the coronavirus pandemic, La Liga president Javier Tebas said. The Spanish season has been on hold since March and although matches are due to re-start in June without spectators, the league still estimates clubs will lose a combined 300 million euros ($326.07 million) in lost revenue due to the disruption.
La Liga leaders Barcelona beat Real Madrid 1-0 to all but knock their rivals out of the title race on Saturday, while second-placed Atletico Madrid stayed seven points behind the Catalans with a 2-0 win at Real Sociedad on Sunday.
Leaders Barcelona and Real Madrid were held to draws while Sevilla made up ground on the top two and Alaves slipped after a promising start. Here are five talking points from the weekend's La Liga action.
Barcelona defender Gerard Pique fears his side's shock elimination from the Champions League could disturb their bid to retain the La Liga title as they host Valencia on Sunday looking for a first win in four league games.
Nine Catalan separatist leaders were jailed for between nine and 13 years on Monday for their roles in an illegal referendum and subsequent failed independence bid, sparking protests and clashes across the region. Barcelona is the capital of Catalonia.
The win increased Zinedine Zidane's side's advantage at the top of the standings to six points
Barcelona's eight-game winning run was halted following a 2-2 draw with Valencia, Atletico Madrid lost 1-0 at Real Betis and a resurgent Real Madrid secured their fourth win in a row by beating Alaves 3-0.
Records promise to tumble again in the 2012-13 La Liga season as world powerhouses Real Madrid and Barcelona resume their duel for supremacy, threatening to cast Spain's other 18 clubs even further adrift.
'We are going through difficult and complicated moments and with respect to what could happen in the future we will take it on with calm and wisdom'
Luis Suarez completed a hat-trick thanks to a cheeky Lionel Messi assist from the penalty spot as Barcelona crushed Celta Vigo 6-1 to restore their three-point cushion over Atletico Madrid at the top of La Liga on Sunday.
Stuttering Villarreal closed to within a point of the Champions League qualification places when a second-half Cedric Bakambu double secured a 2-1 comeback win at home to Rayo Vallecano in La Liga on Sunday.
Brazilian defender Filipe Luis scored for the second game running as Atletico Madrid beat Real Sociedad 1-0 on Tuesday to rack up a fifth straight win in La Liga and provisionally consolidate third place in the standings.
A Gareth Bale header and a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty gave Real Madrid a much-needed 2-0 victory over Eibar in La Liga on Sunday, following their hammering by leaders Barcelona last weekend, and put them six points off the top of the standings.
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