Atletico Madrid took full advantage of Barcelona's defeat at Real Sociedad and closed to within eight points of the La Liga leaders when Adrian and Koke struck in a 2-0 win at home to Levante on Sunday.
Barcelona fall to shock Malaga defeat.
Real Madrid kept alive their hopes of overhauling La Liga leaders Barcelona when a James Rodriguez stunner set them on their way to a serene 3-0 home victory over struggling Almeria on Wednesday.
Cristiano Ronaldo lit up the Bernabeu with a brilliant four-goal performance in Real Madrid's 6-1 drubbing of struggling Racing Santander on Saturday.
La Liga sides Barcelona, Espanyol and Girona have decided to join the general strike in Catalonia on Tuesday, Oct. 3.
In-form Luciano Vietto hit two second half goals as Villarreal, down to 10 men for the final 10 minutes, cruised to a 3-0 home victory over Deportivo La Coruna to go fifth in La Liga.
Here are five talking points from the weekend in La Liga.
Barcelona needed Luis Suarez to be at his clinical best with a hat-trick in a 3-1 comeback win at home to modest Eibar on Sunday which put the champions level on 21 points with arch-rivals Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.
Real Madrid opened a three-point lead over Barcelona at the top of La Liga when Cristiano Ronaldo scored his eighth goal of the campaign in a 3-1 victory at home to promoted Las Palmas on Saturday.
'Leo wants to return to Barca and I would also like him to return'
Striker Aduriz opened the scoring in the sixth minute at the San Mames with a trademark header before midfielder Garcia, who joined from Atletico Madrid last month, nodded in a second in the 24th minute.
Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo ended his early-season drought in emphatic style when he hit five goals in a 6-0 romp at Espanyol on Saturday to become the club's record scorer in La Liga.
Ten-man Sevilla climbed to second in the Primera Liga with a 3-1 comeback win at Deportivo Coruna on Saturday, moving above Valencia who were held to a 3-3 draw at home by Villarreal.
A superb strike from Jose Luis Morales condemned Real Madrid to a 1-0 defeat away to Levante on Saturday which saw them unseated at the top of the La Liga standings by Barcelona. Real's problems deepened with a suspected ankle injury to Eden Hazard, who limped off the pitch four days before their Champions League showdown with Manchester City and a week before their showdown with Barca in the 'Clasico'. Real's problems deepened with a suspected ankle injury to Eden Hazard, who limped off the pitch four days before their Champions League showdown with Manchester City and a week before their showdown with Barca in the 'Clasico'.
Villarreal's La Liga match at home to Celta Vigo was suspended shortly before the final whistle when a smoke bomb was thrown on to the pitch on Saturday.
Champions Barcelona reclaimed top spot in La Liga on Sunday by overcoming a dogged Villarreal side to win 2-0 at home with goals from stalwart defender Gerard Pique and youngster Carles Alena taking them above Sevilla.
Barcelona followed up last weekend's 3-1 defeat at Real Madrid with another reverse on Saturday, squandering a host of chances to lose 1-0 at home to Celta Vigo and handing the lead in La Liga to their arch rivals.
Madrid's trip to San Sebastian was full of intrigue after Barca failed to beat Sevilla and the Catalan side's defender Gerard Pique said the title was now Madrid's for the taking.
Anyone who has watched the Argentine in recent years knows he can do things with a football that seem to defy the laws of physics and he does not fit into the mould of a traditional striker.
Real Madrid can bury Atletico's hopes of winning La Liga with a third straight victory against their city neighbours on Sunday that would leave the capital's second club trailing by six points.
Gareth Bale again came to Real Madrid's rescue by heading home the winner in a 1-0 win at Real Sociedad on Saturday that keeps their title hopes alive.
Sevilla goalkeeper Sergio Rico blundered and then made two brilliant late stops as they were held to a 1-1 draw at Alaves on Monday that dented their La Liga title bid.
It was the third game in a row in which Real had broken the deadlock thanks to a penalty and they sealed the win when Benzema turned provider and allowed Marco Asensio to tap into an empty net early in the second half.
'We have to improve and become stronger in defence, which is the most important thing.'
Atletico midfielder Saul Niguez, however, criticised his side for not showing enough ambition early in the game.
Not content with setting a record of 17 goals for one edition of the Champions League last season, Cristiano Ronaldo is already well on the way towards breaking Lionel Messi's La Liga best haul of 50 goals in one campaign.
Cristiano Ronaldo netted a first-half penalty as injury-depleted Real Madrid recovered from their derby defeat by Atletico Madrid at the weekend with a 3-1 win at Levante on Wednesday.
Barcelona's 100 per cent start to the season was ended by Catalonian neighbours Girona, who picked up a draw at the Nou Camp, allowing Real Madrid to take advantage with a victory over Espanyol.
Barcelona rode their luck to come from behind and win 2-1 at Real Sociedad on Saturday, continuing to banish their awful record in San Sebastian and maintaining their perfect start to the La Liga season.
Gareth Bale said Real Madrid are determined to wrest back the Spanish league title from Barcelona this season after going four years without tasting La Liga success. Bale has won the Champions League twice and the King's Cup since joining the Bernabeu club in 2013, but the league title has proved elusive. Real missed out on the league to Barcelona on the final day of last season by a point and have not won the title since 2012, when they collected a record 100 points under Jose Mourinho.
Real Madrid barged their way back into the Spanish La Liga title race with a 3-1 victory over Atletico Madrid in a feisty derby at the Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday.
Cristiano Ronaldo netted his 18th and 19th La Liga goals of the season as Real Madrid survived some late pressure to win 3-2 at city rivals Getafe on Monday and trim the gap to leaders Barcelona back to two points.
France great Henry says battled depression throughout career
All the action from soccer matches played in Europe on Monday.
Real Madrid's Gareth Bale came off the bench and coolly converted a controversial penalty to secure a 2-1 win at Levante in La Liga on Sunday as the European champions rode their luck to stay within nine points of leaders Barcelona.
A delightful flick and volley from Neymar allowed him to complete a double as Barcelona beat Villarreal 3-0 to go three points clear at the top of La Liga ahead of Real Madrid's clash with Sevilla later on Sunday.
Messi, who has struggled for form in recent weeks due to a niggling injury, looked on a mission to grab the winner and after twice coming close he completed his treble to put Barca ahead in the 85th minute, reacting quickly to a poor Sevilla clearance to dink the ball over goalkeeper Tomas Vaclik.
Barcelona endured a frustrating evening in their La Liga season opener with a 0-0 draw in a feisty affair at Getafe.
Barcelona won the La Liga title with a comfortable 3-0 victory at Granada thanks to a Luis Suarez hat-trick in the season finale on Saturday.
