Real Madrid's hopes of overhauling La Liga leaders Barcelona suffered a stinging blow when they were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Valencia.
Atletico Madrid fell to their heaviest league defeat of the season
Lionel Messi scored his 650th goal for Barcelona while Antoine Griezmann struck the winner in a 2-1 home success over Athletic Bilbao
The rest of Barcelona's squad will have to do "a little bit more" to make up for the absence of five-times World Player of the Year Lionel Messi for the next three weeks, according to captain Andres Iniesta.
Leaders Real Madrid were held to a 1-1 draw away to promoted Real Murcia in the Primera Liga on Saturday, allowing arch-rivals Barcelona to close to within two points in the standings.
Real Madrid and Barcelona were made to work hard before grinding out wins in La Liga at the weekend while Inter Milan scored a surprise derby victory over AC Milan in Serie A.
Barca looked set for a third consecutive league draw as they created scant opportunities but they were presented with the advantage of an extra man when Villarreal midfielder Daniel Raba was given a straight red card for a wild, studs-up challenge on Sergio Busquets on the hour mark.
Kaka came off the bench after six weeks out injured and produced a clinical finish from Cristiano Ronaldo's assist to keep Real Madrid hot on the heels of leaders Barcelona in La Liga on Saturday. After Barca's nervy 3-1 win at home to basement side Xerez in the earlier kickoff, Brazil's World Cup-bound playmaker Kaka struck eight minutes from time to fire Real to a nail-biting 2-1 victory at 10-man Real Zaragoza.
A win for Real Madrid or a draw for Barcelona in Saturday's El Clasico at the Bernabeu could be the deciding act in the La Liga title race this year.
An insatiable Lionel Messi scored for the eighth game in a row in all competitions as La Liga champions Barcelona saw off a gutsy Girona side 2-0 to go five points clear at the top of the standings.
Barcelona's outlay of 20 million euros ($22 million) on Jeremy Mathieu last July prompted plenty of criticism but the France centre back has been worth his weight in gold in the La Liga leaders' last two outings.
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.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi hit his 400th career goal for the La Liga leaders.
Morata, who had scored his first goal for the club in last week's 2-0 win over Villarreal, rose to head home from close range on the half-hour mark following a corner which had been flicked on by Atleti captain Diego Godin.
A solo goal by the Brazilian striker and some outstanding goalkeeping from Iker Casillas earned Real Madrid a 1-1 draw with leaders Barcelona in the Spanish league.
The injury list in the La Liga keeps growing as the season progresses and this time Lionel Messi and Gareth Bale are the unfortunate victims...
Barcelona will travel to Borussia Moenchengladbach for their Champions League match on Wednesday without Lionel Messi but the Spaniards have enough options and firepower to plug the gap left by the Argentine, coach Luis Enrique said.
The Primera Liga leaders dominated the first leg of their Champions League semi-final at the Nou Camp on Tuesday but were unable to score.
Lionel Messi conjured a magical headed goal to set a depleted Barcelona on their way to a 3-0 win at Real Mallorca in La Liga on Saturday that stretched their lead over Real Madrid at the top to eight points.
Leaders Barcelona set a club record of 12 consecutive wins in all competitions with a 3-1 victory at Cadiz in the Primera Liga.
Real Madrid's stuttering start to La Liga continued when they lost 1-0 at Sevilla to slip eight points behind leaders Barcelona who were 4-1 victors at Getafe earlier on Saturday.
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.
Lionel Messi dragged Barcelona back from two goals down by scoring twice to snatch a 2-2 draw at home to Valencia in a thrilling encounter.
Real Madrid stayed hard on the heels of leaders Barcelona when in-form striker Karim Benzema scored to set them on their way to a 2-1 win at battling city rivals Atletico in La Liga on Saturday.
The Champions League Group F match between Barcelona and Ajax was a cracker of a contest.
A summary of Tuesday's Group stage matches in the UEFA Champions League.
Barcelona's stuttering title bid suffered another setback when they lost 2-1 at home to Valencia on Sunday, while Atletico Madrid moved level on points with the La Liga leaders after a comfortable win over Granda.
Manchester City swept aside second-tier Cardiff City 2-0 with first-half goals from Kevin De Bruyne and Raheem Sterling on Sunday to reach the FA Cup fifth round in their quest to win an unprecedented four trophies this season.
AS Roma pulled off one of the great Champions League comebacks by knocking Barcelona out with a remarkable 3-0 win in their quarter-final second leg on Tuesday, overcoming a 4-1 deficit from the first game to reach the last four on away goals.
English Premier League leaders Manchester City and Chelsea slugged out a magnificent 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge.
Lionel Messi-inspired Barcelona overwhelmed Manchester City as Ivan Rakitic's strike secured a 1-0 win.
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 left it late to snatch a 1-0 win at Valencia on Sunday after Atletico Madrid's 2-0 victory at home to Deportivo La Coruna was overshadowed by the death of a visiting fan hours before kickoff.
Champions Real Madrid earned a 2-0 win in a feisty LaLiga encounter at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday to ensure they stayed in the hunt for the LaLiga title with leaders Barcelona.
Rampant unbeaten leaders Barcelona ended the first half of the La Liga season with a record 55 of a possible 57 points when Lionel Messi scored one goal and had a hand in two more in a 3-1 win at Malaga on Sunday.
Ten-man Premier League leaders Leicester City lost at title-chasing Arsenal, while La Liga pacesetters Barcelona crushed Celta Vigo and Juventus took over from Napoli at the top of Serie A by edging their rivals.
Barcelona snapped a four-match winless run in La Liga with a 4-2 home victory over title rivals Sevilla on Saturday to reclaim top spot but the triumph was marred by talisman Lionel Messi fracturing his arm and being ruled out for three weeks.
Barcelona won 3-1 at Alaves in La Liga on Saturday thanks to goals by Robert Lewandowski, Ilkay Gundogan and substitute Victor Roque, who was sent off after picking up a second yellow card.
Barcelona slipped five points behind La Liga leaders Real Madrid when Alvaro Vazquez netted a shock late equaliser to snatch a 1-1 draw for Espanyol in the Catalan derby on Sunday.
Atletico Madrid slumped to a 3-0 defeat at resurgent Real Sociedad on Thursday which means Barcelona need one more victory to wrap up a 25th Spanish La Liga title while Malaga were relegated after losing 1-0 at Levante.
