Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored his first three goals for Barcelona in a 4-1 win at Valencia, but Inter Milan suffered a shock 2-0 home defeat by Sassuolo. Images from the football matches played on Sunday.
Cristiano Ronaldo, fired up by rival Lionel Messi's midweek hat-trick for Barcelona, struck four goals in 26 second-half minutes as Real Madrid crushed Celta Vigo 7-1 at the Bernabeu on Saturday.
Real Madrid maintained their pursuit for the title by defeating Malaga 3-1 late on Saturday.
Having spent much of his time at Chelsea operating in Eden Hazard's shadow, Willian has emerged as a leading light in the team ahead of their Champions League showdown with Barcelona.
A round-up of Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Atletico Madrid have signed striker Luis Suarez from Barcelona, the Spanish clubs said on Wednesday, bringing to an end his six-year stint at the Camp Nou.
La Liga leaders Barcelona were held to a 2-2 home draw by Celta Vigo on Saturday as their former assistant coach Juan Carlos Unzue dented the title hopes of the Catalans, who dropped points for the second game in a row for the first time this campaign.
Lionel Messi was so distraught at Barcelona missing out on reaching the 2012 Champions League final that he was reduced to tears
Manchester United dropped further down the table after losing 5-3 against newcomers Leicester City. Barcelona and Real Madrid scored 13 goals between them during a memorable La Liga weekend, when Cristiano Ronaldo netted a hat-trick.
Champions Real Madrid were beaten at home by promoted Cadiz, while Barcelona fell to their first defeat in La Liga under new coach Ronald Koeman as they lost to Getafe.
The Brazilian is likely to make his first appearance of the season for the Ligue 1 leaders at home against Racing Strasbourg on Saturday.
Champions Liverpool suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to lowly Burnley on Thursday, ending their 68 match unbeaten home record in the Premier League as their title defence continued to fade.
Barcelona coach Tito Vilanova has suffered a relapse on the cancer in his saliva glands, Spanish daily El Pais reported on Wednesday citing sources at the club.
Lionel Messi dragged a nervous Barcelona to a 1-0 win at home to Levante in La Liga, while Cristiano Ronaldo converted two late penalties on his 100th appearance for Juventus in all competitions as the Serie A titleholders ground out a 3-1 win away to a dogged Genoa side.
Lionel Messi scored twice as Barcelona crushed Getafe 5-2 on Thursday to stay in the hunt for the La Liga title.
Barcelona finally made a statement of intent in what has been a chaotic season as they came from behind to beat La Liga leaders Real Sociedad 2-1 at home on Wednesday.
Angel Correa saw La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid snatch a 2-1 victory away to Granada on Saturday
Manchester United had English Premier League leaders Liverpool looking anxiously over their shoulders after a 3-0 drubbing of Chelsea on Sunday put the champions just five points off the pace with two games in hand. Barcelona left it late to win at Osasuna and go 12 points clear in Spain while David Beckham played almost all the match on his debut for AC Milan, a 2-2 draw at AS Roma.
IMAGES from the soccer matches played across European leagues over the weekend.
In a big blow to Real Madrid's title hopes, Real Betis held them to a goalless draw in their La Liga encounter on Sunday.
A round of Saturday's matches in Series A, La Liga and Bundesliga.
Barcelona continued their rampant run of domestic form to beat Osasuna 2-0 away from home on Saturday and move to within two points of La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid, with Lionel Messi setting up goals scored by Jordi Alba and teenager Ilaix Moriba.
Barcelona's Lionel Messi scored twice in a 3-0 win over Las Palmas in a match played without fans following clashes between police and voters in Catalonia over a disputed independence referendum.
Tensions have flared in the region of Barcelona due to the controversial court decision jailing several leaders of the Catalan independence movement for their role in organising a referendum on the subject in 2017.
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.
An artificial pitch, freezing conditions in Moscow and a wily coach who knows them all too well are some of the obstacles that stand between Group G leaders Barcelona and qualification to the last 16 on Tuesday.
Lionel Messi came off the bench to inspire Barcelona to a 3-1 win over a dogged Leganes side on Sunday, creating one goal and scoring another to keep the Catalans five points clear at the top of La Liga.
A Thierry Henry special and two trademark free kicks from Ronaldinho earned Barcelona a 3-0 win at home to Real Betis that put them within a point of leaders Real Madrid at the top of the Primera Liga on Sunday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Nadal, a Real fan despite his uncle Miguel Angel making over 200 appearances for arch-rivals Barcelona, was seen speaking to umpire Mohamed Lahyani about his team's 0-0 home draw with Real Betis on Saturday and was less than impressed with what he saw.
Here are five talking points from the weekend's action:
Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo were vying for top billing in La Liga on Saturday after leading their sides to victories.
Leicester City will play Barcelona, Celtic and Paris St Germain in this year's International Champions Cup (ICC), the Premier League leaders said on Tuesday.
Paris St Germain had a chance to extend their Ligue 1 lead to five points after RC Lens drew 1-1 at Troyes and Olympique de Marseille and Monaco shared the spoils on Saturday.
Karim Benzema scored his sixth goal in four games as Real Madrid beat Alaves 3-0 on Sunday for a fourth successive La Liga victory which took the European champions to within eight points of leaders Barcelona.
Real Madrid defender Raphael Varane made up for the absence of Sergio Ramos by scoring one goal and making another to help his side to a hard-fought 3-0 win at Getafe. La Liga leaders Barcelona were held to a 2-2 draw at struggling Espanyol on Saturday as China striker Wu Lei came off the bench to grab a late equaliser in a pulsating city derby.
Second-placed Sevilla were held to a 1-1 draw by Barcelona, while Juventus registered a routine 2-0 win over struggling Cagliari.
A 5-0 victory over Racing Santander left Real three points behind Barcelona with three games to play after this weekend's matches.
Lionel Messi's late penalty saw bedraggled Barcelona scrape a 2-1 victory over Leganes on Sunday at a divided Nou Camp as the La Liga champions looked as if they had still not recovered from their harrowing midweek defeat to Paris St Germain.
Gareth Bale is suffering at Real Madrid because his team mates are not passing him the ball enough.
