Real Madrid's La Liga title bid took a dent after Zinedine Zidane's leaders were held to a 2-2 draw at home to Celta Vigo on Sunday, denied all three points by a late strike from Santi Mina. Lazio mounted a superb second-half comeback at the Olympic Stadium to beat Inter Milan 2-1 and move above Antonio Conte's side into second place in Serie A 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.
Real Madrid tightened their grip on top spot by beating Alaves 3-0 at home in La Liga on Sunday to provisionally move five points ahead of nearest challengers Barcelona despite coach Zinedine Zidane making a string of changes in defence.
Kirsten Flipkens led India Aces to a tight one-point win over defending champions Singapore Slammers with her decisive victory over Kiki Bertens in the do-or-die women's singles clash in IPTL, in Tokyo on Saturday.
The 28-year-old announced his retirement from tennis due to a back problem.
James Rodriguez curled home a superb free kick to cap Real Madrid's 3-0 win over Inter Milan in a friendly in Guangzhou on Monday.
Argentina's road to redemption after their 2002 World Cup failure will be long and hard but worth the effort, says the striker.
Jordan Ayew scored for Lorient against his former side Olympique de Marseille as the Ligue 1 leaders were held to a 1-1 draw on Tuesday.
The Arsenal forward broke the record just five minutes into the match, taking his tally to 38 with his national side at the Kazan Arena, Kazan.
Forgot the major events that shaped the news last week? Here's a quick recap of the incidents of the previous week.
'There is no advantage. I always prefer to play in front of supporters even away from home because that's what football is all about, but that's the situation we face'
Brazil striker Neymar says he is emotionally ready and physically fit for Friday's World Cup quarter-final with Colombia in Fortaleza.
Images from Tuesday night's UEFA Champions League group stage matches.
Cristiano Ronaldo's teammates have issued a strong defence of his value to Real Madrid as the Portuguese striker grapples with a barren streak that has sparked a debate about his place in the team.
Marcelo Zalayeta scored four minutes from the end of extra-time gave the Italians a 2-0 win and a place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League.
Real Madrid trimmed Barcelona's lead at the top of La Liga to one point when they recovered from conceding an early goal to secure a stirring 3-1 comeback win in the 'Clasico' on Saturday.
Gunning for a record seventh appearance at the Olympics this year, one more milestone beckons veteran Indian tennis star Leander Paes which is a testament to his longevity on the professional circuit. If the 42-year-old veteran manages to win 11 more matches on the ATP doubles tour this season, he will displace American Sherwood Stewart in the list of players with most number of doubles wins. Stewart is sitting sixth in the table with 728 wins while Paes, a winner of 17 Grand Slam titles, has taken his number to 718 after reaching the third round of the ongoing French Open in Paris. These staggering statistics do not include Paes' victories in the mixed doubles event and the ones on the ATP Challenger Tour. Last year when Paes recorded his last win of the season, he overtook Sweden's Jonas Bjorkman (712), ending 2015 with 713 wins.
Atletico Madrid crashed out of the Copa del Rey to Girona on Wednesday following a highly entertaining 3-3 draw at home to the Catalan side, who sneaked through to the quarter-finals on away goals after the tie finished 4-4 on aggregate.
Sania Mirza's unimpressive campaign at Wimbledon ended on Thursday as she and her Romanian partner Horia Tecau lost to eight seeds Daniel Nestor of Canada and Frenchwoman Kristina Mladenovic in straight sets in the mixed doubles quarter-finals.
Marco Asensio followed up his brilliant late goal in Sunday's first leg with a stunning effort from 30 metres in the fourth minute that proved a punishing blow for the Catalans.
Here are five talking points from the weekend's action:
This week's collection of unbelievably unusual images from across the world
Ten people, including the gunman were killed in in Dayton's Oregon district, while another 20 were shot dead at a crowded Walmart store in the southern border town of El Paso in Texas.
P V Sindhu had things her way before making it to the quarter-finals in the women's singles badminton competition with a 21-13, 21-15 victory over Chinese Taipei's Tai Tzu Ying at the Rio Olympics on Monday night.
The former world No. 1 reached the semi-finals of the Bellsouth Open at home in Chile.
River Plate battled back to beat arch Argentine rivals Boca Juniors 3-1 in extra-time in an unforgettable and unique Copa Libertadores final second leg, played in Madrid after violence had seen the original game postponed.
Real Madrid put their title defence back on track with a comfortable 3-1 win over Real Sociedad at Anoeta on Sunday, despite missing several key players. Sociedad defender Kevin Rodrigues scored at both ends and Borja Mayoral and Gareth Bale netted Madrid's other goals to help them equal the consecutive scoring record of 73 games set by Pele's Santos between 1961 and 1963.
Arsenal manager Unai Emery was pleased with his team's first away clean sheet of the season.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Olympic silver-medallist P V Sindhu and Ajay Jayaram advanced to the quarter-finals after registering thrilling three-game wins over their respective opponents in the second round of the China Super Series Premier, in Fuzhou, on Thursday.
A summary of Saturday's football action across the world.
There was no dearth of praise for little magician Lionel Messi who struck his 500th goal for FC Barcelona on Sunday.
Briton Andy Murray will take over from Novak Djokovic as World No 1 when the rankings are updated on Monday after his Paris Masters semi-final opponent Milos Raonic withdrew with a leg injury on Saturday.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will again be duelling for the title of world's best footballer after their names once again headed the shortlist on Thursday for The Best FIFA Men's Player.
Diego Costa gave Europa League holders Atletico a dream start against Champions League winners Real by firing them ahead after 49 seconds, knocking down a long pass and smashing the ball into the net from a tight angle.
A referee has admitted to making a mistake in awarding Italy's second goal during their 4-2 defeat to Brazil at the Confederations Cup, FIFA said on Sunday.
Real Madrid beat Manchester United 2-1 on Tuesday to lift the European Super Cup for the fourth time as they became the first team to retain the trophy since AC Milan in 1990.
Olympique de Marseille will lead Ligue 1 into the two-week break thanks to Michy Batshuayi's half-volleyed winner in a 2-1 home victory over Lille on Sunday.
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