Spain showed their remarkable potential under new coach Luis Enrique by destroying World Cup runners-up Croatia 6-0 on Tuesday to hand the visitors their biggest ever defeat and take control of their Nations League group.
Images from soccer matches played across different leagues in Europe on Sunday
Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo may be on course for his worst domestic goal haul since 2010 but with two strikes against Bayern Munich in the Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday he became the first player to score 100 goals in UEFA competitions.
Real are third in the league standings with 54 points after 28 games, two behind second-placed Atletico Madrid who visit Athletic Bilbao later on Saturday and nine points behind leaders Barcelona who play at Real Betis on Sunday.
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane is under pressure to break up his misfiring attacking trio of Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gareth Bale when he takes the La Liga leaders to Alaves on Saturday.
The win took second-placed Real to 62 points after 29 games, two behind champions Barca who beat Leganes 2-0 on Tuesday.
Holders Real Madrid came from a goal down to snatch a precious 2-1 victory at wasteful Bayern Munich on Wednesday and carry a considerable advantage into their Champions League semi-final second leg in Spain.
Zidane calls on Madrid fans to create best atmosphere ever against Bayern
Madrid won only two of their seven pre-season games
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a sensational goal and was then sent off for a combination of his provocative celebration and for diving as Real Madrid beat Barcelona 3-1 in an explosive Spanish Super Cup first leg on Sunday.
Real Madrid will welcome back the added firepower of talisman Cristiano Ronaldo and striker Karim Benzema when they entertain promoted Osasuna in La Liga on Saturday.
England ran riot by scoring three first-half goals to stun Spain and earn a 3-2 away win in the Nations League on Monday as they moved back into contention in League A Group 4 with their first victory on Spanish soil for 31 years.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick to send Real Madrid through to the Champions League semi-finals with a 4-2 extra-time win and 6-3 aggregate success against 10-man Bayern Munich in controversial circumstances on Tuesday.
Levante striker Roger Marti brushed off squandering a penalty to score the winning goal as his side pulled off a shock 2-1 La Liga victory at Real Madrid
Images from action in the Spanish Super Cup and English Premier League
Karim Benzema and Vinicius Jr both scored a brace to give the LaLiga leaders a 4-1 home win over Valencia
Substitute Sergio Araujo struck a late equaliser as Las Palmas held Real Madrid to a 2-2 draw and left them with a one-point lead over Barcelona at the top of La Liga on Saturday.
Real Madrid rested Cristiano Ronaldo and suffered a fifth Liga defeat of the season as Espanyol's Gerard Moreno struck late for a 1-0 win over the Spanish and European champions.
Real Madrid set a Spanish record of 40 matches unbeaten in all competitions after they came back from two goals behind to snatch a 3-3 draw at Sevilla with a last-gasp equaliser from Karim Benzema in the King's Cup on Thursday.
IMAGES from La Liga matches played on Sunday
A 'winning culture' may be one of the most over used terms in modern football but Real Madrid and Carlo Ancelotti proved on Saturday, at Liverpool's expense, that there truly is meaning and value in the concept.
The historic rivals will meet again twice in August in the Spanish Super Cup and this International Champions Cup match set the entertainment bar high, with Barcelona maintaining their 100 per cent record in pre-season.
Manchester City's quadruple bid remained intact as Ilkay Gundogan and Kevin de Bruyne secured a 2-0 win at Everton in their FA Cup quarter-final clash
Arsenal named a strong side captained by Mesut Ozil while Real had Bale on the bench and Eden Hazard, wearing the number 50 shirt, starting alongside fellow new signing Luka Jovic in attack.
Manchester City marched into the quarter-finals of the Champions League
Lopetegui blends youth and experience in Spain World Cup squad
Real Madrid have enviously looked on as Barcelona claimed six La Liga titles in the last eight years, but Zinedine Zidane's side can take a huge step towards a first crown since 2012 with victory over their bitter rivals at the Nou Camp on Saturday.
European champions Real Madrid head to rampaging Borussia Dortmund for their Champions League Group F game on Tuesday in a frazzled state with their buoyant start to the season having been punctured by successive La Liga draws.
Barcelona finished three points behind Real Madrid last season but there is concern the gap between Spain's biggest two sides could be far larger this season.
Late Griezmann strike ends Atletico's away day hoodoo
Bayern left fuming over Champions League 'robbery'.
Lionel Messi struck a spectacular free kick, scored another goal and set up two more in a 4-1 victory for Barcelona over nine-man city rivals Espanyol in the first leg of their King's Cup last-16 clash on Wednesday.
'They probably need to refresh the team a bit more, to be very honest. They have kept the majority of the same team for the last couple of years'
Chelsea's Marcos Alonso and Real Madrid's Nacho were notable absentees in defence, along with Atletico Madrid midfielder Koke.
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.
LaLiga leaders Barcelona's pursuit of a 27th Spanish title gained momentum after a 2-1 comeback win over Real Madrid.
Holders Real Madrid were sensationally knocked out of the Champions League on Tuesday after being thrashed 4-1 at home by an outstanding Ajax Amsterdam who overturned a first-leg deficit to reach the quarter-finals 5-3 on aggregate.
Real Madrid brushed off the absence of Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale to beat Espanyol 2-0 away and maintain their 100 per cent start to the league season while matching the La Liga record of 16 consecutive victories.
Ajax, four-times European Cup winners who are in the knockout stages for the first time in 13 years, have enhanced their reputation as a talent factory due to the rise of homegrown Dutch players Frenkie de Jong and Matthijs de Ligt.
Images from matches played across European leagues on Saturday
