Barcelona trounced visitors Atletico Madrid 6-1 at the Nou Camp on Saturday to move into second place behind Villarreal in the Primera Liga. Villarreal have 16 points from six games after coming from behind to beat Real Betis 2-1 while Barca are on 13 after a scoring spree led by a double from Samuel Eto'o.
The Brazil striker pulled a hamstring towards the end of the previous campaign and has yet to feature in pre-season.
Thierry Henry said he will consider leaving Barcelona during the winter transfer window if coach Pep Guardiola leaves him on the bench too often.
Eibar coach Jose Luis Mendilibar was also dismissed later for angry protests against referee Alejandro Hernandez Hernandez.
The English champions will go through to the last 16 of the Champions League if they overcome Real Betis in Seville.
Lionel Messi notched a 20th assist of the season to help a lacklustre Barcelona secure a 1-0 win away to Real Valladolid on Saturday, maintaining the pressure on La Liga leaders Real Madrid. Cristiano Ronaldo converted two penalties, both awarded for handballs and the second in the last minute, as Serie A leader Juventus twice hit back to draw 2-2 with Atalanta to move closer to a ninth successive Serie A title on Saturday.
Barcelona earned a 1-1 draw with holders Sevilla in the first leg of the King's Cup last-16.
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.
Both sides had already qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League and all that was at stake was first or second place in the group.
AC Milan scored a 4-0 win over Fenerbahce with Andrei Shevchenko scoring all four goals in their Champions League Group E victory.
Liverpool turn to the relative calm of their Champions League defence with a place in the last 16 at stake on Tuesday.
Manchester United beat Hungarian champions Debrecen 3-0 in the first leg of their third qualifying round tie on Tuesday.
Barcelona eased to a 3-0 win over Racing Santander to keep pace with leaders Sevilla in the Primera Liga.
Barcelona were in danger of being toppled from the top of La Liga standings on Sunday after they suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at Deportivo La Coruna.
Liverpool overcame an early scare and came from a goal down to claim a 3-1 win at Austria's LASK Linz.
The Brazilian playmaker returned from a two-game suspension at the weekend and scored twice in a 5-1 drubbing of Real Betis.
Gareth Bale marked his return to action after a long injury layoff by sealing a 2-0 victory for Real Madrid over Espanyol on Saturday to provisionally stretch Zinedine Zidane's side's lead at the top of La Liga to three points.
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Photos from the La Liga matches played on Sunday
Villarreal reclaimed fourth spot and a slim advantage in the race for a Champions League place with a 2-0 win at Malaga.
Barcelona forward Ansu Fati will be sidelined for four months after undergoing knee surgery, the La Liga club said on Monday.
Atletico Madrid's faint hopes of chasing down runaway Liga leaders Barcelona suffered a fresh blow on Saturday as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Girona, meaning they could fall 11 points behind the Catalans by the end of the weekend.
Paris St Germain closed out the year on a high as they maintained their five-point advantage at the top of the table.
Midfielder Dani Ceballos added: "It looks like us changing our coach worked. We have recovered some sensations we had lost and we have got the three points. Now our objective is to win all the games left and finish the season as well as possible."
The draw interrupted a run of four straight league wins for Zinedine Zidane's side and left them second on 67 points after 31 games, three behind leaders Atletico who thrashed Eibar 5-0 earlier in the day.
Betis fans bow to 'extraordinary' Messi after sublime hat-trick Lionel Messi is used to receiving adulation at the Nou Camp but on Sunday he got a rapturous reception from rival supporters for a majestic hat-trick in Barcelona's 4-1 win at Real Betis. Messi opened the scoring with an unstoppable free kick then combined with devastating effect with Luis Suarez to carve Betis open and score a second goal right before halftime. The Argentine saved his best goal for last, completing a victory which took Barca 10 points clear at the top of La Liga with a spectacular first-timed chip from the edge of the area after playing a one-two with Ivan Rakitic. Beaten Betis goalkeeper Pau Lopez looked on in awe while the home supporters, renowned for devotion to their side, rose to their feet, bowed down to Messi and chanted his name. "Even though the opposition concedes goals to Messi they can still enjoy this unbelievable era which he has created, they enjoy it too and today they recognised that," said Barca coach Ernesto Valverde. "It's significant that they gave him this ovation, it's an acknowledgement. Our rivals' supporters have to suffer him but they also appreciate him, because of the player he is. "Leo's performance was extraordinary, he got three goals but he could have got four, that shows you how good he is." Betis coach Quique Setien commended his supporters for their treatment of Messi while saying he felt honoured to work in the same era as the Argentine. "I really like the fact that our supporters showed their appreciation for a great player, today he really made us suffer," Setien said. "It's only fair and it's right to recognise this, our fans behaved in an extraordinary way and I'm very proud of them. I've seen some magnificent players do great things but no-one can match the things Messi has done over the last 12 years. "It's a privilege to have been able to start this era with him and see him in action every weekend." The five-times world player of the year moved on to 39 goals in all competitions this season with two months still left in the campaign. It was Messi's 51st career hat-trick but he could not recall receiving such applause from a rival team's fans. "I cannot remember anything like this before and I'm very grateful for the fans' reaction," Messi said. "I'm very grateful to them and happy for the victory, which was very important."
The Barca coach said the squad is in a good place both mentally and physically and very motivated to take the field.
Deportivo La Coruna have granted permission to Lucas Perez to withdraw from the squad to face Real Betis on Saturday amid media talks linking the striker to a potential move to Premier League club Arsenal.
Following Manchester United's 7-0 drubbing at the hands of Liverpool at Anfield on Sunday, manager Ten Hag among former players came down heavily on their 'embarrassing' performance.
Villarreal's struggles in the Spanish league continued with a 2-1 loss at Athletic Bilbao, with striker Gerard Moreno not finishing the game because of an injury.
With the Catalans shorn of three of their top forwards, all eyes will be on Griezmann in his first appearance at the Camp Nou since his 120-million-euro ($133 million) move from Atletico Madrid, and not least because Barca need a win to kickstart their season.
There was a memorable meeting with a 'tall, elegant, beautiful girl', who had recently finished her 12th in the strongly tribal Jhabua district, Madhya Pradesh. 'I was shocked. In this whole sea of villages, I knew for sure there was no other 12th pass girl. I said I want to meet your father.' 'She brought her father, a daily-wage labourer. I asked him: "How come you decided to educate your girl till the 12th standard? You break stones for a living and you don't have a lot of money".' 'He just said one line and in that one line he said everything.'
All 23 of the World cup-winning squad including Jenni Hermoso, as well as 32 other squad members, said they would not play internationals while Luis Rubiales remains head of the Royal Spanish Football Federation.
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The virtual sound has been developed with video game company EA SPORTS FIFA, in a project called Sounds of the Stands.
Ferran Torres scored a brace and Ousmane Dembele made two assists as a red-hot Barcelona rolled over Osasuna 4-0 on Sunday to earn their fourth consecutive LaLiga win.
