Atletico Madrid were handed a chance to avenge last season's Champions League final defeat by city rivals and record 10-times winners Real after the two sides were drawn together in the last eight on Friday. Paris St Germain and Barcelona were paired together having met in the group stage, with the French side winning in Paris and the Catalans coming out on top in Spain.
With no fans allowed into venues and Real playing their home games at the 6,000-capacity Alfredo Di Stefano stadium while the Santiago Bernabeu is being refurbished, it will be a title race unlike any other.
Arsenal have appointed former Paris St Germain coach Unai Emery as their new manager, the Spaniard succeeding the long-serving Arsene Wenger, the Premier League club announced on Wednesday.
New Valencia coach Gary Neville remains without a La Liga win after his side twice recovered from a goal down to rescue a fortunate 2-2 draw at home to Getafe on Saturday.
Emmanuel Adebayor came off the bench to score on his home debut for Real Madrid and put the icing on a 3-0 aggregate win over holders Sevilla that set up a mouthwatering King's Cup final against Barcelona.
Chelsea, Manchester City and Manchester United enjoyed comfortable wins in the English Premier League on Saturday as fans returned to stadiums after an eight-month absence.
Lionel Messi is back in the Argentina squad for next month's World Cup qualifiers against Brazil and Colombia after missing the last three due to injury in which his team have dropped seven points. Messi was named on Friday in coach Edgardo Bauza's 26-man squad and will captain Argentina away to arch-rivals Brazil in Belo Horizonte on Nov. 10 and at home against Colombia in San Juan five days later. Argentina have slipped down the South American group standings to fifth after a shock 1-0 home defeat by Paraguay and 2-2 draws with Peru and Venezuela, all without Messi.
Angel Di Maria kept Real Madrid on the heels of La Liga leaders Barcelona as they survived a red card for Ricardo Carvalho to beat Sevilla 1-0 at home on Sunday.
Here are five talking points from the weekend in La Liga:
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. The Argentina forward faces a spell on the sidelines after sustaining a groin injury in Wednesday's 1-1 La Liga draw with Atletico Madrid. "There's no question we are stronger with Messi," Iniesta told Cadena Cope radio ahead of Saturday's match at Sporting Gijon. "When these things happen we all have to give a little bit more.
Lionel Messi came off the bench to preserve Barcelona's unbeaten run in La Liga with a sensational late equaliser in a thrilling 2-2 draw at Sevilla on Saturday as the runaway leaders came back from two goals down in the space of a minute.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Barcelona beat Girona 2-0 in a Catalan derby on Sunday to maintain their five-point lead at the top of La Liga, while Real Madrid thrashed Espanyol 4-2.
Juergen Klopp's Europa League nightmare came true on Friday when his Liverpool side was drawn to meet former club Borussia Dortmund in next month's quarter-finals.
Barcelona dealt a stinging blow to Real Madrid's title hopes when Luis Suarez and Neymar continued their scintillating form to fire the champions to a stunning 4-0 victory in the La Liga 'Clasico' on Saturday.
Barcelona are on the verge of completing a reported 30 million euro ($33.57 million) move for Spain international Paco Alcacer from Valencia after the striker arrived for a medical with the La Liga champions on Monday.
Dramatic finale as Valencia denied by 10-man Levante
Arsenal will have another chance to beat Bayern Munich in a Champions League knockout tie after the sides were paired in the round of 16 following Monday's draw. The teams met in the knockout stages in 2005, 2013 and 2014 with the German champions winning on all three occasions. Bayern, who finished as runners-up in their group, will host the first leg.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored the 750th goal of his remarkable career in a 3-0 win over Dynamo Kyiv on Wednesday
Real Madrid's miserable run of results continued on Saturday as they fell to a 2-1 defeat at home to Levante, their third successive loss in all competitions which piles more pressure on coach Julen Lopetegui.
Alaba strike on Clasico debut gives Real Madrid 2-1 win at Barcelona.
Karim Benzema made history at Real Madrid, the battle for the top four continues to heat up
Sweden striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic crowned a triumphant homecoming with a second-half goal as Paris St Germain crushed Malmo 5-0 on Wednesday to book a place in the last 16 of the Champions League.
Real Sociedad are fourth in the table on 28 points, three points behind third-placed Sevilla.
On International Women's Day, here's a collection of photographs that celebrate femininity.
Photos from the La Liga matches played on Sunday
Surprise package Real Mallorca stayed in the hunt for a spot in next season's Champions League when they won 3-2 at home to Valencia on Sunday to draw level on 51 points with fourth-placed Sevilla.
Late Griezmann strike ends Atletico's away day hoodoo
Manchester United will hike prices for away fans when they host Barcelona in their Champions League quarter-final first leg to subsidise tickets for their own supporters travelling to Spain for the return, the Premier League club said.
Arsenal have sacked manager Unai Emery following a run of seven games without a victory.
Barcelona defender Dani Alves has agreed a two-year contract extension to the end of the 2016-17 season with an option for a further year, the Spanish and European champions said on Tuesday.
Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick to lead Barcelona to a 4-0 victory over Sevilla Saturday and a 5-3 aggregate win in the Spanish Super Cup.
Rafael van der Vaart scored an injury-time winner as Real Madrid came back to beat Sevilla 3-2 and replace Barcelona at the top of La Liga on Saturday, after the champions were held 2-2 in Almeria.
Champions Barcelona begin their bid for a sixth La Liga title in eight years at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday knowing that fellow heavyweights Real Madrid could, unusually, be just one of several challengers for their crown.
Barcelona's Brazil right back Dani Alves has decided to leave the Nou Camp after eight years with the Spanish champions, the club said on Thursday.
Iniesta has spent all of his senior career at Barcelona and is their most decorated player ever along with Lionel Messi, having lifted 31 trophies, which is soon to be 32 if Barca clinch the Liga title on Sunday at Deportivo La Coruna.
A round-up of Saturday's action in Serie A, La Liga and Bundesliga.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Cristiano Ronaldo marked his 600th league appearance with his 20th Serie A goal of the season as Juventus beat Spezia 3-0 on Tuesday to move within three points of second-placed AC Milan.
Liverpool added another fairytale comeback to the history books as they fought back from 3-1 down against Borussia Dortmund to reach the Europa League semi-finals after Dejan Lovren's towering stoppage-time header secured a 4-3 win on Thursday.
