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.
Valencia climbed above Atletico Madrid and Sevilla into third in La Liga when Alvaro Negredo came off the bench to score a late winner in a 3-2 home victory over his former club Almeria on Saturday.
Real Madrid dropped points for the third time in seven games since Zinedine Zidane's return as they were held to a 0-0 draw away to Getafe in La Liga on Thursday, which harmed their neighbours' hopes of a top-four finish.
The Champions League group stages took on a less predictable look after Thursday's draw, helped by UEFA's decision to tweak the seeding system.
Barca finished the season second in the standings on 82 points, four behind champions Real Madrid who visit Leganes later on Sunday. Alaves are 16th on 39.
Former England and Manchester United defender Gary Neville is the new boss of Valencia -- his first managerial post.
China's growing popularity as the preferred destination for ageing former English Premier League players shows no sign of slowing with striker Frederic Kanoute completing a move to Beijing Guoan, the Chinese Super League side said.
Manchester United's hopes of salvaging their season in the Europa League suffered a stinging setback when they lost 2-1 at Danish side Midtjylland in the first leg of their last-32 clash on Thursday.
Indian football heavyweights Mohun Bagan clinched their second I-League title with a 1-0 win over Aizawl FC with four rounds to go in the season, in Kalyani, on Tuesday. Senegalese striker Baba Diawara scored the all-important goal for Mohun Bagan in the 80th minute to beat former champions Aizawl in their 16th round match and give their supporters a memorable Holi gift.
Klopp poked more fun at his poor record in one-off matches
Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema has not recovered sufficiently from a knee injury and has been left out of the squad for Tuesday's Champions League semi-final first leg at Juventus, the holders said on Monday.
The policy of buying players cheap and selling them for a higher price a few years on is a business model that worked well for clubs like Atletico Madrid and FC Porto. With the transfer window open for the next few weeks, Rediff.com takes a look at clubs that made smart deals over the years.
Real Madrid will go into next weekend's La Liga El Clasico at Barcelona eight points behind their great rivals after Cristiano Ronaldo netted a hat-trick in a 5-1 comeback win at home to promoted Deportivo Coruna on Sunday.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Coach Laurent Blanc parted ways with Paris St Germain, putting pen to paper on a 22-million-euro ($25 million) severance deal.
Diego Costa scored twice as Atletico Madrid beat Valencia 3-0 to maintain their winning home run this season and keep pace with Barcelona at the top of the La Liga table.
Atletico Madrid have been unable to repeat the magnificent achievements of last season in this campaign but can congratulate themselves on a job well done if they secure a lucrative Champions League berth on Saturday.
IMAGES from Europa League matches played on Thursday.
UEFA opened disciplinary proceedings against Dynamo Kiev on Thursday over alleged racist behaviour and crowd disturbances caused by their fans during Tuesday's Champions League match at the Olympiysky Stadium against Chelsea.
Striker Roberto Soldado was left out of Spain's squad for Euro 2012 on Sunday, despite scoring a hat-trick in a friendly in March.
Yet Milan's defensive frailty was punished when Konstantinos Fortounis scored from the penalty spot in the 81st minute to give his side the win that left them second in Group F on 10 points.
Atletico Madrid secured a berth in the Champions League group stage for next season and Deportivo La Coruna narrowly escaped relegation when they came from two goals down to draw 2-2 at champions Barcelona on the final day in La Liga on Saturday.
The King's Cup final between record winners Barcelona and Athletic Bilbao on May 30 will be held at Barca's Nou Camp.
IMAGES from Europa League matches played on Thursday.
Factbox on the 20 Premier League clubs after the transfer window closed.
Rediff.com gives you a glimpse of the jubilant Catalan team...
Carlos Aranda's 90th-minute goal gave Real Zaragoza a 1-0 win at Levante in a King's Cup last 16 first-leg tie on Thursday while Real Betis were held to a 1-1 draw at second division Las Palmas.
Holders Barcelona reached the King's Cup semi-finals with a 2-0 win over Espanyol on Thursday to overcome a first-leg deficit on a night when new signing Philippe Coutinho made his debut.
Second half of abandoned Rayo-Albacete will kick-off proceedings on return.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice in his 150th European appearance to give Real Madrid a 3-1 victory at Borussia Dortmund, their first against them in Germany, and make it two wins out of two matches in their Champions League Group H.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Neymar made his return to the pitch after a three-month injury lay-off as Paris St Germain celebrated their eighth Ligue 1 title with a 3-1 win against Monaco at the Parc des Princes on Sunday.
Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo has been given a two-match ban following his dismissal for kicking out at an opponent during their La Liga clash with Cordoba last Saturday, the Spanish league said on Wednesday.
Rediff.com brings you this and a lot more gripping sporting action from the week gone by...
Aritz Aduriz's second half hat-trick sent Barcelona spinning to a shock 4-0 defeat at Athletic Bilbao in the first leg of the Spanish Super Cup on Friday.
Images from Sunday's action in La Liga, Serie A and Ligue 1.
Barcelona kept Real Madrid's La Liga title celebrations on hold for a few days at least with a crushing 7-0 victory at Rayo Vallecano on Sunday after Real had cruised to a 3-0 home win over Sevilla.
Barcelona still have very little chance of catching leaders Real Madrid and securing a fourth successive La Liga title despite closing the gap to eight points, coach Pep Guardiola said on Monday.
One player who is unlikely to be lining up for Liverpool for their Premier League opener against Arsenal on August 14 is defender Mamadou Sakho, who underwent treatment for a long-standing Achilles problem.
Besiktas's Europa League game at home to Tottenham Hotspur was suspended twice on Thursday after the floodlights failed in each half before the Turkish side won 1-0.
