Lionel Messi's double strike helped Barcelona scrape a 3-2 victory over Real Sociedad on Saturday to keep the pressure on La Liga leaders Real Madrid, who needed a brace from Isco to beat Sporting Gijon by the same scoreline.
In his absence, the league champions have made a lacklustre start to the season, losing their opening game to Athletic Bilbao before taking just four points from fixtures against Real Betis and Osasuna.
Real Madrid romped to a 4-1 win at tiny Eibar on Saturday, provisionally returning to the top of La Liga, despite the absence of Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo for Zinedine Zidane's side.
Atletico Madrid took full advantage of Barcelona's defeat at Real Sociedad and closed to within eight points of the La Liga leaders when Adrian and Koke struck in a 2-0 win at home to Levante on Sunday.
Leaders Barcelona suffered their first defeat in La Liga this season when Real Sociedad stormed back from two-goals down and made the most of a red card for Gerard Pique to record a 3-2 home win on Saturday.
Leaders Barcelona kept up their relentless pace at the top of La Liga with a 4-0 thrashing of city rivals Espanyol and 10-man Real Madrid needed two goals from Cristiano Ronaldo to see off Real Sociedad 4-3 on Sunday.
Villarreal's slide continued as a Diego Castro header gave Getafe a 1-1 draw in La Liga on Sunday but the match was overshadowed by a serious injury to Mateo Musacchio.
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.
Valencia have agreed to appoint Ernesto Valverde to replace Mauricio Pellegrino as their new coach until the end of the season, the Spanish club said on Monday.
France forward Antoine Griezmann says he would only leave Atletico Madrid if manager Diego Simeone also quit the La Liga club.
Lionel Messi's double and a David Villa goal on his return form injury helped Barcelona hammer visitors Real Sociedad 5-1 to give new coach Tito Vilanova the perfect start to their La Liga campaign on Sunday.
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.
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.
La Liga leaders Barcelona were held to a 2-2 home draw by Celta Vigo on Saturday as their former assistant coach Juan Carlos Unzue dented the title hopes of the Catalans, who dropped points for the second game in a row for the first time this campaign.
'The pandemic has caused football to change a lot, and for the worse. You can see it in the matches, and I hope this all ends soon and we can get fans back into the stadiums and return to normality.'
Images from the football matches played across Europe on Wednesday.
Real Madrid star Cristiano Ronaldo has set a new record after he became the fastest player to reach 100 goals in the Spanish league.
Real Madrid defender Pepe was handed a two-match ban on Friday for insulting the referee after the 1-1 La Liga draw at Villarreal.
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 defender Gerard Pique fears his side's shock elimination from the Champions League could disturb their bid to retain the La Liga title as they host Valencia on Sunday looking for a first win in four league games.
Antoine Griezmann and Yannick Carrasco each conjured moments of magic as Atletico Madrid recaptured top spot in La Liga from Barcelona with a hard-fought 2-0 victory at Celta Vigo on Sunday.
Barcelona are in the unusual position of having drawn their last three matches as they prepare for Saturday's home La Liga game against Real Sociedad and Pep Guardiola's unwillingness to commit to a new contract is not helping settle jangled nerves.
A senseless pitch invasion by Serbian fans in last month's Euro 2016 home qualifier against Albania has cost the Balkan nation dearly and the team fear the ramifications ahead of Friday's match against Denmark, Nemanja Matic said.
His mere presence causes hysteria and pandemonium in the Land of the Rising Sun and he has no tennis equal in a continent heaving with 4.427 billion inhabitants, yet self-effacing Kei Nishikori thinks he is simply 'one' of the best players in Japan.
Atletico Madrid took a giant step towards the La Liga title
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.
Injury-hit Barcelona will not be complaining if another 'lucky' black cat helps Lionel Messi find the net at the Nou Camp on Wednesday when they bid for a third King's Cup final appearance in four years.
Injury-hit Barcelona will not be complaining if another 'lucky' black cat helps Lionel Messi find the net at the Nou Camp on Wednesday when they bid for a third King's Cup final appearance in four years.
Cristiano Ronaldo's bullet header helped Real Madrid to a 2-0 victory .
Awesome images from the world of Sport 2018.
The late equaliser saw Valencia left on eighth spot with 27 points in the standings. Here are Images from the exciting draw played at Mestalla in Valencia, on Sunday.
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.
Top A-League clubs have expressed interest in signing departing Barcelona captain Andres Iniesta for the next season, Football Federation Australia (FFA) chief executive David Gallop has said.
Real Sociedad's Inigo Martinez scored from inside his own half in the Basque derby on Sunday, but Fernando Llorente's brace made sure Athletic Bilbao earned a 2-1 away win in La Liga.
A hat-trick by Lionel Messi inspired Barcelona to an 8-0 rout of Osasuna in La Liga on Saturday as the champions responded with a devastating performance after a poor week by their high standards.
La Liga champions Barcelona began the new campaign with a 3-0 win over Alaves on Saturday with the help of a spectacular under-the-wall free kick from Lionel Messi, who scored twice, and a curling shot from substitute Philippe Coutinho.
At least three persons were feared to have been killed after the 'tailing stack' of a mine collapsed at Cuddegal in Sanvordem in South Goa
AC midfielder Franck Kessie scored from a penalty to give AC Milan a 2-2 draw away to Napoli in Serie A on Sunday, sparing the blushes of his goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma whose mistakes provided the hosts with both their goals. Sevilla closed in on Champions League qualification by beating struggling Real Mallorca 2-0 at home to open up a nine-point gap in the race for fourth spot in La Liga.
Treble-chasing Barcelona are exactly where they want to be as they prepare for two matches this week that could make or break coach Luis Enrique's first season in charge.
Real Madrid captain and goalkeeper Iker Casillas has called for a big improvement after the European champions suffered a surprise early-season setback at Real Sociedad in La Liga on Sunday.
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