An Aaron Ramsey strike and a Kalidou Koulibaly own goal gave Arsenal a 2-0 victory over Napoli in the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final, while Chelsea beat a stubborn Slavia Prague 1-0.
Portugal international Goncalo Guedes fired Valencia into the lead in the 35th minute with a thumping shot from inside the area which was too powerful for Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas.
The hard-fought win took Zinedine Zidane's side on to 77 points after 34 games, seven clear of second-placed Barca who visit in-form Villarreal later on Sunday.
A mesmeric Lionel Messi helped Barcelona to come from behind and beat Sevilla 2-1 in a thrilling encounter on Sunday as the champions kept the pressure on La Liga leaders Real Madrid, who saw off Leganes 3-0 thanks to a double from Gareth Bale.
Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney did not have the faintest idea who Anthony Martial was when the Monaco forward was linked with a move to Old Trafford earlier this week, according to team mate Morgan Schneiderlin.
A summary of Saturday's action in Serie A and La Liga.
Defender Cesar has been banned for four matches by the Spanish Football Federation for head-butting Villarreal striker Antonio de Nigris in a league match
Departing Malaga coach Manuel Pellegrini hopes a verbal agreement with Manchester City will turn into a firm offer, he said in an interview with Spanish radio station Onda Cero on Wednesday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Photographic summary of the football matches played across Spain, Italy and France
Atletico aim for Champions League revenge against Real at fourth attempt.
Manchester Utd's Fred receives racist abuse after defeat by Liverpool.
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.
Substitute Fernando Torres scored his 100th Atletico Madrid goal as they rallied from 1-0 down to beat visiting Eibar 3-1 and go level with Barcelona at the top of La Liga on Saturday. Two headed goals from corner kicks seven minutes apart by central defenders Jose Maria Gimenez and Saul put Atletico on track after Keko had given Eibar the lead in the 46th. Coach Diego Simeone will be glad his side ended a run of four matches without a win in La Liga and the King's Cup while Torres, who netted in added time, had been waiting since a victory at Eibar in September to reach his century for the club. Atletico are unlikely to stay joint top on 51 points beyond Sunday as rampant Barcelona, who have a better goal difference and two matches in hand, visit bottom team Levante. Real Madrid, away to Granada on Sunday, are in third place, four points off the pace.
Manchester City made it five wins out of five in the Premier League and Cristiano Ronaldo scored five goals for Real Madrid but Chelsea and Juventus continued to struggle at the weekend as the Champions League looms.
Real Madrid equalled a Spanish record of 39 games unbeaten in all competitions by crushing struggling Granada 5-0 on Saturday to go six points clear at the top of La Liga.
Barca feel familiar February blues as tiredness sets in
Neymar was in a class of his own again on Sunday, scoring a double to help Paris St Germain extend their Ligue 1 lead to 10 points with a 2-0 win at Lille. The Brazilian dedicated his goal to former Los Angeles Lakers player Kobe Bryant, who died in a helicopter crash on Sunday, by raising two fingers in one hand and four fingers with the other to signal the number 24 -- Bryant's shirt number.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Barcelona's poor run away to Real Sociedad continued when the champions were held to a 1-1 draw at Anoeta on Sunday and slipped six points behind La Liga leaders Real Madrid before next week's 'Clasico' against their arch rivals.
Atletico Madrid took a giant step towards the La Liga title
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.
Celta Vigo were promoted back to Spain's top flight after five years in the second division after a 0-0 draw at home to Cordoba on Sunday secured them second place behind division winners and Galician neighbours Deportivo Coruna.
Real Madrid closed to within two points of La Liga leaders Barcelona after demolishing nine-man Rayo Vallecano 10-2 while Atletico Madrid missed a chance to seize top spot outright by losing 1-0 at Malaga.
Lionel Messi scored his 12th league goal of the season but Barcelona had to rely on exceptional saves from Marc-Andre ter Stegen as they rode their luck to win 2-0 at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday and stay four points clear at the top of La Liga.
Real Madrid are set be thrown out of the Spanish King's Cup after playing banned Russian winger Denis Cheryshev in their last-32 win over Cadiz on Wednesday.
IMAGES from soccer matches played in the English Premier League and the La Liga on Monday.
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.
Premier League leaders Manchester City face a tricky match at Napoli but they would also advance to the next stage with victory in southern Italy.
Valencia, who lifted the trophy on their last appearance in the showpiece match in 2008, will meet 30-times winners Barca in the final on May 25 at Betis' Benito Villamarin stadium.
Neymar will play in the Olympics in August and will miss the Centenary Copa America in the United States in June, his club Barcelona said on Wednesday to end months of speculation.
Manchester City outcast Carlos Tevez has been offered a way back into the Premier League club's plans by manager Roberto Mancini but only if he apologises for refusing to warm up in their Champions League match at Bayern Munich in late September.
Real Madrid moved seven points clear at the top of La Liga with a comfortable 3-1 win over bottom side Real Zaragoza as Barcelona could only draw 0-0 at lowly Villarreal on Saturday.
Manchester's two-pronged assault on the Champions League finally sprang to life on Tuesday when United won their first match of the campaign by beating Romanians Otelul Galati 2-0 away and City left it until stoppage time to beat Villarreal 2-1.
Espanyol struck three goals in four minutes to snatch a dramatic 3-2 comeback win at home to third-tier Mirandes in a King's Cup quarter-final first leg on Tuesday.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp enjoyed a satisfying return to Borussia Dortmund as his new side frustrated his former charges and claimed a valuable away goal to draw 1-1 in their Europa League quarter-final, first leg on Thursday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Bayern Munich are not unbeatable despite their impressive nine-game winning streak without conceding a goal, Manchester City forward Edin Dzeko said on Monday.
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.
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