There were mixed fortunes for league leaders around Europe over the weekend with Barcelona, Inter Milan and Liverpool winning but Olympique Lyon and Hoffenheim going down to defeats.
Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger had a glint in his eye when asked about his side's Champions League semi-final against Manchester United in a fortnight.
Barcelona striker Lionel Messi and Atletico Madrid forward Sergio Aguero have been included in Argentina's squad for the Beijing Olympics.
Arsenal enjoyed a 3-0 win in Azerbaijan against Qarabag in the Europa League on Thursday and AC Milan beat Greece's Olympiakos Piraeus 3-1 but Sevilla suffered a shock defeat by Russians Krasnodar.
Playmaker Juan Roman Riquelme quit the Argentine national side for the second time in three years on Tuesday and blamed coach Diego Maradona for his decision. Riquelme, who returned to Boca Juniors last year after falling out with the coaching staff at Villarreal, said he was angry at being left out of the squad for last month's friendly in France and not being told first hand.
Barcelona seized control of their King's Cup quarter-final tie against Atletico Madrid when Lionel Messi followed up his saved penalty to score and secure a 1-0 first-leg victory at the Nou Camp on Wednesday.
Pep Guardiola's ManchesterCity will play Romanian side Steaua Bucharest in the Champions League playoff round after the draw was made in Nyon on Friday.
Former captain and leading all-time scorer Raul and teenager Bojan Krkic were left out of the Spain squad for Euro 2008.
Manchester United manager Alex Ferguson was far from disheartened after Villarreal held out for a 0-0 draw in their Champions League opener at Old Trafford on Wednesday. With striker Dimitar Berbatov injured and a doubt for the weekend and midfielders Paul Scholes and Michael Carrick also unavailable Ferguson named an unexpected line-up and was not too disappointed with a draw to start their title defence.
Olympique de Marseille were the fall guys on a hectic opening night of Europa League group stage action as German club Eintracht Frankfurt returned from the south of France with a surprise 2-1 victory on Thursday.
Valencia tore Real Madrid apart 3-0 on Saturday to give Barcelona the chance to wrap up the Primera Liga title as early as Sunday's game against Villarreal.
Manchester United beat Porto 1-0 while Arsenal trounced Villarreal 3-0 in second leg quarter-final matches in the Champions League to make the grade.
Arsenal defender Johan Djourou is doubtful for Wednesday's Champions League quarter-final second leg against Villarreal after damaging his knee playing in Saturday's 4-1 win over Wigan Athletic.
David Villa scored twice from the penalty spot to help Valencia to a 4-1 victory at home to Getafe in the Primera Liga on Sunday, putting them back in the hunt for a place in next season's Champions League.
Barcelona's fourth defeat of the season left them seventh in the standings on 14 points after 10 games, 12 points behind leaders Atletico.
Here are five talking points from the weekend's action in Spain.
Chelsea, Valencia and Lazio shook things up in England, Spain and Italy by climbing to the top of their respective leagues.
Real Madrid celebrated their league title triumph in style by crushing arch-rivals Barcelona 4-1 at the Bernabeu on Wednesday and helping deprive the Catalans of an automatic place in the Champions League. First-half goals from Raul and Arjen Robben, a classy strike from Gonzalo Higuain and a Ruud van Nistelrooy penalty earned Bernd Schuster's side an emphatic win that delighted the home fans packed into the rain-soaked stadium.
Manchester United were held to a 0-0 draw at home by Villarreal on Wednesday as last season's Champions League winners made a stuttering start to their title defence.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Holders Manchester United will face familiar foes Celtic in this season's Champions League group stage.
Arsenal right back Hector Bellerin will be in Spain's Euro 2016 squad, the country's football federation said on Tuesday. The 21-year-old Bellerin and the other 18 players named to face South Korea in a friendly in Wals-Siezenheim, Austria on Wednesday, have been guaranteed spots in the European Championship squad. Bellerin was included after Real Madrid right back Dani Carvajal sustained a leg muscle injury in Saturday's Champions League final victory over Atletico Madrid. The Real Madrid and Atletico players in the squad will be named later on Tuesday when Spain coach Vicente del Bosque announces his final list.
The nine-times European champions finished second on goal difference in Group H of the Champions League behind Juventus, who were held 0-0 at home by BATE Borisov.
Former European champions Ajax Amsterdam made a shock exit from the UEFA Cup on Thursday after a 3-2 home defeat by Dinamo Zagreb gave the Croatians victory on the away goals rule.
Inspired by two-goal Alessandro Del Piero, Juventus chalked up their first win at Real Madrid since 1962 by beating the Spaniards 2-0 to qualify for the last 16 of the Champions League.
The Champions League burst into life on Tuesday with 36 goals in eight matches, including 24 in just three games, to equal a competition record.
Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo faces a race against time to be fit for the Champions League semi-final second leg with Manchester City on May 4.
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.
Manchester United begin their Champions League defence at home to Villarreal on Wednesday and manager Alex Ferguson has set his side the target of becoming the first team to retain the title.
Here are five talking points from the weekend's action in La Liga.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Chelsea agreed a deal to sign Real Madrid striker Alvaro Morata, subject to the Spain international agreeing personal terms and passing a medical.
England defender John Stones has been ruled out of their final two Euro 2016 qualifiers through injury, the FA said in a statement.
Marco Asensio's strike earned Real Madrid a 1-0 win over Espanyol to send them top of La Liga and Thomas Lemar scored his first goal for Atletico Madrid in a 2-0 victory at Getafe on Saturday.
Vietto slotted the ball home with seven minutes to go after Karim Benzema had given visitors Real the lead early on.
Spanish media predicted the end of the Primera Liga title race on Monday after leaders Real Madrid went eight points clear of Barcelona at the weekend.
Barcelona have been frighteningly good at home this season, scoring 15 goals in three games at the Nou Camp.
Zidane is currently in charge of Real's B team Castilla, and has for some time been linked with the manager's post.
Real Madrid's bid to get their expulsion from the King's Cup temporarily suspended pending a final decision on their appeal has been rejected by the Spanish government's Disciplinary Committee for Sports (TAD).
Top two teams in each group qualify for the first knockout round. Third placed team to play in the UEFA Cup.
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