Cristiano Ronaldo gave Zinedine Zidane a ringing endorsement as Real Madrid coach after their 1-0 defeat by Atletico Madrid in the city derby at the Bernabeu on Saturday.
Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick as Barcelona clinched a 25th La Liga title on Sunday after winning 4-2 at Deportivo La Coruna despite throwing away a two-goal lead in a thrilling game which also confirmed Depor's relegation.
Late Griezmann strike ends Atletico's away day hoodoo
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Real Madrid's stuttering run continued as they were held 1-1 at home by La Liga minnows Eibar on Sunday, drawing a fourth consecutive game in all competitions for the first time in more than a decade.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick and Real Madrid rattled in four goals before halftime in a 5-1 La Liga rout of Real Sociedad at the Bernabeu in Madrid.
Atletico Madrid turned up the heat on champions Barcelona when they fought back to secure a 2-1 win at home to Athletic Bilbao in La Liga on Sunday as Real Madrid slipped off the pace with a 1-0 loss at Villarreal.
David Moyes's bid to resurrect his career in La Liga ended in failure when Real Sociedad sacked him following a defeat at Las Palmas which left them hovering just above the relegation places.
Napoli went down 3-1 at home to RB Leipzig, Arsenal and AC Milan enjoyed comfortable away wins, and Borussia Dortmund's Michy Batshuayi scored twice to secure a 3-2 victory in Europa League last 32, first leg action
Philippe Coutinho scored his first league goal since returning to Barcelona to help his side draw 1-1 at home to an excellent Sevilla side in La Liga on Sunday.
La Liga leaders Barcelona drew 0-0 at Huesca on Saturday and are nine points clear of second-placed Atletico Madrid, who cut the gap by beating Celta Vigo 2-0.
The draw means second-placed Atletico Madrid could close the 12-point gap with Barcelona, who are on 74 points, if they beat Celta Vigo later on Saturday.
Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, find themselves in the bizarre situation of having made poor starts to the campaign
Olympiakos Piraeus secured a surprise 3-2 victory over last year's Champions League runners-up Atletico Madrid to make a dream start to their Group A campaign on Tuesday.
La Liga champions Barcelona fell to their first opening day defeat of the season in 11 years when they were beaten 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao thanks to a sensational late overhead kick from veteran striker Aritz Aduriz.
Griezmann goal earns Atletico first win of season
A summary of Friday's Euro 2020 qualifying matches.
Cristiano Ronaldo capped a remarkable year by claiming a fourth Ballon d'Or award on Monday after leading Portugal to an emotional European Championship title and Real Madrid to a record-extending Champions League crown in 2016.
Barcelona's last Champions League triumph came in 2015, and since then they have failed to get beyond the quarter-finals while Real Madrid have monopolised the trophy.
Ousmane Dembele struck early and Lionel Messi converted a late penalty as Barcelona won 2-0 at Juventus in the Champions League on Wednesday after Alvaro Morata had three goals disallowed for offside for the Serie A side.
Juventus striker Carlos Tevez would be a perfect fit for Atletico Madrid and the La Liga club are in talks with the Argentine's agents, coach Diego Simeone has said.
Barcelona moved ever closer towards a successful defence of their La Liga title after nearest challengers Atletico Madrid suffered a shock late collapse at struggling Sporting Gijon to lose 2-1 on Saturday.
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.
Zinedine Zidane has said his side are in a delicate situation as they prepare to host arch-rivals Barcelona in a La Liga title showdown on Sunday
Rediff.com looks at the five best goals from the concluding round in the league stage.
Sweden beat Italy 1-0 to gain the upperhand after their World Cup playoff first leg on a chilly night, while a young England side held Germany goalless and Belgium drew 3-3 with Mexico despite Romelu Lukaku's double but France eased to a 2-0 victory against Wales.
Real Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti's decision to deploy defender Sergio Ramos in central midfield was the key to Wednesday's 1-0 Champions League victory over Atletico Madrid, according to captain Iker Casillas.
Centre-back Eric Abidal and midfielder Samir Nasri were missing when France coach Didier Deschamps named a 24-man squad on Thursday for next week's friendly against the Netherlands.
Atletico should have plenty of money available after talismanic striker Antoine Griezmann said last month he is to leave the club.
A summary of Tuesday's qualification matches next year's FIFA World Cup.
FIFA World Cup set pulses racing and ended with a young, exciting France team clinching the title.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi will again be duelling for the title of world's best footballer after their names once again headed the shortlist on Thursday for The Best FIFA Men's Player.
Manchester City came out on top in an epic Champions League battle against Monaco whereasAtletico Madrid beat hosts Bayer Leverkusen 4-2 in a topsy-turvy encounter.
Simeone's side leapfrogged Real Sociedad into fourth on 42 points, while Sevilla stayed third in the standings on 46 after beating Las Palmas 1-0, also on Sunday, thanks to a late strike from substitute Joaquin Correa
France may have ousted rivals Germany for the first time in 58 years but it will mean nothing if they lose Sunday's Euro 2016 final against a Portugal team that have had more recovery time, said Didier Deschamps.
France coach Didier Deschamps, who has kept tinkering with his squad since the start of the European Championship, will be forced to rejig once again when the hosts face Iceland for a place in the semi-finals. With centre back Adil Rami and holding midfielder N'Golo Kante suspended, Deschamps, who has been praised for shrewd tactical moves in the tournament, is looking for the best options for Sunday's game at the Stade de France.
Romania coach Anghel Iordanescu must decide whether veteran left back Razvan Rat can repel the danger of Xherdan Shaqiri in what could be the defining confrontation of his team's Euro 2016 clash with Switzerland on Wednesday.
France kick off their Euro 2016 campaign against Romania on Friday with the host nation desperate for a ray of sunshine after being hit by strikes, floods and scandals in the build-up. Protests against a labour law and torrential rain that has caused the Seine river to rise to levels not seen in decades have created a bleak backdrop to the tournament where France will start as favourites. A state of emergency is also still in force after last November's Islamist attacks killed 130 people in Paris at several sites including the Stade de France, the venue for Friday's opening game.
Salzburg forced Lazio into a second-half capitulation as the Italians crashed out in the Europa League quarter-finals after losing 4-1 but Olympique de Marseille staged a thrilling fightback to see off visitors Leipzig 5-2 on Thursday. Arsenal also reached the semi-finals after recovering from a wobble to draw 2-2 at CSKA Moscow and progress 6-3 on aggregate, while favourites Atletico Madrid reached the last four after losing 1-0 at Sporting to go through 2-1 over the two legs.
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