It was Messi's 56th converted penalty in La Liga and saw him draw level with Hugo Sanchez as the league's second-top penalty taker, behind record holder Cristiano Ronaldo on 61.
Atletico Madrid must not let down their guard after Wednesday's thumping Champions League win at home to Malmo, coach Diego Simeone said.
Arsene Wenger praised his Arsenal players for the 'resilient and disciplined' way in which they qualified for the Europa League quarter-finals with a 3-1 win over AC Milan on Thursday.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Wednesday night.
Atletico Madrid celebrated like they had won the trophy after reaching the Champions League quarter-finals by edging past PSV Eindhoven 8-7 on penalties on Tuesday following 210 goalless minutes in their last-16 tie.
Lionel Messi created a goal and scored another as Barcelona came from behind to beat struggling Rayo Vallecano 3-1 at home on Saturday and stay seven points clear at the top of La Liga.
Atletico Madrid extended their dominance over neighbours Real with a 1-0 derby win on Saturday that leaves the Bernabeu team virtually out of the Liga title race.
Atletico Madrid surrendered top spot in La Liga to Barcelona when they were held to a 0-0 draw at home to 10-man Sevilla in a fiercely contested La Liga clash on Sunday.
A summary of Sunday's action in Serie A and Bundesliga.
Lionel Messi scored his maiden goal for Paris St Germain in Tuesday's 2-0 Champions League victory against Manchester City.
Barca looked set for a third consecutive league draw as they created scant opportunities but they were presented with the advantage of an extra man when Villarreal midfielder Daniel Raba was given a straight red card for a wild, studs-up challenge on Sergio Busquets on the hour mark.
France international striker Antoine Griezmann has reached an agreement with Manchester United over a transfer from Atletico Madrid at the end of the season, Yahoo Sport has reported.
Analysis of the eight groups for the 2018 FIFA World Cup to be held in Russia.
Virat Kohli batted continuously for over a day in Delhi and showed no signs of fatigue caused by the pollution, marvels Dhruv Munjal.
Portugal had to settle for a 0-0 draw at home to Spain in a heavyweight friendly on Wednesday after hammering the crossbar twice and missing a last-gasp open goal.
Ronaldo had failed to score in his last four league games for Real and his rotten run in front of goal looked set to continue when his spot-kick was turned away by visiting goalkeeper Roberto.
Champions Barcelona moved five points clear at the top of La Liga with a 2-1 win at Getafe, while Real Madrid fell to a 2-0 defeat by Real Sociedad.
Real Madrid and Atletico each slipped 10 points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona after an intense Madrid derby finished goalless and the Catalans picked up an 11th victory in 12 games by winning 3-0 at Leganes.
'I'm very happy and I can say that 2016 was the best year of my career, the trophy shows that people aren't blind and watch the games.'
Thierry Henry's handball sent such shockwaves that barely anyone remembers it was actually William Gallas who scored the infamous goal France that ruined Ireland's chances of a World Cup appearance more than six years ago.
Angel Di Maria unleashed a stunning long-range strike in the 41st minute to draw Argentina level at 1-1 against France at halftime of their round of 16 World Cup clash on Saturday.
Dimitri Payet's spectacular late strike earned France a 2-1 win over Euro 2016 Group A rivals Romania on Friday, giving the host nation a flying start to their campaign.
The Danes were certainly in no mood to risk defeat by pushing for a win they did not need to qualify.
Rediff.com takes you back to the five own goals scored at the ongoing FIFA World Cup...
France head into their World Cup opener against Australia in Kazan on Saturday sweating on the fitness of fullback Djibril Sidibe and under pressure to deliver an emphatic win to erase doubts about the cohesion of a team of brilliant individuals.
As soon as the final whistle confirmed Real Madrid's berth in the Champions League final against local rivals Atletico with a 1-0 aggregate victory over Manchester City on Wednesday, memories of 2014's all-Spanish final came flooding back.
New Real Sociedad coach David Moyes faces a tough challenge to get the Basque club back on La Liga track but it is also a chance for the Scot to restore his reputation after a failed stint at Manchester United.
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone may have played down the significance of Sunday's 2-1 La Liga defeat at Real Sociedad but it has raised further questions about the champions' ability to defend their title.
Bayern Munich coach Pep Guardiola was brought to the club to extend their European dominance, but will leave at the end of the season having lost three successive Champions League semi-finals.
European champions Portugal spurned a two-goal lead against Tunisia, stumbling to a 2-2 draw, as France, one of the World Cup favourites, flexed their muscles with a comfortable 2-0 win over Ireland in warm-up friendlies on Monday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Diogo Jota and Joao Felix both scored their first international goals in the second half before Bruno Petkovic pulled one back and Andre Silva then added a fourth.
Atletico Madrid sealed top spot in Champions League Group D after second half goals from Frenchmen Kevin Gameiro and Antoine Griezmann but Napoli were held to a 0-0 Champions League draw at home by Dynamo Kiev.
Atletico Madrid got their La Liga campaign up and running in less than convincing fashion when Antoine Griezmann's deflected free kick secured an edgy 1-0 win at home to promoted Las Palmas on Saturday.
Real Madrid were dumped out of the Copa del Rey at the quarter-final stage on Thursday after losing 4-3 at home to Real Sociedad, while record 30-times winners Barcelona were sent crashing out of the Copa del Rey in a 1-0 defeat at Athletic Bilbao.
Barcelona's attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar were all on target as the champions roared back into life in La Liga with a dominant 5-1 victory at promoted Leganes on Saturday. Messi sidefooted in a simple cross from Suarez to strike the opening goal after 15 minutes and returned the favour for the Uruguayan to nudge in the second in the 31st.
Barcelona teenager Ansu Fati scored twice to lead his side to a 2-1 win at home to Levante on Sunday, finding the net in a league game for the first time in more than four months and becoming the youngest player to net a La Liga double. Romelu Lukaku scored a quickfire second-half double to give Inter Milan a 2-0 win at Udinese on Sunday, ending their run of three successive 1-1 league draws.
A summary of Wednesday's matches in the UEFA Champions League.
Leaders Barcelona and Real Madrid were held to draws while Sevilla made up ground on the top two and Alaves slipped after a promising start. Here are five talking points from the weekend's La Liga action.
With Real Madrid facing an injury crisis ahead of Wednesday's Champions League clash with Atletico Madrid attention will be on talisman Cristiano Ronaldo to lead them through but James Rodriguez may hold the key.
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