Barcelona shook off the disappointment of their Champions League defeat by Chelsea to extend their lead in the Primera Liga to 11 points with a 2-0 defeat of Athletic Bilbao.
Rediff.com encapsulates all the sporting action from the past week in this eye-catching photo feature.
The Real Madrid striker has been left out of the squad to play Athletic Bilbao this weekend because of a minor leg strain.
Real Madrid swatted aside Granada 4-1 on Thursday to ensure the La Liga title race will go down to the wire.
Real must beat Athletic Bilbao in their concluding league match to emerge Spanish champs. \n\n
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.
They beat Athletic Bilbao 4-0 at the Bernabeu on Thursday to make the grade.
Cristiano Ronaldo took his tally for the La Liga season to a phenomenal 13 goals in six appearances with his third treble of the campaign as Real Madrid romped to a 5-0 win at home to Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.
The old format was skewed in favour of the bigger clubs, who could rest players for a first leg and swallow defeat before calling on their stars to turn the tie around in the return game.
Second division Mirandes caused an upset by knocking Deportivo La Coruna out of the King's Cup on Tuesday and Sevilla joined them in the quarter-finals after making light work of city rivals Real Betis.
Vicente del Bosque is still unsure about his future as Real Madrid coach, despite landing his fourth major trophy in less than four years in charge.
A tally of 23 Spanish league goals looked a distant target when he arrived from Inter Milan in a $44.2 million transfer.
Real Madrid won the Spanish league title for the 29th time defeating Athletico Bilbao
Real went top with one game to play after thrashing Atletico Madrid 4-0 while rivals Sociedad slipped to a 3-2 defeat at Celta Vigo.
The 41-year-old has made 640 appearances in Serie A, within striking distance of the 647-game record of AC Milan defender Paolo Maldini. Buffon began his career at Parma before moving to the Turin club in 2001.
Seven-time European champions AC Milan will face Arsenal in the standout last-16 tie in the Europa League after the draw was made in Nyon, Switzerland on Friday.
Substitute Sergio Araujo struck a late equaliser as Las Palmas held Real Madrid to a 2-2 draw and left them with a one-point lead over Barcelona at the top of La Liga on Saturday.
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.
In other European football action Real Madrid were left frustrated after a goalless draw against Athletic Bilbao in their La Liga match on Sunday.
Images from La Liga and German Cup matches played on the weekend.
Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed a record 23rd La Liga hat-trick to guide leaders Real Madrid to a 3-0 victory over Celta Vigo. It also helped the European champions extend their club record winning streak to 18 matches in all competitions.
He made it 3-0 with a superb first-time finish into the bottom corner in the 20th minute, scoring his first ever treble in a competitive game, more than 19 years after making his professional debut.
Valverde refused to answer questions about the club's interest in Neymar and lamented the fact that the Spanish transfer window does not shut before the season starts, as it does in England.
Liverpool added another fairytale comeback to the history books as they fought back from 3-1 down against Borussia Dortmund to reach the Europa League semi-finals after Dejan Lovren's towering stoppage-time header secured a 4-3 win on Thursday.
Atletico coach Simeone defends VAR for making football fairer
Brazilian defender Filipe Luis scored for the second game running as Atletico Madrid beat Real Sociedad 1-0 on Tuesday to rack up a fifth straight win in La Liga and provisionally consolidate third place in the standings.
The Barcelona legend showed his support following the end of the World Health Worker Week, which concluded on Saturday.
Barcelona striker Lionel Messi has returned home to Argentina but remains doubtful for World Cup qualifiers against Uruguay and Venezuela with his club confirming the 29-year-old is struggling with a sore left hamstring.
Lionel Messi broke a Spanish hat-trick record and Luis Suarez struck twice as a rampant Barcelona took over top spot in La Liga with a 6-1 hammering of Rayo Vallecano on Sunday.
Costa, Alba excluded from Spain squad
Barca feel familiar February blues as tiredness sets in
'We want to play football and not roulette, which is what this type of refereeing provokes. The penalty claims by Neymar and me are clear but we already know how this works'
Real Madrid will not take any risk in rushing forward Gareth Bale back from injury and the Wales international will only return when he is ready, manager Zinedine Zidane said. Bale has not played since Jan. 17 after damaging a calf muscle in a La Liga match against Sporting Gijon. Spanish media have reported that Bale, whose Real career has been blighted by a succession of injuries, suffered a setback in his recovery. Zidane said Real needed to be "calm" about an injury that has been "going on for a bit more time for him". "If he's uncomfortable and it hurts him, it's normal that he could have a setback," Zidane told a news conference on Friday. "He's a very important player for us and we're not going to take any risks. We want him at 100 percent, not at 80 or 85." Zidane said Bale was "in good spirits" although he is set to miss at least the first leg of Real's Champions League last-16 clash with AS Roma in Italy on Wednesday.
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