Liverpool's Luis Diaz scored a hat-trick as they maintained their perfect Champions League campaign with a barnstorming second-half display in a 4-0 victory over Xabi Alonso's Bayer Leverkusen at Anfield on Tuesday.
Atletico Madrid's problems deepened as they were held to a 0-0 draw at Villarreal in La Liga on Friday, stretching their winless run to four games in all competitions.
Bayern Munich and Atletico Madrid made it four away wins from the opening four Champions League last-16 first leg matches when they triumphed at Arsenal and AC Milan respectively on Wednesday.
Frenchman Griezmann has a 100 million euro ($119 million) release clause in his contract and Spanish media reported that Barcelona are ready to pay it.
Atletico Madrid suffered a first defeat in 13 games in all competitions as they lost 1-0 at home to Villarreal on Tuesday after a late strike from substitute Roberto Soriano.
Spanish prosecutors have brought tax fraud charges against three former Real Madrid players, Xabi Alonso, Ricardo Carvalho and Angel di Maria and opened investigations into two other players, a prosecution source confirmed on Wednesday.
Real Madrid will not seek to boost their squad ahead of their transfer ban, which starts at the end of the month, club president Florentino Perez said on Wednesday. Perez's leadership at Real has been synonymous with glamour signings but the club will be unable to register new players during the next two transfer windows for breaching FIFA rules on signing non-Spanish Under-18 players. "We will not sign players during the winter market but this has nothing to do with the punishment. It is because we have the best players and the best trainer," Perez told France Football.
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.
When Griezmann fired Atletico to victory over Olympique de Marseille in the Europa League final in May it was widely viewed as his last stand for Diego Simeone's side before a move to Barca but they successfully convinced the Frenchman to stay.
Atletico Madrid have a chance to pile more King's Cup misery on neighbours Real after eliminating Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday to set up a last-four clash against the bitter city rivals they beat in last year's final.
Ten-man Manchester City staged a dramatic comeback with late goals from Leroy Sane and Raheem Sterling securing them a 3-2 win at Schalke 04 in their Champions League Round of 16 first leg.
Suarez had joined Barcelona in 2014. He scored 198 goals in 283 games for the Catalan side and he also earned the Golden Shoe as Europe's top scorer after scoring 59 total goals in 2015-16.
Barcelona joined Real Madrid, Atletico and Real Sociedad in the semi-finals, with the draw set to take place on Wednesday.
Former Bayern Munich coach Flick takes over Germany to 2024
Germany expects 2.7 million people to attend matches in stadiums across the country and some 12 million in its fan zones for outdoor viewing, including on a long stretch of turf laid out in front of Berlin's Brandenburg Gate.
Real, who have not won the title since 2017, lead the table on 74 points, four ahead of Barca with five games left and have a superior head-to-head record over the Catalans which would give them the trophy if both teams finished the season level on points.
'I expect a brave Napoli that plays from the back and presses high, that doesn't speculate, has a lot of individual talent, it's a big game and it's a great team, current champions of Italy.'
Spain and Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos faced a new setback in a season littered with injury problems when his club said on Tuesday he had tested positive for COVID-19.
A summary of Tuesday's action in the UEFA Champions League Knock-out Phase play-offs.
Atletico Madrid's Brazilian striker Diego Costa scored twice as they came from behind to beat Levante 3-2 at home on Saturday to go three points clear at the top of La Liga.
La Liga champions Real Madrid dropped points at home for the second game running when they drew 1-1 with Levante on Saturday, with Gareth Bale squandering a series of chances and Marcelo getting sent off late on.
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
Antoine Griezmann and Yannick Carrasco each conjured moments of magic as Atletico Madrid recaptured top spot in La Liga from Barcelona with a hard-fought 2-0 victory at Celta Vigo on Sunday.
Barcelona thrashed Real Betis 5-1 on Wednesday to book their spot in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals.
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Tuesday.
'It wasn't easy, but I called him last night (Sunday) and we had a difficult and tough conversation. I feel bad as he's a player who has always been at the top level and has a future with the national team.'
Real Madrid paid homage to Cristiano Ronaldo as their outright leading scorer on Friday even though the official statistics show he has yet to overhaul former Spain striker Raul.
Real Madrid are also only two points behind Atletico while Sevilla are three back in a thrilling four-way tilt, making the Spanish title race the most compelling
Atletico were fined 2800 euros ($3,150), while Costa 6010 euros over the incident.
Barcelona's star striker Lionel Messi has backed Atletico Madrid to seal this year's Champions League title, saying his team don't want to see Real Madrid claim the trophy.
Now, Real Madrid have never won the Spanish treble and are fighting tooth and nail in La Liga to prevent arch-rivals Barcelona scooping Champions League and domestic league and Cup titles for a second time.
Arsenal are not only hoping to win a first European trophy since 1994, but know their hopes of qualifying for next year's Champions League depend on winning the Europa League in the French city of Lyon next month.
Javier Hernandez's late strike kept Real Madrid on course for a record-extending 11th European Cup crown with a 1-0 win over 10-man Atletico Madrid in a tense quarter-final at the Bernebau on Wednesday.
A Marco Asensio-inspired Real Madrid crushed Eibar 3-0 to close the gap on La Liga leaders Barcelona to five points on Sunday, with Karim Benzema starting on the bench.
Manchester City took a slender lead from the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final after Kevin De Bruyne's 70th minute goal earned them a 1-0 win over Atletico Madrid at the Etihad Stadium on Tuesday. In anothr match, Liverpool took a firm grip of their Champions League tie with Benfica as goals from Ibrahima Konate, Sadio Mane and Luis Diaz earned them a 3-1 victory in Lisbon.
A subdued Fernando Torres helped Atletico Madrid to a 2-0 win over local rivals Real in the first leg of their King's Cup last-16 tie on Wednesday in his first start since his return to his boyhood club.
Spanish prosecutors have won a series of cases against high profile footballers and coaches for tax fraud in recent years, including Lionel Messi, Cristiano Ronaldo and Jose Mourinho.
Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale is fit for Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final showdown at Atletico Madrid after sitting out Saturday's La Liga win at home to Eibar, coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Monday.
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.
Real Madrid did well to hold Atletico in regulation time and then win the match 4-1 in penalty shootouts.
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