Real Sociedad won 1-0 at Athletic Bilbao in a Basque Country derby to end its winless run and strengthen its hold on third place in the Spanish league
Rayo Vallecano came from behind to beat Real Madrid 3-2 on Monday with the champions failing to reclaim top spot in the standings after two consecutive games without a win.
IMAGES from the UEFA Champions League quarter-final played between Atletico Madrid and Leipzig on Thursday.
Premier League-based trio Diego Costa, Juan Mata and Santi Cazorla were among a high-profile list of absentees when Spain coach Vicente Del Bosque named his provisional 25-man squad for Euro 2016 on Tuesday. Costa injured his hamstring against Liverpool in Chelsea's penultimate game of the season. Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres was also absent from the squad despite his improved form towards the end of the season, as were Arsenal midfielder Cazorla and Valencia forward Paco Alcacer, Spain's top scorer in their qualifying campaign.
Real Madrid, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid, find themselves in the bizarre situation of having made poor starts to the campaign
Atletico Madrid cruised to a 3-0 home win over Real Sociedad on Tuesday to close the gap behind La Liga leaders Barcelona to five points.
Chelsea's Joao Felix endured a nightmare debut when he was sent off in a 2-1 Premier League defeat at local rivals Fulham.
English Premier League leaders Manchester City and Chelsea slugged out a magnificent 4-4 draw at Stamford Bridge.
Bale decided to end his playing career at the age of 33
Their limp performance does not inspire confidence ahead of the visit of the all-powerful Serie A leaders and familiar foe Cristiano Ronaldo.
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.
Atletico Madrid got in the mood for Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final with Barcelona by thrashing Real Betis 5-1 on Saturday, their biggest win of the season. A classy finish from Fernando Torres and a fortuitous strike from Atletico's top scorer Antoine Griezmann gave the home side a 2-0 lead at halftime. Substitute Angel Correa then made a big impression in the second period, laying on the third goal for Juanfran and the fourth by Griezmann before Thomas Partey rounded off the scoring for the home team. Ruben Castro netted for Betis in the 79th minute when he pounced on a rare error from Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
Inter Milan and Bayer Leverkusen cruised into the Europa League knockout stage with emphatic wins on Thursday but holders Atletico Madrid and former winners Liverpool suffered surprise defeats.
The club did not give a timeframe on his return.
World champions France had eight players, one less than former holders Spain, in international players' association FIFPro's 55-name shortlist for its World XI of 2018 award.
Atletico Madrid defender Stefan Savic has spoken of his joy at returning to train for the first time after being cooped up at home for over two months due to the coronavirus pandemic. Spain's restrictions were eased last week and Atletico, like all clubs in Spain's top two divisions, returned to individual training as part of the league's four-step plan to return to activity.
In other ties, Serie A champions Juventus face Europa League winners Atletico Madrid and Barcelona take on Olympique Lyonnais.
Real's victory at the Santiago Bernabeu means they are poised to knock Atletico out of the competition for the fourth successive year.
Argentina look set to keep Julian Alvarez in attack for Sunday's World Cup final
Cristiano Ronaldo scored twice but had to leave the pitch with his face covered in blood as Real Madrid eased their domestic crisis by hammering Liga strugglers Deportivo La Coruna 7-1 at home on Sunday to reclaim fourth place in the standing
Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema kept up his impressive run of form by scoring and providing two assists in a 3-1 win away to Eibar on Sunday, taking the champions level on points with La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid.
Images from La Liga matches played on Saturday.
Portugal play surprise package Morocco in the quarter-finals on Saturday and a visibly frustrated Santos took great pains to explain what happened behind the scenes to put the issue to bed.
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone is renowned for his wild touchline antics but a shrewd tactical move with a triple substitution swung Wednesday's Champions League game against Juventus firmly his side's way.
The return leg will be played at Ajax's Johan Cruyff Arena on May 8.
A round-up of Saturday's action in LaLiga, Ligue 1 and Serie A.
A first-half strike from Pedri gave Barcelona a 1-0 win over Villareal to extend their lead over Real Madrid at the top of LaLiga to 11 points
Atletico Madrid will have centre backs Diego Godin and Stefan Savic available again for Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg at Barcelona.
Chelsea footballer Eden Hazard says he is keen to win the Champions League title as his club begins its European campaign with a group stage match against Azerbaijani side Qarabag on Tuesday.
Bruges scored four times in the last 17 minutes to beat Maribor 4-3 in the Europa League on Wednesday while Atletico Madrid and PAOK Salonika were among six teams to qualify for the knockout stage.
Real Madrid's Karim Benzema rescued his side again by scoring two late goals to snatch a 2-1 win at home to Elche in La Liga on Saturday and revive his side's hopes of catching leaders Atletico Madrid.
Atletico Madrid will face holders Real Madrid in the last 16 of the King's Cup after a double from Mario Mandzukic sealed a 5-2 aggregate victory over lower league Hospitalet on Thursday.
La Liga leaders Barcelona beat Real Madrid 1-0 to all but knock their rivals out of the title race on Saturday, while second-placed Atletico Madrid stayed seven points behind the Catalans with a 2-0 win at Real Sociedad on Sunday.
Midfielder Koke issued a rallying cry to his Atletico Madrid teammates on Saturday ahead of next week's Champions League final against Real Madrid.
Barcelona closed in on the LaLiga title as they picked up a 1-0 win over Osasuna and holders Real Madrid went down to
The 55-year-old Ernesto Valverde, who led Barcelona to successive La Liga titles in 2018 and 2019, came under fire this season for the team's dip in performance levels even though they top the league standings at the halfway point of the campaign.
The statement added that both players and the staff member were in good health and said the team had followed protocol and taken the appropriate measures following the results.
Holders Real Madrid will need to maintain their intensity for the whole of next week's return leg if they are to get past Atletico Madrid into the Champions League semi-finals, coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Tuesday.
Atletico celebrate anniversary with 3-1 comeback win over Mallorca
La Liga champions Barcelona stayed on the heels of leaders Real Madrid by coasting to a 3-0 home win over Athletic Bilbao on Saturday as Lionel Messi became the club's top scorer from free kicks.
