Barca lead the standings on 39 points from 18 games, three clear of second-placed Real Madrid who host Athletic Bilbao on Sunday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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.
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.
The Indian ace thrashed former World champion Veselin Topalov 1.5-0.5 to jump to joint second place after the fourth round at the Blindfold Chess World Cup.
Barcelona, who are struggling for goals, host Olympique Lyon in Wednesday's Champions League opener in Group E.
A sloppy Real Madrid were held 0-0 at home to Real Betis on Saturday in a further blow to their hopes of retaining the La Liga title.
Champions Liverpool suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to lowly Burnley on Thursday, ending their 68 match unbeaten home record in the Premier League as their title defence continued to fade.
Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp enjoyed a satisfying return to Borussia Dortmund as his new side frustrated his former charges and claimed a valuable away goal to draw 1-1 in their Europa League quarter-final, first leg on Thursday.
The Barcelona legend showed his support following the end of the World Health Worker Week, which concluded on Saturday.
Manchester United's attempts to move on from a season of failure have quickened pace with the signing of left-back Luke Shaw from Southampton on Friday. The Old Trafford club have reportedly spent close to 60 million pounds on 18-year-old Shaw and Spanish midfielder Ander Herrera, who arrived from La Liga side Athletic Bilbao on Thursday.
Former Bayern Munich coach Flick takes over Germany to 2024
Barcelona midfielder Rafinha has broken his nose and could miss their King's Cup semi-final second leg against Atletico Madrid on Tuesday as well as the first match of their Champions League tie with Paris St Germain on February 14.
Edinson Cavani scored early for Paris St Germain but a series of wasted chances came back to haunt them as Ajax Amsterdam equalised late to deny the French a winning start on the road in a 1-1 draw in Champions League Group F on Wednesday.
Real Madrid lifted the FIFA Club World Cup for a record fourth time on Saturday after thrashing local side Al Ain 4-1 in the final in Abu Dhabi with the help of impressive distance strikes in either half from midfielders Luka Modric and Marcos Llorente.
In other European football action Real Madrid were left frustrated after a goalless draw against Athletic Bilbao in their La Liga match on Sunday.
Louis van Gaal got off to a perfect start as Manchester United manager with a 7-0 victory over LA Galaxy In front of a crowd of almost 87,000 at the Pasadena Rose Bowl on Wednesday night.
Atletico Madrid kept pace with leaders Barcelona and restored their five-point lead over third-placed city rivals Real when Diego Costa and David Villa each scored a penalty in a 2-1 win at Granada in La Liga on Thursday.
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.
Villarreal secured their place in the Champions League qualifying round with a 2-0 win at local rivals Valencia on Sunday, guaranteeing fourth place in La Liga.
Real Madrid went five points clear at the top of La Liga after coming through a testing game at Athletic Bilbao to win 2-1 thanks to Brazilian midfield lynchpin Casemiro's strike on Saturday.
Luis Suarez had the Barcelona fans chanting his name after he set up Lionel Messi to score the opening goal in their King's Cup semis.
Inter moved on to 68 points, ahead of Lazio on goal difference as the sides are level on their head-to-head records. They are eight points behind Juventus with six games to play.
A roundup of weekend action in the main European leagues.\n
The Real Madrid striker will miss the club's King's Cup match against Athletic Bilbao
Holders Barcelona produced a second-half blitz to come from behind and beat Athletic Bilbao 3-1 to book a place in the King's Cup semi-finals after Atletico Madrid crashed out in a shock 3-2 defeat by Celta Vigo.
Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo is itching to get back into action in Wednesday's Champions League last 16, first leg at Schalke 04 after serving a three-match La Liga ban, coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Tuesday.
Rediff.com encapsulates all the sporting action from the past week in this eye-catching photo feature.
Juventus moved closer to a third straight Serie A crown with a 1-0 victory over Bologna, Paris St Germain won the French League Cup by defeating Olympique Lyon 2-1 and Benfica clinched a first Portuguese title since 2010.
Diego Costa's season is getting better and better. The Atletico striker found the net again and took the Madrid team atop the La Liga table.
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.
Neymar and Lionel Messi grabbed a goal each in the first half as Barcelona rolled over Roma 3-0 in the traditional Gamper Trophy pre-season match on Wednesday.
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.
Images from the World Cup qualifying matches played on Wednesday night.
If Atletico Madrid's 2013 King's Cup triumph was a shock and their 2013-14 La Liga title a surprise, few would raise an eyebrow if Diego Simeone's ruthlessly efficient side were to win another major trophy.
Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid resume a nail-biting La Liga title race on Saturday after all notched up victories on Wednesday. Leaders Barcelona, who ended a four-game winless streak by hammering Deportivo La Coruna 8-0 away from home, host struggling Sporting Gijon on Saturday. Atletico battled to a 1-0 win at Athletic Bilbao to stay level on 79 points with Barcelona, who top the table with a superior head-to-head record and host Malaga. Real stayed one point behind their title rivals after beating Villarreal 3-0 and are expected to be without top scorer Cristiano Ronaldo for their visit to struggling neighbours Rayo Vallecano. The Portuguese forward was unable to finish the game against Villarreal after suffering cramp in stoppage time but eased concerns he had suffered a serious injury.
Lionel Messi scored his 650th goal for Barcelona while Antoine Griezmann struck the winner in a 2-1 home success over Athletic Bilbao
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