Cristiano Ronaldo was the decisive figure for the second time in four days as he scored a hat-trick to lead Real Madrid to a 4-0 victory over Celta Vigo that put them in the quarter-finals of the King's Cup.
Barcelona were in danger of being toppled from the top of La Liga standings on Sunday after they suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at Deportivo La Coruna.
Real Madrid romped to a 4-1 win at tiny Eibar on Saturday, provisionally returning to the top of La Liga, despite the absence of Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo for Zinedine Zidane's side.
Barcelona needed Luis Suarez to be at his clinical best with a hat-trick in a 3-1 comeback win at home to modest Eibar on Sunday which put the champions level on 21 points with arch-rivals Real Madrid at the top of La Liga.
The apparently unstoppable Lionel Messi extended his record goals tally for 2012 to 88 when he scored twice to earn holders Barcelona a 2-0 win at second division Cordoba in their King's Cup last-16 first leg on Wednesday.
Barca, with Lionel Messi absent through injury, hit the woodwork on four occasions but luck was not on their side as they lost their second consecutive away game following their 4-1 defeat by Celta Vigo.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
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.
Real Madrid showed their character by beating Barcelona 2-0 in Sunday's top-of-the-table 'Clasico', leapfrogging their rivals at the La Liga summit after a week in which their pride had taken a beating at home and in Europe. Brazilian teenager Vinicius Jr scored the opener in the 71st minute with a strike that deflected off Gerard Pique, flummoxing goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen who had made some jaw-dropping saves, and substitute Mariano added the second in added time.
Manchester City made it five wins out of five in the Premier League and Cristiano Ronaldo scored five goals for Real Madrid but Chelsea and Juventus continued to struggle at the weekend as the Champions League looms.
Images from La Liga matches played on Monday.
France forward Antoine Griezmann says he would only leave Atletico Madrid if manager Diego Simeone also quit the La Liga club.
Five facts about Tito Vilanova, who will take over as Barcelona coach from Pep Guardiola at the end of the season.
Cristiano Ronaldo netted his 27th career hat-trick and Gareth Bale struck twice as Real Madrid bounced back in style from consecutive defeats with a thumping 8-2 La Liga win at Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday.
With the Catalans shorn of three of their top forwards, all eyes will be on Griezmann in his first appearance at the Camp Nou since his 120-million-euro ($133 million) move from Atletico Madrid, and not least because Barca need a win to kickstart their season.
Kaka wants Real fans to show more gratitude to Cristiano Ronaldo.
Manchester United midfielder Paul Pogba will miss his side' s Premier League clash against Southampton on Wednesday as he has to attend his father's funeral.
Barca finished the season second in the standings on 82 points, four behind champions Real Madrid who visit Leganes later on Sunday. Alaves are 16th on 39.
Real Madrid's French duo Karim Benzema and Ferland Mendy struck in the second half as the Spanish champions overcame an injury crisis to beat Getafe 2-0 at home on Tuesday and close the gap to La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid to five points.
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.
Lionel Messi was in inspired form as champions Barcelona hammered Celta Vigo 5-0 on Saturday, recording a fourth straight league victory which keeps them top of La Liga after Real Madrid had put the pressure on the Catalans with a 4-1 win at Eibar.
Athletic Bilbao checked promoted Villarreal's impressive early-season run when they beat the team with the distinctive canary-yellow strip 2-0 at their new San Mames stadium in La Liga on Monday.
Heavyweight trio Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea kept up their 100 per cent starts to the Premier League season this weekend.
Manchester United should be "embarrassed" at trailing Premier League leaders Chelsea by 19 points and Jose Mourinho's first year in charge will not be considered a success even if they win the Europa League, former skipper Roy Keane said.
Moreno, who holds a degree from the University of Barcelona in trade and international relations, began working alongside Luis Enrique with Barcelona's B team in 2010 in the scouting department.
Madrid won only two of their seven pre-season games
Ten-man Premier League leaders Leicester City lost at title-chasing Arsenal, while La Liga pacesetters Barcelona crushed Celta Vigo and Juventus took over from Napoli at the top of Serie A by edging their rivals.
Cristiano Ronaldo celebrated his recent Ballon d'Or award by scoring twice for the first time in a La Liga game this season as champions Real Madrid swept to a stunning 5-0 win over Sevilla on Saturday to go five points behind leaders Barcelona.
Philippe Coutinho scored his first league goal since returning to Barcelona to help his side draw 1-1 at home to an excellent Sevilla side in La Liga on Sunday.
West Bromwich Albion have bolstered their defensive ranks by signing centre half Jonny Evans from Manchester United on a four-year deal.
Real Madrid barged their way back into the Spanish La Liga title race with a 3-1 victory over Atletico Madrid in a feisty derby at the Wanda Metropolitano on Saturday.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 400th goal for Real Madrid as Zinedine Zidane's side closed in on a first La Liga title since 2012, easing to a 4-1 win over Sevilla on Sunday while Neymar hit a hat-trick for Barcelona, who thrashed Las Palmas 4-1.
A summary of sports events and sports persons, who made news on Wednesday.
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.
"Our club has reached an agreement with Gelson Martins, making him a new Atletico player," said a statement from last season's La Liga runners-up.
Atletico Madrid's Jackson Martinez scored his first goal for the club when he came off the bench and curled in a superb effort to seal a hard-fought 3-0 victory at Sevilla in La Liga on Sunday.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
Photographic summary of the football matches played across Spain, Italy and France
Sevilla were on course for a place in the King's Cup semi-finals after crushing Deportivo Coruna 3-0 at the Riazor in their last-eight first leg match on Wednesday.
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.
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