Barcelona twice threw away the lead to draw 3-3 at Levante on Tuesday in a potentially fatal blow to their chances of winning the La Liga title.
Barca's second-half stamina key to their massive lead in the standings this season
Atletico Madrid's faint hopes of chasing down runaway Liga leaders Barcelona suffered a fresh blow on Saturday as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Girona, meaning they could fall 11 points behind the Catalans by the end of the weekend.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The Frenchman, voted the world's third best player of 2016, has been the subject of intense transfer speculation since signing a new contract with Atletico in May 2017.
Barcelona are in the middle of an injury crisis as they head to Valencia for Saturday's La Liga game looking to keep up with pacemaking pair Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid. Without injured goalkeeper Jasper Cillessen and right back Sergi Roberto for the last two games, Barca will also be missing defenders Jordi Alba and Gerard Pique after both were hurt in Wednesday's 4-0 win over Manchester City in the Champions League. Pique sprained his right ankle while Alba injured his left hamstring and both are out until November.
Barcelona captain Lionel Messi scored two goals and set up two more as the Catalans thrashed Real Valladolid 5-1 to move top of La Liga on Tuesday.
Barca coach, Luis Enrique says that all is well at Camp Nou and the team is united.
Spain forward Fernando Torres has agreed to return to Atletico Madrid on loan from AC Milan until the end of the 2015-16 season.
Atletico Madrid's players will not allow praise to go to their heads even though they are level on points with Barcelona at the top of La Liga, coach Diego Simeone has said.
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.
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone has reaffirmed his commitment to the club by saying he wants to lead them into their new stadium in 2017. Simeone is under contract with Atletico until 2020 but he cast doubt on his future in May, immediately after the team's defeat to Real Madrid on penalties in the Champions League final. The Argentine coach has since stated he made those comments in the heat of the moment, although talk of his future has resurfaced following the team's disappointing start to the season.
A round-up of Friday's action in La Liga, and Bundesliga.
Chelsea's Spanish striker Diego Costa was named along with usual suspects Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo in the 23- man FIFA Ballon D'Or short-list released on Tuesday.
A round-up of Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Defender Filipe Luis has rejoined Atletico Madrid from Chelsea in a reported 16 million euro ($17.66 million) deal, the Spanish club said.
King's Cup holders Barcelona beat Real Sociedad 1-0 in their quarter-final first leg to end a nine-and-a-half year barren spell at home of the Basque side while Atletico Madrid crushed Eibar on Thursday.
Here are five talking points from the weekend in La Liga:
Striker Costa ends second spell at Atletico Madrid.
Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone praised the 'decisive' Antoine Griezmann after his two goals helped down Olympique de Marseille 3-0 in the Europa League final on Wednesday and tried to convince the striker to resist the lure of Barcelona.
Atletico Madrid put last week's painful defeat by Real Madrid behind them with a 3-0 win over Osasuna on Sunday that included two goals in the space of a minute and allowed them to return to the top four in La Liga.
Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick as Barcelona clinched a 25th La Liga title on Sunday after winning 4-2 at Deportivo La Coruna despite throwing away a two-goal lead in a thrilling game which also confirmed Depor's relegation.
Late Griezmann strike ends Atletico's away day hoodoo
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said he was shocked by the wild knee-high challenge on world player of the year Lionel Messi that triggered a straight red card for Atletico Madrid's Brazilian defender Filipe Luis on Saturday. The coach, whose side won 2-1 at home to go three points clear in La Liga, protested angrily on the touchline after the left back's studs-up tackle against the Argentine forward shortly before half time. "Did you see my reaction? Then you can imagine what I was thinking. It shocked me but I am not going to go into details about it," he told a news conference at the Nou Camp.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
In the dying minutes of their Champions League semi-final second leg against Real Madrid, a thunderstorm rolled in and drenched Atletico Madrid's Vicente Calderon stadium.
Barcelona midfielder Sergio Busquets has become the latest to insist that all is well at the club, dismissing reports of a rift between Argentina forward Lionel Messi and coach Luis Enrique.
Runaway Premier League leaders Manchester City beat champions Chelsea 1-0 at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday to extend their lead to 18 points and leave the London side further adrift from the Champions League qualification spots.
An off-key Liverpool were frustrated for a second successive game by struggling opponents as they were held to a 0-0 Premier League draw at Newcastle United on Wednesday.
Atletico Madrid's troubles away from home continued when they were held to a goalless draw at Alaves on Saturday, dropping points on the road for a second consecutive week and losing Uruguay international Jose Maria Gimenez to injury.
A rousing 2-1 La Liga victory at Real Madrid on Saturday may suggest otherwise, but Atletico Madrid are still rebuilding after losing several key players in the close season, coach Diego Simeone said on Monday.
Barcelona beat local rivals Espanyol 2-0 in the Catalan derby on Saturday to maintain their 10 point lead at the top of La Liga, while Real Madrid scraped a 3-2 win against bottom side Huesca on Sunday.
'This crisis is going to be much bigger than anything we've experienced and anything we do will not be enough but my aim is to help, it might not be enough in some cases but I have to try'
Guardiola is on track to lead Bayern to a third consecutive Bundesliga title but his three-year spell there will ultimately be judged on whether he can win Europe's elite club competition with them.
Griezmann goal earns Atletico first win of season
Barcelona moved ever closer towards a successful defence of their La Liga title after nearest challengers Atletico Madrid suffered a shock late collapse at struggling Sporting Gijon to lose 2-1 on Saturday.
The 19-year-old Mbappe followed up a domestic treble with Paris St Germain with a string of impressive performances in France's World Cup winning campaign.
Substitute Fernando Torres scored his 100th Atletico Madrid goal as they rallied from 1-0 down to beat visiting Eibar 3-1 and go level with Barcelona at the top of La Liga on Saturday. Two headed goals from corner kicks seven minutes apart by central defenders Jose Maria Gimenez and Saul put Atletico on track after Keko had given Eibar the lead in the 46th. Coach Diego Simeone will be glad his side ended a run of four matches without a win in La Liga and the King's Cup while Torres, who netted in added time, had been waiting since a victory at Eibar in September to reach his century for the club. Atletico are unlikely to stay joint top on 51 points beyond Sunday as rampant Barcelona, who have a better goal difference and two matches in hand, visit bottom team Levante. Real Madrid, away to Granada on Sunday, are in third place, four points off the pace.
Atletico Madrid made a typically aggressive start to lay the foundations for a 2-0 victory at home.
First meets second as Barcelona host Atletico Madrid on Saturday looking to tighten their grip on the La Liga title race. The sides are level on 48 points at the top of the table, but Barca have a game in hand on Atletico and can take a huge step towards a fifth title in seven years with an eighth consecutive win in all competitions. Indeed, Luis Enrique's men remain on course for a repeat of the treble of La Liga, Champions League and Copa del Rey they won last season after progressing to the semi-finals of the Cup with a come from behind 3-1 win over Athletic Bilbao in midweek. Yet, the European champions have been far from their best in the past week as they were outplayed by Malaga and Bilbao in the first-half before being salvaged by individual moments of magic after the break. "We are aware of the errors we need to correct," said Luis Suarez after taking his tally for the season already to 30 with the equalizer against Bilbao.
