Lionel Messi came off the bench and scored twice on his return from injury and Cesc Fabregas also netted a double as Barcelona strolled to a 4-0 win at home to Getafe in their King's Cup last 16, first leg on Wednesday.
Images from the weekend action in the Spanish League.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
The underdogs kept their noses in front as Liverpool beat Manchester City 3-2 to stay top of the Premier League and Atletico Madrid won 2-0 at Getafe to increase their lead in La Liga after Barcelona slipped up at lowly Granada. Read on to meet the players of the weekend...
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Barcelona's nightmare week hit a new low when they followed up their Champions League exit with a shock 1-0 defeat at Granada on Saturday that left their bid for a fifth La Liga title in six years in serious jeopardy.
Quicksilver Lionel Messi scored twice as Barcelona beat Getafe 2-0 and qualified 6-0 on aggregate for the King's Cup quarter-finals but they lost Neymar to injury midway through the first half.
Champions Barcelona moved five points clear at the top of La Liga with a 2-1 win at Getafe, while Real Madrid fell to a 2-0 defeat by Real Sociedad.
Lionel Messi and some of his Barcelona colleagues paid warm tribute to teammate Xavi on Friday after he extended his appearances record to 700 in the midweek King's Cup match at Getafe.
New Valencia coach Gary Neville remains without a La Liga win after his side twice recovered from a goal down to rescue a fortunate 2-2 draw at home to Getafe on Saturday.
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.
Following public comments from La Liga chief Javier Tebas, who said it was "not ideal" for the second El Clasico meeting between Real and Barca last season to be played with the latter having already won the league title, the two sides will face off earlier this campaign.
With his Real side misfiring and city rivals Atletico flying high, world record signing Gareth Bale may be in for a baptism of fire when he makes his home debut in Saturday's Madrid derby at the Bernabeu.
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.
Argentina's two iconic players may be contrasting characters but they shared many traits
Manchester United took a big step towards the Europa League quarter-finals by thrashing Austrian side LASK Linz 5-0 on Thursday in their last 16 first-leg tie at an empty Linzer Stadium due to the coronavirus pandemic.
Japan head coach Akira Nishino named an experienced final 23-man squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia on Thursday.
Images from Saturday's La Liga action.
Images from football matches played across Europe over the weekend.
Portugal international Goncalo Guedes fired Valencia into the lead in the 35th minute with a thumping shot from inside the area which was too powerful for Madrid goalkeeper Keylor Navas.
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
The hard-fought win took Zinedine Zidane's side on to 77 points after 34 games, seven clear of second-placed Barca who visit in-form Villarreal later on Sunday.
Unbeaten leaders Barcelona extended their near-perfect start but again suffered the defensive lapses that have plagued them this season when Lionel Messi netted twice in a 4-2 La Liga win at Real Mallorca on Sunday.
Lionel Messi hit four goals for leaders Barcelona and Cristiano Ronaldo grabbed a hat-trick for Real Madrid as the two teams warmed up for their midweek King's Cup semi-final clash with crushing La Liga victories on Sunday.
Cristiano Ronaldo scored a hat-trick and passed the landmark of 300 club goals as Real Madrid put a turbulent week behind them with a 4-0 win at home to Getafe in La Liga on Sunday to close to within four points of second-placed Atletico Madrid.
Real Madrid's Gareth Bale has the qualities to fill the void left by his fellow forward Cristiano Ronaldo's move to Juventus, the Spanish side's new manager Julen Lopetegui has said.
A summary of Saturday's action in Serie A and La Liga.
Real Madrid's stuttering start to La Liga continued when they lost 1-0 at Sevilla to slip eight points behind leaders Barcelona who were 4-1 victors at Getafe earlier on Saturday.
A Spanish Super Cup comeback against arch rivals Barcelona and the arrival of Croatia playmaker Luka Modric may provide the perfect springboard for Real Madrid to kickstart their season.
Barcelona fullback Jordi Alba has recovered from flu but is still not fit enough to feature in Wednesday's Champions League Group G game at home to Spartak Moscow, the La Liga club said on Tuesday.
Spain coach Vicente del Bosque is delighted with his side's preparations for the European Championships but was not ready to claim they were short odds to register a third successive triumph at the tournament hosted by France.
Striker Costa ends second spell at Atletico Madrid.
Passed the milestone of 200 goals for Barcelona in November 2011 and is fast closing in on the Catalan club's record marksman Cesar Rodriguez, who scored 235.
Leaders Real Madrid restored their four-point advantage over chasing Barcelona when Cristiano Ronaldo netted his seventh hat-trick of the La Liga campaign in a 4-1 drubbing of city neighbours Atletico on Wednesday.
La Liga leaders Barcelona were held to a 2-2 home draw by Celta Vigo on Saturday as their former assistant coach Juan Carlos Unzue dented the title hopes of the Catalans, who dropped points for the second game in a row for the first time this campaign.
Barcelona defender Gerard Pique fears his side's shock elimination from the Champions League could disturb their bid to retain the La Liga title as they host Valencia on Sunday looking for a first win in four league games.
Sevilla drew level on points with Barcelona at the top of La Liga when they snatched a 2-1 comeback victory at home to Villarreal, while champions Atletico Madrid won 1-0 in a bad-tempered clash at Getafe on Sunday.
Barcelona stayed hard on the heels of La Liga leaders Real Madrid when Lionel Messi's brilliance lifted a side containing several youngsters from the club's B team to a 2-1 win at home to Real Sociedad 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.
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