Barcelona talisman has become just as dangerous from dead ball situations too
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.
A round-up of Friday's action in La Liga, and Bundesliga.
IMAGES from Champions League matches played on Tuesday.
The Portuguese forward, who also scored a treble in the quarter-final against Bayern Munich at the Santiago Bernabeu, and five goals across that tie, is revelling in the central striker's role he has adopted this season.
Lionel Messi came to Barcelona's rescue for the second time in a week by snatching a late winner to give his side a barely deserved 2-1 win at Atletico Madrid on Sunday which provisionally took the champions top of 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.
IMAGES from an exciting Europa League semi-final first leg match played at Emirates Stadium on Thursday
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Real Madrid survived an early Atletico Madrid onslaught to reach the Champions League final 4-2 on aggregate on Wednesday and set up a mouth-watering clash against Juventus.
Barcelona rode their luck to come from behind and win 2-1 at Real Sociedad on Saturday, continuing to banish their awful record in San Sebastian and maintaining their perfect start to the La Liga season.
Olympiakos Piraeus secured a surprise 3-2 victory over last year's Champions League runners-up Atletico Madrid to make a dream start to their Group A campaign on Tuesday.
Hellas Verona produced a huge upset by coming from behind to beat Serie A leaders Juventus 2-1 on Saturday, inflicting a third defeat of the season on the Italian champions. Cristiano Ronaldo set a new Juventus record by scoring in a 10th consecutive league game to put the visitors in front at the Stadio Marc'Antonio Bentegodi after 65 minutes.
Atletico Madrid took a giant step towards the La Liga title
Images from the UEFA Champions League matches played on Wednesday night.
Barca, who were without injured talisman Lionel Messi, started on the back foot and fell behind when Nabil Fekir netted with a sublime angled strike in the 15th minute. Griezmann, who joined Barca last month from rivals Atletico Madrid, scored four minutes before halftime to level the scores.
Images from football action around European leagues played on Sunday
Lionel Messi notched a 20th assist of the season to help a lacklustre Barcelona secure a 1-0 win away to Real Valladolid on Saturday, maintaining the pressure on La Liga leaders Real Madrid. Cristiano Ronaldo converted two penalties, both awarded for handballs and the second in the last minute, as Serie A leader Juventus twice hit back to draw 2-2 with Atalanta to move closer to a ninth successive Serie A title on Saturday.
Atletico Madrid extended their dominance over neighbours Real with a 1-0 derby win on Saturday that leaves the Bernabeu team virtually out of the Liga title race.
Barca looked set for a third consecutive league draw as they created scant opportunities but they were presented with the advantage of an extra man when Villarreal midfielder Daniel Raba was given a straight red card for a wild, studs-up challenge on Sergio Busquets on the hour mark.
Real Madrid and Atletico each slipped 10 points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona after an intense Madrid derby finished goalless and the Catalans picked up an 11th victory in 12 games by winning 3-0 at Leganes.
Atletico Madrid striker Antoine Griezmann struck twice as the Spanish side outclassed hapless Olympique de Marseille 3-0 on Wednesday to win the Europa League for the third time.
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 Wednesday's action in the UEFA Champions League.
Images from the football matches played across Europe on Sunday.
Just as he did two years ago, Sergio Ramos left his footprint all over Real Madrid's Champions League final triumph over Atletico Madrid following a turbulent 12 months.
A breathtaking individual goal from Saul Niguez put Atletico Madrid in the box seat in their Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich with a 1-0 victory in a tense first leg on Wednesday.
Images from football matches played across Europe.
A round-up of Saturday's football action in La Liga, Bundesliga and Ligue 1.
Lionel Messi scored his 12th league goal of the season but Barcelona had to rely on exceptional saves from Marc-Andre ter Stegen as they rode their luck to win 2-0 at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday and stay four points clear at the top of La Liga.
Real Madrid talisman Cristiano Ronaldo and Barcelona striker Luis Suarez took centre stage on Saturday in bailing their teams out with late strikes to silence their critics following slow starts to the season.
After falling 2-0 down on the night, substitute Marcos Llorente struck twice in extra-time and Alvaro Morata added a late third to ensure a famous victory for Diego Simeone's side against a Liverpool team unbeaten in their last 25 home games in European competition.
Barcelona seized control of their King's Cup quarter-final tie against Atletico Madrid when Lionel Messi followed up his saved penalty to score and secure a 1-0 first-leg victory at the Nou Camp on Wednesday.
In other matches, super-sub Messi helped Barca romp past Atletico
Images from football matches played in the La Liga, Serie A and Bundesliga on Saturday.
Teenager Curtis Jones grabbed a 58th-minute winner as an injury-hit Liverpool qualified for the knockout stage of the Champions League with a 1-0 win over Ajax Amsterdam at Anfield on Tuesday.
The Portuguese forward put his team on the verge of their third final in four years and took his tally to 103 goals in the competition as he helped Madrid vanquish their neighbours at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Atletico Madrid proved too streetwise to entertain another Leicester City fairytale as they quelled a stirring home display to reach the Champions League semi-finals for the third time in four seasons on Tuesday, winning 2-1 on aggregate.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field.
IMAGES from the soccer matches played in Spain and Italy on Saturday
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