Barcelona closed to within a point of La Liga leaders Real Madrid when Lionel Messi scored one goal, created two and conceded a penalty in a 3-1 win at home to champions Atletico Madrid on Sunday that eased pressure on under-fire coach Luis Enrique.
Lionel Messi squeezed home a stoppage-time penalty to grab a 3-2 win for champions Barcelona at Valencia in a thrilling and controversial La Liga match on Sunday.
Valencia recaptured fourth place in La Liga from Sevilla when Sofiane Feghouli scored the pick of the goals in a 4-0 stroll at home to second-from-bottom Granada on Monday.
Barcelona provisionally went top of La Liga for the first time since October after Luis Suarez, Neymar and Lionel Messi scored in a 6-0 thrashing of Alaves on Saturday although the win was overshadowed by a serious injury to Aleix Vidal.
Antoine Griezmann and Yannick Carrasco each conjured moments of magic as Atletico Madrid recaptured top spot in La Liga from Barcelona with a hard-fought 2-0 victory at Celta Vigo on Sunday.
The three-horse race for the La Liga title tightened on Sunday when leaders Real Madrid drew 2-2 at city rivals Atletico and Barcelona won 4-1 at home to Almeria.
Real Madrid's stuttering run continued as they were held 1-1 at home by La Liga minnows Eibar on Sunday, drawing a fourth consecutive game in all competitions for the first time in more than a decade.
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.
Barcelona's attacking trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar were all on target as the champions roared back into life in La Liga with a dominant 5-1 victory at promoted Leganes on Saturday. Messi sidefooted in a simple cross from Suarez to strike the opening goal after 15 minutes and returned the favour for the Uruguayan to nudge in the second in the 31st.
Julen Lopetegui's side were awarded a penalty early in the game after a VAR review determined forward Nolito had been fouled by Valladolid's Javi Moyano as he shaped to shoot, even though his team mates had barely appealed for a foul.
The enduring image of Luis Enrique for many soccer fans is the Spain player with blood gushing from his nose after a vicious elbow from Italy defender Mauro Tassotti during the 1994 World Cup quarter-final in Boston.
IMAGES from the soccer matches played in Spain and Italy on Saturday
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola and leading scorer Lionel Messi described their 2011 La Liga crown as the toughest of titles after securing top spot with a 1-1 draw at Levante on Wednesday.
Alvaro Negredo struck in stoppage-time as stuttering Valencia won 2-1 against his former club Sevilla on Sunday to earn coach Pako Ayesteran victory in his first home game in charge since succeeding Gary Neville.
A controversial Gerard Deulofeu strike sent Barcelona on their way to a comfortable 2-0 victory over Malaga on Saturday as they stretched their lead at the top of La Liga.
Lionel Messi scored within three minutes of returning to action for the first time in more than three weeks to help fire La Liga champions Barcelona to a resounding 4-0 home win over Deportivo La Coruna on Saturday.
Real Madrid fans and players showed their support for Vinicius Jr who was subjected to racial abuse over the weekend.
With the distraction of two individual scoring records safely out of the way, Barcelona forward Lionel Messi can turn his full focus on helping the club win the major silverware that eluded them last season.
Karim Benzema will leave Real Madrid as a free agent in the close season after 14 trophy-laden years
Karim Benzema's seven-minute hattrick saw Real Madrid thrash Real Valladolid 6-0 in their La Liga encounter
Cristiano Ronaldo became the first player to hit 30 La Liga goals in six consecutive seasons as he inspired Real Madrid to a 4-0 thrashing of Eibar on Saturday.
Lionel Messi netted his first hat-trick in 10 months as Barcelona swept aside struggling Granada 4-0 to climb above Atletico Madrid to the top of La Liga on Saturday.
Athletic Bilbao beat Barcelona 4-2 at home to knock them out of the Copa del Rey
Pedro scored twice as Barcelona made heavy weather of beating promoted Levante 2-1 to move five points clear at the top of La Liga on Sunday.
Barcelona would not be allowed to play in La Liga if Catalonia broke away from Spain, the country's football league chief Javier Tebas said as tensions mounted in the region over the possibility of an independence referendum next month.
Lionel Messi scored two spectacular free kicks as Barcelona thrashed local rivals Espanyol 4-0 in Saturday's Catalan derby to move three points clear at the top of La Liga.
Cristiano Ronaldo was sent off as leaders Real Madrid beat Cordoba 2-1 in La Liga on Saturday thanks to late Gareth Bale penalty.
Paris St Germain closed out the year on a high as they maintained their five-point advantage at the top of the table.
Barcelona forward Luis Suarez was included in the starting lineup for Saturday's La Liga 'Clasico' against Real Madrid, a day after his four-month ban for biting an opponent expired.
Leaders Barcelona suffered their first defeat in La Liga this season when Real Sociedad stormed back from two-goals down and made the most of a red card for Gerard Pique to record a 3-2 home win on Saturday.
Gareth Bale struck his first Real Madrid hat-trick and set up another goal in a thumping 4-0 La Liga victory over Real Valladolid on Saturday.
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.
Real Madrid made sure Barcelona will have to wait at least until Sunday to wrap up a 22nd La Liga title when Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 200th goal for the club in a 6-2 win at home to nine-man Malaga on Wednesday.
Real Madrid and Barcelona pulled two points clear in La Liga when Cristiano Ronaldo set a club scoring record in Real's 3-0 stroll against Levante and Neymar hit four as Barca beat Rayo Vallecano 5-2 on Saturday.
Mallorca fans were filmed racially abusing Real Madrid's Brazilian forward Vinicius Jr. in their Son Moix stadium during their 1-0 upset win against the LaLiga holders on Sunday.
Barcelona's outlay of 20 million euros ($22 million) on Jeremy Mathieu last July prompted plenty of criticism but the France centre back has been worth his weight in gold in the La Liga leaders' last two outings.
Former Barcelona defender Alba to sign for Inter Miami
Barcelona thrashed Sporting Gijon 6-1 to go top of La Liga on a dramatic night in Spain on Wednesday as Luis Enrique announced he was stepping down as the Catalan club's coach at the end of the season.
Sevilla topped the Primera Liga on Saturday with a 3-0 home win over Valencia, who had midfielder David Silva sent off after just 17 minutes.
Frenchman Lenglet's first league start since his 36 million-euro move from Sevilla turned sour when he was shown a straight red card in the 35th minute at the Nou Camp following a coming together with Pons, after referee Jesus Gil Manzano consulted the video assistant referee (VAR).
