Barcelona failed to capitalise on Real Madrid dropping points against Villarreal as the La Liga champions were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, while talisman Lionel Messi limped off with a groin injury.
Four men were arrested in Madrid, police said, three of whom were members of "a radical group of fans of a Madrid club", who were previously flagged during matches as "high risk" to help curb violence during games.
Sevilla's devastating display to dispatch Malaga 4-1 on Saturday put them in their highest league position after 16 games for a decade and left little doubt that hiring coach Jorge Sampaoli to succeed serial winner Unai Emery was the right choice.
The late equaliser saw Valencia left on eighth spot with 27 points in the standings. Here are Images from the exciting draw played at Mestalla in Valencia, on Sunday.
Second-half strikes by Federico Valverde, Brahim Diaz and Endrick gave feeble Real Madrid an unconvincing 3-0 win over lowly Real Valladolid.
A Dani Carvajal strike in the ninth-minute of stoppage time rescued Real Madrid, earning them a 3-2 comeback win at home against bottom side Almeria on Sunday in a frantic LaLiga tussle that was marked by VAR controversy.
Dada present at event bringing La Liga to India.
Tracking the key moves this week in the European transfer market
News of all that transpired on and off the football field.
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.
Here are five talking points from the weekend's action:
Napoli thrash Palermo to advance to Coppa Italia last 16
AC Milan will have to be perfect defensively when they host Premier League side Liverpool in their Champions League opener at San Siro, manager Paulo Fonseca said on Monday.
Barcelona manager Luis Enrique believes his team deserves to win "the best league in Europe" as they aim to clinch La Liga in a potentially thrilling climax to the Spanish season on Saturday.
Barcelona coach Luis Enrique said on Friday he trusted his team to handle the occasion of this weekend's season finale at lowly Granada, where a win would guarantee their 24th La Liga title.
Barcelona forward Ousmane Dembele scored twice and produced a mesmerising display to fire his side to a 5-1 win over Villarreal on Wednesday which stretched the champions' unbeaten run this season to 36 games with two remaining.
Karim Benzema scored twice after the interval with a penalty and a header from a corner to give Santiago Solari's side a 3-1 lead, after Raphael Varane struck in the 34th minute to cancel out Anuar Tuhami's goal for Valladolid five minutes earlier.
Champions Barcelona begin their bid for a sixth La Liga title in eight years at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday knowing that fellow heavyweights Real Madrid could, unusually, be just one of several challengers for their crown.
All the action from La Liga and Serie A matches played on Monday
Girona reclaimed top spot in LaLiga after beating champions Barcelona 4-2
Two goals from Luis Diaz and one from Mohamed Salah helped Liverpool stroll to a 3-0 victory at Manchester United.
David Moyes notched his maiden victory as coach of Real Sociedad as Carlos Vela scored a classy hat-trick in a morale-boosting 3-0 win at home to Elche in La Liga on Friday.
Barca must beat Villareal on the weekend if they are to stand a chance of overhauling Real in the run in.
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.
Real Madrid had courted Mbappe in the past but failed to land the player, who signed a contract extension with PSG in May 2022 when the Spanish club had a bid rejected.
Barcelona's poor run away to Real Sociedad continued when the champions were held to a 1-1 draw at Anoeta on Sunday and slipped six points behind La Liga leaders Real Madrid before next week's 'Clasico' against their arch rivals.
Sergio Ramos made amends for his untimely own goal last week at Sevilla by scoring twice as Real Madrid bounced back from two successive defeats by beating Malaga 2-1 on Saturday to go four points clear at the top of La Liga.
Barcelona dropped their first points of the La Liga season as their star-studded forward line misfired in a 0-0 draw away to Malaga on Wednesday.
'But I think it is time. I'm not driven by financial matters, but by my heart. I think it's the best thing for the club. I don't want to be a problem for the club in my heart.'
Atletico Madrid knocked Barcelona off the top of La Liga, for a day at least, as a second-half strike by Koke earned a 1-0 victory over a stubborn Malaga side on Saturday.
Barcelona closed in on the La Liga title by thrashing local rivals Espanyol 5-0 on Sunday as Atletico Madrid dropped out of the race after losing 2-1 at Levante and Real Madrid beat Valencia 3-2.
Leaders Real Madrid pulled three points clear of second-placed Celta Vigo when they held off the valiant 10-man Galicians to secure a nervy 3-1 victory in Saturday's top-of-the-table clash in La Liga.
Dani Olmo came off the bench in the second half to give Barcelona the spark they needed on his debut, against Rayo Vallecano.
A major surprise in the 2024 Google search trends was the absence of iconic names like Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi, M S Dhoni, and Virat Kohli from the list of the top 10 most-searched athletes.
Real Madrid defender Nacho was the unlikely hero as they snatched a 1-0 win at Real Valladolid on Sunday to capitalise on Barcelona's defeat at Valencia this weekend and move three points clear of their rivals at the top of La Liga. Serie A leaders Juventus suffered a shock 2-1 defeat at Napoli on Sunday, with coach Maurizio Sarri returning to his former club for the first time, though Cristiano Ronaldo still managed to score for an eighth league game in a row for the visitors.
LaLiga leaders Real Madrid's pursuit of a record-extending 36th Spanish title
A stoppage time header by fullback Lucas Vazquez earned 10-man Real Madrid a 1-0 victory at lowly Alaves.
Atletico Madrid's Brazilian striker Diego Costa scored twice as they came from behind to beat Levante 3-2 at home on Saturday to go three points clear at the top of La Liga.
Robert Lewandowski's brace earned depleted Barcelona a 2-1 comeback win at Valencia
Atletico Madrid's French forwards Antoine Griezmann and Kevin Gameiro fired them to a first win in three league outings as they beat Valencia 3-0 on Sunday to maintain their hold on Spain's fourth Champions League qualifying place.
© 2026 Rediff.com - Advertise with us - Disclaimer - Privacy Policy - Sitemap - Feedback - About us - Terms of use - Grievances