Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang scored twice as a rejuvenated Barcelona gave a football masterclass to inflict a humiliating 4-0 defeat on rivals Real Madrid on Sunday.
Ferran Torres scored a brace and Ousmane Dembele made two assists as a red-hot Barcelona rolled over Osasuna 4-0 on Sunday to earn their fourth consecutive LaLiga win.
Barcelona manager Ernesto Valverde said the football world must get used to the idea that Lionel Messi will retire in the near future.
The home side spurned two chances to extend their advantage before the break but Barca levelled in the 52nd minute when Luis Suarez glanced in Lionel Messi's free kick.
Kylian Mbappe believes Les Bleus have what it takes to win the title in Russia if they all stick together.
Southampton's 15 million pound ($19.19 million) purchase of Lazio centre back Wesley Hoedt brought the overall spend by England's 20 elite clubs to a record 1.184.9 billion pounds.
'There is no price limit to let him go or a price that we are ready to give in'
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Koeman grateful for Messi support in transitional season for Barca.
Images from the Nations League football matches played on Thursday.
Brazilian Malcom, who started in place of Lionel Messi, curled home in the 58th minute to pull Barcelona level after Lucas Vazquez had fired Real Madrid ahead early on.
Barcelona pulled off a stirring comeback to overturn a two-goal deficit and reach the Copa del Rey final, beating Sevilla 3-0 after extra-time in Wednesday's semi-final second leg, to go through 3-2 on aggregate.
Borussia Dortmund missed a bagful of chances to draw 1-1 at home with Augsburg on Tuesday, as they squandered the opportunity to make up ground in the Bundesliga title race heading into the winter break.
Didier Deschamps has tough choices to make ahead of his young team's World Cup opener against Australia and the experienced Olivier Giroud could find himself on the bench.
Awesome images from the world of Sport 2018.
Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich stumbled to a 1-1 home draw against Hoffenheim on Saturday but stayed three points clear at the top as Borussia Dortmund's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang fired four goals past Hamburg SV following his midweek ban. Bayern fell a goal behind when Kerem Demirbay's thundering shot in the 16th minute left keeper Manuel Neuer rooted on the spot.
Karim Benzema scored twice in the final few minutes to give Real Madrid a 3-1 win at Espanyol, while Barcelona breezed past Real Valladolid with a comfortable 4-0 LaLiga victory.
In his absence, the league champions have made a lacklustre start to the season, losing their opening game to Athletic Bilbao before taking just four points from fixtures against Real Betis and Osasuna.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang missed a penalty before scoring an 80th-minute equaliser as an injury-hit Borussia Dortmund failed to win for the second straight game after stumbling to a 1-1 home draw against Hertha Berlin on Friday.
Santiago Solari got off to the perfect start as Real Madrid's interim coach when his side thrashed Melilla 4-0 in the Copa del Rey on Wednesday.
A majestic solo dribble shredded Chelsea's defence before Messi played in Dembele for the second and the Argentine maestro killed the tie off when he smashed a third through the legs of Courtois again in the second half.
The Catalans are overwhelming favourites to win the game and have an outstanding home record in the Champions League, remaining unbeaten at the Nou Camp in the competition since losing to Bayern Munich in 2013.
IMAGES from soccer matches played on Monday.
Marseille cement second place with Montpellier win
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.
Bengaluru now have two draws in a row and their first clean sheet but languish at second-last with just six points.
Centre forward Eder, who scored the winning goal in the Euro 2016 final against France, was among 10 players from that squad omitted from Santos's list. Other unlucky players included midfielders Andre Gomes and Renato Sanches, forward Nani and defender Eliseu.
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.
Messi opened the scoring at the Nou Camp with an audacious chipped penalty then restored control in the tie after Lyon had pulled a goal back to make it 2-1, hitting a decisive third goal after a trademark dazzling run to shake off four defenders.
Sergio Busquets called on Barcelona to sign more players after the club's 3-1 Spanish Super Cup defeat by Real Madrid on Sunday.
Title contenders Borussia Dortmund twice hit the woodwork as they beat Freiburg 3-1 to join leaders Bayern Munich at the top of the Bundesliga.
With no clear sense of direction being set by Deschamps' selections, it may be up to the players to find their own way to deal with Messi.
Although he did not put up a scintillating display in midfield, Pogba powered into the box after a couple of one-twos and scored with a slightly deflected lob to earn Les Bleus all three points.
Lionel Messi scored one penalty and missed another as Barcelona beat Real Valladolid 1-0 on Saturday to open up a seven-point lead at the top of La Liga.
A summary of Thursday's second leg quarter-final matches in the Europa League.
IMAGES from the football matches played across Europe on Sunday.
The victory takes Barcelona up to fourth with 10 points after six games, one point behind surprise leaders Granada, Athletic Bilbao, who visit Leganes on Wednesday, and Real Madrid ahead of their game at home to Osasuna the same night.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde's conservatism was cited by the Spanish media as the main reason for their 3-0 defeat at AS Roma on Tuesday that led to a shock Champions League quarter-final elimination being regarded as 'a historic debacle'.
Atletico Madrid won the La Liga title for the first time since 2014
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