With Crystal Palace dangerously close to being relegated, manager Patrick Vieira was sacked after 20 months in charge.
Atletico Madrid got in the mood for Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final with Barcelona by thrashing Real Betis 5-1 on Saturday, their biggest win of the season. A classy finish from Fernando Torres and a fortuitous strike from Atletico's top scorer Antoine Griezmann gave the home side a 2-0 lead at halftime. Substitute Angel Correa then made a big impression in the second period, laying on the third goal for Juanfran and the fourth by Griezmann before Thomas Partey rounded off the scoring for the home team. Ruben Castro netted for Betis in the 79th minute when he pounced on a rare error from Atletico goalkeeper Jan Oblak.
IMAGES from the football matches played across Europe on Sunday.
Manchester United kicked off their Europa League campaign poorly, losing 0-1 at home to Real Sociedad, while Arsenal's new signing Marquinhos scored in a 2-1 win at FC Zurich on Thursday.
The season kick backs into action with a local derby between Sevilla and Real Betis on June 11 and there will be fixtures for the following seven days, with Barca hosting Leganes on June 16
The 55-year-old Ernesto Valverde, who led Barcelona to successive La Liga titles in 2018 and 2019, came under fire this season for the team's dip in performance levels even though they top the league standings at the halfway point of the campaign.
Real Madrid suffered a shock 1-0 home defeat to Real Betis on Wednesday as an inspired performance from their former goalkeeper Antonio Adan and a stoppage-time winner from Antonio Sanabria stunned the Liga champions.
Last month, Barcelona had announced that the club's presidential election will be held on March 7. The election had previously been scheduled for January 24 but got postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic.
In the third-tier Europa Conference League, English Premier League club Leicester City will face Danish side Randers and Scottish club Celtic will take on Norwegian champions Bodo/Glimt in the knockout playoff round.
Here are five talking points from the weekend's action:
Nadal, a Real fan despite his uncle Miguel Angel making over 200 appearances for arch-rivals Barcelona, was seen speaking to umpire Mohamed Lahyani about his team's 0-0 home draw with Real Betis on Saturday and was less than impressed with what he saw.
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.
Clubs in Spain's top two soccer divisions can hold full training sessions from Monday for the first time since returning to activity after action was halted in March due to the coronavirus pandemic, organisers La Liga have said.
Unbeaten in six games, the draw leaves third-placed Sevilla on 51 points, four ahead of Real Sociedad and five ahead of both Getafe and Atletico Madrid, while Levante are 12th on 35 points.
Barca's second-half stamina key to their massive lead in the standings this season
Images from Sunday's action in the Premier League.
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane shrugged off his first setback since taking over from the sacked Rafa Benitez after his new team could only manage a 1-1 draw at Real Betis in La Liga.
The FIFA 2022 World Cup will kick-off in Qatar on Sunday, November 20. Here is a list of the 26-man squads playing in the quadrennial global football extravaganza.
With football matches cancelled across Europe to stop the spread of the coronavirus, La Liga players Borja Iglesias and Sergio Reguilon found a novel way to attract 60,000 online fans - by battling out a thrilling Seville derby on the FIFA 20 videogame. Fans in Andalusia suffering from La Liga withdrawal symptoms after Sunday's clash between Sevilla and Real Betis was postponed tuned in for the showdown between Betis's Iglesias and Sevilla's Reguilon on streaming service Twitch.
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.
Rashford scores a brace as Man United fight back to beat Omonia
Barcelona's Sergi Roberto and Robert Lewandowski struck just before halftime to give the league leaders a 2-0 home win over lowly Cadiz on Sunday in their pursuit of a 27th Spanish title.
Hazard extra-time goal sends 10-man Real Madrid through to Copa del Rey final.
La Liga leaders Barcelona moved 10 points clear with a 4-1 win at Real Betis on Sunday after second place Atletico Madrid slipped up at Athletic Bilbao on Saturday in a 2-0 defeat.
Costa, Alba excluded from Spain squad
Barcelona forward Ansu Fati will be sidelined for four months after undergoing knee surgery, the La Liga club said on Monday.
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.
A summary of Thursday's matches in the Europa League.
Joaquin, 37, became the oldest scorer in a Seville top-flight derby when he rose to head home at the near post in the 79th minute, shortly after the visitors had had midfielder Roque Mesa sent off for two bookings.
The win increased Zinedine Zidane's side's advantage at the top of the standings to six points
No Dutch top-flight league soccer title will be awarded this season after the COVID-19 pandemic brought the campaign to a premature close, the Dutch FA (KNVB) said after a meeting with clubs and unions representing coaches and players on Friday. Ajax were top of the Eredivisie table with 56 points from 25 games, only ahead of AZ on goal difference, and both teams will now fill the Netherlands' qualifying places in UEFA's 2020-21 Champions League, Europe's elite club competition.
All non-professional leagues have been cancelled although clubs in the top two divisions have resumed training in groups of up to 10 players.
Valencia, who lifted the trophy on their last appearance in the showpiece match in 2008, will meet 30-times winners Barca in the final on May 25 at Betis' Benito Villamarin stadium.
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.
Villarreal's struggles in the Spanish league continued with a 2-1 loss at Athletic Bilbao, with striker Gerard Moreno not finishing the game because of an injury.
Rangers joined Barca in the last eight despite losing 2-1 at Red Star Belgrade, progressing 3-2 on aggregate.
Barcelona fell to a first home defeat in any competition for more than two years
Barcelona said captain Iniesta would miss the match after he was not able to train with his team mates on Tuesday ahead of the encounter at the Santiago Bernabeu, where the Catalans will look to overturn a 3-1 deficit.
The veteran admits Barca have defence problems, slams Dembele
Images from Europa League matches played on Thursday.
