Luis Suarez and Rafinha scored in the first half before three late goals in seven minutes including two from Neymar gave Barcelona a 5-0 win at 10-man Sporting Gijon on Saturday, their first game this season without Lionel Messi. ? After a slow and dull start by Barca, Arda Turan set up Suarez and the Uruguayan rounded Sporting goalkeeper Ivan Cuellar to tap in the opener in the 29th minute.
Striker Raul set a club scoring record as Real Madrid swept aside Sporting Gijon 4-0 away on Sunday to cut Barcelona's lead at the top of the Primera Liga to 10 points.
Depleted Real Madrid ended a disappointing week with a 0-0 draw at Sporting Gijon on Saturday, handing champions Barcelona the chance to open a three-point lead at the top of La Liga.
Valencia trailed 2-1 from the away leg and despite a late midweek kick off time supporters still flocked to the Mestalla stadium hoping to see their embattled team turn the tie around.
A former midfielder for Sporting Gijon, Real Madrid and Barcelona, Luis Enrique won two Liga titles, one Champions League and three King's Cups as Barca coach between 2014 and 2017.
Lionel Messi became the first player to notch 300 La Liga goals as his double blast powered Barcelona to a 3-1 win at Sporting Gijon that sent them six points clear at the top of the table on Wednesday.
None of Europe's top five leagues have been able to hold matches with spectators since football has returned, although championships in countries such as Serbia, Bulgaria and Denmark have allowed fans back in to matches.
Cristiano Ronaldo continued his rich vein of form by scoring twice in Real Madrid's 2-1 home win over struggling Sporting Gijon on Saturday, although the La Liga leaders got a lucky break when the visitors squandered a second-half penalty.
Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez are both back for domestic duties as second-placed Barcelona resume their chase of La Liga leader Real Madrid with a tricky trip to red-hot Real Sociedad on Sunday. Barcelona, into the Champions League last 16 as Group C winners with a 2-0 win at Celtic on Wednesday, are four points behind Real Madrid who will host Sporting Gijon on Saturday without the injured Gareth Bale. "We have achieved our aim, which was to qualify as first of our group and now we need to turn our focus to La Liga," Barcelona centre back Javier Mascherano told www.fcbarcelona.com.
The 2010 FIFA World Cup winner took to Twitter to express that he wants to win the Emperor's Cup with the Japanese side.
Gareth Bale will undergo ankle surgery next week to repair damaged tendons, Real Madrid said on Thursday. The Wales international picked up the injury during Tuesday's 2-1 Champions League victory at Sporting Lisbon. "Real Madrid Sanitas Medical Services have decided that Gareth Bale will undergo an operation following the traumatic dislocation of the peroneal tendons of his right ankle," La Liga leaders Real said in a statement.
Barcelona midfielder Cesc Fabregas sustained a hamstring injury during training on Saturday and will be out of action for around three weeks, the European champions said.
Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho and his Sporting Gijon counterpart Manuel Preciado have escaped punishment over a row they had in November after the Spanish soccer federation (RFEF) decided no action was needed.
Real Madrid tightened their grip on top spot by beating Alaves 3-0 at home in La Liga on Sunday to provisionally move five points ahead of nearest challengers Barcelona despite coach Zinedine Zidane making a string of changes in defence.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi took their remarkable scoring achievements to new heights when they jointly set a record for La Liga goals in a season of 41 on Saturday.
Barcelona will appeal against the red card shown to Gerard Pique in Saturday's La Liga match against Sporting Gijon, a club spokesman said on Monday.
Seydou Keita and Xavi struck in the last 11 minutes to earn 10-man Barcelona a nervy 3-1 home win over lowly Sporting Gijon that kept their La Liga title hopes alive on Saturday.
Lionel Messi has dismissed talk of chasing records after the Argentine struck twice in Wednesday's 5-0 Champions League win at BATE Borisov to equal Ladislau Kubala as Barcelona's second highest scorer of all time on 194 goals.
Injured Barcelona forward Lionel Messi is almost irreplaceable but the Spanish champions are determined to put his temporary absence behind them, coach Pep Guardiola said on Tuesday.
Villarreal and Espanyol clung to the coat-tails of the La Liga leaders on Sunday with home wins that owed much to their attractive style of attacking football.
Spain striker Fernando Llorente scored in Athletic Bilbao's 2-1 La Liga victory over struggling Real Zaragoza on Sunday to continue his prolific recent run.
David Villa struck just after halftime to lift champions Barcelona to a laboured 1-0 home win over his former club Sporting Gijon in La Liga on Wednesday.
Athletic Bilbao forward Urko Vera netted his first La Liga goal deep into added time to snatch a 2-2 draw for the Basque club at Getafe on Monday.
Real Madrid recovered from the second-minute dismissal of goalkeeper Iker Casillas to secure a battling 1-0 win at Espanyol on Sunday and cut Barcelona's lead at the top of La Liga to five points.
Factbox on Spain striker David Villa, who joined Barcelona from Valencia for 40 million euros on Wednesday.
Real Madrid climbed back above arch rivals Barcelona to the top of La Liga when Gonzalo Higuain netted a late winner in a laboured 1-0 win at Sporting Gijon on Sunday.
Rafael van der Vaart admitted to handling the ball in the lead up to Real Madrid's opening goal in their 3-1 victory over Sporting Gijon in La Liga on Saturday.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored with an acrobatic header on his La Liga debut to seal Barcelona's 3-0 win over Sporting Gijon as they opened their title defence in style on Monday.
Barca overcome solid Bilbao challenge to scrape through 1-0.
Frederic Kanoute's emphatic finish early in the first half fired Sevilla to a 1-0 win at Sporting Gijon in La Liga on Sunday to lift the Andalusians above Valencia into third.
Seydou Keita hit a hat-trick and Zlatan Ibrahimovic netted twice to lead Barcelona to a 6-1 thrashing of Real Zaragoza and send the La Liga champions three points clear of Real Madrid on Sunday.
Striker Raul became Real Madrid's all-time top scorer on Sunday when he netted twice for the Primera Liga champions in their 4-0 victory away to Sporting Gijon.
Samuel Eto'o scored twice to help Barcelona rally from two down to draw 2-2 at Real Betis on Saturday, stretching their Primera Liga lead to 13 points.
Primera Liga top scorer Samuel Eto'o netted twice as Barcelona beat Sporting Gijon 3-1 at the Nou Camp on Sunday to restore their 12-point advantage at the top of the table.
Real Madrid new boy Rafael van der Vaart scored a hat-trick to help the champions thrash promoted Sporting Gijon 7-1.
Barcelona earned their first Primera Liga win of the season with a 6-1 rout away to promoted Sporting Gijon on Sunday.
Lionel Messi's double strike helped Barcelona scrape a 3-2 victory over Real Sociedad on Saturday to keep the pressure on La Liga leaders Real Madrid, who needed a brace from Isco to beat Sporting Gijon by the same scoreline.
Real Madrid forward Gareth Bale damaged a calf muscle in Sunday's La Liga game at home to Sporting Gijon, tests confirmed on Tuesday. Bale, who scored with a seventh-minute header to put Real 1-0 up at the Bernabeu, limped out shortly before halftime with his side leading 5-0. "After tests carried out today (Tuesday) on the player Gareth Bale at the Sanitas La Moraleja University Hospital, he has been diagnosed with a soleus muscle injury in his right leg," Real said on their website (www.realmadrid.com).
Three Euro MPs want the European Union to probe Gareth Bale's 100 million euros ($111.25 million) move from Tottenham Hotspur to Real Madrid in 2013, according to media reports.
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.
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