Real Madrid fight back to beat Mallorca and put Barca party on hold
IMAGES from soccer matches played across Europe on Sunday.
Real Sociedad are fourth in the table on 28 points, three points behind third-placed Sevilla.
Valencia beat leaders Barcelona 2-1 at the Mestalla to put themselves firmly in the Primera Liga title race.
A Marco Asensio-inspired Real Madrid crushed Eibar 3-0 to close the gap on La Liga leaders Barcelona to five points on Sunday, with Karim Benzema starting on the bench.
Nacho left his team mates stunned as he tried to clear a cross in the 13th minute and headed the ball into the net.
Title rivals Barcelona and Atletico Madrid stayed locked together at the top of La Liga after they played out an intense 0-0 draw with few genuine chances at the Calderon on Saturday.
Atletico Madrid turned up the heat on champions Barcelona when they fought back to secure a 2-1 win at home to Athletic Bilbao in La Liga on Sunday as Real Madrid slipped off the pace with a 1-0 loss at Villarreal.
Barcelona closed in on the LaLiga title as they picked up a 1-0 win over Osasuna and holders Real Madrid went down to
Jose Mourinho's nine-year unbeaten home record in league matches was never under threat as his side eased past Levante 2-0 on Saturday to close within two points of La Liga leaders Barcelona.
Real Madrid's Javier Hernandez struck twice as they came from behind to beat Celta Vigo 4-2 away and keep the pressure on Barcelona at the top of La Liga on Sunday.
Champions Real Madrid earned a 2-0 win in a feisty LaLiga encounter at Athletic Bilbao on Sunday to ensure they stayed in the hunt for the LaLiga title with leaders Barcelona.
Barca said the club's foundation would manage the bid for the naming rights of the 99,000 capacity Camp Nou stadium for the 2020/21 stadium.
Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo returned to full training on Friday for the first time in a week, indicating he would start Saturday's crunch game against Barcelona.
Real Madrid inflicted a second painful defeat on stuttering Barcelona in five days when Sergio Ramos nodded a late winner in a 2-1 success in La Liga on Saturday.
A depleted Barcelona reached the King's Cup semi-finals with a 6-3 aggregate win over Real Betis despite losing Wednesday's second leg to the second division leaders.
Barcelona missed a chance to virtually wrap up a third straight La Liga title when they surrendered the lead and lost 2-1 at Real Sociedad Saturday.
Guardiola said that the Premier League leaders must maintain a lengthy period of dominance in England and Europe in order to be compared with his former club Barcelona.
Athletic Bilbao survived a constant state of siege to hold a weakened Barcelona to a 0-0 draw at the Nou Camp in a King's Cup last 16 first-leg match on Tuesday. La Liga leaders Barca had won 10 successive games in all competitions, scoring 31 goals in the last seven, but they ran out of ideas against their resolute Basque visitors.
Barcelona forward Neymar has trained with the squad for the first time since injuring his ankle last month and is close to a return to action, the club said on Monday.
Barcelona believe they can quickly regain their momentum after two indifferent league performances when they face Olympique Lyon in their Champions League last 16 first-leg clash at the Stade Gerland on Tuesday. Primera Liga leaders Barca lost 2-1 against Espanyol on Saturday, only their second defeat of the campaign. This followed a draw last week with Real Betis.
Paco Alcacer enjoyed a rare outing for Barcelona by scoring twice in the club's 2-1 La Liga win over Sevilla at the Nou Camp on Saturday.
Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar were being touted as the best strike force in soccer history a month ago as they spearheaded Barcelona's record unbeaten run but the tiring trio are now taking the blame as the club's season unravels.
It was Messi's 56th converted penalty in La Liga and saw him draw level with Hugo Sanchez as the league's second-top penalty taker, behind record holder Cristiano Ronaldo on 61.
A dominant yet wasteful Real ravaged their rivals in the first half while spurning a string of clear chances at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Real Madrid defender Alvaro Arbeloa reignited his long-running war of words with Barcelona's Gerard Pique by suggesting that the Spanish League leaders manage to win only if opposing teams have had players sent off. La Liga leaders Barca surprisingly succumbed 1-0 to mid-table Real Sociedad on Saturday, a result that not only condemned the Catalans to their second successive league defeat but also blew the title race wide open. They now lead second-placed Atletico Madrid by three points and third-placed Real by four. "Look how difficult it is to win against 11 men," Arbeloa mocked on Twitter, referring to the fact that Barcelona have often benefited from opposing players being sent off. Barca were trailing 1-0 in last Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final first leg with Atletico Madrid but secured a 2-1 win after Atletico goal scorer Fernando Torres was dismissed in the 35th minute.
Liverpool defender Martin Skrtel was charged with violent conduct for appearing to stamp on Manchester United goalkeeper David De Gea.
Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane says Frenchman Karim Benzema is "distraught" about being left out of the squad for this year's European Championship, the only major tournament to be played in his home country during his career.
Images from the football matches played across Europe 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.
The 28-year-old Argentine has scored seven goals from direct free-kicks in this year's La Liga, the latest in Sunday's 5-0 triumph over Espanyol.
Real Madrid winger Gareth Bale is fit for Tuesday's Champions League quarter-final showdown at Atletico Madrid after sitting out Saturday's La Liga win at home to Eibar, coach Carlo Ancelotti said on Monday.
Real Madrid can pip Barcelona to the La Liga title on Saturday even though their destiny is out of their hands, coach Zinedine Zidane said on the eve of the season finale.
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.
A round of Saturday's matches in Series A, La Liga and Bundesliga.
Gareth Bale is suffering at Real Madrid because his team mates are not passing him the ball enough.
Arsenal can cut down the deficit to Premier League leaders Manchester City and challenge for the title this campaign, midfielder Granit Xhaka said.
Cristiano Ronaldo, fired up by rival Lionel Messi's midweek hat-trick for Barcelona, struck four goals in 26 second-half minutes as Real Madrid crushed Celta Vigo 7-1 at the Bernabeu on Saturday.
Champions Barcelona reclaimed top spot in La Liga on Sunday by overcoming a dogged Villarreal side to win 2-0 at home with goals from stalwart defender Gerard Pique and youngster Carles Alena taking them above Sevilla.
Real Madrid paid more than 200 million euros ($227.76 million) to assemble their forward line of Cristiano Ronaldo, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema, but the attacking trio failed them again in Wednesday's Champions League exit to Juventus.
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