Luis Suarez celebrates his bumper new five-year Barcelona deal in style with a double as the champions defeated Espanyol 4-1 in the Catalan derby to move to within three points of La Liga leaders Real Madrid.

A stunning 25-yard strike from Saul Niguez snapped Atletico Madrid's three-game winless streak with a nervy 1-0 win over Las Palmas on Saturday to move up to fifth in La Liga.

Sevilla strengthened their grip on third in La Liga thanks to captain Vicente Iborra's hattrick in a 3-0 win at Celta Vigo on Sunday.

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane paid tribute to his players' spirit after they battled back to beat Deportivo La Coruna 3-2 on Saturday and set a club record 35 games unbeaten in all competitions.

The word derby bears special significance on a sporting field. The Manchester derby, the Milan derby, the Madrid derby and many other sporting clashes have been cherished across the football world for ages.

Sevilla midfielder Samir Nasri has returned to training and is a step closer to making his comeback when his team plays at Olympique Lyon in Wednesday's Champions League game, the Spanish club have announced.

Real Madrid remain six points clear at the top of La Liga after Sergio Ramos's late leveller earned a 1-1 draw at Barcelona in El Clasico on a weekend in which none of the top six won.

Valencia's winless streak extended to six La Liga games as Pablo Fornals struck deep into stoppage time to hand Malaga a deserved 2-2 draw at a discontented Mestalla on Sunday.

Real Madrid can open a nine-point lead over bitter rivals Barcelona at the top of La Liga by winning Saturday's 'Clasico' at the Nou Camp.

Saturday's blockbuster La Liga clash between Barcelona and Real Madrid will be preceded by a minute's silence for the 71 people killed in a plane crash that decimated the Brazilian football team Chapecoense.

Barcelona boss Luis Enrique lamented what he described as the worst display of his time in charge as the Catalan giants escaped with a 1-1 draw at Real Sociedad on Sunday.

AFP Sports looks at what has gone wrong so far this season for the Spanish champions Barcelona.

Gerard Pique gives a scathing assessment of Barcelona's display after the champions were held to a 1-1 draw by Real Sociedad and casts doubt on his team's ability to retain the La Liga title unless their performances improve.

Cristiano Ronaldo struck twice as Real Madrid were thankful to a late missed penalty from Duje Cop to open up a seven-point lead over Barcelona at the top of La Liga with a 2-1 win over Sporting Gijon.

Lionel Messi's prodigious talent is matched by his startling humility, which he displayed again on Thursday by denying that Barcelona's fate is determined by his presence in the team.

Atletico Madrid sealed top spot in Champions League Group D after second half goals from Frenchmen Kevin Gameiro and Antoine Griezmann gave them a comfortable 2-0 win at home to PSV Eindhoven on Wednesday.

Arsenal forward Alexis Sanchez is keen to play the same kind of role Lionel Messi performs at Barcelona, the Chilean international said.

Real Madrid suffered a huge injury scare just 11 days before facing Barcelona in La Liga as Gareth Bale hobbled off with a right ankle injury in the European champions 2-1 win at Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday.

Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane insisted he has no doubt Cristiano Ronaldo will be the deserving winner of a fourth Ballon d'Or come January, but his hat-trick in a 3-0 defeat of Atletico Madrid on Saturday may convince others.

Spain midfielder Ander Herrera will preserve the memory of his international debut by framing the shirt he played in at Wembley on Tuesday.