La Liga

Bale, back from a loan spell at Tottenham, was in former Everton boss Ancelotti's first starting XI. Eden Hazard set up Benzema's opener with a nice flick and Nacho doubled the lead with a volley. Benzema scored again and Joselu slotted a penalty for Alaves before Vinicius Jr scored a late fourth for Real. David Alaba made his Real debut at left-back after his free-transfer move from Bayern Munich - and set up that late Vinicius goal. Real laboured in the first half

MADRID: Atletico Madrid held their nerve to beat Real Sociedad 2-1 on Wednesday (May 12) and move within touching distance of winning La Liga. Yannick Carrasco and Angel Correa made a dominant first half count for Atletico, who retreated in the second and were left hanging on after Igor Zubeldia blasted in for La Real with seven minutes left. When the final whistle blew, Diego Simeone jogged up the tunnel at the Wanda Metropolitano, punching the air as he went, fully aware how

BARCELONA: After staging a stunning revival to rein in leaders Atletico Madrid, Barcelona can finally go top of La Liga when they host Diego Simeone's side on a mouthwatering weekend as the four teams in the title race come face to face. Atletico lead the standings with 76 points after 34 games heading into Saturday's crunch game away to Barca, who are third on 74. An Atletico slip up will only play into the hands of champions Real Madrid, however, who are second

Real Madrid climbed to the top of La Liga on Saturday after Karim Benzema's flicked finish helped them claim a thrilling 2-1 victory over Barcelona in a wild Clasico at Valdebebas. Benzema's superb piece of skill and a deflected Toni Kroos free-kick put Madrid in charge and while Oscar Mingueza pulled one back for Barca, they fell to defeat in what could be Lionel Messi's final appearance in this fixture. Victory means Real Madrid go level on points with Atletico, with the top