AC Milan missed the chance to open up a six-point gap at the top of Serie A on Saturday after being held to a 1-1 draw at mid-table Sampdoria.
Emmanuel Adebayor grabbed a critical away goal as Arsenal came from behind to secure a 1-1 draw against Villarreal in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final at El Madrigal.
Dimitar Berbatov scored twice to lead Manchester United to a 3-0 win over Aalborg in Denmark on Tuesday and put the defending champions back on track in the Champions League.
In-form striker David Villa scored twice on Wednesday night to help European champions Spain beat Armenia 4-0 to make it two wins from two games in World Cup qualifying.
Spain beat world champions Italy 4-2 on penalties to reach the semifinals of Euro 2008 after Sunday's match in Vienna had ended scoreless.
After a lackluster 2-1 win over Peru last Saturday, Spanish national-team coach Luis Aragonés is likely to make several changes when his troops face the U.S. in their final pre-European Championship warm-up on Wednesday in Santander (live on espn360.com at 4 p.m. ET; on delay on ESPN2 at 5:30 p.m.).
Barcelona crashed to a 2-1 home defeat by Villarreal on Sunday, giving Spanish champions Real Madrid an eight-point lead with 11 games to play this season.
Real Mallorca staged the perfect smash-and-grab raid at the Bernabeu to dump Real Madrid out of the Copa del Rey on Wednesday.
Take a look at the current Primera Liga table and it's no surprise to see the traditional top two, Real Madrid and Barcelona, setting the pace.
Barcelona crashed to their first league defeat of the season when they went down 3-1 at Villarreal, Marcos Senna converting two first-half penalties.
Real Madrid responded to Villarreal's fifth win in six Spanish Primera Liga games by beating Getafe 1-0 in a later match on Sunday to return to the top of the standings.
Real Madrid star Raul has again been left on the sidelines and there is no place for Atletico Madrid striker Fernando Torres in Spain's squad for next Wednesday's friendly against Romania.
Spain midfielder Marcos Senna has agreed a contract extension with Villarreal until 2010.
Uncapped midfielder Borja Oubina has kept his place in the Spain squad for their opening Euro 2008 qualifiers against Liechtenstein and Northern Ireland.
Villarreal still hope to sell Argentina captain Juan Pablo Sorin and Spain midfielder Marcos Senna but will keep both players if they do not receive big enough offers.
Villarreal midfielder Marcos Senna and Valencia keeper Santiago Canizares have been dropped from Spain's squad for Tuesday's friendly against Iceland in Reykjavik.
Liverpool striker Fernando Morientes has been left out of the Spain squad for the World Cup finals after coach Luis Aragones preferred to bolster his side's defense.
An under-strength Villarreal, with their focus on next week's Champions League return against Arsenal, slumped to a 2-0 home defeat to Real Sociedad on Saturday.
Arsenal youngster Francesc Fabregas was rewarded for his outstanding display in his side's historic 1-0 win over Real Madrid this week with a call up to the Spanish squad for a friendly international against Ivory Coast next week.
Real Madrid kept up the pressure on leaders Barcelona with a sixth consecutive Primera Liga win, sweeping aside lowly Alaves 3-0 at the Bernabeu, to move up to second place.
Manchester United's troubled season hit a new low when they lost 1-0 at Lille in the Champions League in Paris.
Argentine defender Mariano Pernia scored a 77th minute winner as 10-man Getafe beat crosstown rival Atletico Madrid 1-0 to go top of the Spanish Primera.
Villarreal's Brazilian midfielder Marcos Senna has been suspended for 60 days and fined 10,000 Swiss francs after testing positive for two banned substances.
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