The one word uppermost in the minds of all Barcelona players, fans and pundits throughout this season was ‘Roma’.

Each Real Madrid v Barcelona Clasico is about more than just football, with both superclubs having deep roots within Spanish and Catalan society. But this week’s two Clasicos in four days have even wider resonance than usual, given the current mix of legal and political issues directly and indirectly involving both clubs.

Zinedine Zidane’s shock resignation as Real Madrid coach yesterday took almost everyone by surprise — but it also made a huge amount of sense once he had explained a decision that looks a lot more positive for him personally than the club.

Real Madrid star Gareth Bale has been keeping a suspiciously low profile in the build up to his team’s Champions League final against Liverpool on Saturday – indicating that his days in Spain could now be numbered.

Jurgen Klopp will have Liverpool playing “like 11 animals” to win the Champions League on Saturday night, Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos has declared.

The France midfielder scored twice as United beat Manchester City to delay the champions being anointed, but was underwhelming in a 1-0 loss to West Brom which gifted City the Premier League title.

“A failure without excuses,” shouted the cover of Catalan daily Sport on Wednesday morning, with the words “debacle”, “lamentable” and “elimination” also featuring in bold print.

Man City 3 - Arsenal 0: Pep Guardiola has his first trophy as manager of Manchester City and Arsene Wenger may have won his last in charge of Arsenal after the Premier League leaders dismantled their rivals 3-0 in the Carabao Cup Final on a day of bitter contrasts.

Skipper Sergio Ramos scored a late penalty clincher as Real Madrid came from behind to win 3-1 at Leganes and ease themselves into third place in LaLiga.

Real Madrid 3 PSG 1

Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane looked supremely relaxed as he smiled his way through yesterday’s press conference ahead of tonight’s Champions League last-16 first leg at home to Paris Saint Germain.

Barcelona coach Ernesto Valverde will not encourage striker Luis Suarez to play with any less aggression than usual in tonight’s Copa del Rey semi-final second leg (8.30pm) against Valencia despite being one yellow card away from missing the final.

Barcelona are in pole position to reach a fifth consecutive Copa del Rey final after Luis Suarez's winner saw off Valencia 1-0 at the Nou Camp.

Philippe Coutinho made his first LaLiga start for Barcelona but it was Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi who stole the headlines once again in a 2-1 win against Alaves.

A last-gasp Alberto Paloschi header saw Serie A strugglers SPAL force a 1-1 draw with Inter.

Real Madrid manager Zinedine Zidane has called on the club’s supporters to get behind Karim Benzema after the France international was whistled.

Martin O’Neill’s immediate future, both as manager of Ireland and prospective manager of Stoke City, hangs in the balance as the Premier League club closes in on naming a successor to Mark Hughes.

Philippe Coutinho can bring something different to Barcelona, according to head coach Ernesto Valverde.

Diego Costa last night made a goalscoring return to Atletico Madrid with a second-half strike in their comfortable 4-0 Copa de Rey win at Lleida.

Only at Real Madrid could the manager be potentially under pressure for his job at the end of a week which began with the team returning home as world champions.

Zinedine Zidane praised Real Madrid's patience after his much-changed side finally saw off spirited third-tier outfit Fuenlabrada in the Copa del Rey.

Barcelona have given Neymar permission to discuss a move away from the club but will insist his buy-out clause of €222m is paid in full.

Mauricio Pellegrino has been appointed as the new Southampton manager on a three-year deal.

Barcelona have named Ernesto Valverde as their new head coach.

Lionel Messi produced yet another master class as Barcelona marked the end of Luis Enrique's Nou Camp reign by lifting the Copa del Rey.

The LaLiga title will be decided on the final day again this year, with Real Madrid going to Malaga tomorrow night (7pm Irish time) needing just a point to lift the trophy, no matter what Barcelona do at home to Eibar at the same time.

Jose Mourinho’s self-confessed gamble to prioritise the Europa League over the Premier League looks like being a success, after Marcus Rashford’s stunning free-kick gave Manchester United a vital first-leg lead in the semi-final against Celta Vigo, putting them within touching distance of both a trophy and a place at Europe’s top table for 2018.

Lionel Messi struck a late winner for the second straight weekend as Barcelona defeated LaLiga title rivals Atletico Madrid 2-1 at the Vicente Calderon.

Sevilla 2, Leicester 1: Jamie Vardy and Kasper Schmeichel kept Leicester's Champions League hopes alive as they escaped from Sevilla still eyeing the quarter-finals.

Champions League last 16, 1st leg

The modern Champions League format has little space for romance or novelty — as seen by this week’s fixture list as Arsenal and Bayern Munich, and Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, met again for the upteenth time in recent years.

Barcelona 1 Atletico Madrid 1 (Barcelona win 3-2 on agg): Barcelona secured a place in the final of the Copa del Rey after a 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid at the Camp Nou last night, but will have to do without Luis Suarez who was one of three players sent off in a fiery clash.

Barcelona secured a place in the final of the Copa del Rey after a 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid at the Nou Camp, but will have to do without Luis Suarez who was one of three players sent off in a fiery clash.

Alaves failed to make the most of their chances as Atletico Madrid left Mendizorroza with a goalless draw.

Real Madrid built on their lead at the top of La Liga thanks to two goals from Sergio Ramos in a 2-1 win over Malaga at the Bernabeu.

With Chelsea forging clear in the Premier League, James Whelan casts his eye over the pacesetters and chasing packs in Europe’s top flight competitions.

Lionel Messi being found guilty of tax fraud yesterday, and handed a prison sentence of 21 months and fine of €3.5 million, is unlikely to cause too many long-term on-field problems for either the Barcelona star or his team.

Real Madrid galactico Gareth Bale still remembers clearly waiting and waiting for the ball to come down, so he could head in the clinching goal in the 2014 Champions League final.

Defending Copa del Rey champions Barcelona became the first team to retain the trophy since 1998 as they defeated Sevilla 2-0 after extra time in the final.

Has a team ever lifted a European trophy after going an entire season without winning an away game in their own league?