Lionel Messi confirmed his status as LaLiga’s most influential player as his superb free kick saw Barcelona beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 yesterday to open up an eight-point gap at the top of the table.

Chelsea 1 Barcelona 1 

Interpretation can be a wonderful thing, it has the ability to decipher and unite in the form of

Barcelona defender Gerard Pique says he is ready to stand down from Spain duty if he is deemed a "problem" by national team coach Julen Lopetegui or the Spanish Football Federation as a result of his support for Catalan independence.

Lionel Messi shrugged off the frustration of missing a penalty to reach another remarkable career landmark as Barcelona eased to a 2-0 victory at Alaves.

Gerard Pique joked there may be a baby boom among Barcelona supporters in nine months’ time following Wednesday’s record-breaking Champions League victory over Paris St Germain.

Angel Di Maria produced two sublime finishes as Paris St Germain thrashed Barcelona 4-0 at the Parc des Princes, leaving the LaLiga giants facing elimination in the last 16 of the Champions League.

Celtic 0 Barcelona 2: Celtic were knocked out of Europe as a Lionel Messi double gave Barcelona a 2-0 Champions League win at Parkhead.

Barcelona 4 Manchester City 0: Pep Guardiola describes Lionel Messi as the best player in the world and he could do nothing to stop the brilliant Argentine ruining his return to the Camp Nou.

Italy 2 Spain 0: Graziano Pelle sealed Italy’s place in the Euro 2016 quarter-finals with a stoppage-time strike to sink reigning champions Spain at the Stade de France yesterday.

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.

Barcelona 2015/16 La Liga winning season will surely be remembered as the year of Luis Suarez.

Barcelona maintained their position at the Primera Division summit after second-half goals from Ivan Rakitic and Luis Suarez lifted them to a 2-0 win at 10-man Real Betis.

Atletico Madrid 2 Barcelona 0, Atletico win 3-2 on aggregate: Holders Barcelona are out of the Champions League after Antoine Griezmann’s brace sent Atletico Madrid through to semi-finals with a 2-0 quarter-final second-leg victory.

Barcelona head to Atletico Madrid for the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final tonight aiming to show their campaign is still on track for domestic and European success.

Barcelona 2 Atletico Madrid 1: Luis Suarez scored twice as Barcelona came from behind to beat Atletico Madrid 2-1 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final at the Nou Camp, where Fernando Torres was sent off having given the visitors the lead.

Luis Suarez and Lionel Messi both scored hat-tricks as Barcelona heaped more pressure on Neville.

2016 has begun with football and politics mixing again in Catalonia with unfortunate results — during three ‘derbi’ games packed with plenty of regretful incident on and off the pitch.

As the Spain national football squad arrived at the team hotel in Alicante ahead of Friday evening’s friendly against England, there were cheers for each of the players stepping off the bus.

Could Leo Messi do it on a cold Tuesday night in Stoke?

Brarcelona 3 Juventus 1: After Barcelona had yet again proven themselves the best, Gerard Pique put it best.

Barcelona 2 Paris St Germain 0 (Barcelona win 5-1 on aggregate ): Barcelona reached the Champions League semi-finals for the seventh time in eight years after comfortably brushing aside the challenge of Paris St Germain last night.

PSG 1 Barcelona 3: Barcelona took a big step towards the Champions League semi-finals with a resounding 3-1 victory over Paris St Germain in yesterday’s quarter-final first leg at the Parc des Princes.

Holland 2 Spain 0

Barcelona 2 Real Madrid 1

Barcelona 1 Man City 0 (Barcelona win 3-1 on agg): Lionel Messi starred once more as Barcelona progressed to the Champions League quarter-finals for a ninth consecutive season thanks to a 1-0 last 16 second leg victory over Manchester City at the Camp Nou last night.

Lionel Messi could have joined Arsenal from Barcelona as a teenager along with Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique, Arsene Wenger confirmed yesterday.

Lionel Messi could have joined Arsenal from Barcelona as a teenager along with Cesc Fabregas and Gerard Pique, Arsene Wenger confirmed today.

International Friendly

Real Madrid overcame Neymar’s early opening goal to see off arch rivals Barcelona 3-1 at the Bernabeu as Luis Suarez made his long-awaited debut for Barca.

The first goals Barcelona conceded this season did not come until their eighth game, but even still they confirmed many pundits’ view of the team’s major weakness.

Spain coach Vicente del Bosque has named Diego Costa in his squad for the upcoming European Championship qualifiers while Gerard Pique returns and uncapped duo Rodrigo Moreno and Juan Bernat have also been called up.

Roy Keane still holds a say over his former team-mates — so much so that Barcelona defender Gerard Pique has admitted the Irishman still scares him.

RTÉ’S RATING WAR MASKS THE REAL ONE

Sergio Ramos is Real Madrid’s most interesting player.

Barcelona have agreed a four-year contract extension with Gerard Pique.

Barcelona 1 Atletico Madrid 1

Barcelona 1 Atletico Munich 1

Barcelona 2 Manchester City 1 (Barcelona win 4-1 on aggregate)

Barcelona defender Gerard Piqué has penned a heart-felt message of gratitude to his teammate and club captain Carles Puyol who is to leave the club at the end of the season.

Gerardo Martino claims Manchester City are no clone of his Barcelona side — but simply one of the best teams in the world.