La Liga went into the last international break on the back of something bizarre — both Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi had failed to score in both of the opening two games.

Lionel Messi’s goal was enough for Barcelona to beat Atletico Madrid 1-0 and clinch the La Liga title for the Catalan club.

Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid drew 0-0 in a tight and tense Champions League quarter-final first leg at the Estadio Vicente Calderon on Tuesday night.

While neither coach will admit it, both teams will be out for revenge when Atletico Madrid host Real Madrid in tonight’s Champions League quarter-final first leg at the Estadio Vicente Calderon.

La Liga: One story dominated Spain’s sports papers on Sunday morning. The front cover of AS screamed: ‘Atletico party, Madrid shipwrecked’.

La Liga: This January’s transfer window has been a relatively quiet affair, especially in Spain. But one big name has made a huge, and not widely expected, impact since switching clubs earlier this month.

It is fair to say that the local reaction to Fernando Torres rejoining Atletico Madrid this week will have surprised many outside Spain.

The death of a Deportivo La Coruna ‘ultra’ in fighting before last Sunday’s La Liga match at Atletico Madrid has led to attempts at expelling all such radical ‘supporters’ from the Spanish game.

In the most literary of the new La Liga season’s previews, AS editor Alfredo Relaño wrote that Carlo Ancelotti reminded him of mythical Greek hero Sisyphus.

As Lisbon awaits a Spanish invasion for Saturday’s Champions League decider, Atletico Madrid are slowly coming down from a high, while final opponents Real Madrid try to build themselves back up.

Someone will finally have to claim this season’s La Liga trophy next Saturday when Atletico Madrid travel to Barcelona’s Camp Nou.

Atletico Madrid 1 Barcelona 0 (Atletico Madrid win 2-1 on aggregate)

Barcelona 1 Atletico Munich 1

Atletico Madrid won the battle in yesterday’s Spanish capital ‘derbi’ with a stirring and gutsy performance which skirted the lines of law at times.

“Barcelona on a roll...

For the first time in 13 years, we have a Madrid derby that really counts

Sergio Aguero has ended speculation linking him with a move to Tottenham after signing a contract extension with Atletico Madrid.