A bit of a formality in the Champions League this week, with all four of Spain's teams sure of a place in the knock-out stage before the last round of the league stage. Most managers used the occasion to rest key players, with Barcelona's run of 20 games without defeat coming to an end on Tuesday after losing 2-3 to Shakhtar Donetsk, and Atlético Madrid just happy to come away from Olympique Marseille without any major incident in a 0-0 draw. The following day Juande Ramos got his reign at Real Madrid off to a winning start with a 3-0 victory over Zenit, Raúl scoring twice and Robben getting the other, but a depleted Villarreal side lost 2-0 to Celtic.

Back to normal in the league after last weekend's excesses, with 24 goals in the ten games. All eyes were on the Nou Camp, where Eto'o and Messi scored late goals to enable Barcelona to beat eternal rivals Real Madrid 2-0. Atlético Madrid took advantage to move above their neighbours in the table after a 2-0 win over Betis, Maxi and Agüero the goalscorers. And elsewhere Athletic Bilbao climbed away from the relegation zone with a 3-0 victory over Sporting Gijón, Llorente starting things off from the penalty spot. (15.12.08)