La Liga

Barcelona maintained their four-point lead atop La Liga following a 2-0 victory over Athletic Bilbao at the San Mames. Lionel Messi scored the first for Barcelona, his 12th of the 10-game La Liga season, in the 36th minute. Paulinho added the second in the 92nd to ensure the three points for Barca.

Remarkably, that’s Paulinho’s third goal of the season for the club, moving him level with Luis Suarez in league play as Barca’s second highest scorer. With Messi in the kind of form he’s currently in, the club hasn’t had any real need for additional marksmen.

Things are happening in Catalonia. Big things. Political things, as you can see from these helpful tweets from the Associated Press:

BREAKING: Catalan separatist lawmakers pass motion to establish a new republic independent of Spain; opposition boycotts vote.

— The Associated Press (@AP) October 27, 2017

According to Spanish football federation president Juan Luis Larrea, La Liga will begin using Video Assistant Referee technology next season if all goes according to plan. Given La Liga’s refusal to use goal-line technology on the grounds of cost concerns, the proposed introduction of VAR in the Spanish top flight represents something of a shock.

Ever wanted to know what a locker room looks like after your favorite stars are done with it? Well, it’s a bit like learning how the sausage is made — probably something you’d rather not see. The Barcelona locker room was left a nauseating mess after the team’s 3-0 win over host Murcia in the Copa del Rey fourth-round match on Tuesday. 

Most people remember Simone Zaza for what was probably the worst moment of his life. Left for dead after a pedestrian loan spell with West Ham, the Italian forward is reinventing himself with Valencia, having scored eight goals in nine La Liga appearances this season, second only to Lionel Messi’s 11.