La Liga

Barcelona have been in a bad way (for them) recently. They sandwiched two league losses around a stunning loss to Atletico Madrid that bounced them from the Champions League (after having won the first leg). This was the first time Barcelona had lost three games in a row since 2003. The momentum changed Wednesday, when Luis Suarez apparently decided he had had enough, and took his frustration out on the hapless Deportivo la Coruna, to the tune of four goals and three assists.

Dani Alves is not coping with Barcelona's unceremonious dumping from the Champions League at the hands of Atletico Madrid well. 

The Brazilian right back took to Instagram and he, um, well he did this:

Here are some real things that have been said about Lionel Messi:

"It is clear that Messi is on a level above all others. Those who do not see that are blind." - Xavi

"They tell me that all men are equal in God’s eyes, this player makes you seriously think about those words." - Football commentator Ray Hudson

Things became clear in the 45th minute of Barcelona vs Valencia. The league leaders, Barcelona, were already down 1-0 and Valencia were in the middle of a string of passes in Barcelona’s defensive third.

It was exactly the kind of thing you’d expect Barcelona to do to Valencia, and it drove home the point that things weren’t right at the Camp Nou. At the end of the move Santi Mina scored Valencia’s second goal of the game. Barcelona would never recover; they had been beaten at their own game.

News of Karim Benzema’s continued suspension from the French national team must’ve reached Antoine Griezmann at some point before Atletico Madrid's pivotal quarterfinal second leg against Barcelona on Wednesday. 

Preparing for the most important game of his young club career, the immensity of the implications would not have been lost on Griezmann. With Benzema suspended, he’s now seemingly been charged with spearheading the French attack at Euro 2016 in his native France. 

What a time to be alive at the top of La Liga. Barcelona have failed to win for the third time in a row, losing to Real Sociedad 1-0. Real Madrid won 4-0 at Eibar (and JAMES RODRIGUEEEEEEZZZZZ had a dope opener) despite the s***show that was their midweek loss to Wolfsburg. And Atletico Madrid just keep on Atletico-ing, winning 3-1 at Espanyol. 

Spanish outlet El Mundo reported on Tuesday that Lionel Messi's trial has been rescheduled from May 31 to June 7. Lionel Messi and his father, Jorge, have been charged with three counts of tax fraud, that totalled $4.4 million in unpaid taxes between the years of 2007 and 2009. 

As Rio Ferdinand points out in his interview with Gerard Pique, Pique is one of the few players to have ever played with both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. As such, Pique has a rare perspective on what separates the two players, on who’s better and why. Ferdinand, being the competent interviewer he is, made sure to ask Pique his thoughts on who is better.

Luis Enrique defended his star trio of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez, and Neymar Jr after his Barcelona side lost against Real Madrid 2-1 on Saturday. 

Barcelona went into the match as the unquestioned favorites, but left it as the soundly beaten losers. Real Madrid was especially dangerous at the end of the match, even when they were down to 10 men, and Barcelona was uncharacteristically quiet in attack. Nothing exemplified Barcelona’s offensive struggles more than Luis Suarez’ shocking miss in the 10th minute.