Atletico Madrid manager Diego Simeone was delighted with his team's fighting spirit as they clawed back from two goals down to get a last-gasp 4-4 draw at Barcelona in an action-packed first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final on Tuesday.

Luka Modric scored a brilliant goal from long range to help Real Madrid secure a 2-0 win against Girona on Sunday which took them back level with Barcelona at the top of La Liga.

After Atletico Madrid beat Valencia 3-0 to temporarily take pole position, the Catalans replaced them with a narrow victory on the road and sit one point ahead of the Rojiblancos.

Champions League holders Real Madrid will play local rivals Atletico Madrid in the last 16 of the competition Liverpool will take on Paris Saint-Germain after the teams were paired together in Friday's draw.

Lewandowski scored his 20th goal of the season with a 28th-minute penalty that went in off the post.

Barca have the opportunity to return to the top when they host sixth-placed Rayo Vallecano at the Olympic Stadium on Monday, after both their main rivals dropped points on Saturday.

Hansi Flick's Barca climbed within two points of Los Blancos and moved one behind Atletico to crank up the tension in the title race.

Los Blancos were beaten 1-0 at relegation-battling Espanyol on Saturday and subsequently sent a furious letter to the Spanish football federation blasting the country's refereeing as "rigged" and "completely discredited".

Barcelona playmaker Pedri extended his contract by four years through to June 2030 on Thursday in a boost for club president Joan Laporta who has been in the spotlight over the handling of the Dani Olmo debacle.

Balde was full of praise for Atalanta, who won last season's Europa League, but was left stumped by an Italian journalist's other question about their coach Gian Piero Gasperini's style of play at a press conference on Tuesday.

Santos' president told Brazilian superstar Neymar it was "time to return to (his) people" in a video published on social media on Tuesday.

Barcelona sit third in the standings with 42 points, three behind second-placed Atletico Madrid and seven adrift of leaders Real Madrid.

Barcelona need to maintain their focus till the end of games to ensure they stop dropping points in matches they should have won, coach Hansi Flick said on Saturday, after his team slipped to third in LaLiga due to a four-match winless streak.

The 25-year-old joined Barcelona in 2018 from Uruguayan side Boston River and has established himself as a core member of Hansi Flick's team.

Barcelona were 4-2 down towards the end of the match before goals from Robert Lewandowski, Eric Garcia and Raphinha secured their comeback.

The Catalan giants have won just one of their last eight league games, falling behind rivals Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid, but by contrast are flying high in Europe.

Record 31-time Copa del Rey winners Barcelona will face Valencia in the quarter-finals, after they were paired in Monday's draw.

Barcelona's last visit to face Benfica ended in a heavy thumping on the way to Champions League group stage elimination in 2021, but with young starlet Lamine Yamal propelling a team on the rise, hopes are far higher for the Catalans this time around.

Olmo has scored six goals and registered three assists in 18 appearances since joining Barca in the close season from RB Leipzig. The Catalans are second in the Champions League table, having won five of their six games.

The draw leaves the third-place Catalans five points behind leaders Atletico Madrid, who lost 1-0 at Leganes earlier in the day, but Hansi Flick's side could not take advantage.