Barcelona leapfrogged Catalan rivals Girona into second place in LaLiga after Lamine Yamal’s second-half goal handed them a 1-0 win against Real Mallorca.

The 16-year-old winger netted his sixth goal of the season in the 73rd minute, cutting inside on to his left foot and lashing a shot into the corner to break the visiting sides’ resolve.

Mallorca striker Vedat Muriqi had headed against the crossbar with goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen beaten, as Barca’s six-game unbeaten run in the league came under threat.

Victory drags them to within five points of leaders Real Madrid, who have a game in hand.

Defending Serie A champions Napoli’s mini revival stalled as Torino hit back to earn a 1-1 draw at the Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

Khvicha Kvaratskhelia made the breakthrough for the home side just past the hour mark as they sought a third win on the bounce to energise an unlikely late bid to qualify for the Champions League.

But Antonio Sanabria scored minutes later to leave Napoli lagging seven points behind the top four.

In the Bundesliga, Stuttgart moved a step closer to Champions League qualification with a comfortable 2-0 win at home to Union Berlin.

Serhou Guirassy and Chris Fuhrich scored to cement their team’s position in third and move them to within a point of Bayern Munich.

Meanwhile, Nice saw their own hopes of reaching Europe’s top competition suffer a setback as they were beaten 2-1 at home by Montpellier in Ligue 1.

Jean-Clair Todibo’s own-goal put the visitors – who climbed out of the relegation zone up to 12th – ahead after 10 minutes, before Jeremie Boga promptly levelled.

But Teji Savanier netted the winner from the penalty spot late in the first half to leave Nice a point outside of the top four.

Teenager Lamine Yamal struck a fine winner as Barcelona beat Mallorca 1-0 at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys to move into second place in the LaLiga table.

The 16-year-old beat Predrag Rajkovic with a delightful curling effort in the 73rd minute, having seen the Mallorca goalkeeper tip his shot against the crossbar earlier in the second half.

That was among a number of impressive saves made by Rajkovic, which also included keeping out Ilkay Gundogan’s first-half penalty.

Having avoided a second successive 0-0 draw, Xavi’s men leapfrog Girona into second place, lying two points in front of them and five behind leaders Real Madrid ahead of those sides hosting Osasuna on Saturday and Celta Vigo on Sunday respectively.

Barca’s starting line-up showed four changes from last weekend’s goalless stalemate at Athletic Bilbao, with those coming out of the XI including midfielders Frenkie De Jong and Pedri after they were injured in that game, and Robert Lewandowski, who was on the bench.

The suspended Ronald Araujo was the other man dropping out of the team as 18-year-old Marc Guiu, Yamal, Joao Felix and Inigo Martinez came in.

The hosts had the chance to take the lead midway through the first half when Raphinha was brought down in the area by Jose Manuel Copete and the outcome after a VAR review was a penalty, but Gundogan saw Rajkovic push away his strike from 12 yards.

After Felix put an attempt wide, Barca saw their injury issues increase as Raphinha was forced to come off in the 37th minute, with Fermin Lopez taking his place.

The visitors then brought a save out of Marc-Andre ter Stegen as he dealt with Manu Morlanes’ header, before Rajkovic did well to deny Gundogan and tipped over Lopez’s headed effort.

Rajkovic produced more good work shortly after the break to keep out a deflected Felix shot.

Vedat Muriqi nodded against the Barca crossbar moments later, albeit with the flag going up for offside, and Yamal then saw his shot touched against the woodwork at the other end by Rajkovic just prior to the hour mark.

Xavi introduced Lewandowski and Vitor Roque soon after, and the latter put a header of his own just over the bar in the 69th minute.

Lewandowski then provided the assist as Yamal broke the deadlock in superb fashion, collecting the Poland striker’s pass just outside the box, moving into it and sending a wonderful strike into the top corner.

Yamal then teed up a Lopez effort that was skewed wide late on as Barca claimed the three points.

Xavi believes Barcelona are still in the race for the LaLiga title ahead of their clash with Mallorca on Friday.

The Catalan club sit eight points off league leaders Real Madrid going into the final 11 matches of the campaign.

Boss Xavi admitted his side have not given up on retaining their title.

“I don’t think LaLiga is lost,” Xavi told reporters.

“Tomorrow we have another opportunity to get closer to five points behind Real Madrid and be ahead of Girona. LaLiga is not lost, and we’re not throwing in the towel.”

Pedri will miss the home clash after picking up another injury.

Xavi admitted his squad needs to be rotated to avoid fatigue-related issues.

Barca’s packed schedule also contains a Champions League last 16 second-leg clash against Napoli after a 1-1 draw in the opener.

“We need to consider fatigue and the number of games the players are facing,” he added.

“Tomorrow, we will surely make some changes compared to the last match. We have to think about the players, not because Tuesday is the Champions League.

“We think about fatigue, about the accumulation of minutes, not because Tuesday is an important match, but to think about the players so that all players are available until the end of the season.”

Xavi complimented Friday’s opponents, saying they will come into the game with high morale after they booked their place in the Copa del Rey final against Athletic Bilbao.

He said: “(They are a solid) team that plays well together and is physically strong.

“They’re having a good season and I imagine we’ll be facing a team that will play defensively but whose morale is high. Javier Aguirre works very hard on getting the best out of his teams, I’m an admirer of his.”

Barcelona have confirmed that Frenkie de Jong and Pedri are both “unavailable for selection” due to injury.

Both players picked up injuries in the first half of Barca’s goalless draw with Athletic Bilbao on Sunday night, which leaves the side third in LaLiga.

De Jong went over on his ankle in the 26th minute and the club revealed that the Dutch midfielder has a “lateral ligament sprain”.

Tests also showed that Pedri sustained an injury to the “rectus femoris muscle” in his right thigh after the Spanish midfielder went down with no one else involved towards the end of the first half.

In a statement on Monday, Barcelona confirmed that both players’ “recovery will determine availability”.

It was another frustrating evening for the Catalan club, who were unable to capitalise on second-placed Girona’s defeat to Mallorca and a draw for leaders Real Madrid against Valencia.

The weekend’s results mean Barcelona are one point behind Girona and eight away from Real and manager Xavi admitted after the Bilbao game that his side were “unlucky” following the two first-half injuries.

He told the Barca website post-match: “The two injuries in the first half certainly affected us. We are so unlucky.

“Those are two very important players for our game plan. I imagine we’re going to miss them for several games.

“The team was trying but we generated very little. We didn’t quite have our claws out and never really went for the game.”

Barcelona remain third in LaLiga after being held to a 0-0 draw by Athletic Bilbao at San Mames.

A frustrating evening for Barca included midfielders Frenkie de Jong and Pedri coming off with injuries in the first half.

Xavi’s men are eight points behind leaders Real Madrid, who had drawn 2-2 at Valencia on Saturday.

And they are a point behind second-placed Girona, whose 1-0 loss at Mallorca earlier on Sunday, via a first-half Jose Manuel Copete goal, had offered Barca the chance to climb the table.

Fourth-placed Atletico Madrid beat Real Betis 2-1 at home with a Rui Silva own goal and Alvaro Morata effort putting the hosts in charge before William Carvalho’s reply, and Alexander Sorloth netted a hat-trick as Villarreal thrashed second-bottom Granada 5-1 at El Madrigal.

In Serie A, second-placed Juventus suffered a third defeat in five games as they lost 2-1 at Napoli.

Giacomo Raspadori scored a late winner on the follow-up when Victor Osimhen’s penalty was saved by Wojciech Szczesny, after Federico Chiesa had cancelled out Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s opener.

It leaves Juve 12 points adrift of Inter Milan, who host Genoa on Monday.

Fourth-placed Bologna strengthened their Champions League bid by coming from behind to triumph 2-1 at Atalanta, with Scotland’s Lewis Ferguson netting the winner.

Cagliari moved up a place to 18th with a 1-0 win at Empoli. They are level on points with 17th-placed Hellas Verona, who beat Sassuolo 1-0 at home.

Sunday’s other top-flight game in Italy saw Frosinone and Lecce draw 1-1.

Bayer Leverkusen went 10 points clear at the top of the Bundesliga with a 2-0 win at 10-man Cologne.

After the hosts had Jan Thielmann sent off early on, Jeremie Frimpong and Alejandro Grimaldo scored in each half for Xabi Alonso’s men as they took full advantage of second-placed Bayern Munich being held at Freiburg on Friday.

Maximilian Beier’s first-half brace secured a 2-1 win for Hoffenheim at home against Werder Bremen, the hosts holding out for three points after having Marius Bulter sent off in the 73rd minute and conceding a stoppage-time Skelly Alvero goal.

In Ligue 1, Brest are nine points behind Paris St Germain in second after Pierre Lees-Melou’s first-half effort secured a 1-0 home win over Le Havre, extending their unbeaten run to 13 games.

Toulouse came from behind to win 2-1 at home against fifth-placed Nice, and Lens are up to sixth following a 3-0 win at Lyon.

Lorient moved out of the relegation zone with a 2-1 win at Rennes, Montpellier dropped in having drawn 2-2 at home with Strasbourg and second-bottom Metz won 2-0 at Nantes.

Barcelona suffered a costly evening against Athletic Bilbao as they failed to make ground on leaders Real Madrid after a goalless draw that saw Frenkie de Jong and Pedri pick up injuries.

Defeat for second-placed Girona and Real’s draw at Valencia opened up an opportunity for Barca but they were held to a stalemate at San Mames and sit eight points off top spot.

Worse yet, they lost midfielders De Jong and Pedri in the first half, with the latter unable to hold back the tears as he contemplated the latest in a series of fitness setbacks.

Ernesto Valverde’s side struggled to get time on the ball in the opening stages, with his former club Barcelona enjoying plenty of possession as Joao Cancelo established himself as the liveliest outlet on the park.

Hanging on to the ball did not translate into obvious openings, though, with a pair of set-pieces the closest they came to an early breakthrough.

Andreas Christensen headed over Ilkay Gundogan’s free-kick and Jules Kounde’s ambitious flick off a corner also cleared the crossbar.

For their part, Athletic were feeding on scraps and largely unable to make use of the ball when they made it into the final third. Barca’s flow was disrupted when De Jong went over on his ankle in the 26th minute, clearly unable to shake off the pain as Fermin Lopez took his place.

They almost grabbed an opener out of nowhere shortly after the half-hour when Cancelo tried his luck from long-range after Unai Simon’s punt up-field and caught the keeper out of position. Simon managed to back-track and get a hand on it but still needed Yeray Alvarez to clear up on the line.

With time running down on the first half Pedri went down with nobody else involved, forced out of the match and letting his emotion get the better of him as he returned to the dugout.

Athletic came alive at the start of the second period, captain Inaki Williams twice finding space in behind and twice missing the target as he let loose. Barca defenders Ronald Araujo and Pau Cubarsi were also forced into shutting down promising moves as the tide threatened to turn.

Alex Berenguer had a couple of promising breaks but floundered when it came to an end product while 16-year-old Lamine Yamal, Pedri’s replacement, saw a penalty shout waved away at the other end.

The hosts almost made Barca’s night even worse in added time when Dani Garcia arrived unmarked at the far post from a corner but failed to direct his header on target.

Plans to found a European Super League are "purely about money" and the breakaway competition would cause smaller clubs to disappear if it ever came into being.

That is the view of Shakhtar Donetsk chief executive Serhiy Palkin, who believes the vast majority of European clubs are united in their support for UEFA.

The threat of a Super League has never fully gone away despite fierce fan and media opposition causing the competition's attempted 2021 launch to fail in spectacular fashion.

Real Madrid and Barcelona remain committed to the project, and in late 2022, A22 Sports Management was enlisted to oversee its revival, with a plan for a three-tier competition featuring promotion and relegation with no permanent members made public last year. 

Those plans were met with widespread criticism, with UEFA president Aleksander Ceferin saying the proposal was "even more closed" than the initial Super League format, given a tier-one founder would be guaranteed three years in the competition regardless of their results. 

Last December, the European Court of Justice ruled UEFA cannot stop breakaway competitions by threatening to sanction clubs, but Palkin feels there is no real desire for change.

"For me, it's difficult to discuss. When this news was issued about A22 winning in court, we had already issued our statement, we are supporting UEFA," he told Stats Perform.

"Almost 90 per cent of clubs did the same statement on their websites. We have a special group on WhatsApp, everybody supports UEFA. I don't understand this Super League. 

"I don't understand what kind of essence they have. I don't understand why we need to change something, when under the umbrella of UEFA, we have very well-structured competitions. 

"If you look from 10 years ago to today, they developed a lot of things in a good way and they are always raising the amount of money that we receive. 

"They are increasing the number of games, they are increasing the number of competitions with the Conference League.

"They involved a lot of clubs. It's not all clubs, but the number of clubs involved in European competitions is increasing significantly. 

"The most important thing for me is the involvement of clubs in European competitions and the financial support of these competitions. All the numbers are just increasing."

Palkin believes only the very richest clubs stand to benefit from the Super League, warning smaller sides might struggle to stay afloat if the plans ever come to fruition. 

"We don't have just 25 clubs in Europe. We need to pay attention to the whole of football. The most important thing is to spread football over the whole of Europe," he added. 

"Otherwise, don't go to stadiums, just switch on the TV and see the top, top clubs playing between each other, and that's it. Then they become much, much richer, and others disappear. 

"For them [smaller clubs], receiving these bonuses from UEFA is critical from a financial point of view. 

"I support football, the game itself, and we need to promote this idea. This Super League, it's not about the game, it's just about money. It's purely about money."

Barcelona boss Xavi insists “nothing has changed” regarding his future following rumours he could reverse his decision to depart the club in the summer.

The former Barca and Spain midfielder, who is preparing for Sunday’s LaLiga game at fifth-placed Athletic Bilbao, announced in late January he would leave his role at the end of the season.

Barcelona have picked up form since then, taking 13 points from a possible 15 to boost their faint hopes of overhauling leaders Real Madrid in the title race.

“As of today, nothing has changed,” Xavi told a press conference.

“There is no more story than that. It all remains the same and we focus on the next game.

“It’s true we’ve done well recently; I see the team training great every day and the group of players is less tense than in the past.

“But tomorrow is a whole new story, here at Barcelona you have a challenge every day.

“The moment of the truth this season is coming, and we feel we have been good over the last weeks.”

Third-placed Barcelona thrashed Getafe 4-0 last weekend to build on recent wins over Osasuna, Alaves and Celta Vigo and a 3-3 draw with Granada.

The Catalan club will return to San Mames just over five weeks after suffering a 4-2 extra-time loss to Bilbao in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals.

Xavi is braced for another tough test as his side seek to maintain momentum.

“Athletic is the most intense team in the league,” he said. “And they are confident.

“If we win, it will be a big step forward.

“It’s the perfect game to match them in intensity and rhythm. Against Getafe, we rediscovered our game. Against Athletic, we have to do the same.”

Barcelona remain without injured quartet Marcos Alonso, Alejandro Balde, Gavi and Ferran Torres for the visit to the Basque country.

Xavi also hailed his former team-mate Andres Iniesta during his pre-match press conference.

Iniesta, who scored Spain’s winning goal in the 2010 World Cup final, made the 1,000th senior appearance of his career on Friday, playing for UAE-based side Emirates Club against Ajman.

“Iniesta is the greatest talent I’ve ever seen in Spanish football,” said Xavi. “A thousand games is many.

“I admire him and I love him very much, he is a great friend.”

Barcelona moved up to second in LaLiga after sweeping past Getafe 4-0 at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.

Raphinha opened the scoring in the 20th minute with a fine breakaway goal before Joao Felix, Frenkie de Jong and Fermin Lopez wrapped up a comfortable win, which puts Xavi’s side a point above Girona who play on Monday night.

Getafe created the first real opening when Mason Greenwood cut inside onto his left foot at the edge of the penalty area and sent a low drive goalwards, which was well saved by Marc-Andre Ter Stegen.

Barca – who drew 1-1 away to Napoli in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Wednesday – took the lead in the 20th minute.

Raphinha ran onto a chipped pass behind the Getafe defence from right-back Jules Kounde and took the ball on into the area before dispatching a low shot into the bottom left corner.

The Brazilian then turned provider as his cross was almost turned in by Ilkay Gundogan, who just could not connect.

Raphinha missed a chance to double Barca’s lead five minutes before half-time when he was sent through on goal again, but this time crashed the ball over with Joao Felix in space for a square pass.

Getafe almost snatched an equaliser ahead of the break when defender Omar Alderete’s long-range strike saw Ter Stegen make an acrobatic catch.

The visitors made a bright start to the second half with Luis Milla seeing his curling shot pushed onto the post by Ter Stegen.

Barca, though, soon scored again in the 53rd minute.

Andreas Christensen was sent clear on the overlap down the right and his cross back through the penalty box was swept in by Felix.

Before Getafe could regroup, Barca had the ball in the net through Robert Lewandowski’s shot on the turn after being played in by Raphinha, but the goal was ruled out for offside.

Barca did get a third in the 61st minute.

De Jong pushed forwards and exchanged passes with Raphinha before drilling the ball into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area.

With 15 minutes left, Getafe forward Borja Mayoral fired just wide before Barca added a fourth in stoppage time when Lopez tapped into an empty net after Vitor Roque’s effort was saved.

Xavi is not expecting Getafe to sit back at Camp Nou when they face his Barcelona side on Saturday.

Nothing else but three points will do for Barca if they are to keep their flagging La Liga title hopes alive, as they trail their bitter rivals Real Madrid by eight points with 13 games to go.

Xavi, who will leave his position as head coach at the end of the season after a difficult campaign, does not think a win will be easily achieved by his team against a Getafe side who occupy 10th spot.

“Getafe are not a defensive team, they are a brave team,” he said at his pre-match press conference on Friday.

“They press very high up the pitch and they have picked up points at some tricky away grounds. They always compete and (coach Jose) Bordalas always gets the most out of his players, and that is worthy of praise.

“The points are very important for the battle for the league title. As long as we are mathematically involved, we will fight for it. Each week is a different story. We can’t drop points, less so at home.

“We would go to be in second place in the table (above Girona) and that will put more pressure on Girona and Real Madrid, who play later. We are not throwing in the towel, even though we know that it will be tough.”

Barcelona come into the match after a 1-1 draw away to Napoli in the first leg of their Champions League last 16 tie on Wednesday.

“We will see how we come into the game, but it is the moment for the best players,” Xavi added.

“We will make some changes but not many, because it is a vital match. It would have been better to play on Sunday or Monday but that is no excuse.”

Barcelona are without Alejandro Balde (hamstring), who is sidelined for the rest of the season, while Marcos Alonso remains unavailable due to lower back pain, which has meant Joao Cancelo being forced to play at left-back.

“He is playing very well both on the left and on the right, his contribution is fantastic,” Xavi said about Cancelo.

“The instructions I give him are because sometimes he plays too high or too low. Also because he is closer to the bench for me (to communicate with). But he is a leader too, we are very happy with him.”

Former Brazil and Barcelona player Dani Alves has been sentenced to four years and six months in prison for sexual assault by a Spanish court.

The 40-year-old former right-back was found guilty of assaulting a woman in a Barcelona nightclub on New Year’s Eve in 2022 and has been in custody since being arrested for the offence in January 2023.

Alves, who must also pay his victim 150,000 euros (£128,000) in compensation and their court costs, has the right to appeal against his sentence.

A statement from the Audiencia de Barcelona on Thursday read: “The Court of Barcelona has condemned footballer Dani Alves to four years and six months in prison for sexual assault.

“The victim must also receive 150,000 euros and have their legal costs paid.

“The sentence takes into consideration that it has been proven the victim did not consent and that there is evidence in addition to their testimony that proves the offence.”

Victor Osimhen rescued Napoli a 1-1 home draw against Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie in his first appearance for the Italian club since December.

Osimhen, who had served a ban in Napoli’s previous game after returning from Africa Cup of Nations duty for runners-up Nigeria, stole clear in the penalty area with 15 minutes remaining to fire home an equaliser.

Barcelona had taken a deserved lead on the hour-mark through Robert Lewandowski’s 93rd Champions League goal.

It was Napoli’s first game since they sacked head coach Walter Mazzarri after three months in charge and replaced him with Slovakian Francesco Calzona.

Porto winger Galeno’s stunning stoppage-time winner clinched his side a 1-0 win against Arsenal in the first leg of their tie.

Arsenal looked set to return to London all-square after a cagey tactical battle at Estadio do Dragao, but Brazilian Galeno crashed home a shot from outside the box in the fourth minute of added time.

The Gunners, bidding to reach the tournament’s last eight for the first time since 2010, created few chances, while Galeno struck a post with a close-range effort in the first half.

Kai Havertz had Arsenal’s best two chances late in the first half, firing off target from six yards before heading Bukayo Saka’s corner just wide.

The two sides will meet in the return leg at the Emirates Stadium on March 12.

Victor Osimhen snatched an unlikely 1-1 draw for Napoli in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie against Barcelona.

The Nigeria striker cancelled out a trademark Robert Lewandowski strike as a low-quality tie ended all square.

The champions of Italy met the champions of Spain in what should have been the glamour tie of the round at Napoli’s Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.

The Argentinian’s name is synonymous with glory days at both clubs but now both are struggling to recapture last season’s title-winning successes.

Napoli, a lowly ninth in Serie A, sacked Walter Mazzarri on Monday with Francesco Calzona replacing him as their third manager of the season.

The Slovakia coach, appointed on an interim basis, had just 48 hours to try to inject some life into their dismal campaign.

Meanwhile, Barca boss Xavi – whose side lie eight points behind rivals Real Madrid in La Liga – announced last month he would be leaving at the end of the campaign.

Two sides bereft of confidence locked horns with Barca, without Gavi, Ferran Torres, Marcos Alonso and Sergi Roberto through injury, dominating the first half but lacking any real goal threat.

Lamine Yamal, their 16-year-old sensation, brought the first save from Napoli goalkeeper Alex Meret with a fierce drive from the edge of the area.

Lewandowski’s first chance came from Ilkay Gundogan’s through-ball but his flicked finish was blocked by Meret.

The Napoli defence then opened up invitingly for Gundogan, whose dipping effort was also beaten away by Meret.

For Napoli, Osimhen was playing his first match since before Christmas but he looked isolated up front as the hosts finished the first half without a single effort on goal.

That sorry stat at least changed at the start of the second half when Matteo Politano planted an early header wide.

Gundogan should have done better with Yamal’s cut-back to the edge of the box but his side-footed effort was easily dealt with by Meret.

But Lewandowski broke the deadlock on the hour when Pedri played the ball into his feet.

Lewandowski expertly turned and fired low between two defenders and beyond the dive of Meret.

It was the Poland international’s 93rd Champions League goal, although he had not scored in his last four appearances in the competition.

But Barca had only kept one clean sheet in their previous nine matches and a blunt Napoli attack finally woke up in the 75th minute.

Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa drove the ball forward and Osimhen rolled Inigo Martinez, who claimed he was fouled, before tucking the ball past Marc-Andre ter Stegen.

Both sides could have grabbed a winner but Napoli substitute Giovanni Simeone blazed over before Gundogan fired inches wide in stoppage time.

Ilkay Gundogan believes Barcelona face a “harder” test against Napoli following the Italian club’s change of manager.

The Serie A champions sacked Walter Mazzarri on Monday and immediately brought in former coach Francesco Calzona until the end of the season.

His debut in the dugout comes at home to Barcelona in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash on Wednesday night.

Speaking to La Vanguardia, Gundogan said: “This is what the Champions League is all about, making big demands.

“I love this kind of pressure. Every game starts from zero. The fact they have just changed managers won’t make it any easier for us. If anything, it makes it even harder.

“There are other teams in the competition with more of a chance and better experience, but if we can reach the quarter finals, we are entering special territory. I am a realist, but I also know it’s difficult for everybody.”

Barcelona will see their boss Xavi leave the club at the end of the season.

The 44-year-old confirmed the news last month, with Barca falling behind rivals Real Madrid and Girona at the top of the LaLiga table.

Gundogan, who joined the club from Manchester City last summer after completing the treble, admitted he “didn’t expect” Xavi to leave.

He said: “Xavi played a huge role in me coming to Barcelona. If our conversations had gone another way, I wouldn’t be here.

“He made the difference and I’m grateful for that. I didn’t expect him to announce he was leaving at the end of the season, but I respect his decision.

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“He should get a lot of credit. He thinks about his family, the players and the club before himself. Xavi loves Barca.”

Despite their struggles in the league, Xavi steered Barcelona to top spot in Champions League Group H.

Napoli finished second to Madrid in Group C and are also having a far from happy time of things domestically.

They lie ninth in Serie A and have won just twice in their last eight league games.

Barcelona have Joao Felix and Sergi Roberto fit again after spells on the sidelines.

Robert Lewandowski scored an injury-time penalty at the second time of asking as Barcelona secured a nail-biting late win over Celta Vigo to stay in touch with the LaLiga title race.

Lewandowski had already given his side the lead with an emphatic finish on the stroke of half-time but Iago Aspas put his struggling side on course for a draw with a deflected effort soon after the restart.

Lewandowski eventually won it from the spot in the seventh minute of added time, but only after the referee ordered a retake when his first attempt was saved by an encroaching Vicente Guaita. The result leaves them two points behind Girona in second and seven shy of rivals and leaders Real Madrid, having played one game more than both.

At the Metropolitano Stadium, fourth-placed Atletico Madrid ran out 5-0 winners over Las Palmas. Marcos Llorente and Angel Correa scored two apiece and Memphis Depay rounded things out in a one-sided contest.

Osasuna beat Cadiz 2-0 and Sevilla took a goalless draw from Valencia on their visit to the Mestalla.

In Ligue 1, departing Paris St Germain striker Kylian Mbappe found himself left out of the starting XI against Nantes only to step off the bench and bury a penalty.

Having announced his summer departure from PSG, Mbappe had to wait until the 62nd minute to see action but was ready to slot home from the spot to put the finishing touch to a 2-0 win. Lucas Hernandez had earlier put the runaway league leaders ahead on the hour.

Elsewhere, Lille moved back into third on goal difference as hat-trick hero Jonathan David put away Le Havre 3-0.

In Germany, Bundesliga’s relentless leaders Bayer Leverkusen banked another three points with a 2-1 away win at Heidenheim.

Xabi Alonso’s title-chasers have now won seven of their last eight matches, with Jeremie Frimpong and Amine Adli on target this time. Tim Kleindienst set up some late tension with an 87th-minute reply but the hosts could not force a second.

Third-placed Stuttgart fought for a 2-1 win at bottom club Darmstadt despite Pascal Stenzel’s red card at the end of the first half. They now sit five points above Borussia Dortmund, with the latter held 1-1 at Wolfsburg after substitute Yannick Gerhardt responded to Niclas Fullkrug’s early effort.

RB Leipzig won 2-0 against Borussia Monchengladbach, Union Berlin scored the only goal away to Hoffenheim and strugglers Mainz recorded a 1-0 win over Augsburg.

Juventus’ hopes of chipping away at Inter’s Serie A lead were stifled as they were forced to settle for a 2-2 draw at Verona. Juve twice dragged themselves back from a goal down, Dusan Vlahovic’s penalty and Adrien Rabiot’s second-half strike squaring efforts from Michael Folorunsho and Tijjani Noslin.

A point left Massimiliano Allegri’s men nine points behind the Nerazurri, who have a game in hand.

Napoli’s disappointing season continued to underwhelm as they were held 1-1 at home by Genoa. Morten Frendrup put the away side in front and it was not until the 90th minute that substitute Cyril Ngonge grabbed an equaliser.

Mario Pasalic, Teun Koopmeiners and Mitchel Bakker all found the target as Atalanta strengthened their grip on fourth spot at the expense of Sassuolo.

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